Manchester South Union Railway
The second Manchester-backed scheme was the Manchester South Union Railway, with George Stephenson as engineer.
Stephenson had been involved in surveys both for a line between Manchester and Stockport and for a locally-supported line to connect the Potteries to the Grand Junction line – a scheme which had provoked counter-proposals from the Grand Junction Railway.
Now Stephenson came up with a much larger scheme, for a main line from Manchester via Stockport, Macclesfield, and the Harecastle valley to a junction with the Grand Junction line near Stafford.
Shortly afterwards the company changed its plans significantly, looking for a route south independent of the Grand Junction. To achieve this it choose a line diverging from the earlier one just south of Macclesfield and running through the Churnet valley and Leek to a junction at Burton-on-Trent with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway then also being planned. A branch from Leek across to the Grand Junction line would have served the Potteries. These developments meant that it was too late for the company to bring forward a Bill for the 1836 session.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Virgin Trains Media Room