Cheshire Lines Railway 1865 - 1948

Was the second largest joint railway company in Britain. Initially, the Cheshire Lines group had been formed by a joint committee of the Great Northern Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) in 1862 to regulate traffic on four proposed lines in Cheshire (listed below). This was made official by the Great Northern (Cheshire Lines) Act of 1863. The Midland Railway (MR) became an equal partner under the Cheshire Lines Transfer Act of 1865. Its purpose was to gain control of lines in Lancashire and Cheshire, an area which was dominated by the LNWR. In 1923 the Midland Railway, along with the LNWR, was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, while the MS&LR (by then the Great Central Railway) became part of the London and North Eastern Railway. The line continued to be joint, with a 1/3 share LMS and a 2/3 share by the LNER. On nationalisation in 1948, both parent companies became part of British Railways, and shortly afterwards, operation of the CLC's lines came under the control of the London Midland Region.