Higher Poynton
The site of the former station in 2010
General information
LocationPoynton, Cheshire East
England
Coordinates53°20′48″N 2°05′07″W / 53.3467°N 2.0853°W / 53.3467; -2.0853
Grid referenceSJ944833
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyMacclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
Pre-groupingMacclesfield Committee of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and North Staffordshire Railways
Post-groupingGroup Committee No. 1 of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and London and North Eastern Railways
Key dates
2 August 1869 (1869-08-02)Opened as Poynton[1]
13 April 1930Renamed Higher Poynton[1]
5 January 1970 (1970-01-05)Closed[1]

Higher Poynton was a railway station serving the eastern side of the town of Poynton in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1869 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) - a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR).

History

Initially, the station was known simply as Poynton; however, in some MS&L timetables, it was described as Poynton for Lyme Park.[1]

The station buildings were built to NSR designs, as were most other structures on the MB&M,[2] while train services were operated by the MS&L (later the GCR).[3]

Much of the goods revenue for the station came from the coal mines and, when these closed in the 1920s, the track on the spur leading off the line to the collieries was lifted.[4]

To avoid confusion with Poynton railway station, on the main line between Manchester Piccadilly and Stoke-on-Trent, the station was renamed Higher Poynton in 1930.[5] During the Second World War, the signal box at Higher Poynton was only operational as required for shunting; most of the time, it remained shut saving the need to employ three signalmen. The station also employed two female porters for the duration of the war and a short period after.[6]

The station closed in January 1970, when the line between Macclesfield and Marple closed; the buildings were demolished and the track was lifted by the end of spring 1971.[7]

Today

The trackbed now forms part of the Middlewood Way, a shared use path between Macclesfield and Marple; it was opened by David Bellamy in 1985.[8] A car park is located close by and the trackbed is a picnic site; the platforms are still extant, which walkers and cyclists use to pass through the former station site.[9]

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 Quick (2009), p. 213.
  2. ↑ Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 87.
  3. ↑ Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 200.
  4. ↑ Jeuda (1983), p. 35.
  5. ↑ Jeuda (1999), p. 44.
  6. ↑ Jeuda (1983), p. 39.
  7. ↑ Jeuda (1983), p. 54.
  8. ↑ Maconie, Stuart (2012). Never Mind the Quantocks. David & Charles. ISBN 978-1446301654. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Middlewood Way" (PDF). Cheshire East Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
Sources
  • Christiansen, Rex & Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5121-4.
  • Jeuda, Basil (1983). The Macclesfield, Bollington & Marple Railway: The Great Central and North Staffordshire Joint Railway. Eaton Press. ISBN 0904532-04-6.
  • Jeuda, Basil (1999). The Knotty, an illustrated survey of the North Staffordshire Railway. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1899889-01-3.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Middlewood Higher   Great Central Railway & North Staffordshire Railway
Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway
   Bollington
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