'Director' 4-4-0 no. 2652
Edwin A. Beazley stands beside a water-column at Northwich depot, situated next to the Cheshire Lines Committee station The first railway to reach the town was the
Cheshire Midland Railway (CMR) route from , which opened to traffic on 1 January 1863. The CMR was one of the constituent routes of the
Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) from its formation. The original CMR terminus station in Northwich was likely to be the building that became the goods station, but was replaced early, in 1869, as the continuing line towards Hartford was being constructed as part of the
West Cheshire Railway (WCR). Further lines to , via , which was opened in November 1867 by the
London and North Western Railway,
Helsby (the
West Cheshire Railway, opened in 1869) and a short goods branch to
Winnington (also opened in 1869) would complete the network of routes serving the area, with being served from May 1875. As a result, Northwich was served by no fewer than four different pre-grouping railway companies. The LNWR also operated a number of its Sandbach and trains forward by reversing at Northwich, then continuing from here to via
Hartford and Greenbank station (now known as
Greenbank) and the curve down to the
West Coast Main Line at Hartford Junction. The CMR built a two-lane engine shed and turntable in 1869; the shed was doubled in size in 1877 and rebuilt around 1948, before closing to steam engines in 1968 and diesel in 1982. Services were available to a variety of destinations. In 1872, most of the services were local, with nine daily trains each way to Manchester; both via the
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR) and via , and through services were available to and . Additional destinations were gradually added as they became available, including , , , and . Following the
1923 Grouping, Northwich remained a joint station; the CLC being jointly vested in the
LNER and
LMS, with the LMS taking over the Sandbach branch trains. Services to ended during
World War II, but the primary routes to Chester, Crewe and Manchester continued in use up to and after nationalisation in January 1948, when they became part of the London Midland Region of
British Railways (BR). BR withdrew passenger services from the Sandbach line and closed Middlewich station on 4 January 1960; thereafter the outer face of the southern
island platform at the station fell out of use, though the branch itself has continued in use for freight traffic and periodic passenger diversions. Services on the main Manchester to Chester route would continue but, from 1969, both terminals for this service would change following the closure of Manchester Central on 5 May and Chester Northgate on 6 October of that year. Trains henceforth ran to Manchester Oxford Road eastbound, and to the former GWR znd LNWR joint station at Chester General westbound. Since 1990 though, Manchester-bound trains have been diverted beyond to run via and to reach Manchester Piccadilly, as the former route via is now part of the
Manchester Metrolink tram network. In the December 2008 timetable, two additional weekday peak services to and from Stockport were added. On Sundays, a two-hourly service to Chester and Manchester was introduced, with the latter continuing to , via and . Prior to the new service, trains to Manchester had not operated on Sundays since the early 1990s. Passengers had to change at Altrincham onto the Metrolink to continue their journeys. Services beyond Manchester were terminated in the May 2010 timetable change, with all but two current trains now terminating at Manchester Piccadilly. Additional weekday peak services to/from Stockport were suspended in 2020, but were later reinstated. Part of the collapsed building was subsequently demolished and the station reopened two days later. In their 2022
Annual Health and Safety Report, the
Office of Rail and Road identified the cause as growth of vegetation in and around the building. ==Facilities==