Cheshire Best Kept Stations

John Hulme

Exciting News for our Cheshire Best Kept Stations ….

We have some exciting news to share!

If you’re heading to your local supermarket, be sure to pick up the July edition of Cheshire Life.

The front cover says it all:

“Action stations – Our railway series departs at Delamere.”

This is the first in a bi-monthly series of articles celebrating Community Rail at our Cheshire stations — our very own Cheshire Best Kept Stations!

Written by our Founder and President, John Hulme BEM, the series shines a light on the people and stories behind our stations.
John says:

“It’s been a great privilege to write for Cheshire Life, but none of this would be possible without the hard work of the station groups and the dedication of our rail staff to the stations.
Without your care, I wouldn’t have stories to tell.
We begin with Delamere on the Mid Cheshire Line – winners of the Cheshire West and Chester Award 2024.
It may be a small village station, but it has a remarkable story.
Thanks to the support of the Cheshire Life photographer, Kirsty Thompson, we’ve captured some fantastic images to bring it to life.”

👉 Click here to take a sneak peek at the six-page spread.

Coming up in the series:

  • September edition: Nantwich Railway Station – our 2024 Overall Winner
  • November edition: Altrincham Interchange– marking Remembrance and stories from the Great War

We’d love you to pick up a copy, have a read, and let us know what you think.

And if you have a story to share about your Cheshire station — we’d love to hear from you!

The magazine is available at supermarkets and newsagents across Cheshire, North Wales, and what many still call “Old Cheshire” – Warrington, Wirral, and Stockport.

If you’re outside the area, why not grab a copy when passing through a Cheshire station with a newsstand?

Or better still — subscribe!

Subscriber benefits:

  • Just over £3 per copy with a 12-month plan
  • Use code LOVE25 at checkout to get a £10 voucher (redeemable at Amazon, M&S, John Lewis, Waitrose and more)
  • Home delivery, plus exclusive invites to Cheshire Life events and newsletters
  • Access to the digital edition on smartphone, tablet and desktop
  • Explore 100’s of previous issues to browse and share
  • Subscriptions starting now will receive the September edition (and possibly August, depending on timing)

👉 Click here for full subscription details.

We’re very grateful to Joanne Goodwin, the editor of Cheshire Life, for inviting us to contribute to Cheshire’s top monthly magazine.

And finally — please help spread the word by sharing this exciting news on your own social media channels.

Goostrey Station are celebrating again! ….

Spring 2025 saw FoGS receiving more awards for our work to improve Goostrey station.

In February, we won the Community Engagement Award from Cheshire Best Kept Stations (CBKS) and so we have a tenth totem to display at the station.

This award recognised the variety of ways in which FoGS are involved with local people.

For example, we ran a stall at Rose Day and we contributed to Goostrey Parish Archive’s transport exhibition during Goosfest. We also helped Jodrell Side WI with their project to create a coronation wall-hanging.  And Debbie Goldsmith regularly leads workshops for children at Goostrey Art Studio and in towns like Crewe and Bury.

We were successful in the CBKS photo competition too.  ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ received enough votes from our supporters to secure second place.

In March, FoGS were invited to attend the 20th Community Rail Awards in Newcastle-on-Tyne, where we were competing against 75 Community Rail Partnerships and over 1000 volunteer groups.

Just over 50% of the 227 entries were shortlisted, including all four that FoGS submitted.

Through public voting we were placed third for our photo.  And we achieved enough points in the category It’s Your Station to be in the top 4 out of 40 volunteer groups, so we received a platinum certificate (unfortunately it wasn’t made of metal – just paper!).

 

200 Years of Modern Railways ….

2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway. In September 1825, the first public railway to use steam locomotives was opened, between Stockton and Darlington.

See the web-site Railway 200 for information about how this anniversary is being commemorated nationwide.

Locally, the Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) are developing several events to help celebrate Railway 200. These include an exhibition of rail-related poems, a joint “open day” with the miniature railway in Handforth’s Meriton Road Park (run by Handforth Model Engineering Society), a new stainless-steel “Railway 200 screen” to match their current “Millennium screen”, and a “Rail Ale Trail”. All profits from all events will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society, being the chosen charity of the Railway 200 organisation.

The Rail Ale Trail will be hosted by the stations between Manchester Piccadilly and Crewe (the Crewe to Manchester line). Many of these stations have “Friends of” groups, and FoHS are coordinating the organisation of the Rail Ale Trail. The Rail Ale Trail is intended to promote little-known attractions of each station and village/town, not least including at minimum one pub near each station.

The initial planning meeting for the Rail Ale Trail was hosted by FoHS in the Railway Pub (opposite Handforth Station) on Tuesday 18th February. Attendees included other “Friends of” groups on the line, representatives of two local CAMRA groups, the local Robinsons Brewery manager, and the Community Rail Officer for the Crewe to Manchester line. The landlady of The Railway, Sue Norman, provided the morning meeting with tea, coffee and biscuits.

Matthew Curtis, photographer and writer (and long-term CAMRA member) said “A rail trail is the perfect way to enjoy some of the best pubs and discover local beers and nuggets of history along the way.”

Hugh Everett, Secretary of the FoHS, added “This Rail Trail will be promoted all year, and we expect that it will continue for many years to come. It will allow people to appreciate the communities that have grown up around each of the stations since the Crewe to Manchester line was opened in 1842. After all, in North Cheshire we are very close to the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and home to several of its innovations.”

The Rail Ale Trail is expected to open in late Spring. Other Railway 200 events will run throughout 2025.

Joseph Harrop – half a century working on the railway ….

What a lovely surprise! Last year Lynn Gerber contacted Friends of Goostrey Station through our website friendsofgoostreystation.org because she thought we might be interested in a photo of her grandfather Joseph Harrop. Of course, we are!

Joseph was born in March 1895 and started work as a porter at Goostrey Station in January 1911. In the photo, Joseph is seated on the left of the bench.  But who are the other men? Could they be Mr Lockett, Mr Brandreth, Mr Thompson or Mr Wilde who were living in station cottages at the time of the 1911 census? If you can identify either of these people, please get in touch with FoGS chair Craig Sidebotham on 01477 544111.

In September 1914, at the start of WW1, Lynn’s grandfather volunteered for the Royal Marines and he was wounded at Gallipoli. On his return to civilian life at the end of the war, Joseph trained as a signalman at Eccles and he was subsequently employed at several stations on the Crewe-Manchester line. When the system was modernised in 1959, he changed job and became a porter again.

After WW2, Joseph received a commendation for his devotion to duty in Goostrey Home Guard. In 1927 he had joined the St John Ambulance and the training he received allowed him to lead the ambulance section.

On his 65th birthday, Joseph was given a gold wrist watch by British Rail. When he retired in October 1961, officials  presented him with a long-service certificate and he received a clock from the staff at Goostrey, Holmes Chapel and Sandbach stations.

Joseph’s granddaughter Lynn has provided FoGS with a precious glimpse into the life of someone who worked for half a century on the local railway. She described him as a lovely man who was well respected. He was an active member of the labour party and, as a keen gardener, he was also secretary of the Allotment Association and the Gooseberry Society.  She added that ’it’s a really nice feeling to know that my grandfather’s story is still being remembered’.