Tag Archives: Manchester

Stockport’s 21st Century Trams and Transport for Greater Manchester’s Plans for the Future.

And finally …

Railway-News.com reported on 10th December 2025 that on 9th December 2025, TfGM Launched a Consultation on Future of Public Transport. The consultation invites people who live, work, travel, visit or study in Greater Manchester to help shape the future of the city region’s travel network by giving their views on the new GM Transport Strategy 2050, as well as the GM Transport Delivery Plan (2027-37). [13]

The proposed Plan will set out a framework “for how the Bee Network might be utilised to help Greater Manchester continue to become the growth capital of the UK through to 2050, whilst also addressing inequality and creating a greener city region.” [13]

The Consultation will run until 9th March 2026.

Backed by 2.5 billion GBP in government funding; TfGM’s plans “aim to deliver a number of transport projects through to the 2030s, resulting in what TfGM intends to be a world-class transport system. They will support both overall economic growth and the delivery of the new £1 billion Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund, which will in turn pump-prime a set of projects, drive growth and generation and ensure equal spending across the city region as a whole.” [13]

Additional development of the Bee Network, as well as a more reliable highways network, are set to underpin the new approach, which aims to better connect communities with locations, jobs and services. (Image, © Transport for Greater Manchester.) [13]

“The Bee Network is set to begin incorporating rail services by 2028, with TfGM aiming to provide 90% of the city region with five-minute access to a bus or tram that arrives at least every 30 minutes.” [13]

“GM transport strategy and delivery plans include keeping the local transport network safe and reliable via the renewal and maintenance of roads, Metrolink network and rail facilities; simplifying of fares, ticketing, bus services and introduction of new stops and services, as well as interchanges, Metrolink lines and expanded walking, wheeling and cycling networks; and the transformation of all local rail lines by incorporating them into the Bee Network.” [13]

“A detailed delivery programme listing schemes is set out in the GM Transport Delivery Plan 2027 – 2037, which is split into three phases, along with works in the regional centre and a wider ongoing set of works across the city region.” [13]

In addition to online feedback; a series of face-to-face drop-in sessions are planned to take place across Greater Manchester. The documents which are available to read online through clicking on these links:

https://www.gmconsult.org/transport/transport2050/user_uploads/gm-transport-strategy-2050—–final-consultation-draft.pdf [14]

and

https://www.gmconsult.org/transport/transport2050/user_uploads/gm-transport-delivery-plan—–final-consultation-draft.pdf [15]

For an overview of both documents, please click here. [16]

TfGM want to hear from anyone with an interest in the future of transport in Greater Manchester. They outline how you can respond here. [17] The deadline for participation is 9th March 2026.

Returning to where this article started, this is what the consultation draft of the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2050 document says about Stockport:

“Stockport town centre: Over the last decade, Stockport Council has spearheaded a £1bn transformation of its town centre. One of the UK’s largest town centre regeneration programmes, it has enabled the town to buck the trend of decline, with successful schemes across leisure, commercial and residential uses. Since 2019 Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) has played a powerful role in accelerating this transformation, delivering a residential led masterplan for Stockport Town Centre West. The MDC is a radical new approach to tackling future housing need and the changing role of town centres, delivered through a unique collaboration between the GM Mayor and Stockport Council. It brings together powers devolved to the Greater Manchester Mayor, combined with strong local leadership from Stockport Council and the long-term commitment of the government’s housing agency, Homes England, to deliver an ambitious vision for the future of Stockport town centre. Over the past 6 years in collaboration with its many partner organisations the MDC moved from innovative concept to proven delivery vehicle, with over 170,000 sq. ft. new Grade A offices at Stockport Exchange, 1,200 new homes completed or on site and a state-of-the-art new transport Interchange with two-acre rooftop park. Reflecting this success and the Council’s continued growth ambitions, in 2025 the Council and GMCA agreed to expand the boundary of the MDC to cover the whole of the town centre and doubling its housing target to 8,000 homes by 2040.” [14]

References

https://railway-news.com/tfgm-exploring-plans-to-bring-trams-to-stockport, accessed on 4th December 2025.
https://news.tfgm.com/press-releases/c956a710-e894-49ab-b1de-1b8fb97e7859/underused-denton-rail-line-being-considered-as-part-of-case-to-take-trams-to-stockport, accessed on 4th December 2025.
news.tfgm.com/press-releases/897ce680-87a9-4349-a632-b477b1a8330f/greater-manchester-s-2-5-billion-funding-boost-to-unlock-uk-s-first-fully-integrated-zero-emission-public-transport-network, accessed on 4th December 2025.
A Strategic Outline Case (SOC) is the first part of developing a business case for major infrastructure projects. The two further stages are the Outline Business Case (OBC) followed by the Full Business Case (FBC). In the case of extending Metrolink to Stockport approval is required from the Department for Transport (DfT) to progress through each stage.
https://tfgm.com/strategy, accessed on 4th December 2025.
https://assets.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/01xbKQQNW0ZYLzYvcj1z7c/4b6804acd572f00d8d728194ef62bb89/Greater_Manchester_Transport_Strategy_2040_final.pdf, accessed on 4th December 2025.
https://assets.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/6tfus0lbLRvTlR64knc3g7/db49b54dc2e8f3dd29416ab560e1a6fe/21-0003_2040_Transport_Strategy_Exec_Summary.pdf, accessed on 4th December 2025.
https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/burnham-sets-target-of-2050-for-manchester-underground, accessed on 4th December 2025.
http://www.semmms.info, accessed on 4th December 2025.
https://consultation.stockport.gov.uk/policy-performance-and-reform/semmms/supporting_documents/SEMMMS%20Report.pdf, accessed on 4th December 2025.
http://www.semmms.info/wp-content/uploads/SEMMMS-Consultation-Report.pdf, accessed on 4th December 2025.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/new-metrolink-map-tram-manchester-29510064, accessed on 6th December 2025.
https://railway-news.com/tfgm-launches-consultation-on-future-of-public-transport/?dtt=&email_address=rogerfarnworth@aol.com&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RN-week50b-2025, accessed on 11th December 2025.
https://www.gmconsult.org/transport/transport2050/user_uploads/gm-transport-strategy-2050—–final-consultation-draft.pdf, accessed on 11th December 2025.
https://www.gmconsult.org/transport/transport2050/user_uploads/gm-transport-delivery-plan—–final-consultation-draft.pdf, accessed on 11th December 2025.
https://www.gmconsult.org/transport/transport2050/user_uploads/gm-transport-strategy-and-delivery-plan-summary—consultation-draft.pdf, accessed on 11th December 2025.
https://www.gmconsult.org/transport/transport2050, accessed on 11th December 2025.

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station

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The featured image shows Longsight’s Stanier 2-6-0 Locomotive No. 42960 at Manchester Mayfield on 3rd September 1955 about to depart with a suburban service. This image was shared on the British Railways Steam 1948 – 1968 Facebook Group by Alex Lawson on 20th July 2022, © H. C. Casserley. [30]

Manchester Mayfield 3rd September 1955. Longsight’s Stanier 2-6-0 42960 is ready to depart with a suburban service.
Photo H C Casserley.

A short note about extensive alterations at Manchester London Road Station appeared in the December 1958 issue of The Railway Magazine. The major alterations were designed to accommodate the electrification of the line between Manchester and Crewe. [1]

The Railway Magazine reported that “The improvements include[d] the construction of three new platforms, the lengthening of the existing platforms, to accommodate 16-coach electric trains, and the widening of the concourse. The station [would] thus have 14 platforms, of which ten [would be devoted to main-line and local traffic on the former London & North Western line, and the remainder to trains on the Great Central route. When the alterations [were] completed, the adjoining terminus at Mayfield [would] cease to deal with passenger traffic. A new power signalbox [would] control the area extending to East Didsbury and Heaton Chapel, and will replace 13 manual boxes. Electric trains [would] not be an innovation at London Road, because the Altrincham line was electrified in 1931, and the Sheffield line in 1954.” [1]

The text in bold highlights the closure of Mayfield Station to passenger traffic. This article focuses on Mayfield Railway Station. ….

Mayfield Station had only ever been something of which I was vaguely aware despite having lived in the Manchester area for large parts of my life.

