Middlewood Higher railway station

Middlewood Higher
Former site on the Middlewood Way
Location
Place	Middlewood
Area	Cheshire East
Coordinates	53°21′36″N 2°05′02″W / 53.3599°N 2.0838°W / 53.3599; -2.0838Coordinates: 53°21′36″N 2°05′02″W / 53.3599°N 2.0838°W / 53.3599; -2.0838
Grid reference	SJ945847
Operations
Original company	Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
Pre-grouping	Macclesfield Committee of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and North Staffordshire Railways
Post-grouping	Group Committee No. 1 of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and London and North Eastern Railways
Platforms	2
History
1 April 1879 (1879-04-01)	Opened as Middlewood[1]
25 July 1951	Renamed Middlewood Higher[1]
7 November 1960 (1960-11-07)	Closed[1]
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Middlewood Higher railway station was a railway station serving the village of Middlewood in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1879 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) – a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR).

The station owed its existence more to the desire to create an interchange between the MB&M and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) route between Stockport and Buxton. Without the interchange people wishing to travel between Macclesfield and Buxton had to travel to Stockport to change trains to then travel back on themselves to get to Buxton.^[2] The board of the MB&M proposed to the LNWR that both companies should open a station where the two lines crossed at Middlewood to allow passengers to save a considerable distance and time in their travel, the LNWR agreed and both the MB&M station, known simply as Middlewood and the LNWR's Middleton for Norbury station opened on 1 April 1879, connected by a flight of steps.^[3]

While this allowed for passenger interchange, the layout did not allow for good interchange and in 1882 discussion started on connecting the two lines by a rail link. The NSR and the LNWR agreed terms but the MS&L could not agree running powers with the LNWR so the NSR and LNWR agreed to proceed on their own.^[3] The resulting section of line known as the Middlewood curve opened on 20 May 1885.^[4] Most train services on the MB&M were run using MS&L engines and rolling stock but because of the running power agreement, services between Macclesfield and Buxton were provided by the NSR.^[5]

The station buildings including the platforms were all of timber construction and was built on an embankment. This made is susceptible to subsidence and landslips and in 1955 part of the down (towards Manchester) platform and the waiting shelter were lost when the embankment collapsed. As the usage of the station was not high replacing the lost section was considered uneconomic and reconstruction was not carried out.^[6]

As the station served a sparsely populated area and there were two other stations (Higher Poynton and High Lane) close by, the number of people using the Middlewood Higher (as it been renamed in 1951) was not high and in 1960 after consultation, the station closed.^[6]

When all of the MB&M closed in 1970 the track was lifted, although the bridge across the Buxton line remains and the trackbed now forms part of the Middlewood Way, a recreational path between Macclesfield and Marple.^[7]

References

Notes

Sources

• Christiansen, Rex & Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5121- 4. 
• Jeuda, Basil (1983). The Macclesfield, Bollington & Marple Railway: The Great Central and North Staffordshire Joint Railway. Eaton Press. ISBN 0904532 04 6. 
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.