Potteries Loop Line Hanley Train Station NOW GONE

The Potteries Loop Line was a railway line that ran through the heart of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built by the North Staffordshire Railway off its main line (commonly referred to as the Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line via Stoke).

Hanley railway station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway as part of the Potteries Loop Line and Opened 3 July 1864.When the latter reached Burslem in 1873,a new station was built on a sharp curve in a cutting below Trinity Street. No trace of the station remains today; the site is a car park. Closed to passengers 1 August

Construction
The line was authorised and constructed as follows:

Etruria - Shelton: authorised for construction on 2 July 1847, opening for goods in 1850 and passengers in January 1862.

Shelton - Hanley: authorised for construction on 13 August 1859, opening to goods on 20 December 1861 and passengers on 13 July 1864.

The entire section to the NSR main line at Kidsgrove was authorised on 5 July 1865 opening as follows:

Hanley - Burslem: opened to passengers and goods on 1 November 1873.
Burslem - Tunstall: opened to passengers and goods on 1 December 1873.
Tunstall - Goldenhill: opened to passengers and goods on 1 October 1874.
Goldenhill - Kidsgrove: opened to passengers and goods on 15 November 1875.

The route
With the towns that the line served being located on hilltops, the geography of the route was renowned for its severe gradients and sharp curves, especially around Tunstall, Burslem and Hanley.

Leaving the main line at Etruria Junction, the line turned almost back on itself to proceed eastwards and passed through part of the Shelton Bar complex. Approaching Hanley, another sharp curve took the route northwards once again. A rising gradient led to Cobridge tunnel and then Burslem, before a 1 in 90 climb to Tunstall. After reaching the summit of the line at Newchapel, a 1 in 40 descent led to a cutting near the Birchenwood Coke Works on the approach to Kidsgrove. It then rejoined the main line at Liverpool Road Junction, north of the junction to Crewe.