Manchester Mayfield Station was, “on the south side of Fairfield Street next to Manchester Piccadilly station, [Manchester London Road station, as it was in 1958]. Opened in 1910, Mayfield was constructed as a four-platform relief station adjacent to Piccadilly to alleviate overcrowding. In 1960, the station was closed to passengers and, in 1986, it was permanently closed to all services having seen further use as a parcels depot.” [2]

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station was on the South side of Fairfield Street. It was linked to Manchester London Road (later Piccadilly) Station by a footbridge over Fairfield Street. This is an extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1915, © Public Domain. [3]

“Opened on 8th August 1910 by the London and North Western Railway, Manchester Mayfield was built alongside Manchester London Road station (later Piccadilly) to handle the increased number of trains and passengers following the opening of the Styal Line in 1909. [4][5: p7] The LNWR had considered constructing a new platform at London Road between the [Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway’s] MSJAR’s platforms 1 and 2, which were renumbered 1 and 3 in anticipation, but this was abandoned in favour of the construction of Mayfield; the platforms nevertheless remained renumbered. [6: p167] Four platforms were provided and passengers could reach London Road via a high-level footbridge. [6: p167][7: p43] Mayfield suffered the effects of bombing during World War II, when it was hit by a parachute mine on 22nd December 1940.” [8: illustration 40] [2]

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1914. [21]

Mayfield was a relief station, mainly used by extra trains and suburban services to the south of Manchester [6: p167] – places such as Cheadle Hulme, Buxton, Alderley Edge, Chelford and Stockport. [9: table 97] “In the London Midland timetable of September 1951, the Pines Express from Bournemouth West is shown as arriving at Mayfield at 4.30pm (16.30) on Mondays to Fridays. On Saturdays, this train used Piccadilly station, then known as London Road. [10: table 17] In the 1957-8 timetable, the Pines Express still arrived at Mayfield on Mondays to Fridays, now at the time of 4.45pm (16.45).” [11: table 21][2]

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station seen from the East in the last days of steam, This image was shared on the Disused Stations Facebook Group by Jordan Trevor on 17th October 2020, © Unknown. [27]

Further photographs, maps and information can be found on the Disused Stations Webpage, [22] and here, [29]

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station, as seen from Baring Street in 2020, © Rcsprinter123 and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 3.0). [2]

Another external view of Manchester Mayfield Railway Station in the very early 21st century, © Unknown. [24]

The derelict interior of Manchester Mayfield Railway Station in 2012, © True British Metal and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [25]

Another interior view of the derelict station building, this time in 2009, © philld and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [26]

For a brief period during the electrification and modernisation of London Road station, Mayfield Station was the Manchester terminus for many diverted services. [12: p86-87] It was closed to passengers on 28th August 1960 with the completion of the electrification and modernisation works at Manchester London Road station. [13: p92]

“The site was converted into a parcels depot, which opened on 6th July 1970. [4] Royal Mail constructed a sorting office on the opposite side of the main line and connected it to Mayfield with an overhead conveyor bridge, which crossed the throat of Piccadilly station.” [2]

Manchester Mayfield Railway Station once converted to a parcels depot. This image was shared on their Facebook Page by The Tourist Historian on the 23rd September 2023, © Unknown. [23]

The interior of Manchester Mayfield Railway Station as a Parcels Depot. This image was shared on their Facebook Page by The Tourist Historian on the 23rd September 2023, © Unknown. [28]

The depot closed in 1986, following the decision by Parcelforce, Royal Mail’s parcels division, to abandon rail transport in favour of road haulage. The tracks into Mayfield were removed in 1989, as part of the remodelling of the Piccadilly station layout. The parcels conveyor bridge was removed in 2003 with the Sorting Office being rebuilt as the Square One development, prestige offices used by Network Rail. [2]

The site of Mayfield station is the property of London and Continental Railways. [2] The interior of the station was used in Prime Suspect as a drug dealer’s haunt. [4] It was also used as a double for Sheffield railway station in The Last Train. The roadside building was gutted by a fire in 2005. [4]

Further photographs, maps and information can be found on the Disused Stations Webpage. [22]

There are, or have been, various plans for the use of the site of Mayfield station. These include:

Reopening as a station

“A study was carried out by Mott MacDonald in 2000, which looked at possibilities of increasing capacity at the Piccadilly station. One solution put forward would see the track quadrupled between Slade Lane Junction and Piccadilly, with a pair of through platforms in the Mayfield goods yard to the south of Piccadilly’s platforms 13 and 14 linked to additional running lines to Ashburys station. This proposal was supported by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive as it would increase usable train paths through Piccadilly by between 33% and 50%; the extra track would, however, require an expensive extension to the Piccadilly – Deansgate viaduct carrying the track from Slade Lane. The location of the proposed platforms was also criticised, as it would entail ‘a long walk for passengers wishing to interchange with other terminating rail services at Manchester Piccadilly or access the city centre’.” [2]

Other options would have the station used again as a terminus, providing a rail link to Manchester Airport or, alternatively, the lines might be extended through Mayfield and connected to the existing line to Manchester Oxford Road railway station. [2][4]

“Further proposals were put forward in 2009 by the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority for reinstating Mayfield as an operational station, to alleviate capacity problems at Piccadilly Station. [14] However, as part of the Northern Hub railway development scheme across Northern England, Network Rail now plans to increase capacity on the existing Oxford Road-Piccadilly route by widening the viaducts and adding two additional platforms (15 and 16) to the south side of Piccadilly station. [15] There are no plans to re-open Mayfield station for public transport.” [2]

Commercial redevelopment –

In 2008, an alternative scheme involving Manchester Mayfield was put forward. This proposal would see the station as part of a new 30-acre (120,000 m2) city centre district immediately adjacent to Piccadilly Station. That project would have created more than 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m2) of offices contained in office blocks up to 12 storeys high, and would be completed over a period of 15 years. The scheme was led by “Mayfield Manchester”, a joint venture company between Ringset, part of the Wrather Group, and Panamint; the company owns around 90% of the land around the station as of 2008, but do not own the station itself. In April 2008,Manchester Mayfield were said in talks with its owners of the station site, BRB Residuary. [2]

Other schemes were also under consideration:

Conversion into a Coach station by National Express to replace their Charlton Street facility [2]
Government Offices – in May 2009, the site was earmarked for a development which would have housed 5,000 civil servants. It would have required the demolition of Mayfield station. This did not go ahead at the time but the idea was revived in 2015 as one of a number options for the site. [16] one of those options was for a very significant redevelopment of the area around Piccadilly station and the Mayfield area, involving the demolition of both Mayfield station and Gateway House. [28][29] However the status of this is now unknown due to the cancellation of the HS2 Manchester leg. [2]
Entertainment Venue – in 2019, some of the site was converted into Depot Mayfield, a 10,000 capacity venue for culture located at Manchester’s historic former railway Mayfield as part of a £1 billion regeneration project. [17] It regularly hosts The Warehouse Project, a series of club nights. [2]

There is continued interest in the site as an urban regeneration area and it is proposed to replace the station with offices, residential developments and a significant urban green space.

The new green space, ‘Mayfield Park’ opened in 2022. [18]

Manchester Mayfield Redevelopment and ‘Mayfield Park’. [19]

“Mayfield will facilitate transformational change at the eastern gateway of the city centre close to Piccadilly Station. The 20 acre site provides the opportunity to create a distinctive and unique city centre district. The vision for Mayfield is for a distinctive, world class development delivering significant new commercial space, and up to 1500 new homes alongside a mix of retail and leisure facilities all centred on a new 6.5 acre city centre park.” [19]

Mayfield Strategic Redevelopment Framework (2016-2018) covers the work done and the work to be done on the site. [20]

