MORE ON THE MAY DIVERSIONS

Voyager meets Voyager in the Middlewich loop, May 2014. The train on the left is heading for Euston via Crewe and, as can be seen, has a green light to proceed. The other train is heading for Holyhead via Chester and will also have a green light from  the signal on the right as the line via Northwich West Junction and Chester will be clear, at least as far as Northwich. These trains are 'crossing' in Middlewich, to use the correct railway term, with the Holyhead train being held at a red light until the Euston train arrives. In practice, as Charlie Hulme points out on his website, trains were arriving fifteen minutes early at this point, leading many to believe that some, at least, of the speed restrictions on the line are somewhat redundant. There have been a lot of improvements to both track and signalling in recent years. Just beyond the green light, which stands on the same spot as the old Middlewich signal box, is the site of the  LNWR Middlewich Station with the Holmes Chapel Road Bridge (or 'Station Bridge') at the top of the picture.
Photo: North Wales Coast Railway website/Greg Mape

 This sign is one of several placed on  the old Down platform at Middlewich by a former campaign member and catches the eye of many a passenger on diverted trains running via Middlewich. Sadly the website address is no longer valid although, obviously, anyone interested can always use Google to access the site you're looking at now and find out more about the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign. Significantly, although Network Rail track maintenance workers are frequently on site (they have an access staircase from Holmes Chapel Road leading down to the Up Platform), no one has seen fit to remove these signs as yet.
Photo: North Wales Coast Railway website/Simon Barber

Back in May 2014 many trains were diverted through Middlewich while engineering work took place on the Chester line.
As always Charlie Hulme and his excellent North Wales Coast Railway website were on the case and featured photographs of some of the diverted trains, including several taken at the Northwich end of our line.

You can see these photos at:

NORTH WALES COAST  RAILWAY NOTICEBOARD

(scroll down to 'Middlewich Diversions')

And while you're there take a look at some of the other 'Noticeboards' which, week after week, chronicle the news and events relating to the Crewe-Holyhead and related routes.

See also:

ONE OF MANY (VIDEO)
MORE MIDDLEWICH DIVERSIONS

ON THE MIDDLEWICH BRANCH 2003 with Charlie Hulme

The remains of the  up platform at the original Middlewich Station in 2003. The signal box stood where the grey radio frequency sign is in the middle of the photograph. A new colour light signal now occupies the same position. 

Charlie Hulme runs the excellent and highly regarded North Wales Coast Railway website. The Middlewich branch has close connections with the North Wales Coast route because it is  used by diverted London-Holyhead trains when engineering work makes the Crewe-Chester line unavailable.
In 2003 Charlie took a trip on one of these diverted trains and published a very interesting report, which our sister site, The Middlewich Diary, provided a link to, together with a direct link to the North Wales Coast Railway site itself.
There have been many changes since Charlie travelled along our line. The route has been completely resignalled,  many sections have been relayed with new track (including the 'old station' section as shown in Charlie's photo, above) and Albion Chemicals (formerly Murgatroyd's, BP, and Hays Chemicals, later Brenntag) has been largely demolished.
That little diesel shunter, though, as can be seen from the Middlewich Diary entry, survives in preservation and can now be found shunting passenger coaches in Swanage...

THE MIDDLEWICH DIARY: ON THE MIDDLEWICH BRANCH 2003