Greenbank railway station
Encyclopedia
Greenbank railway station serves the village of Hartford
, Cheshire
as well as the Castle area of Northwich
, Cheshire
, England
. The station is situated on the A559 road from Northwich
to Chester
.
. The Greenbank public house is next to the station and Mid Cheshire College
is about 400 metres away. The station buildings are presently used as a Christian church. There is a free car park. There is a public phone box opposite the station, a row of shops nearby, and a garage opposite the college. Hartford railway station
is about one mile (1.6 km) to the west with trains to Liverpool
, Runcorn
, Winsford
, Crewe
and Birmingham
.
On Sundays the trains run every two hours each way and the eastbound service runs through to Southport
. There is no ticket office, ticket machine, PA system or information screen at the station.
The majority of trains used on the line are Class 142
or Class 150
, together with the occasional Class 156
.
, a constituent of the Cheshire Lines Committee
(CLC) and opened to passengers on 22 June 1870. The CLC continued to operate both goods and passenger services from the station, unaffected by the railway grouping of 1923, until the railway nationalisation of 1948. The station name was Hartford and Greenbank until 7 May 1973 when British Railways renamed the station Greenbank, to avoid confusion with the nearby Hartford station. Greenbank was served by CLC trains from Manchester Central
via Northwich to Chester Northgate railway station
. From the closure of Northgate station on 6 October 1969, trains from Greenbank were diverted to Chester railway station
, previously Chester General.
CLC trains were headed by locomotives in LNER livery. A link to LMS service
was made by a shuttle service to LMS Acton Bridge using LMS stock. This service was nicknamed " The Dodger"
Hartford, Cheshire
Hartford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies at the intersection of the A559 road and the West Coast Mainline and is less than south west of the town of Northwich...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
as well as the Castle area of Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The station is situated on the A559 road from Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
.
The station today
The train service runs east to west between Manchester Piccadilly and ChesterChester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
. The Greenbank public house is next to the station and Mid Cheshire College
Mid Cheshire College
Mid Cheshire College is a further education college. Its main campus is in the village of Hartford, Cheshire. John Reilly is the college principal. He joined the college in 2002 after leaving the Tameside College in East Manchester where he was Director of Development...
is about 400 metres away. The station buildings are presently used as a Christian church. There is a free car park. There is a public phone box opposite the station, a row of shops nearby, and a garage opposite the college. Hartford railway station
Hartford railway station
Hartford railway station is in the village of Hartford, in Cheshire, England. It is situated on the A559 road approximately two miles west of the town of Northwich.-Current station operations:...
is about one mile (1.6 km) to the west with trains to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
, Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
, Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Current train services
The service to and from Manchester Piccadilly and Chester on weekdays and Saturdays is basically hourly (with a couple of weekday peak period extras to/from Stockport).On Sundays the trains run every two hours each way and the eastbound service runs through to Southport
Southport railway station
Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. It is at the end of one of the branches of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, and at the end of the Manchester-Southport Line which runs via Wigan...
. There is no ticket office, ticket machine, PA system or information screen at the station.
The majority of trains used on the line are Class 142
British Rail Class 142
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984....
or Class 150
British Rail Class 150
The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...
, together with the occasional Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...
.
Station history
The station was built by the West Cheshire RailwayWest Cheshire Railway
The West Cheshire Railway was an early railway company based in Cheshire England.-Early Company history:The WCR was incorporated on 11 July 1861. In 1861, the WCR requested powers to construct a line from Northwich to Chester, with a branch to Helsby, but parliamentary approval was received only...
, a constituent of the Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
(CLC) and opened to passengers on 22 June 1870. The CLC continued to operate both goods and passenger services from the station, unaffected by the railway grouping of 1923, until the railway nationalisation of 1948. The station name was Hartford and Greenbank until 7 May 1973 when British Railways renamed the station Greenbank, to avoid confusion with the nearby Hartford station. Greenbank was served by CLC trains from Manchester Central
Manchester Central railway station
Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester City Centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it now houses an exhibition and conference centre named Manchester Central.-History:...
via Northwich to Chester Northgate railway station
Chester Northgate railway station
Chester Northgate is a former railway station in Chester, Cheshire that was a terminus for the Cheshire Lines Committee and Great Central Railway...
. From the closure of Northgate station on 6 October 1969, trains from Greenbank were diverted to Chester railway station
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
, previously Chester General.
CLC trains were headed by locomotives in LNER livery. A link to LMS service
was made by a shuttle service to LMS Acton Bridge using LMS stock. This service was nicknamed " The Dodger"