Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway

The Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway was an early British railway company operating in the then county of Lancashire. It was constructed to link the Cheshire Lines Committee railway at Aintree to Southport. It operated from 1884 to 1952.

Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
Overview
Locale	Lancashire Merseyside
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map Legend North Liverpool Extension Line Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston Rly Orrell Park Aintree Central Aintree Old Roan Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston Rly Sefton and Maghull Lydiate Altcar and Hillhouse Barton Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway Mossbridge Freshfield Woodvale Liverpool, Crosby & Southport Rly Ainsdale Ainsdale Beach Birkdale Palace Southport Lord Street This diagram: view talk edit

History

Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1881
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for making a Railway in Lancashire, to be called the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway; and for other purposes.
Citation	44 & 45 Vict. c. cxciii
Dates
Royal assent	11 August 1881
Text of statute as originally enacted

Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1882
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	45 & 46 Vict. c. cclxi
Dates
Royal assent	18 August 1882
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway was authorised by two acts of Parliament, the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. cxciii) of 11 August 1881 and the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. cclxi) of 18 August 1882, the first authorising the line as far as Birkdale and the second the remaining section to Southport Lord Street.^[1] It was promoted by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) and was a natural extension of their North Liverpool Extension Line to Southport.^[2][3]

Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1885
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to empower the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Company to raise further Money; to confirm Agreements with reference to the working of their Railway by the Cheshire Lines Committee; and for other purposes.
Citation	48 & 49 Vict. c. liii
Dates
Royal assent	25 June 1885
Text of statute as originally enacted

Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1889
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	52 & 53 Vict. c. lxx
Dates
Royal assent	9 July 1889
Text of statute as originally enacted

Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1892
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to confer further powers on the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Company and for other purposes.
Citation	55 & 56 Vict. c. xcv
Dates
Royal assent	20 June 1892
Text of statute as originally enacted

The 14 miles 3 chains (22.6 km) line was built as a double track railway opening on 1 September 1884. The line was worked by the CLC under arrangements made in its acts of Parliament, these acts were ratified and amended by the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. lxx) to allow working with other companies.^[4]

The railway remained independent until nationalisation in 1948.^[4]

Route

• North Liverpool Extension Line
• Aintree Central, Aintree. 13 July 1880 – 7 November 1960.
• Southport Junction
• Junction with Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway
• Sefton and Maghull, Maghull. 1884–1952.
• Lydiate, Lydiate. 1884–1952.
• Altcar and Hillhouse, Altcar 1884–1952.
• Junction with Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway 1884.
• Mossbridge 1884–1917.
• Woodvale, Woodvale. 1884–1952.
• Ainsdale Beach, Ainsdale. 1901–1952.
• Birkdale Palace, Birkdale. 1884–1952.
• Southport Lord Street, Southport. 1884–1952.

Closure

Passenger services ended 7 January 1952 and goods six months later.^[4] The line remained in intermittent use from Aintree to Altcar and Hillhouse to provide access to private sidings until May 1960, when the line was finally lifted.

The route today

The trackbed forms part of National Cycle Network Route 62, the Trans Pennine Trail. From Woodvale northwards the trail is joined by the Southport Coastal Road.

In January 2019, the Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line which was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments).^[5]

The Trans-Pennine Trail at Maghull

Cycle Path

Trans-Pennine Trail

Cheshire Lines path, near Lydiate

Cheshire Lines Cycle-way