EUSTON-HOLYHEAD DIVERSIONS VIA MIDDLEWICH 5th/6th AUGUST 2017

by Dave Roberts

Here's our attempt to capture one of the  London Euston to Holyhead Virgin trains diverted via Middlewich on August 5th 2017. 
This is actually a still from a video which didn't quite work out due to low batteries in the camera.
The train (1D89 for those that like to know these things) reached Middlewich at around 5.15pm and is seen here travelling behind Brooks Lane. The building visible on the right with the steel framework on its roof is the old Murgatroyd's brine pump building, currently undergoing restoration and periodically open to the public. 
You can find out more about this historic structure here.
In the foreground is the ugly steel fencing erected by Network Rail a few years ago to keep people away from the railway track. At one time there was a local tradition, based on completely false information, that there was a 'right of way' alongside the line and many people used to walk their dogs there.*
There never was any 'right of way'. In fact, the 'dog walk' was for many years the 'salt siding' and was always railway property. Find out more about the salt siding here.

*Reports suggest that some people are still doing this, despite the added security. If this is true, these people are endangering their own lives and risking a £1000 fine for trespassing on the railway.

The Salt Siding 1969

Find out more about the campaign to bring passenger trains back to Middlewich (and Gadbrook Park) here


DIVERSIONS (AND FREIGHT) FOR SATURDAY 5th AUGUST COURTESY OF REAL TIME TRAINS.

DIVERSIONS FOR SUNDAY 6th AUGUST COURTESY OF IAN TRESMAN

These trains are also being diverted via Middlewich over the weekend of 12th/13th August