#ThrowbackThursday , some #history of Sandbach - to date!

#Wheelock & #Sandbach railway station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) to serve the #Cheshire village of Wheelock.

It was originally conceived as a line to connect Stoke-upon-Trent with #Liverpool (an idea later abandoned) the short (6.5 miles) line from #Lawton Junction to Ettiley Heath was opened as a goods traffic only line in 1852. Subsequently, the line was extended to join with the #London and North Western Railway at Sandbach in 1866.

Towards the end of the 19th century the NSR decided to introduce a passenger service on the line, and Wheelock railway station was opened in July 1893 as the terminus of the new service from #Harecastle, from #Kidsgrove.

The passenger service was not large, and there were only three trains each way per day. Extra services were provided for the Thursday (market day which took place in Sandbach) and Saturday, but there was no Sunday service.

By August 1927, the passenger service had been reduced to just Thursday and Saturday, three years later in June 1930, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway decided to withdraw the passenger service from 28 July 1930. So, its been closed for a long time.

The station buildings still survive sitting on the road from Wheelock village to Sandbach. To date the building is being used as a tyre-fitting business, and below, the trackbed forms part of the National Cycle Network route 5.