Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway

Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway
Overview
Locale	Northwest England
Dates of operation	1853–1985
Route map
	Legend
	Stockport, Timperley and
	Altrincham Junction Railway
	Manchester, Sth Jct & Altrincham Rly
	(now Metrolink Altrincham Line)
	to Glazebrook
	(disused line)
	Manchester
	Ship Canal
	Low Level
	High Level

Last updated November 16, 2023

The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway was a railway line that was in operation from 1 November 1853 to 7 July 1985. The railway was created by an act of parliament on 3 July 1851^[1] to build a line between Timperley Junction on the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR), to provide a through route to Manchester, and Warrington Arpley on the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway providing a link with Liverpool.

Renaming

A bill to build an extension, designed by Thomas Brassey, to Stockport was authorised on 4 August 1853 also renamed the railway company to the Warrington and Stockport Railway.

Opening

The Warrington and Stockport Railway (W&SR) was opened on 1 November 1853 from a temporary station at Wilderspool in Warrington to a station at Altrincham which later became Broadheath. Delays in the delivery of iron work for the bridges over the Mersey and Bridgewater Canal meant that the line was initially isolated from the rest of the railway network. The line was opened throughout from 1 May 1854 although passenger trains terminated at Broadheath until the W&SR and MSJAR could agree on charges for passengers travelling beyond there to Manchester via Timperley.

A link with Stockport was achieved when the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway (ST&AJ) opened its line on 1 February 1866 from Broadheath Junction on the W&SR to Skelton Junction on the newly opened line from Deansgate Junction to Stockport.

The LNWR operated the line from opening and on 1 January 1861 bought it. On 9 July 1893 the line was re-routed to allow for the Manchester Ship Canal, which would open in 1894, the canal being crossed by the high level Latchford Viaduct.

Closure

Passenger trains on the line ended on 10 September 1962. The line to the east of Latchford closed completely on 7 July 1985. The line was still busy at this time but extensive (and costly) repairs would have been needed to the Latchford Viaduct for continued operation – these were deemed not to be economically justifiable given that the remaining freight traffic could be diverted via alternative routes and there was no desire to extend the Manchester tram system to Warrington.

Current status and future plans

The trackbed between Latchford and Broadheath now forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail. Current plans for HS2 show it may cross the line between Heatley and Carr Green.

In March 2015 a planning application was submitted to build up to 280 homes on the former route in Latchford.^[2] This would involve levelling the railway embankment to the west of Latchford viaduct. However as of 2020, nothing has been approved nor planned to continue due to the line being protected by the council.

In August 2019, the town council announced they were looking to build a mass transit network that would involve crossing the canal and have identified but yet to confirm it will go ahead. The line at Latchford. They also have announced in their proposal that any disused rail corridor in the borough is protected from development so it may be used again for either rail or different transport.^[3]

In March 2020, a bid was made to the Restoring Your Railway fund to get funds for a feasibility study into reinstating the line between Warrington and Stockport. This bid was unsuccessful.^[4]

In November 2021 the UK Government announced its Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, part of which proposes the reuse of part of the line to connect Liverpool to HS2 via Warrington and involves reinstating the low-level platforms at Warrington Bank Quay station^[5]

Stations

Related Research Articles

Altrincham is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Manchester, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Sale and 10 miles (16 km) east of Warrington. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 52,419.

Manchester Oxford Road railway station is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the second busiest of the four stations in Manchester city centre.

Timperley is a suburban village in the borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is approximately six miles southwest of central Manchester. The population at the 2011 census was 11,061.

There are various modes of transport available in Warrington.

Altrincham Interchange is a transport hub in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It consists of a bus station on Stamford New Road, a Northern Trains-operated heavy rail station on the Mid-Cheshire Line, and a light rail stop which forms the terminus of Manchester Metrolink's Altrincham line. The original heavy rail element of the station was opened by the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway as Altrincham and Bowdon railway station in April 1881, changing to Altrincham railway station in May 1974. The Metrolink element opened in June 1992. The Interchange underwent a complete redevelopment, at a cost of £19 million, starting in mid-July 2013. The new bus station opened officially on 7 December 2014.

