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Salop Goods Junction

SAM_7092.JPG Basford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent LinesBasford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent LinesBasford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent LinesBasford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent LinesBasford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent LinesBasford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent LinesBasford HallThumbnailsCrewe Independent Lines

Hidden away at a lower level at the back of Crewe station is Salop Goods Junction, effectively a five-way junction controlled by the eponymous signal box which is visible to the left of the rear wagon of the train ahead.
Left to right here the tracks are designated as Down Salop Independent, Up Salop Independent, Down Fast Independent, Down Slow Independent, Up Slow Independent, Up Fast Independent. All are "freight-only" lines and rarely see passenger workings.
Ahead, the line splits into three routes to form (left to right) the Liverpool, Manchester and Chester Independent Lines.
There has been some track rationalisation, originally it would have been possible to get from here to the Chester Independent Lines and indeed this move was regular during the 1985 Crewe Remodelling project.