References

London Road Station, Manchester; in The Railway Magazine volume 104 No. 692, December 1958, p811.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Mayfield_railway_station, accessed on 7th July 2025.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manchester_London_Road_and_Mayfield_map_1915_6inch.gif, accessed on 7th July 2025.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/manchester_mayfield/index.shtml, accessed on 7th July 2025.
C.R. Clinker; LNWR Chronology 1900-1960; David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1961.
Sydney Richards; Manchester and its Railways; in Railways: The Pictorial Railway Journal, Volume 8 No. 91, Railway World Ltd., London, November 1947.
S. Hall; Rail Centres: Manchester; Ian Allan Publishing, 1995.
E. M. Johnson; Scenes from the Past: No. 3, Manchester Railway Termini; Foxline, 1987.
British Railways London Midland Region Passenger Services Timetable 16th September 1957 to 8th June 1958.
British Railways London Midland Region Passenger Services Timetable, September 10th 1951 until further notice.
British Railways London Midland Region Passenger Services Timetable 16th September 1957 to 8th June 1958.
Oswald S. Nock; Britain’s New Railway; Ian Allan Publishing, 1966.
C. R. Clinker; Clinker’s Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1977; Avon-AngliA Publications & Services, Bristol, October 1978.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150322202743/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/forgotten-station-may-return-914371, accessed on 7th July 2025.
Our plans: Manchester Piccadilly; Network Rail, London; via https://web.archive.org/web/20140812210305/https://www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/northern-hub/projects/manchester-oxford-road-piccadilly/manchester-piccadilly-station-proposals/?cd=1, accessed on 7th July 2025.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/whitehall-north-back-track-city-8638504, accessed on 7th July 2025.
https://depotmayfield.com/about-us, accessed on 7th July 2025.
https://www.burohappold.com/projects/mayfield-regeneration, accessed on 7th July 2025.
https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500113/city_centre_growth_and_infrastructure/7900/city_centre_regeneration_areas/11, accessed on 7th July 2025.
https://studioegretwest.com/places/mayfield, accessed on 9th July 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.4&lat=53.47615&lon=-2.22646&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 9th July 2025.
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/manchester_mayfield, accessed on 9th July 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/TheTouristHistorian/posts/pfbid0JxatgmDM5JonoS8pt3xpRAvZXXoCLdv8f8vt8wag23vtupQoRvfzu54QDzKpTJWKl, accessed on 10th July 2025.
https://www.phaus.co.uk/mayfield-railway-station, accessed on 10th July 2025.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/truebritishmetal, accessed on 10th July 2025.w
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1439304, accessed on 10th July 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157763618693716&set=pcb.5164305560250093, accessed on 10th July 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=282698811318217&set=pcb.282719321316166, accessed on 10th July 2025.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/26690797@N02/32466777506, accessed on 10th July 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15JeoHAF7S, accessed on 11th July 2025.

Stockport Corporation Tramways – Part 2 (Modern Tramway Vol. 12 No. 138, June 1949)

Stockport Corporation’s Trams

Before looking at the remaining tram routes operated by Stockport Corporation it is worth noting the trams which Stockport Corporation used to operate the network. P.W. Gentry listed these as follows:

This table is taken from Gentry’s article. [1: p126]

Gentry provided basic details in his article, more details can be found here. [8] The same website provides a history of the network [9] and a Trolleybus/Bus Fleet List 1913-1969. [10]

Stockport’s Tram Routes

The Stockport Corporation Tramway Network (1901-1951), © Rcsprinter123 and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 3.0) [3]

Edgeley to Mersey Square and Mersey Square to Reddish and Gorton

This first axis of the network was covered in my first article about Stockport Corporation Trams, here. [2] Two further axes are worth our attention: the first, below, that between Gatley and Bredbury; the second that between Manchester and Hazel Grove.

Gatley to Mersey Square and Mersey Square towards Bredbury

We start with the tram terminus in Gatley.

Gatley Green and the terminus of the Stockport Corporation Tramway as shown on the 25′ Ordnance Survey of 1907, published in 1935. [11]

The same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2025]

The Gatley tram terminus was outside the Horse and Farrier Pub. This view looks East from Gatley Bridge, © Public Domain. [5]

A similar view along the A560 in the 21st century, with the Horse and Farrier Pub on the left. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

A tram at the same location viewed from another angle, this time from the South, © Public Domain. [6]

A similar view from Church Road in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

To the East, the tramway passed under Gatley Road Railway Bridge. 25′ Ordnance Survey of 1907, published in 1935 the railway as being under construction but with the bridge in place. [11]

Gatley Road Railway Bridge seen from the West, looking East along the A560. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

This satellite image shows the length of the A560 from just West of Gatley Railway Bridge to just East of Greenhall Bridge. The dominant feature at the centre of the image is the A34, Kingsway, one of the main arterial routes on the South side of Manchsterer. [Google Maps, January 2025]

Looking West towards Gatley Road Railway bridge in the 1910s with a tram heading for Stockport, © Public Domain. [16]

A similar location on Gatley Road in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

This extract from the 25′ Ordnance Survey of 1907, published in 1935, shows a location further to the East – Greenhall Bridge carried the road and tramway over Micker Brook. On this map the political boundary has taken precedence over the tramway. The tramway ran along the road from left to right. [11]

Looking East Long the A560 towards Cheadle. The bridge over Micker Brook was one which we needed to replace during the 1990s when I was responsible for the maintenance of highway bridges for Stockport MBC. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

It is somewhat easier to appreciate the layout of the bridge with 3D image. This bridge was rebuilt during my time at Stockport Council in the 1990s. [Google Earth (3D), January 2025]

Gatley Road ran through to the junction at the West end of the Cheadle High Street.

The tramway ran through from Gatley Road onto High Street, Cheadle as the 25′ Ordnance Survey of 1907, published in 1935, shows. [11]

The same junction in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2025]

Looking West along Gatley Road, Cheadle in 1908, from the West end of Cheadle High Street, © Public Domain. [7]

A very similar view looking West from Cheadle High Street in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

The tramway ran West to East along Cheadle High Street and on to Stockport Road. This extract is taken, again, from the 25″ Ordnance Survey, this sheet was surveyed in 1916 and published in 1922. [12]

Looking West along Cheadle High Street, © Public Domain. [15]

The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

The junction of Cheadle High Street with Stockport Road and Manchester Road, looking West. The passing loop at the junction can be seen in this image, © Public Domain. [13]

A view of the same road junctionfrom Stockport Road in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

an early image looking East from the junction. The tram is heading for Stock port on Stockport Road, Cheadle Green is behind the tram, © Public Domain. [14]

A similar view in the 2020s. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Further East on the same OS map sheet, the tramway can be seen continuing East on Stockport Road. [12]

The last section of Stockport Road on this particular OS map sheet shows the tramway and road running Northeast and approaching the railway bridge. [12]

The next 25″ Ordnance Survey sheet ( surveyed in 1916 and published in 1922) shows Stockport Road and the tramway heading Northeast under the railway bridge into Cheadle Heath. Top-right in this map extract is Cheadle Heath Railway Station. The junction with Edgeley Road is just above the centre of the image. [17]

Looking Southwest along Stockport Road Cheadle Heath with the railway bridge on the right side of the image. This image comes from Stockport Image Archive, © Public Domain. [20]

A similar view in the 2020s looking across the motorway slop road roundabout and under the railway bridge, West towards Cheadle. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Laying the tram tracks at the junction of Stockport Road and Edgeley Road, Cheadle Heath in 1903. This image comes from the Stockport Image Archive and faces towards Stockport, © Public Domain. [21]

The same location in the 1940s, again facing towards Stockport. This is another image from the Stockport Image Archive, © Public Domain. [22]

The view along Stockport Road towards Stockport in the 2020s. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Continuing Northeast, the road and tramway began the descent into the River Mersey valley. The road took the name Brinksway. [17]

The tramway followed Brinksway as it ran East on the South side of the River Mersey. One of Stockport’s road bridges over the river, Brinksway Bridge, can be seen towards the right of this map extract. [17]

Looking down Brinksway towards Stockport town centre. This image is held in the Stockport Image Archive, © Public Domain. [23]

Looking up Brinksway to the location of the photograph above. The houses on the distance in this view are those on the left of the last image. This image is held in the Stockport Image Archive, © Public Domain. [24]

Approximately the same location on Brinksway, facing the same direction. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Further East down Brinksway this view shows one of the significant rock outcrops. This view is held in the Stockport Image Archive, © Public Domain. [25]

A very similar location on Brinksway, facing in the same direction. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

An extract from Britain from Above image EPW036823, Brinksway and Brinksway Bridge in 1931, © Historic England. [26]

Trams on Brinksway.in 1931. This view looks towards Stockport town centre, © Public Domain. [26]

A similar location in n Brinksway, looking towards the town centre. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Continuing East Brinksway became Chestergate as trams approached the centre of Stockport, passing under Stockport’s iconic viaduct which can be seen in the extreme top-right of the map extract. [17]

Just a very short length of Chestergate (and the tramway) intrudes into the next map sheet to the North (25″ Ordnance Survey of 1916, published in 2922). [18]

Trams then passed under the A6, Wellington Road South into Mersey Square (an extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1917, published in 1922). [19]

Looking East towards Mersey Square, a tram heads West towards Gatley/Cheadle, Public Domain. [4: p94]

Looking West-southwest under Wellington Road along Chestergate with the Beckwith Steps to the right. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Dave Moran on 23rd April 2024 [28]

A tram turns out of Mersey Square onto Chestergate, heading for Cheadle/Gatley, while another, older trams heads towards St. Peter’s Square, © Public Domain. [31]

Tram services entered Mersey Square and crossed the Mersey. Services to the West of the town commenced here and ran along Princes Street to Bridge Street. That length of the network is covered in an earlier article which can be found here. [2]

We resume this article at the Northeast end of Princes Street and its junction with Bridge Street and then follow the route to Hyde.

