Sealand railway station

Sealand was the final station on the former Chester & Connah's Quay Railway between Chester Northgate and Hawarden Bridge. 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
LocationSealand, Flintshire
Wales
Coordinates53.2235°N 3.0045°W / 53.2235; -3.0045
Grid referenceSJ330700
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Central Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Central Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
17 June 1918 (1918-06-17)Station opened as Welsh Road Halt
14 September 1931Renamed Sealand
9 September 1968 (1968-09-09)Station closed

History

The station was opened on 17 June 1918[1] by the Great Central Railway for WWI 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
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
  1. Mitchell & Smith 2013, fig. 62
  2. "Station Name: SEALAND". Disused Stations. 15 August 2009.
  3. "Shotton Steelworks and Garden City". Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  4. Oppitz 1997, p. 111

Sources
  • 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.
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