Boundary post, Cheshire Lines Committee, cast iron, Great Central Railway pattern, lettered "C.L.Comee", about 1900 to 1948.

Cheshire Lines Committee railway cast iron boundary post, probably dating from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

Boundary markers like this were used to clearly identify the limits of railway land and to distinguish them from adjacent property. They were typically used where it was difficult to install a fence or hedge, where there was a risk of encroachment by other landowners, or where there had been a dispute over land ownership. They also delineated one railway company’s territory from another’s, for instance to make it clear who was responsible for maintaining a particular stretch of line.

The Cheshire Lines Committee was formed in 1867 by the Great Northern Railway and Manchester, to compete with lines operated in Lancashire and Cheshire by the London & North Western Railway. The Committee was later joined by the Midland Railway. It operated over 140 miles (225 km) of railways, serving major towns and cities in the two counties, together with collieries and industry.

The Cheshire Lines Committee was in existence until 1948, when it was nationalised as part of British Railways.

The boundary marker is a practical design in cast iron, with the flat fronted notice mounted on a strong support. It has a base perpendicular to the column and would have been buried deep in the ground. The post is painted black, with the lettering and border picked out in white. The design was created by the Great Central Railway, the name by which the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway was known from 1897 onwards. It was probably made in a foundry at one of the Great Central’s works in either Gorton or Dukinfield in Manchester.