A tram at the junction of Tiviot Dale, Princes Street and Bridge Street. Bridge Street runs off the picture to the right. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Dave Moran on 24th August 2023, © Public Domain. [27]

A similar view from the end of Princes Street. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

The views above look Northeast from Princes Street, the two immediately below face Northwest from Bridge Street and the two further below face Southeast along Bridge Street. [35]

Looking back from Bridge Street to its junction with Princes Street ,(on the left) and Tiviot Dale (on the right). A tram is pictured on the corner of Tiviot Dale and Princes Street. Several shot fronts are pictured in the background including the Co-operative Insurance, Leonard Aaron, opthalmic opticians as well as shops selling musical instruments and a chemist. This image was shared by Dave Moran on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 23rd April 2024, © Public Domain. [32]

The same location in the 2020s. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

Looking Southeast from the junction of Tiviot Dale, Princes Street and Bridge Street, a tram heads along Bridge Street towards the junction. The tram has just turned right onto Bridge Street from Warren Street. [33]

An earlier monochrome image from Stockport Image Archive which shows Tram No. 28 turning from Warren Street onto Bridge Street before crossing Lancashire Bridge. This image was shared by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 14th August 2015, © Public Domain. [44]

A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

An overhead view looking East across Lancashire Bridge and Warren Street This is an extract from image No. EPW013110, © Historic England. [36]

Warren Street cut across a peninsula of land between the River Goyt and the River Mersey with the confluence between the River Goyt and the River Tame to the North. [35]

An accident in the 1930s on Warren Street between a tram and a lorry, © Public Domain. [34]

Park Bridge is bottom left on this extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1917, published 1922. [35]

A shorter stretch of Great Portwood Street in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2025]

A tram passes the Queen’s Public House on Great Portwood Street on its way East. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Julian Ryan on 20th November 2022, © Public Domain. [38]

Further Northeast along Great Portwood Street on the same OS Map sheet as the extract above. [35]

A similar length of Great Portwood Street. It now has one of the major M60 junctions.on the North side. [Google Streetview, January 2025]

The tramway turns Southeast onto Carrington Road and runs down to the River Goyt at Carrington Bridge before continuing West on Stockport Road West. [35]

A similar length of the road/tramway as appears on the map extract above. St. Paul’s School and Church at the junction of Great Portwood Street and Carrington Road are long gone and Carrington Road has been diverted to meet the large motorway roundabout. [Google Maps, January 2025]

St. Paul’s Church, Great Portwood Street, seen from the Southwest on Great Portwood Street. The junction with. Arrington Road is behind the tram. This image was shared on the Stockport Memories Facebook Group by Niall Dorsett on 24th November 2024, © Public Domain. [49]

This view looking West from Portwood Roundabout is from approximately the same location. Everything in the monochrome image above has gone. [Google Streetview, September 2023]

Carrington Road, Portwood, looking Northwest close to it junction with Great Portwood Street which is just at the far end of the St. Paul’s School site. The school is to the left of the tram. The churchyard is on the right with the church building just off the picture to the right, © Public Domain. [37]

Looking Northwest along what was Carrington Road. The wall beyond the lamp post is what was the churchyard boundary wall. The line of the road ran through the planted beds with the location of the Scholl to the left of the planting. [Google Streetview, September 2023]

This next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey takes the tramway to the West edge of the OS Sheet, over New Bridge, along Stockport Road West. [35]

The same length of Stockport Road West on modern satellite imagery. Notice the shortening of the loop in the River Goyt which was required to allow construction of the M60. [Google Maps, January 2025]

Stockport Road West as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1917, published in 1922. [39]

A very similar length of Stockport Road West which, rather than running through a rural landscape, now runs through a residential area. [Google Maps, January 2025]

Stockport Road East through Bredbury as it appeared on the 1917 Ordnance Survey. [39]

A short molar length of Stockport Road East in the 21st century. [Google Maps, February 2025]

An interesting arrangement of under and over bridges appears in the bottom-left of this next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1917. Trams passed over the Cheshire Lines Committee (Great Central and Midland Joint Railway) from Bredbury Junction, and then under the same company’s lines through Bredbury Railway Station. Woodley village can be seen top-right and on the next map extract. [40]

St. Mark’s Woodley appears bottom-left in between Stockport Road East and Redhouse Lane. [40]

This image shows a similar length of the A560 as it appears towards the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. [Google Maps, February 2025]

Hyde Road Woodley looking Northeast from St. Mark’s Church. This image was shared on the Stockport Memories Facebook Group by Ian Scottson on 8th October 2024, © Public Domain. [50]

Looking Northeast along the A560 from adjacent to St. Mark’s Churchyard. Redhouse Lane joins the A560 from the right. [Google Streetview, April 2015]

Stockport Tram No.10 outside the Lowes Arms in Woodley in 1947, heading for Hyde. This image was shared on the Stockport Memories Facebook Group by Dave Eccles on 10th June 2024, © Public Domain. [48]

A similar view looking North from the A560 at the location of the Lowes Arms in Woodley. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Woodley village continues Northeast along Hyde Road. [40]

Woodley Railway Station is in the upper-right quadrant of this extract from the 25″Ordnance Survey. Hyde Road runs bottom-left to top-right. [40]

A similar length of the A560/A627 as in the map extracts immediately above. Woodley Railway Station is at the top-right of the image. [Google Maps, February 2025]

An early 20th century photograph looking Northeast along Stockport Road, Woodley. The railway station is on the right with the railway passing under the road ahead. As can be seen here and on the map extract above, there was a passing loop which allowed trams to pass each other immediately outside Woodley Railway Station. This image was shared on the Stockport Memories Facebook Group by Ian Scottson on 5th October 2024, © Public Domain. [47]

Now the A627, Hyde Road runs past Woodley Railway Station. This view is from a similar location to the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Stockport Road/Hyde Road continues Northeast from Woodley towards Gee Cross. [41]

The same length of Hyde Road/Stockport Road in the 21st century

This view Southwest along Stockport Road shows a tram heading for Woodley along Pole Bank (Stockport Road, A560 in the 21st century), © Public Domain. [46]

The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, June 2025]

The 25″ Ordnance Survey shows that trams turned East along Stockport Road towards Gee Cross. [41]

Dowson Road runs North and Stockport Road heads East at the junction on the left side of this satellite image. Trams turned East along Stockport Road. [Google Maps, February 2025.

Looking Northeast from the Gerrards, close to the left edge of the map extract and satellite image above, along Stockport Road towards Dawson Road in Gee Cross. In the middle distance trams heading for Hyde turned right on Stockport Road, © Public Domain. [30]

A view Northeast from a camera location closed to the location of the tram in the monochrome image above. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

In Gee Cross, the main road on which the trams were travelling (Stockport Road) gave way to Mottram Old Road – both now lengths of the A560. Trams branched off what is now the A560 along another length of Stockport Road. Today, this is the B6468. [42]

A similar length of Stockport Road, Gee Cross. [Google Earth, February 2025]

This image shows a tram travelling along Stockport Road, Gee Cross at the very bottom of the map extract above, © Public Domain. [29]

A similar location in the 21st century looking Northeast. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Probably dating from the 1920s, This photograph shows the tramlines running along Stockport Road towards Hyde. Mottram Old Road is on the right side of the image. There was a passing loop at the junction. The old sign post remains at the junction but has lost an arm. The lamp on the top of the pole remains. The houses behind it have gone leaving a grassy embankment. © Public Domain. [45]

A view Northeast from a similar location in the 2020s. The lamppost can easily be made out beyond the car turning onto the A560. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

This next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey shows the tram tracks running North along Stockport Road (B6468), bridging the Cheshire Lines Committee railway and then Northwest into Hyde along Market Street. [42]

A similar length of Stockport Road and Market Street in Hyde. The old railway in cutting is now a footpath/cycleway. A roundabout now marks the bend from Stockport Road into Market Street and a housing estate now sits on the site of the Slack Cotton Mills. [Google Maps, February 2025]

Trams from Stockport continued Northwest along Market Street, Hyde. Terminating close to the Market ground, seen here in the top-left of the extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1917, published 1922. [42]

The final length of the route covered by Stockport’s trams which reached as far as the Market ground which can be seen in the top-left of this satellite image [Google Earth, February 2025]

