Editing Chester (section)

====History====
The city formerly had two railway stations: Chester General remains in use (now named simply ''Chester''), but [[Chester Northgate railway station|Chester Northgate]] closed in 1969 as a result of the [[Beeching cuts]].{{refn|group=nb|[[Richard Beeching]]'s report ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' was published in 1965.}} Chester Northgate, which was north-east of the city centre, opened in 1875 as a [[Terminal station|terminus]] for the [[Cheshire Lines Committee]]. Trains travelled via Northwich to {{rws|Manchester Central}}; later, services also went to Seacombe (Wallasey) and [[Wrexham Central railway station|Wrexham Central]] via {{stnlnk|Shotton}}. It was demolished in the 1970s and the site is now part of the Northgate Arena leisure centre.

Chester General opened in 1848 and was designed with an [[Italianate]] frontage. It now has seven designated platforms but once had fourteen. The station lost its original roof in the 1972 [[Chester General rail crash]]. In September 2007, extensive renovations took place to improve pedestrian access and parking.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/railands.htm |title=Chester Railway Renovation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821115005/http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/railands.htm |archive-date=21 August 2008 |website=Chester Renaissance |access-date=11 April 2009}}</ref> Chester General also had a sizeable marshalling yard and a [[motive power depot]], most of which has now been replaced with housing.

[[File:Dee bridge disaster.jpg|thumb|Dee bridge disaster, May 1847]]
In late 1847, the [[Dee bridge disaster]] occurred when a bridge span collapsed as a train passed over the River Dee by the [[Roodee]]. Five people were killed in the accident. The bridge had been designed and built by famed railway engineer [[Robert Stephenson]] for the [[Chester and Holyhead Railway]]. A [[Royal Commission]] inquiry found that the [[truss]]es were made of cast iron beams that had inadequate strength for their purpose. A national scandal ensued and many new bridges of similar design were either taken down or heavily altered.