News and Events

The Station House

There are 11 currently vacant rooms above the station. When it was opened in 1851 the Station Master and his family lived upstairs and coal fires heated all the rooms. More recently it was rented out as a large flat until around 2010, when it was vacated. Network Rail who own the building, in conjunction […]

2022 Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee

To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, the Friends found a novel way to put a smile on the faces of both rail users and local residents.Building on the 2013 Royal visit, the Friends purchased life-sized figures of the Queen, Prince Charles and four Grenadier Guards which were displayed in the booking office.The […]

Rail Travel Display

This display in the booking office, and  shows items that might have been taken on holidays by railway passengers in the 1865s, including a Bradshaw’s Railway Manual 1865.

The Friends 10th Anniversary

27 people attended an exploratory meeting on 5th July 2011 to discuss setting up a new group, initially as part of the Sustainable Living in the Heatons, to then become the Friends of Heaton Chapel Station group an inaugural meeting on 24th July 2011 was in St. Thomas’s Church. The first chairman was Rory Aiken […]

2019 Summer Newsletter

In this edition: Cheshire Best Kept Station Award 2018Tree PlantingGardeningDefibrilator4 Heatons Easter Egg TrailThe Station HouseScarecrows125 mph Azuma Simulator24ft Heritage Sign view the newsletter here or download it below

2019 Easter Egg Trail

the four heatons traders association organised an easter egg trail around the local businesses which the Friends of Heaton Chapel Station were pleased to join. Barbara,  Sandy, and Stella decorated the booking office.

Defibrillator Sponsors

The Friends of Heaton Chapel Station would like to thank W.A.U. Designs for kindly agreeing to sponsor the defibrillation unit. Every time the unit is used the pads need to be replaced at a cost of £60. Also every couple of years it is suggested that the batteries are changed at a further cost of […]

Defibrillation Machine Fitted

The Friends of Heaton Chapel Station have raised funds to purchase and arranged to have fitted a Defibrillator to the station building. This is for anyone to use if you suspect someone is having a cardiac arrest. If someone suddenly collapses and is unconscious then you should ring 999 immediately. then either get them to […]

2018 Cheshire Best Kept Station Awards

The Cheshire Best Kept Station Awards were held on 6th February 2019 at the Grange Theatre, Hartford. The Friends of Heaton Chapel Station were delighted to be awarded the 2018 Best Kept Station Art Project Award for our artwork beneath Heaton Moor Road bridge, on the ramp down to platform 2. Many thanks to all […]

Booking Office Upgrade

The booking office was upgraded in 2018 and a mural of steam engine LNER ‘Peppercorn class’ A1 60163 was painted by a professional artist. Tornado became the first steam locomotive to officially reach 100 mph on British tracks for over 50 years. It is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive completed in 2008 to an original design by Arthur Peppercorn It occasionally still […]

2018 Mayor opens sign

On 18th December 2018 The Mayor of Stockport Cllr. Walter Brett visited Heaton Chapel Station, when he unveiled both a 24 foot (7.3m) long new heritage ‘running-in sign’ which was made for the Friends of Heaton Chapel Station by Heatons’ Men in Sheds, and a brass plaque on platform 2. The materials for the new sign were provided […]

2018 FofHCS Xmas doo

3 December 2018 FofHCS Christmas meal tonight at Miller & Carter in Heaton Chapel. All meals were pre-ordered, which resulted in excellent service and most enjoyable food.

2018 New Canopy

A new station canopy is being installed to replace the previous rotten one. Thanks to one of our station supervisors for reporting this and thanks to Network Rail who are undertaking the work.

Azuma driving simulator visit

A great evening hosting some of the Friends of Heaton Chapel Station on the LNER driving simulators at Leeds. Hope you all had a great time and hopefully we will see you again soon!

New Old Sign

The ‘Friends’ recently purchased our old station sign at an auction and it is now displayed in the station booking hall.

2018 ACoRPS Awards

FofHCS win an ACoRP Gold Award nomination Certificate of Excellence at the Scot Rail Community Rail Awards 2018.

2018 Gardening and planters

Many thanks to all the FofHCS volunteer gardeners who worked today on the platform 2 ramp and planters. Even though it rained intermittently, great progress was made and nobody became really too wet as it’s quite sheltered. Ferns have been purchased [thanks Paul] for this area which doesn’t get full sunlight.

2018 Heatons Fair

Heatons Summer Festival today at Heatons Sports Club. Thanks to the FofHCS volunteers who manned our stand.

2018 Open Gardens

Rotary – FofHCS one day pop-up Open Garden at HTC, all created by FofHCS and Rotary volunteers.

2018 Gardening in all weathers

Some of FofHCS’s heroic volunteers in action, in a blizzard, urgently planting recently funded replacement screening hawthorn whips before the end of March, which is the end of the planting season. Many thanks to Northern Rail for funding these replacement shrubs. Carillion had been tasked to fund and undertake this work, then unfortunately they went […]

2018 Upstairs in the Station Building

Thanks to all the ‘Friends’ who volunteered today to work on another clear-up session at the station. Other volunteers, not in this photo, were working at platform level.

2017 Christmas

‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’. The tree & decorations look very festive once again in the Booking Hall, with a thanks once again to Blaggs of Heaton Moor for donating the lovely tree. Well done to Sandy, Jean & Stella of the Friends Group’ who gave up all Wednesday morning putting up […]

2017 Painting under bridge

Ten ‘Friends’ [six in this pic] working party today preparing this scruffy brick wall in readiness for some artwork on it, planned for very soon. Thanks to all the volunteers for joining in.

