Sealand, in Flintshire, Wales, was the final station on the former Chester & Connah's Quay Railway between Chester Northgate in Cheshire, England and Hawarden Bridge in Flintshire. Services also passed through this station before joining the North Wales and Liverpool Railway. Located 200 metres (660 ft) west of the A550 near RAF Sealand, the station was just before a triangular junction at Dee marshes which controlled rail services from North Wales, Liverpool and Cheshire.
Sealand | |
|---|---|
 Site of Sealand railway station near former RAF Sealand in 2006 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Sealand, Flintshire Wales |
| Coordinates | 53°13′25″N 3°00′16″W / 53.2235°N 3.0045°W |
| Grid reference | SJ330700 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Great Central Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Central Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 17 June 1918 | Station opened as Welsh Road Halt |
| 14 September 1931 | Renamed Sealand |
| 9 September 1968 | Station closed |
History
editThe station was opened on 17 June 1918[1] by the Great Central Railway for First World War military personnel based at Sealand Camp. The station, which was originally called Welsh Road Halt, had two adjacent side platforms.[2] It was renamed Sealand in September 1931.
From this station, services from North Wales could either terminate at Chester Northgate Station, the Chester terminus of the Cheshire Lines Committee, or continue on the through line to Manchester Central. Services to and from Liverpool via Bidston used the Grand Central line until joining the Chester & Connah's Quay railway at Dee Marsh junction.
Passenger services ceased on 9 September 1968[1] when the station was completely closed. The 20-lever signal box continued being used until 14 September 1981.[1]
Even though steelmaking operations at the Corus plant at Shotton ceased in March 1980,[3] freight continued to pass the former station on a double-tracked line until 20 April 1984. Goods services resumed on a single-track line on 31 August 1986 before final closure in the early 1990s.[2][4] The trackbed is now a cycle way.
Services
edit| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saughall | Chester & Connah's Quay Railway | Hawarden Bridge railway station | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Saughall | Great Central Railway | Chester Junction Golf Club Platform | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c Mitchell & Smith 2013, fig. 62
- ^ a b "Station Name: SEALAND". Disused Stations. 15 August 2009.
- ^ "Shotton Steelworks and Garden City". Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ^ Oppitz 1997, p. 111
Sources
edit- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Wrexham to New Brighton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781908174475. OCLC 859543196.
- Oppitz, Leslie (1997). Cheshire Railways Remembered. Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-458-0.