Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway

The Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway was incorporated on 15 May 1860 to build a 2 miles 61 chains (4.4 km) railway from Stockport Portwood to a junction with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway's (MS&LR) authorised Newton and Compstall line at Woodley.[lower-alpha 1][1]

Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway

Overview
Locale	Cheshire
Dates of operation	1860–1867
Successor	Cheshire Lines Committee
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	2 miles 61 chains (4.4 km)

Stockport & Woodley Junction Railway
Woodley Hope Valley line Sheffield & Midland Rly Companies' Committee Bredbury Portwood Goods Stockport Tiviot Dale Wellington Road Goods Heaton Norris West Coast Main Line Stockport Edgeley West Coast Main Line Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway

History

The 1860 Act was promoted by landowners and supported by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) who, along with the Great Northern Railway (GNR) were allowed to subscribe.[lower-alpha 1][2]

Together the MSLR and GNR formed a joint committee to operate this railway along with three others that had been authorised but were not yet open.[lower-alpha 2] Together these railways connected up to provide an alternative route into North Cheshire that avoided Manchester.

Each company was to provide an equal amount of capital and four representatives to the joint management committee. This arrangement was confirmed by the Great Northern (Cheshire Lines) Act in Parliament in 1863.[lower-alpha 3] This Act had not, however, formally set up a separate legal body, providing instead for the two companies to manage and work the four railways through their existing structures.[3][4]

This arrangement eventually led to the formation of the Cheshire Lines Committee in 1865. The line was then formally brought under the direct joint ownership of the MS&LR and GNR in 1865 by the Cheshire Lines Transfer Act, 1865.[lower-alpha 4][3][4] The Act allowed the Midland Railway (MR) to join as an equal partner, which it did in 1866.[5] and finally The Cheshire Lines Committee was authorised by The Cheshire Lines Act, 1867 as a fully independent organisation with a board formed from three directors from each of the parent companies.[lower-alpha 5][6]

Lines around Woodley junction. Pre-grouping.

Opening

The Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway opened for passenger traffic on 12 January 1863 and for goods traffic in 1865.[7]

Route and stations

The railway terminated at Stockport Portwood which later became an end-on connection to the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway to the west. There were no other stations. At the other end the line terminated at Woodley Junction, 2 chains (40 m) short of MS&LR's Woodley station.[1][8]

References

Notes

1. "The Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway Act, 1860: An Act for authorizing the Construction of a Railway from Stockport to Woodley in the County of Chester; and for other Purposes. Local Act, 23 & 24 Victoria I, c. xvi". UK Parliamentary Archives. 1860. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
2. They were the Cheshire Midland Railway, the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway and the West Cheshire Railway
3. "Great Northern (Cheshire Lines) Act 1863: An Act to grant to the Great Northern Railway Company certain Powers with respect to the Stockport and Woodley Junction, Cheshire Midland, Stockport, Timperley, and Altrincham Junction, West Cheshire, and Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railways; and for other Purposes. Local Act, 26 & 27 Victoria I, c. cxlvii". UK Parliamentary Archives. 13 July 1863. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
4. "Cheshire Lines Transfer Act 1865: An Act to vest in the Great Northern, the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, and the Midland Railway Companies, jointly, the Stockport and Woodley Junction, the Stockport, Timperley, and Altrincham Junction, the Cheshire Midland, the West Cheshire, and the Garston and Liverpool Railways; and for other Purposes with respect to the said Undertakings. Local Act, 28 & 29 Victoria I, c. cccxxvii". UK Parliamentary Archives. 1865. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
5. "The Cheshire Lines Act 1867: An Act for incorporating the Cheshire Lines Committee, and for authorizing that Committee to make a new Road; and for other Purposes. Local Act, 30 & 31 Victoria I, c. ccvii". UK Parliamentary Archives. 1867. Retrieved 1 November 2019.

Citations

1. "Illustrated Interviews - No.23. - Mr. David Meldrum - Manager, Cheshire Lines". Railway Magazine. May 1899. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
2. Awdry 1990, p. 238.
3. Griffiths & Goode 1978, p. 3.
4. Dyckhoff 1999, p. 22.
5. Holt & Biddle 1986, p. 39.
6. Dyckhoff 1999, pp. 22-23.
7. Bolger 1984, pp. 16-17.
8. Butt 1995, p. 254.

Bibliography

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Bolger, Paul (1984). An illustrated history of the Cheshire lines committee. Heyday. ISBN 978-0-947562-00-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dyckhoff, Nigel (1999). Portrait of the Cheshire Lines Committee. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0711025215.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Griffiths, R. Prys; Goode, C.T. (1978). The Cheshire Lines Railway (Revised edition (1947) with additional notes ed.). Oakwood Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Holt, Geoffrey O.; Biddle, Gordon (1986). The North West. A Regional history of the railways of Great Britain. 10 (2nd ed.). David St. John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-34-1. OCLC 643506870.

External links

• Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway Company Records - The National Archives