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'''The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway''' (MB&MR) was a railway line linking Macclesfield with Marple, opened in 1869 by Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and North Staffordshire Railway (NSR), as a part of an alternative link between Manchester and places south of Macclesfield. The line closed in 1970 and its route is now a trail used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders. |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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! colspan="2" | Phase 1 |
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|| Bury – Victoria || {{convert|9.9|mi|km|1}} |
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|| Victoria – G-Mex || {{convert|1.9|mi|km|1}} |
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|| Spur to Piccadilly station || {{convert|0.4|mi|km|1}} |
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|| G-Mex – Altrincham || {{convert|6.5|mi|km|1}} |
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! colspan="2" | Phase 2 |
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|| Cornbrook – Broadway || {{convert|1.9|mi|km|1}} |
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|| Broadway – Eccles || {{convert|2.2|mi|km|1}} |
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Revision as of 17:37, 8 January 2008
{{User Sandbox}
| Phase 1 | |
|---|---|
| Bury – Victoria | 9.9 miles (15.9 km) |
| Victoria – G-Mex | 1.9 miles (3.1 km) |
| Spur to Piccadilly station | 0.4 miles (0.6 km) |
| G-Mex – Altrincham | 6.5 miles (10.5 km) |
| Phase 2 | |
| Cornbrook – Broadway | 1.9 miles (3.1 km) |
| Broadway – Eccles | 2.2 miles (3.5 km) |
History
In 1840s and 1850s NSR was trying to find a route from Macclesfield to Manchester independent of London and North West Railway (L&NWR), which insisted on any NSR's traffic going via Crewe, thus ensuring a higher L&NWR mileage and charges.
In 1863 Thomas Oliver, a Macclesfield businessman, promoted a scheme for a local line from Macclesfield via Bollington to Marple where it would connect with MS&LR. The line was hoped to revive Bollington's cotton industry, carry the stone from local quarries, and serve the collieries around Poynton.
The MS&LR seized on this scheme, seeing in the line another outlet for their. to the south, and the start of a possible independent extension to London. The line was authorised in 1864, with the MS&LR and NSR empowered to subscribe £80,000 each for its construction, and to operate and maintain it when open. But then the L&NWR, surprised by the success of the MB&MR, came to an amicable traffic agreement with the NSR thus the original purpose of the line - to provide the NSR with an independent route to Manchester - was lost. In these circumstances, and in the general trade depression of the mid-1860s the construction was very slow. The single-track line opened on 2 August 1869 for passengers only, goods traffic started on 1 March 1870 and in 1871 the line was doubled throughout.
Stations
When the line was opened, there were five stations on the line: Marple (Rose Hill), High Lane, Higher Poynton, Bollington and Macclesfield. In 1879 a station was opened at Middlewood .
Line closure
In the 1960s, the services on the ex-MB&MR line (in 1948 absorbed by the London Midland Region of British Railways were heavy loss makers. The line was closed on 5 January 1970 and track lifting south of Rose Hill was completed by March 1971. The stations at Higher Poynton and Bollington were demolished shortly thereafter, and High Lane Station however remained derelict for seven years after closure, until demolished in 1977.
Present-day use
The trackbed was turned into a "linear park" between Macclesfield and Rose Hill Marple, officially opened on 30 May 1985.
References
http://www.marple-uk.com/railways/c05_01.htm
http://www.happy-valley.org.uk/streets/grimshaw.htm ??
http://www.brocross.com/poynton/book/book9.htm
http://www.greatorme.org.uk/knottystudy.htm