Market Street, Hyde in around 1930. A tram on the Stockport Edgeley service waits at the Town Hall terminus as a bus departs for Romiley from the Market. This image was shared on the Hyde Past and Present Facebook Group by Lee E. Brown 8th November 2024. © Public Domain. [51]

A tram on Market Street, Hyde, © Public Domain. [52]

A view Northwest along Market Street in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

A photograph from around 1930 of the tram terminus on Market Street outside the Town Hall. The leading tram is a Manchester Corporation car on the No 19 service to Manchester Exchange. In the centre is an SHMD car and at the far end is a Stockport car and going off the position of the poles, they are both on the Edgeley run. Across the market there is a rare glimpse of the Norfolk Hotel. The photographer was standing on the corner of Greenfield Street, looking across to the market ground. Market Street goes away behind the trams. The top of the Midland Bank is visible above the trams. This length of tramway may be unique in the UK being served by four different tram companies/services, SHMD, Ashton, Manchester and Stockport trams. This image was shared on the Hyde Past and Present Facebook Group by Lee E. Brown on 23rd November 2019. [53]

A view from a similar location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

This completes the length of the tramway from Stockport to Hyde. The next article in this short series will cover the line from Manchester to Hazel Gri

References

P.W. Gentry; Stockport Corporation Tramway; Modern Tramway, Vol. 12 No. 138, June 1949, p123-126.
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/01/15/stockport-corporation-tramways-modern-tramway-vol-12-no-138-june-1949-part-1
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockport_Corporation_Tramways, accessed on 3rd January 2025.
Harry Postlethwaite, John Senior & Bob Rowe; Super Prestige No. 14, Stockport Corporation; Venture Publications, Glossop, Derbyshire, 2008. This document is made freely available by MDS Books as a .pdf: https://www.mdsbooks.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/Stockport_Download_1.pdf, accessed on 14th January 2025.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361890923297?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ibGa9k_VTo6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY, accessed on 15th January 2025.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361906909095?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ibGa9k_VTo6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY, accessed on 15th January 2025.
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https://imagearchive.stockport.gov.uk/Home/Photograph?accessionno=10854&searchString=Tram&searchOption=Title&searchArea=All&first=False&last=False, accessed on 20th January 2025.
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Not used.
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Stockport Corporation Tramways – Modern Tramway Vol. 12 No. 138, June 1949 – Part 1

1 Reply

P.W. Gentry wrote about Stockport’s trams in the July 1949 issue of Modern Tramway.

This article in Modern Tramway caught my attention because for about 9 years I worked in Stockport as a highway engineer.

We know that tramways arrived in Stockport in the 1880’s from the Manchester direction when “the Manchester Tramways and Carriage Co, Ltd., [opened] a horse-car service into Mersey Square via Levenshulme.” [1: p123]

In 1889, the Stockport and Hazel Grove Carriage and Tramway Co. Ltd. was formed and “instituted horse car services southwards to Hazel Grove and Edgeley at Easter 1890.” [1: p123]

Stockport tramcar No. 5, dating from 1901, is preserved at the Heaton Park Tramway. The lower saloon of tramcar No. 5 was recovered from a field, where it had been used as a hen house, in 1971. It was restored by the ‘Stockport 5 Tramway Trust’. It now runs on the Heaton Park Tramway, a tramway museum in Heaton Park, Manchester. [2]

Stockport Corporation began tramway operations when, in 1890, “an Order under the Tramways Act was obtained for the construction and operation of electric tramways. Work commenced in Sandy Lane on 12th February 1901 and the three routes projected were opened in stages.” [1: p123]

Woodley Route: to Woodley Station by 26th August 1901; and Pole Bank by 30th May 1902.

Reddish Route: to Sandy Lane by 3rd September 1901; to Holdsworth Square by 30th May 1902; and to the Bull’s Head in Reddish by 25th November 1903.

Cheadle Route: to the Robin Hood on Brinksway by 23rd January 1902; to Cheadle Heath Bridge by 25th July 1903; to Cheadle Green by 5th May 1904; and to the Horse & Farrier, Gatley Green by 24th May 1904.

In parallel, negotiations secured the purchase of the horse tramways. First, the Levenshulme line (which was electrified by Manchester Corporation by 1903 and maintained by them). The Stockport & Hazel Grove undertaking was purchased in 1994 for £14,000 and electrified by 5th July 1905.

Tram service No. 35 was by then running from Manchester to Hazel Grove.

Mersey Square was the main hub of Stockport’s tramway network. …

Mersey Square was the hub of the Stockport Corporation tramways. Mersey Square Depot and Heaton Lane Depot are shown clearly on this sketch plan drawn in 1949. The modern A6 runs left-right across the lower half of the plan. © P.W. Gentry, Public Domain. [1: p123]

The National Library of Scotland retains three digital versions of the OS 25″ mapping:

An extract from Map: Cheshire X.15; Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to 1 mile; revised: 1907; published: 1932 which shows Mersey Square as it was in 1907. It seems as though publication of this map was delayed for 25 years! [6]

An extract from Map: Lancashire CXII.9; Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to 1 mile; revised: 1917; published: 1922, which shows Mersey Square as it was in 1917. [7]

An extract from Map: Lancashire CXII.9; Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to 1 mile; revised: 1934; published: 1936, showing Mersey Square as it was in 1934. The tram depot has been enlarged and the additional depot on Heaton Lane constructed. Heaton lane Depot is accessed via the branch West off Wellington Road. [8]

The sequence of extracts from the Ordnance Survey’s 25″ series of maps shows the development from 1907 to 1934. The most significant changes in that period were: the dualling of the trackwork on the A6 South of the Square; and the development of the Tram Depot. As can be seen from the map extracts, the main depot building was widened to reach the river bank and then extended Southwest towards Mersey Square. A surprising change appears in the latest extract – the conversion of the dual track work on Chestergate where it passes under the A6, Wellington Road to a stretch of single track.

Mersey Square in 1932, seen from the West. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 19th January 2021 by Chris Paul. [13]

The 1930s to the 1970s saw major changes to the centre of Stockport. The River Mersey was culverted from Mersey Square, Northeast to Bridge Street and a dual carriageway road was created along the line of the River Mersey. This new road was not used by trams but it altered traffic arrangements at Mersey Square while it was in use.

The construction of Merseyway in the 1930s is nearing completion in this photograph which was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 18th October 2020 by Dave Moran. [12]

The view Southwest from Bridge Street, showing the dual carriageway over the River Mersey in the mid-20th century. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 26th June 2020 by Julian Ryan. [9]

Merseyway was built on a series of reinforced concrete portal frames spanning the river. Given the positioning of the vehicles on the structure, this image probably comes from while the road was closed. The image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 26th September 2018 by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw. [11]

Merseyway is seen from the Southwest, looking Northeast in the mid-20th century. The tram depot is on the left. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 10th August 2020 by Keith Povey. [10]

A final view of Merseyway as a road across the roundabout at its Southwest end in Mersey Square. The photograph was taken from Wellington Road and it was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 6th October 2020 by Mark Lloyd. [14]

Mersey Square seen from the Southeast in 1948. The oddly shaped roundabout at the end of Merseyway is on the right with the old fire station above it. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 28th August 2023 by Michael Sidebottom. [15]

Traffic emerging from Mersey Square onto Wellington Road (A6). Manchester is away to the right, Hazel Grove to the left. Heaton Lane Tram Depot is beyond Wellington Road on the right of the image. This photograph was shared by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on 24th June 2015. [16]

Mersey Square, Stockport in the 21st century. [Google Maps, January 2025]

By July 1905, the network was “in its final shape, with a total route mileage of 19.46. Of this, however 2.51 route miles (Vernon Park Pole Bank) was the property of Bradbury and Romiley Urban District Council, 1.64 miles (Cheadle Heath Bridge Gatley Green) belonged to Cheadle and Gatley U.D.C. and 0.88 miles to Hazel Grove and Bramhall U.D.C., all these sections being leased to Stockport Corporation for operating purposes. The total length of track over the system as a whole was 34.03 miles, and the cost of track construction averaged the modest figure of £7,227 per route mile.” [1: p124]

