Liverpool to Manchester (CLC) home

In the mid-1850s, the London & North Western Railway dominated the railway trade between the cities, with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway coming second. However, with trade on the increase, other companies, notably the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway, were keen to find a way of capturing some of the market

It was these two companies, later joined by the Midland Railway that created what was to become England's largest joint railway company, Cheshire Lines (CLC)

As with the other lines between the two cities, it was the result of an amalgamation of several pieces of railway. The first part to open was from Brunswick to Garston in 1864, as part of the Garston & Liverpool Railway, supported by the Great Northern Railway and the St Helens Canal & Railway

The major stretch was opened in 1873, from Cressington (between Garston and Liverpool) to Cornbrook in Manchester, trains running into Oxford Road and London Road stations

Later, small parts at each end opened, from Brunswick to Liverpool Central in the west (1874) and from Cornbrook to the temporary station for Manchester Central in the east (1877)

Lastly, in 1880, the small section to the permanent station in Manchester opened

Like many lines, history sometimes repeats itself. While it is possible to travel over most of the route today, it is the part at the ends - the last bits to be completed - that no longer exist

Hence, Liverpool trains run into a new low-level station approximately under the site of the former Central station, which is now a shopping mall. At the other end in Manchester, trains no longer grace Central station (now an exhibition centre) but run to Oxford Road and Piccadilly (formerly London Road) much as they did at the opening

Liverpool to Manchester (CLC) (1864 - )

Liverpool to Manchester (CLC)
(1864 - )