Notes: Cadishead (1st) station was situated on the Cheshire Lines Railways (CLC) Glazebrook East Junction and Godley line. The CLC was a joint railway there being three partners the Great Northern Railway (GNR), the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the Midland Railway (MR). The section of line on which the station stood had opened from Cressington Junction to Skelton Junction on 1 March 1873 for goods services with passenger workings commencing on 1 August 1873. The line gave the CLC and its owning companies their own route to Liverpool. Previously they had had to operate over LNWR metals between Skelton Junction and Garston.

Cadishead station opened on 1 September 1873 when passenger services were introduced. It was located less than half a mile from Glazebrook East Junction where the Godley route diverged from the line to Manchester. In 1873 there was little settlement at Cadishead and the station had only basic facilities compared to mothers on the line. There was a much more substantial station, Irlam, less than half a mile away on the CLC Liverpool and Manchester line. Cadishead was situated on an embankment on the north-west side of a bridge which carried the line over Liverpool Road.

A short distance to the north-west of the station on the north side of the line there was a signal box that opened on 29 August 1873.

The station had two platforms that linked to the road by slopes and steps. The station was served by trains running between Stockport Tiviot Dale and Liverpool Central with some workings operating only as far as Warrington Central. Many express services passed through the station along with a steady stream of goods services.

The station was not well used as locals prefered to use Irlam and being un-economical it was closed on 1 August 1879. In 1893 the line on which the station stood was bypassed by a deviation located slightly to the south. The deviation was made necessary because of the building of the Manchester Ship Canal which required 75ft clearance for the ships that would use it. To gain that height the railway had to begin its climb from Glazebrook East Junction and by the time the deviation had reached the site of Cadishead station it was at a much higher elevation than the original line. The original line remained open until the deviation was completed and most services were switched to it on 29 May 1893. The Cadishead signal box closed on 28 May 1893 and the course of the original route was severed by the digging of the canal. It remained in use though on both sides of the Manchester Ship Canal to serve a coal loading basin. Goods trains therefore continued to pass through the site of Cadishead station.

The area had developed since 1879 and the CLC decided to provide Cadishead with a station once again this time on the new line. It opened on the 25 May 1893. The area developed even further with the opening of the Ship Canal. Over the years steel works and later chemical plants opened up. The Manchester Ship Canal Company also had their own industrial railway which was connected to the CLC by the original route up to Glazebrook East. At Glazebrook East Junction substantial areas of sidings developed.

The original line remained in use for goods services until September 1999. Interestingly it outlived the deviation by more than 15 years.

Sources:

• An Illustrated History of The Cheshire Lines Committee – P Bolger – Heyday Publishing Company 1984
• Bradshaws Rail Times December 1895 - Middlewood Press 2011
• Bradshaws Rail Times July 1922 - Guild Publishing 1986
  
• British Railways (London Midland Region) Timetable 23rd May to 25th Sept 1949
• British Railways (London Midland Region) Timetable 17th of Sept 1956 to 16th of June 1957
• British Railways (London Midland Region) Timetable 18th of June 1962 to 9th of September 1962
• Cheshire Lines Committee – Signal Box Register – M J Addison & J G Dixon - 1996
• LMS Time Table July 18th to September 11th 1932

To see the other stations on the Woodley - Glazebrook line click on the station name: Stockport Portwood, Stockport Tiviot Dale, Cheadle (Cheshire), Northenden, Baguley, West Timperley, Partington (1st), Partington (2nd) & Cadishead (2nd)

See also:

Glazebrook East Junction Sidings

Cadishead Manchester Ship Canal Bridge