In addition to joint working with Manchester Corporation, a similar arrangement was made with “The Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Transport and Electricity Board, Pole Bank being the point of connection between the two systems. Stockport cars were operated through to Hyde Town Hall from 1st January, 1903, when the Pole Bank Hyde line was the property of the Oldham, Ashton and Hyde Electric Tramways, Ltd., a B.E.T. subsidiary, but it was not until 1923, when this undertaking sold out to local authorities and the Hyde – Pole Bank section was taken over by the Joint Board, that mutual through running could be started. A joint S.H.M.D.-S.C.T. service was introduced in March 1925, between Hyde and Edgeley via Mersey Square and continued until the Joint Board ceased to operate trams on 26th May, 1945. Thereafter, Stockport maintained the service unaided until 2nd March, 1947, when buses took over and the trams were cut back to Vernon Park.” [1: p124]

The withdrawal of the through services into Manchester occurred in the late 1940s but, Gently says, “luckily, only one section of the purely local system [had] suffered likewise, that being the Cheadle-Gatley section, on which buses were substituted on 21st September 1931. An early trolleybus route to Offerton was given up as impracticable many years [earlier].” [1: p124]

Wikipedia tells us that the fleet of tramcars steadily increased, with the Corporation owning a total of 87 double-deck electric tramcars through the life of the system, [3] although the highest number at any one time was 85 [4] and numbers settled down at 82, “all of which [were] of the single-truck top-covered vestibuled type with an average seating capacity of 60. Only 26 cars [had] open balconies, and these [were] used only at peak periods; ten of them [had] reversed staircases. The 56 totally enclosed cars [included] 30 which [were] fully upholstered on both decks, the seats being particularly deep and comfortable. The car [equipment comprised] Westinghouse, DK.30 or DK.35 motors and Dick, Kerr DB.1 (form K3) controllers, and hand-operated track brakes [were] fitted on account of the steep gradients. In 1944, the fleet numbering was re-arranged with the primary object of grouping together between 1 and 29 all those cars which, on account of a low bridge near Bredbury, had low-built top-covers, these being identified by a large H (denoting “Hyde,” the route concerned) on either side of the headlamp.” [1: p124] This was needed until abandonment of the lines beyond Vernon Park rendered this unnecessary. [5]

Three photographs of Stockport Corporation Trams. The first photograph shows Tram No. 35 at Cheadle Heath. The second, Tram No. 54 at Hazel Grove. The third shows Trams Nos. 59 and 60 at Cheadle Heath, © V. E. Burrows but very probably in the Public Domain. [1: p125]

Most of the network survived the Second World War but was progressively closed in 1950 and 1951, only surviving for a short while after the Modern Tramway article of 1949. … “The Crossley Road to Hazel Grove route was the first to go, on 14th January 1950, followed by the Edgeley to Vernon Park route on 3rd March 1951, the Cheadle route on 10th April 1951 and finally the Reddish line on 25th August 1951.” [3]

Wikipedia also explains that: “The Corporation also ran a small trolleybus line, using three vehicles which collected current from the overhead lines using the German Lloyd-Kohler system, the only use of this system in Britain. The route opened in 1913, but the onset of the First World War made obtaining spare parts from Germany impossible, and it ran intermittently, due to maintenance problems. It was replaced by motor buses in 1920.” [3]

It is interesting to note that the deals made with adjacent networks “allowed long journeys to be made by tram, with the route from Hazel Grove to Seaforth Sands near Liverpool being 51.5 miles (82.9 km). One lady is known to have travelled between Liverpool and Stockport for pleasure on several occasions, although it took almost a whole day to reach her destination.” [3]

Gentry noted that Stockport’s track was “double throughout on the Levenshulme, Cheadle Heath, Edgeley and Hazel Grove routes and mostly so on Reddish except between the top of Lancashire Hill and Clare Road; this latter section, together with Princes Street and most of the Vernon Park route [was] single-and-loop. The rail used [weighed] 101 lbs. per yard. The chief depot [was] located in Mersey Square, with a subsidiary depot nearby in Heaton Lane.” [1: p124]

Stockport’s Tram Routes

Edgeley to Mersey Square and Mersey Square to Reddish and Gorton

The first axis that we will look at is tram movements from Edgeley through Mersey Square and then North from Mersey Square to Reddish and beyond.

The tram terminus in Edgeley was on Castle Street just East of Dale Street and opposite a small Mission Church and Institute. It is shown here on an extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1916 (published 1922). This length of Castle Street is part of the B5465. [19]

A tram at the terminus on Castle Street, Edgeley, Stockport. This image faces West and was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 26th March 2020 by Jim Rooney, © Public Domain. [18]

The same location on Castle Street in Edgeley (B5465). Looking West, as above, Dale Street is on the left, on the near side of the half-timbered building. [Google Streetview, August 2023]

Looking East from Castle Street’s junction with Caroline Street. The Wesleyan Chapel, seen on the left, has been demolished and the road pedestrianised. This image was shared by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 14th April 2018, © Public Domain. [22]

A similar view East along Castle Street in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2021]

Castle Street, Greek Street and Shaw Heath junction with dual tram tracks running along Castle Street and Greek Street. This is an extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1934 (published in 1936). [20]

A tram running towards Edgeley leaves Greek Street and crosses Shaw Heath before running along Castle Street, Edgeley. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on 25th May 2016, © Public Domain. [23]

The Castle Street, Greek Street and Shaw Heath junction is now a roundabout. The armoury building still stands. This view shows the location in the monochrome image above as it appears in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2021]

The line from Edgeley met that from Hazel Grove at the junction between the A6 and Greek Street1907 (published 1932). [21]

Looking North from the junction of Greek Street and Wellington Road South. This image was shared by Barry Tasker on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 11th January 2019, © Public Domain. [26]

The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, September 2023]

Now further North, looking South along Wellington Road South from its junction with St. Petersgate. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Barry Tasker on 14th May 2021. It is held in Stockport Image Archive, © Public Domain. [24]

Looking South on Wellington Road South from a similar location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, September 2023]

Trams ran North up Wellington Road South, turned right into St. Petersgate, then right into St. Peter’s Square and down the ramp into Mersey Square. [21]

Wellington Road South (A6), St. Petersgate, St. Peter’s Square and Mersey Square in the centre of Stockport in the 21st century. The large disturbed area either side of the A6 is the construction site for the new transport interchange. [Google Earth, January 2025]

The view North down Wellington Road South from a point South of St. Petersgate. A then brand new Brush-built tramcar No. 38 purchased in 1905 for the new Edgeley and Hazel Grove routes is standing in Wellington Road South and facing towards Mersey Square. In the left hand middle distance the shape of the gasometer which would be demolished to make way for the Heaton Lane complex can just be discerned. This car would be top covered two years later. [38: p21]

Looking Northeast along St. Petersgate with the Public Baths on the left. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on 20th February 2019. [28]

A similar view Northeast on St. Petersgate in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2021]

St. Peter’s Square looking Southwest along St. Petersgate towards Wellington Road South. Trams from Hazel Grove and Edgeley turned of Wellington Road South at St. Petersgate. Those travelling towards Hazel Grove and Edgeley turned left into Duke Street/Lord Street and then right into Wellington Street to find their way to Wellington Road South. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on 31st May 2016, © Public Domain. [30]

A similar, ground-level view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, July 2021]

Two trams pass at the junction of St. Petersgate and St. Peter’s Square. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Keith Povey on 8th July 2020, © Public Domain. [29]

A very similar camera position shows an earlier view with a new Manchester electric tram passes a Hazel Grove-bound horse tram in St Peter’s Square. This photograph was taken in 1902 soon after Manchester’s electric cars reached the town, but it would be another 20 or so years before Stockport’s cars could reach Manchester due to the complicated boundaries and various leasing agreements pertaining at the time. [38: p13]

A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, July 2018]

The Theatre Royal on St. Petersgate with a tram about to turn North into St. Peter’s Square. The image was shared in the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by David Henthorne on 25th June 2024, © Public Domain. [27]

One of the buildings at the centre of the monochrome image above, that on the left, has been replaced. That on the right survives. [Google Streetview, July 2024]

Trams ran through St. Peter’s Square and down the ramp into Mersey Square. The tram stop was in the centre of the paved area with both the Tram Depot and the Fire Station close by.

