Railway Bridge 151A Over The Trent & Mersey Canal - Wheelock, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 07.794 W 002° 21.819
30U E 542577 N 5886909
This bridge over the canal used to carry the Sanbach Rail Line but this has now been converted to a rails to trails cycle route.
Waymark Code: WMW7RT
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/21/2017
Views: 0
The Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal was the UK's first long distance canal and as the name suggests was built to give a connection to the Rivers Trent and Mersey. (Access to the Mersey was actually via the Bridgewater Canal with some locks at Runcorn that no longer exist).
It opened in 1777 and is 93.5 miles (150.5 km) long and stretches from its connection with the Bridgewater Canal at Preston Brook to its connection with the River Trent at Derwent Mouth.
The Bridge
The bridge now carries a 2km section of national cycle route 5 and is known as Wheelock Cycle Trail. The route is then bisected by a golf course and then starts up again as another short section known as the Salt Trail. This is a clue to the original use of the railway bridge, which carried the Sandbach Line that was built to mainly carry salt as a bulk cargo.
"The North Staffordshire Railway Company was founded in 1845 and the Sandbach and Audley branch lines formed an important part of the company's early history.
An Act enabling the construction of the Sandbach line was passed in 1846. The first part of the line, including the goods depot at Ettiley Heath, opened in 1852 and the line was finally completed in 1858. The N.S.R. also had the advantage of controlling the Trent and Mersey Canal, which proved vital in the construction of the railway as many of the bulky materials were transported by narrow boat. The Sandbach line cost some £200,000 to construct.
Merritt, the engineer who was responsible for the construction of both the Crewe and Sandbach lines, had 540 men at work with 30 horses and 110 wagons. Originally the Sandbach line was used for goods traffic only, mainly salt being transported from Northwich and Middlewich to the Potteries, hence it's name today.
However, as people became more affluent they were able to afford the cost of train journeys, and passenger services were introduced on the 3rd July 1893, including Sunday day trips to Trentham Gardens, which became a regular service on the line. To cope with the additional demand a new station was opened at Hassall Green on the 17th April 1905. Passenger services eventually ended on the 28th July 1930, although the line continued in use for goods services only until 1970 when it finally closed."
link
The cycle trail over this bridge opened in September 2000.