2017 ACoRPs Awards

The ‘Friends’ have won another ACORP award at the Community Rail 2017 Awards ceremony at Derby.

2017 Donated Flowers

FofHCS gardening group members enjoying show plants kindly donated by Dreamscape from their RHS Tatton Show Garden.Dreamscape Gardens is a multi award-winning landscape gardening company with full BALI accreditation. http://www.dreamscapegardens.net/

2017 Gardening

Heaton Chapel station platform 1 ramp flower display, planted and tended by the 3rd Heaton Chapel brownies.

2017 Pigeon Netting

No more pigeons? Thanks to Arriva Northern we have netting under the bridge to stop the pigeons nesting over the walkway from Tatton Road South. No more bombardment!. Pictures show netting and homeless birds.

2017 Water Butts

Water butts on platform two installation organised by our new station Manager, Pam Williams; many thanks Pam for organising this. Our gardeners are delighted in having these, as they now don’t have to fetch water for the plants.

2017 Artwork

The 12 FOUR HEATONS artwork panels kindly donated to FofHCS by Eamonn Murphy have now installed by Network Rail staff on the stairway to platform 2 at HCS. Thanks to Andy, Barry and Craig for fixing them for the Friends.

2016 – Station rebuild announcement by FofHCS, Network Rail and northern

15th November 2016 Work on the station roof repairs were completed by 10 March 2017. In addition to the renewal of the two roof structures over the stairways, they are also took the opportunity to carry out a number of other improvements at the station: ·         Installation of art works at various locations.  ·         Re-application of the […]

2016 ACoRP Awards Southport.

ACoRP awards 30 September 2016 – Southport. Due to our station collapsing and being scaffolded, stopping access to both our storage areas at platform level, FofHCS have been unable to enter for any ACoRP awards this year. However our chairman and two new deputy chairmen attended.  We were introduced to the Secretary of State for […]

2016 Open Gardens

HEATONS OPEN GARDENS 2016 – Sunday 15th May 12 – 5 ROTARY CLUB OF STOCKPORT LAMPLIGHTERS A big thanks to all our FofHCS hard-working gardening volunteers.

2015 Stihl Local Community Heros competition

FofHCS volunteers have entered a Stihl Local Community Heros competition, and won a £500 commercial battery operated brushwood cutter. The station platforms and booking hall have no electricity or water supplies, so to date, all gardening tasks have been  manually undetaken. This amazing STIHL brushwood cutter will greatly assist the loyal volunteers in our attempts to tame […]

2015 Pop up Garden

More than 1,000 people explored hidden horticultural gems at the annual Heatons Open Gardens celebration, an event run by the Stockport Lamplighters Rotary Club. ‘Friends’ created a ‘pop up’ garden at Heaton Chapel Station in the old station master’s yard. Many volunteered over several days to convert a scruffy yard full of rubbish into a beautiful garden, […]

2014 Gallery and Events

Totally overgrown bed on platform 1 cleared by one of our hard working volunteers [August 2014]11th March 2014, HCS enjoyed hosting about a dozen American students plus three adults from the Green Lane Evangelical church. They kindly provided a 2 stroke strimmer and an electric hedge trimmer/generator and worked hard planting bulbs and weeding the […]

2014 – Royal plaque and 1851 clock unveiled

14 Nov 2014 – Royal plaque and 1851 clock unveiled On the anniversary of the visit of Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visit to Heaton Chapel Station, the Friends of Heaton Chapel Station have commissioned a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. The Plaque, mounted alongside the Heaton Moor Road entrance […]

2014 – To Platform 1 3/4 – ACoRP Winner

On 2nd October 2014, FofHCS were again ACoRP winners at the annual Awards Ceremony this year at Scarborough Spa. There were seven nominations and we won a Third Award : A’timetunnel’ back to Victorian times, accessed via ‘Platform 1¾’, was discovered  by the ‘Friends’ in June 2014. This portal is accessed on the half-landing stairs […]

2014 – Union of South Africa 60009

3rd August 2014 – Union of South Africa 60009 at HTC. Sir Nigel Gresley’s masterpiece 4-6-2  Streak Class A4 engines were introduced in 1937.  This train was running from Crewe to Holyhead, returning later the same night at 22.40.

2014 – New Station Supervisor

April 2014 : HTC has a new permanent Station Supervisor, he’s called Steve Sharp previously working at Whalley Bridge.“I have been on the railway for 6 years, starting as a conductor at Manchester Victoria. I then moved in to retail side an.d have worked at Whaley Bridge Station since September 2012.I have met some of […]

2013 Gallery and Events

2013 photos14th December 2013 : Father Christmas, one of his elves and a polar bear meet children at HCSNovember 2013 : ramp-working party – purely by chance, just before the Royal visitSeptember 2013.The steep ramp to platform 2 has been upgraded by the Friends. This scheme involved weed clearance and elimination, rubbish removal and levelling, […]

2013 – Queen Elizabeth II

14th November 2013 Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip pay a visit to Heaton Moor and Heaton Chapel station on her way to Cumbria via Manchester. She and Prince Philip were driven to Heaton Chapel Station to board her Royal Train on platform 2 to travel north to Manchester Piccadilly station. The Royal Train was powered by two […]

2012 Gallery and Events

A round up of the year Station Supervisor John O’Connor  Christmas tree donated by Easy Access Self Storage, lights donated by John O’Connor, baubles and tinsel donated by Julie Chapman; many thanks to them all. Old porters’ trolley kindly donated by the station manager Theo McLauchlan. Heaton Mersey Farmers Market September 2012 Heaton Moor Festival […]