Tram No. 63 on the service from Edgeley to Reddish is about to leave Mersey Square. The tram depot is behind on the right, the fire station behind on the left. The tram will leave the tram stop, turn right onto Wellington Road and immediately right again into Princes Street. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group on 26th July 2023 by Dave Moran. [17]

The location is vastly different today. The Tram Depot and fire station now replaced by Merseyway Shopping Centre. [Google Streetview, 2018]

The main entrance to the Tram Depot. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Marilyn Ann Cronshaw on 22nd May 2016. [32]

The interior of Stockport Tram Depot, © Public Domain. [31]

An extract from an image earlier in this article. It shows the tram route out of Mersey Square onto Wellington Road and the route then taken by trams from Reddish and East of the town centre up Princes Street. We noted earlier that the image shows Mersey Square in 1932. The fire station and the main Tram Depot are at the top of the extract. The building which just transgresses on the image in the bottom left is Heaton Lane Tram Depot, © Public Domain. [13]

An early view South from Wellington Road North showing trams leaving/entering Mersey Square. The tram at the centre of the image is turning left into Princes Street. Mersey Square was enlarged by removing the buildings on the left of this image. [38: p18]

Also looking South along Wellington Road South from Wellington Road North. The entrance to Mersey Square is on the left. The town hall is in the far distance, © Public Domain. [25]

The same view in the 21st century. The Town Hall is just visible in the distance. [Google Streetview, September 2023]

Princes Street in the early 20th century, seen from Mersey Square/Wellington Road. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Barry Tasker on 9th October 2024. [33]

The Northeast end of Princes Street. The 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1934 (published in 1936). [34]

The Northeast end of Princes Street. Bridge Street is to the right, Tiviot Dale to the left. Trams for Brinksway and the East side of Stockport turned right at the junction, those for Reddish and beyond turned up Tiviot Dale. This image was shared on the Memories of Stockport Facebook Group by Dave Moran on 14th April 2024, © Public Domain. [35]

The same view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, January 2021]

Beyond Tiviot Dale trams ran up Lancashire Hill and then along Sandy Lane. This is the junction of Lancashire Hill and Sandy Lane as shown on the 25″Ordnance Survey of 1934. [34]

After running along Sandy Lane, trams headed Northeast on Reddish Road. The 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1934. [34]

Reddish Road then turns to the North and later to the Northwest.

Another extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1934 (this sheet published in 1935). The tram tracks turned with Reddish Road as the road ahead led to Reddish Station forecourt. [36]

As this next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1934 shows, trams followed Reddish Road over the railway via Reddish Bridge and on to Holdsworth Square. [36]

North of Holdsworth Square trams ran North along Gorton Road crossing the LMS & LNER Joint Railway between Manchester and Hayfield adjacent to that line’s Reddish Station. The location is shown on this extract from the 1934 25″ Ordnance Survey. [37]

The next map extract and photograph show the terminus of the route we have been following from Mersey Square to Gorton. …

The tramway from Stockport enters this map extract from the South along Reddish Lane. The terminus was in Reddish Lane close to the junction with Hyde Road. [39]

The tram terminus on Reddish Lane, Gorton, © Public Domain. [40]

This first article has looked at the history of Stockport Corporation’s Tramways and has highlighted two of the tramway routes operated by Stockport Corporation. The line from Edgeley to Mersey Square and the line from Mersey Square to Gorton. Subsequent articles will look at other routes operated by the Corporation.

References

P.W. Gentry; Stockport Corporation Tramway; Modern Tramway, Vol. 12 No. 138, June 1949, p123-126.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockport_Corporation_Tramways#/media/File%3AStockport_Number_5%2C_Heaton_Park_Tramway_Museum_(Geograph-4167219-by-David-Dixon).jpg, accessed on 3rd January 2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockport_Corporation_Tramways, accessed on 3rd January 2025.
Modern Tramway, June 1943.
Modern Tramway, June 1944.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114581263, accessed on 5th January 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/126523904, accessed on 5th January 2025.
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https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15pVSz4uTy, accessed on 5th January 2025.
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https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DUQnYgBCr, accessed on 5th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15jXGS5iBm, accessed on 5th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1UnsoASBSk, accessed on 5th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15BPGZntyH, accessed on 5th January 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.7&lat=53.40069&lon=-2.17069&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 5th January 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/126523934, accessed on 6th January 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114581263, accessed on 6th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HC6JcC1R1, accessed on 6th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Qt37wW3hZ, accessed on 7th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ApajVt82q, accessed on 7th January 2025.
https://www.prints-online.com/framed-prints/new-images-july-2023/stockport-wellington-road-probably-1930s-32362390.html, acceessed on 7th January 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/12DgqRHQ9dt, accessed on 7th January 2025.
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Harry Postlethwaite, John Senior & Bob Rowe; Super Prestige No. 14, Stockport Corporation; Venture Publications, Glossop, Derbyshire, 2008. This document is made freely available by MDS Books as a .pdf: https://www.mdsbooks.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/Stockport_Download_1.pdf, accessed on 14th January 2025.
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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186869629144?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=FqgD3SOfROO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY, accessed on 14th January 2025.

The Manchester and Leeds Railway – The Railway Magazine, December 1905 – Part 1

1 Reply

An article in the Railway Magazine in December 1905 prompted a look at the Manchester and Leeds Railway. For a number of years my parents lived in sheltered housing in Mirfield which is on the line. Looking at the line as it appeared in 1905 and again in the 21st century seemed a worthwhile exercise! Part 1 of this short series provides a short history of the line and takes us from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge.

The featured image at the head of this article shows the Manchester & Leeds Railway locomotive ‘Victoria’, in about 1878-80. This locomotive was designed by Edward Bury and built at his works in Liverpool. It was one of a batch of 0-4-0 engines ordered in 1845, and later converted to an 0-4-2 wheel arrangement (c) Public Domain. [65]

In his first article in 1905, about the Manchester and Leeds Railway which was accompanied by a series of engravings included here, Herbert Rake wrote that on 11th September 1830 a committee tasked with improving communications between Leeds and Manchester, emboldened by the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, decided to hold a meeting to form a new railway company.

On 18th October 1930, the decision was taken. A board of directors was appointed, a survey was authorised and work was undertaken to prepare for an application to Parliament. It was based on a junction with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Oldfield Lane, Salford and at St. George’s Road, Manchester.

The route from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge was easily agreed, that from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds was more difficult to agree. The Bill prepared for Parliament focused on the Manchester to Sowerby Bridge length of the planned line and was presented on 10th March 1831. Opposition from the Rochdale Canal Company and others and then the dissolution of Parliament halted the progress of the Bill.

Resubmission was agreed on 8th June 1830 but once again failed in its progress through Parliament. In the end, the project was revised, the company was reorganised, and the capital fixed at £800,000 in £100 shares in a meeting in October 1935.

Rake tells us that this “new project abandoned the Salford junction line, but embraced a deviated extension beyond Sowerby Bridge, along the lower portion of the Vale of Calder, past Dewsbury and Wakefield, to Normanton, thence to Leeds, in conjunction with the North Midland Railway. … [The line was] intended to form a central portion of a great main line running east and west between Liverpool and Hull.” [1: p469-470]

The prospectus noted a few important facts, particularly:

The population density with three miles either side of the proposed line was 1,847 persons per square mile. The average for England was 260 persons per square mile.
Within 10 miles of the line there were 29 market towns, twelve with a population greater than 20,000.
Within 20 miles of the line there were 48 market towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants.

Rake tells us that “The Act of Incorporation received the Royal Assent on the 4th July 1836, and authorised a joint stock capital to be raised of £1,000,000, with an additional amount by loan of £433,000.” [1: p470]

Construction commenced on 18th August 1837. On 14th February 1838 it was decided to apply to Parliament for an Act authorising branch lines to Oldham and Halifax.

Victoria Station, Manchester, was first known as Hunt’s Bank Station. [1: p468]

Part of the original station at Manchester Victoria, as it appeared in 1989. In around 1860, the single storey station building was extended by the addition of a second floor. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway sensitively incorporated the original building into the new 1904 facade of Victoria station, © Whatlep and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [2]

Late in 1838, “a modification of the original plan for effecting a junction of the Manchester and Leeds Railway with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was proposed, by an extension of both to a joint terminus within 500 yards of the Manchester Exchange. … The Act of Parliament for this and other purposes received the Royal Assent on the 31st July 1839, authorising the sum of £866,000 to be raised for the purpose of constructing the Oldham and Halifax branches, for making a diversion in the railway at Kirkthorpe, for enlarging the station in Lees Street, and for constructing the line to join the Liverpool and Manchester extension.” [1: p470]

Rochdale railway Station as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey 0f 1908, published in 1910. [21]

View NE from south end of Rochdale Station. On the left, Hughes/Fowler 5P 4F 2-6-0 No. 42724 on the 11.58am Wakefield to Manchester; on the right, Stanier 4MT 2-6-4T No. 42653 on a local to Bolton, © Ben Brooksbank and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [22]

Rake explains that the railway ran through Miles Platting where the Ashton and Stalybridge branch diverges. At Middleton the Oldham branch connected to the main line. Mill Hills embankment (maximum height 75 feet) carries the line towards Blue Pits Station where the Heywood line joins the main line. The line runs on through Rochdale, Littleborough and Todmorden Vale before running in cutting (maximum depth 100 feet) to Summit Tunnel.

