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uring the early 1840s

These two stations served the local community fairly well but the need to change trains was a great inconvenience for passengers and goods traffic. A joined-up station was preferred so a committee was formed to plan for a joint station run by the Great Western Railway Company and the London and North Western Railway Company. These two companies had taken over the C & B Railway and the C & C Railway because they had the financial power and influence to create an impressive joint station building which would enhance railway transport and create a major junction for both passengers and goods traffic.

On 1st August 1847 the foundation stone was laid for the new station with Thomas Brassey (left) as the railway builder and contractor and the chosen architect was the celebrated London-based Francis Thompson.

Construction work went ahead with a workforce of approximately 2000 comprising bricklayers, stonemasons, carpenters and joiners, roofers and plumbers as well as labourers and other workers, and within just one year the main station buildings were completed and a straight-through platform and two bay platforms were opened on 1st August 1848, to great acclaim by the local populace who could now travel from one main railway station to various destinations, including the North Wales Coast line (run by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company) and the Shrewsbury line (run by the Chester and Shrewsbury Railway Company). These were later taken over by the LNWR and GWR rspectively.

The important junction was developing rapidly with sidings, warehouses, signalboxes and two motive power depots for servicing the steam locomotives mainly of the GWR and LNWR companies.

As traffic increased during the 1860s and 70s, so did the need to accommodate the greater volume of passengers and freight, and the railway companies decided to extend the station and build two island platforms with two bays and also major buildings which were connected to the original station buildings by an impressive footbridge, which were all completed in 1890.

Right: the elegant interior of the new station in the mid-19th century

At its peak, in the Edwardian era 1901-1911, there were over 200 trains calling at the station and a staff of over 100 to cope with the demands of the passengers and goods traffic which also included the Royal Mail letters and parcels businesses.

During the First World War period, Chester station saw vast numbers of troops either going to the training camps in North Wales or travelling to the Western Fronts in either France or Belgium, many of whom, of course, would not be returning..

The inter-war years were still very busy but the rise of road transport was beginning to have an effect with, for example, trams and then later buses on the streets of the city, connecting the station with a direct service to the city centre and suburbs.

The Parliamentary Railways Grouping Act of of 1923 saw the GWR company being formed of the constituent parts of the former widespread companies in their regions, nicknamed 'God's Wonderful Railway' or 'Great Way Round', whilst the LNWR company became part of the London Midland Scottish company formed from the LNWR, also the Midland and the Scottish Railway companies as well as various smaller companies such as the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company and the North Staffordshire Railway Company, all being merged into the LMS- nicknamed 'Let Me Sleep'..

During the Second World War, the railways played a major role in moving troops and ammunition, and Chester station saw great numbers of the traffic movements involved, but there was no direct hit by enemy bombers although a concrete bunker housing signalling equipment was built in case the planes returning from bombing the docks and railways in Liverpool dropped any bombs whilst returning from their sorties.

With nationalisation in 1948, the trains, track and everything connected to the railways were run by British Railways, a government organisation which saw modest improvements to the station and rolling stock. This continued until the Railways Act of 1993 which paved the way for privatisation, firstly North Western Trains, then First North Western and since 2003 Arriva Trains Wales which has the franchise until 2018.

Features of interest at the station include the three straight-through platforms namely Numbers 3, 4 and 7, with four bay platforms, namely numbers 1, 2, 5 and 6. Platform 7 has the third rail DC in situ to enable the MerseyRail electric trains to enter the station for their services to the Wirral and Liverpool.

There have been plans to bring main line electric trains services from Crewe to Chester and Holyhead but at the time of writing, March 2017, nothing definite has been decided.

Other interesting features are the model owls in the eaves of the roof on Platform 4 which are there to frighten the feral nuisance pigeons.

The clock on the front of the station was originally located right in the middle of the facade but when the Queen Hotel across the road was built, it obstructed the view for passengers making their way from the City Road direction, so it was decided to re-locate the clock towards the western half of the facade (the left side when looking directly at the front), where it remains today.

J. B. Joyce, the designers of the Eastgate Clock, continue in business to this day and are now part of the Smith of Derby Group. Founded in 1690, they are arguably the oldest surviving clockmaking company and their clocks grace buildings throughout the world. One of the most famous is the magnificent mechanism and dial at the Shanghai Custom House. Built in 1927, it was the largest clock ever made at the time and became affectionately known as 'Big Ching'.

Other Joyce clocks are in the post offices in Sydney and Adelaide in Australia; in Nairobi, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in Africa and in Rangoon, Calcutta, Delhi and Kabul in Asia. There are also Joyce clocks in North and South America and in Canada, and there's even one on the Falkland Islands, at Port Stanley. Much nearer and more familiar to Cestrians is the distinctive Joyce clock which stands atop a pole a few hundred yards for the Eastgate at the end of Foregate Street.

The recent modernisation of the interior of the station by Arriva Trains Wales has comprised a series of copper-sheet building structures for a new booking office, customer service centre, café express and betting shop as well as providing a Costa coffee shop on the site of the former booking office. It is debateable whether customers / passengers like them or not.. certainly the interior of the station falls far short of its impressive facade!

A final item worthy of mention is the now removed former footbridge from the station platforms spanning the railway lines and reaching over to Hoole Road with its own entrance and exit;. very convenient for people on that side of town, but unfortunately, after a small fire, this wooden footbridge was dismantled and removed in the 1960s.

I know there's lots more to say about the history of Chester Station, but I hope this brief account will whet your appetite for any tours that you may wish to join and for me to lead or organise..

John Whittingham, Chester City Tour Guide and former Rail Staff WHITTINGHAM50@hotmail.com