The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an 8+1⁄2-mile (14 km) route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station in Manchester.

Brooklands is a tram stop and park and ride site on the Altrincham Line of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system in the Brooklands area of Sale. It opened on 15 June 1992 as part of Phase 1 of Metrolink's expansion.

The Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway(ST&AJR) was authorised by an Act of Parliament, passed on 22 July 1861 to build a 8 miles 17 chains (13.2 km) railway from Stockport Portwood to Altrincham.

Northenden railway station in Sharston, Manchester, England, was built by the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway (ST&AJ) and opened for passenger and goods traffic on 1 February 1866.

Baguley railway station was a station in the south of Manchester, England, at the extreme western edge of Baguley near the southern end of Brooklands Road where Shady Lane crossed the railway line.

Skelton Junction is a complex of railway junctions south of Manchester in Timperley, near Altrincham. The Cheshire Lines Committee's Liverpool to Manchester line, via the Glazebrook East Junction to Skelton Junction Line and the LNWR's Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway, fed into the junction from Liverpool in the west. The Manchester, South Junction, and Altrincham Railway provided a connection from the Altrincham direction and a short spur from Timperley towards Stockport, while the CLC's Stockport, Timperley, and Altrincham Junction Railway continued east to Stockport.

West Timperley railway station was situated on the Glazebrook East Junction–Skelton Junction line of the Cheshire Lines Committee between Glazebrook and Stockport Tiviot Dale. It served the locality between 1873 and 1964.

Broadheath (Altrincham) railway station served Broadheath and the northern part of Altrincham in Cheshire, England, between its opening in 1853 and closure in 1962.

Cheadle LNW railway station was a railway station that served Cheadle, Cheshire, England, between 1866 and its closure in 1917.

Dunham Massey railway station was a station in England, serving the Dunham Massey. The station opened in 1854 and closed in 1962.

Heatley & Warburton railway station was located in Heatley near Warburton, Greater Manchester. It opened in 1853 and closed in 1962.

Dunham W&SR railway station served Dunham Town between 1854 and closure in 1855.

The Glazebrook East Junction–Skelton Junction line was a railway line from Glazebrook to Skelton Junction in Greater Manchester. It connected the Cheshire Lines Committee main line from Liverpool Central to Manchester Central with lines in the Stockport area, allowing freight traffic to bypass central Manchester. It also carried a local passenger service between Stockport and Warrington Central until the early 1960s.

The Altrincham Line is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink running from Manchester to Altrincham in Greater Manchester. Originally a railway line, it was, along with the Bury Line, converted into a tramway during 1991–92, as part of the first phase of the Metrolink system.

This is a list of confirmed or proposed future developments of the Manchester Metrolink light rail system in Greater Manchester, England.

References

↑ Gandy, Gordon I. "Making Tracks, part 1". mywarrington.
↑ "planning application". Latchford housing development. 24 March 2015.
↑ "Uncertainty over future of disused railway line in Latchford". 20 August 2019.
↑ Restoring Your Railway Fund: bids received gov.uk
↑ "Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands" (PDF). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
↑ "Warrington Arpley". Disused stations.
↑ "Dunham Massey". Disused stations.
↑ "Broadheath]\". Disused stations.

Sources

Dixon, Frank (1994). The Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-454-7.
Holt, G.O. (1986). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain – vol.10 The North West. David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-34-8.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Gandy, Gordon I. "Making Tracks, part 1". mywarrington.

[2] "planning application". Latchford housing development. 24 March 2015.

[3] "Uncertainty over future of disused railway line in Latchford". 20 August 2019.

[4] Restoring Your Railway Fund: bids received gov.uk

[5] "Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands" (PDF). Retrieved 15 November 2023.

[6] "Warrington Arpley". Disused stations.

[7] "Dunham Massey". Disused stations.

[8] "Broadheath]\". Disused stations.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]