Cheadle Heath was once a key junction station in south-west Stockport, positioned on the former Midland Railway main line between Manchester Central and London St Pancras, via New Mills, Peak Forest, Matlock and Derby. The station also connected with the Cheshire Lines Committee route to Glazebrook, providing onward services to Liverpool via Warrington Central.
During the 1960s, Cheadle Heath achieved particular prominence as the only intermediate stop on the Midland Pullman service between Manchester and London. Despite this prestige, the station closed to passengers in January 1967, followed by complete closure to goods traffic in July 1968.
The 1965 LCGB ‘High Peak Rail Tour’
On September 18, 1965, Cheadle Heath briefly returned to the spotlight when it was visited by the Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB) ‘High Peak Rail Tour’. The special had started from Waterloo behind No. 4472 Flying Scotsman, running via Reading, Birmingham Snow Hill, Shrewsbury and Crewe.
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At Cheadle Heath, motive power changed to ‘Jubilee’ Class No. 45705 Seahorse, which had come off Heaton Mersey shed to work the demanding leg to Aston, travelling via Matlock, Derby and Lichfield.
Although officially allocated to Newton Heath from June 1964, Seahorse had been loaned to Trafford Park and was frequently diagrammed on the 8.00am Buxton Midland to Manchester Central commuter service, returning on the 5.22pm, both of which remained steam-hauled until the end of timetabled services on the route in 1966.
A Volcanic Departure
Cheadle Heath lay at the foot of an almost continuous 17-mile climb to Peak Forest via Chinley, with gradients reaching 1-in-87. Southbound trains could normally take advantage of the station’s straight platform 2, but the railtour departed instead from the curved platform 4, serving the Liverpool lines.
The result was a dramatic and powerful departure as Seahorse hauled the heavy train across the junction, under the Edgeley Road bridge and past Cheadle Heath South signal box. Trains of similar weight would usually have been entrusted to a 9F or a pair of Black Fives.
Although Seahorse successfully reached Aston, it is said the effort took its toll. The locomotive was withdrawn at Trafford Park on November 10, 1965, following work on that morning’s Buxton service and the previous evening’s Manchester return.
The Line After Closure — and a Modern Echo
The line from Manchester to Cheadle Heath finally closed in August 1969 and was lifted the following year. However, part of the route found new life in 2013, when it reopened as far as East Didsbury for Metrolink tram services, with the possibility of a future extension through Cheadle Heath to Hazel Grove.
While the station site itself has been redeveloped, a section of the former Liverpool route remains in use as a single-track freight-only line, running from Northenden Junction to Hazel Grove High Level Junction. This line continues to carry limestone trains from Buxton quarries to chemical plants near Northwich.
On August 2, 2025, a modern counterpart to the 1965 scene was captured when No. 57313 Scarborough Castle hauled the ‘Northern Belle’ under the Edgeley Road bridge with the 18.14 return from Llandudno Junction to Hull, assisted at the rear by No. 47815 Great Western. Today, the bridge stands as the last clear reference point to the historic steam-era photograph, with much of the surrounding infrastructure removed and nature reclaiming the lineside.
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