Index
Widnes Loop
(1877 - 1964)
By the 1870's the LNWR had a monopoly on the town of Widnes as it owned the west to east Ditton Junction to Manchester via Warrington and Lymm line and the north to south St Helens to Widnes (former Runcorn Gap) line
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was granted powers to build a new railway from Garston to Manchester (opened August 1 1873) which passed to the north of the town. Industrialists in Widnes lobbied for a loop line to be built that would branch off this new line to the east of Widnes at Barrow's Green, pass south and then run through the town before turning north and joining back up with the CLC main line at Hough Green
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) objected to this new line being in the ownership of the CLC. It was therefore built as a joint Manchester Sheffield Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) & Midland Railway (MR) line and opened for goods traffic on April 3 1877
Primarily a goods line it was originally provided with one station at Widnes Central which opened on August 1 1879. Later another station Tanhouse Lane would open to the east of Widnes Central in 1890
The Reshaping of British Railways ('Beeching') report of 1963 recommended the closure of the line as a through route; only the yard at Tanhouse Lane would be retained, but served from the former LNWR Widnes - St Helens line
The last passenger services ran on October 3 1964 and the last through goods train on December 6 1964
The following year all tracks were lifted except for sidings at Tanhouse Lane which remained in use until 2000. The track at the yard was lifted in 2008 and the area landscaped as Moss Bank Park with a short section of track retained as a feature of interest
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was granted powers to build a new railway from Garston to Manchester (opened August 1 1873) which passed to the north of the town. Industrialists in Widnes lobbied for a loop line to be built that would branch off this new line to the east of Widnes at Barrow's Green, pass south and then run through the town before turning north and joining back up with the CLC main line at Hough Green
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) objected to this new line being in the ownership of the CLC. It was therefore built as a joint Manchester Sheffield Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) & Midland Railway (MR) line and opened for goods traffic on April 3 1877
Primarily a goods line it was originally provided with one station at Widnes Central which opened on August 1 1879. Later another station Tanhouse Lane would open to the east of Widnes Central in 1890
The Reshaping of British Railways ('Beeching') report of 1963 recommended the closure of the line as a through route; only the yard at Tanhouse Lane would be retained, but served from the former LNWR Widnes - St Helens line
The last passenger services ran on October 3 1964 and the last through goods train on December 6 1964
The following year all tracks were lifted except for sidings at Tanhouse Lane which remained in use until 2000. The track at the yard was lifted in 2008 and the area landscaped as Moss Bank Park with a short section of track retained as a feature of interest
| Station name | Opened | Closed to passengers |
Goods closed |
| Tanhouse Lane | Sep 1890 | Oct 1964 | 2000 |
| Widnes Central | Aug 1879 | Oct 1964 | |
| Hough Green | May 1874 |