Chester to Runcorn (via Halton Curve) - trip report

[Green Lane]

Hello again! Today was the day I'd picked to do the Halton Curve for the first time ever.

Got up at 06:00 and out of the house by 06:30 for a brisk walk down to the station. Today, I would be using a pre-paid Merseytravel All-zones Saveaway ticket in conjunction with a single rail ticket from Chester to Runcorn.

Bit of a hazy morning as I took this photo around 06:40 en-route to the station (Frodsham Street, Higher Tranmere. Quite an apt street name, as I would shortly travel through Frodsham itself!).

Arrived Green Lane 06:47:-

Was very quiet at Green Lane station. Just one other passenger on the other platform, going in the Liverpool direction. Even the pigeons hadn't got up yet!

Was completely depending on the 06:54 service to Chester turning up as the one after would have been slightly too late to make the connection. Normally I would get one train earlier than needed to be on the safe side, but I just didn't fancy having to get up even another half-an-hour earlier this time. It would have been too long waiting around at Chester. In any event, there was no cause for concern, the Merseyrail train was completely on time, getting me to platform 7b at Chester around 07:25 or so:-

I immediately approached the departures board to find out which platform the Runcorn service would be starting from:-

Nice one, the bay platform 5. So all I needed to do was walk down a bit from where I already was. I had a good idea it would be on this side of the station at least, due to the track layout.

The unit was 150138 (shown on right here):-

Had "Ellesmere Port" on the rear destination blind and "Liverpool" on the front one. I take it the train runs ECS to Liverpool anyway after the passenger service terminates at Runcorn.

More pics of the train:-

Next I got chatting to a gentleman, also with a camera who was also doing this route for the first time. He asked me if I was getting on the "ghost train" (as these services are known on a particular website). He was from Runcorn, and we had a good chat throughout the journey. He was later to get a bus back to Chester to pick his car up.

Apart from us two, I'd estimate something like another three or four passengers boarded the service, although I wasn't paying too much attention.

And we were shortly on our way.

Some interior shots:-

Shots taken through the train Windows:-

Passing through Helsby:-

A56 road bridge crosses the Weaver Navigation at Sutton Weaver (I'd crossed that bridge on foot a few days earlier):-

Obligatory shots as we depart the main line and get on to the actual Halton Curve:-

Clifton roundabout:-

Crossing the M56:-

Approaching the Liverpool branch of the WCML, just south of Runcorn station:-

Arriving at Runcorn (bad sun angle for a shot from this window!):-

We alighted at Runcorn, as required:-

No sooner had we got off, then the train departed - it did not hang around!

Next my mission was to get back into the Merseytravel PTE area where my Saveaway ticket would be valid (preferably without spending any further money ).

As planned, my task was to therefore walk across the Runcorn-Widnes bridge over the Mersey and get not to the near Widnes station, but to the further Hough Green station, where Saveaway tickets are valid, and so I went on my way:-

Leaving Runcorn station

Footbridge alongside the Road bridge

Looking back the way I had just walked

Arriving at Hough Green around 09:30

From Hough Green, I could have easily got any train back home, but being in possession of a valid Saveaway ticket and having some free time today, I instead travelled to Liverpool South Parkway, where I then got further trains in order to do the further following walks, Maghull-> Kirkby via Melling, Thatto Heath->St Helens Central->St Helens Junction and finally walking Ellesmere Port->Capenhurst before finally getting the train back to Green Lane and getting home around 18:00 and eager again to check out my photos from the day. In fact at Ellesmere Port, by pure chance I again saw the Helsby train come in!

Overall an excellent day was had and I added one more ticket to my "A4 frame of obscure journeys":-

So, five down, four to go to fill the frame. I feel I may have to travel a little further afield to find the next obscure journey!

As an amusing aside, I walked right past the Halton curve and even photographed it earlier this week. Although I did not even know it was the Halton Curve itself I had actually photographed until I later got home and checked out the OS map. I then confirmed to my surprise that it was the curve itself! (At the time, I had just assumed it was some old freight line, I had snapped). These photos are below:-

Halton curve, photographed from Beechwood Road, Runcorn

Halton curve passes over Halton Station Road, Runcorn

As always, thanks for reading.

 

[142094]

Good report - did that bit on my trip over to the NW earlier in the summer. Only a few people on, no doubt bashing the route. We were held before going onto the curve for some reason, meaning got into Runcorn late, then had to get a taxi over to Runcorn East for connection to Warrington.

 

[Green Lane]

Good report - did that bit on my trip over to the NW earlier in the summer. Only a few people on, no doubt bashing the route. We were held before going onto the curve for some reason, meaning got into Runcorn late, then had to get a taxi over to Runcorn East for connection to Warrington.

Thanks for the reply!

This was one journey where, in my particular case I wouldn't have minded getting held up on the signals (as I was in no rush on the day), but alas we just went right through the whole route without stopping. The journey just seemed so quick, I could hardly believe that we'd arrived in Runcorn so soon!

As for Runcorn East, last time I alighted there (about two years ago IIRC), I did have a plan to walk through to Runcorn station and head back home from there.

In the event, I took a wrong turn somewhere on one of those many unmarked footpaths, and ended up sort of trapped in the Windmill Hill housing estate, with a canal on one side and an inaccessible busway on the other!

After finally finding my way back out, I ended up returning back to Runcorn East as I'd used up so much time walking in the wrong direction. Still it was enjoyable as it was a nice day and I saw parts of Runcorn I'd never otherwise have seen. The "new" parts of Runcorn seem to have lots of nice green spaces and trees and a philosophy of separating pedestrians from road traffic. It's a nice idea, but it's fair to say I was not fully prepared for what it was like, I'd never really seen anywhere with that sort of planning before.

Nowadays, I never hike around new places without a relevant street atlas and/or an OS map. Preferably a compass too!

Still I would like to go back and do that walk from Runcorn East to Runcorn station again at some point. I'm slightly more familiar with Runcorn now than I was back then. Although, it would not present the opportunity to use any stations I haven't already visited, so no longer seems very exciting to me from a rail perspective. For further interesting rail-trips, I'm going to have to investigate further limited-service stations - or even better any further lines with limited services. Preferably ones I can easily do within a day-trip.

One thing about travelling on the Halton Curve though - it does make you realise first-hand what a potentially useful route it would be if fully restored.

Chester-Runcorn (via Liverpool) on average 1h 20m, but via the Halton curve, just 20 minutes.

I have already read many times about its potential usefulness on these forums, but when you actually travel on it, you almost feel like joining the campaign for its re-opening.