During construction, “Six contracts were awarded between the Manchester terminus and the Summit Tunnel and were progressing satisfactorily by August 1838.” [6]

The West Portal of Summit Tunnel is approached from Manchester through a deep cutting. [1: p469]

The same portal of Summit Tunnel in 20th century steam days. [3]

When built, Summit Tunnel was the longest in the world. It opened on 1st March 1841 by Sir John F. Sigismund-Smith.

“The tunnel is just over 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long and carries two standard-gauge tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped tube, approximately 24 feet (7.2 m) wide and 22 feet (6.6 m) high. Summit Tunnel was designed by Thomas Longridge Gooch, assisted by Barnard Dickinson. Progress on its construction was slower than anticipated, largely because excavation was more difficult than anticipated. … It … cost £251,000 and 41 workers had died.” [4]

Rake noted that the tunnel is “14 shafts were necessary, and the strata of rock shale and clay was of so treacherous a character that the brick lining of the roof, which is semi circular, consists in places of no less than 10 concentric rings.” [1: p471] He also comments that: the tunnel entrance is if an imposing Moorish design; 1,000 men were employed with work continuing day and night.

Beyond the tunnel, the railway “entered a cutting in silt, which required piling to secure a foundation. Continuing onwards, we pass through the Winterbut Lee Tunnel, 420 yds. in length, and across a viaduct of 18 arches, one of which is of 60 ft. span we then proceed over the Rochdale Canal, on a cast iron skew bridge 102 ft. in span, at a height of 40 ft. above the surface of the water.” [1: p471]

A colourised engraving of the bridge over the Rochdale Canal by A.F. Tait. [6]

The Manchester and Leeds Railway’s castellated bridge over the Rochdale Canal to the South of Todmorden on 16th September 2007, © Tim Green and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 2.0 Generic). [5]

The railway bridge illustrated above as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905, published in 1907. [9]

“Tenders for work on the eastern section were advertised in 1838. … Contractors then worked fastidiously under the threat of heavy penalties should they over-run the set time limits. They were also forbidden to work on Sundays.” [6]

At Todmorden, “the railway is carried over almost the entire breadth of the valley by a noble viaduct of nine arches, seven of which are each of 60 ft. span, and two of 30 ft., at a height of 54 ft. above the level of the turnpike road.” [1: p471]

Todmorden Railway Station on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905, published in 1907. The viaduct which spans Burnley Road to the East of the Railway Station appears top left on this map extract and below on a more modern photograph. [8]

Todmorden Railway Station, seen from Platform 2, in the 21st century, © Ian Kirk and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC-BY 2.5). [20]

Todmorden – Railway Viaduct over Burnley Road: The railway viaduct reaching the station is a prominent feature and is here seen crossing Burnley Road with the bus station on one side of it and the local market on the other, © David Ward and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [7]

The junction with the Burnley Branch on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905, published in 1907. [10]

Looking West from Hallroyd Road Bridge in 2023. Hallroyd Road Bridge overlooks Hall Road Junction close to the right side of the map extract above. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Looking East from Hallroyd Road Bridge. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Quitting Todmorden, where the Burnley branch diverges, the line enters Yorkshire, passes through Millwood Tunnel (225 yards), Castle Hill Tunnel (193 yards), and Horsefall Tunnel (424 yards) and then arrives at Eastwood Station. Some distance further on is Charlestown. Afterwards the railway “crosses river, road, and canal, by a skew bridge of three arches, the canal being separately spanned by an iron bridge.” [1: p471]

Looking back West from Cross Stone Road across the western portal of Millwood Tunnel. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

Looking East from the corner of Phoenix Street and Broadstone Street, above the eastern portal of Millwood Tunnel. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

These next few images give a flavour of the line as it travels towards Hebden Bridge.

Lobb Mill Viaduct sits alongside the A646, Halifax Road between Castle Hill Tunnel and Horsefall Tunnel. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Looking Southwest along the line towards Todmorden from E. Lee Lane. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

A little to the Northeast, Duke Street passes under the railway. This view looks West from Halifax Road [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Eastwood Railway Station as it appears on the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey. [63]

Thye approximate location of Eastwood Station as it appears on Google Maps satellite imagery in 2024. [Google Maps, October 2024]

A little further Northeast, this is the view Northwest along Jumble Hole Road under the railway. [Google Streetview, June 2011]

The view Northwest from he A646, Halifax Road along the Pennine Way Footpath which passes under the railway at this location. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Again, looking Northwest from Halifax Road along Stony Lane which runs under the railway. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

The view Southwest along Oakville Road which runs next to the railway. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

The view Northeast from the same location on Oakville Road. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

A short distance Northeast, the railway “crosses river, road, and canal, by a skew bridge of three arches, the canal being separately spanned by an iron bridge.” [1: p471] The location is shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905 below.

The bridge mentioned above, as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905. [11]

The same location shown on Google Maps satellite imagery in 2024. [Google Maps, October 2024]

Looking Northeast along Halifax Road, the three arches of the viaduct are easily visible. Beyond it there is a girder bridge which Rake does not mention. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

A little further East Stubbing Brink crosses the railway.

Looking West along the railway from Stubbing Brink Bridge. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

The view East along the line from Stubbing Brink. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

The line next passes through a short short tunnel (Weasel Hall Tunnel (124 yards)) and arrives at Hebden Bridge Station.

Looking West-northwest from Shelf Road Bridge, it is just possible to make out the mouth of Weasel Hall Tunnel. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

The view East-southeast from Shelf Road Bridge towards Hebden Bridge Railway Station. [Google Streetview, April 2023]

This next extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey shows Hebden Bridge Station. [12]

Platelayers at work at Hebden Bridge Station in 1840. [1: p470]

Hebden Bridge Railway Station (Platform 2) in the 21st century, © El Pollock and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [18]

After Hebden Bridge Station, the line proceeds along the South bank of the River Calder, through two small stations (Mytholmroyd and Luddenden Foot) and by a number of riverside mills.

Mytholmroyd Railway Station as it appeared on the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey. The Station is still open in the 21st century. [13]

The original station building at Mytholmroyd, seen from the North in 2006, with the line crossing New Road at high level, © Ian Kirk and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC By 2.5) . The building has since been renovated. [16]

Mytholmroyd Railway Station in the 21st century, © Rcsprinter123 and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 3.0,). [19]

East along the line towards Luddendenfoot, Brearley Lane bridges the line.

Looking West from Brearley Lane Bridge towards Mytholmroyd Station. [Google Streetview, July 2009]

Ahead to the East, the line curves round towards the location of Luddendenfoot Railway Station. [Google Streetview, July 2009]

Luddenden Foot Railway Station. The station closed on 10th September 1962. The site has been developed since 2007 and the northern half is now occupied by the Station Industrial Park, which is accessible via Old Station Road. Two gate pillars from the original station flank the entrance to the road. [14][17]

The location of the erstwhile Luddendenfoot Railway Station as seen from Willow Bank, (c) Matt Thornton. [Google Streetview, February 2021]

Looking Southeast from Willow Bank. The arch bridge visible ahead carries Jerry Fields Road over the line, (c) Matt Thornton. [Google Streetview, February 2021]

To the Southeast, Ellen Holme Road passes under the line.

Ellen Holme Road passess under the railway to the Southeast of the old Luddendenfoot Railway Station. [Google Streetview, June 2023]

Passing other mills and traversing a deep cutting the line enters Sowerby Tunnel, (645 yards) and reaches Sowerby Bridge Station.

Class 101 At Sowerby Bridge Tunnel. — This image is embedded her from Flickr. It shows a Class 101 DMU entering Sowerby Bridge Tunnel from the East while working 2M14 10:31hrs York to Southport service on 8th May 1987, (c) Neil Harvey 156. [59]

Sowerby Bridge Railway Station – note the Ripponden Branch emerging from a tunnel and joining the Manchester and Leeds Railway at the East end of the Station. [15]

An early postcard image of Sowerby Bridge with the railway station in the foreground, © Public Domain. [23]

A colourised postcard view of the Station Forecourt at Sowerby Bridge around the turn of the 20th century. [60]

Sowerby Bridge Railway Station in 2006, (c) Ian Kirk and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons icence (CC BY 2.5). [24]

We complete this first part of the journey along the Manchester and Leeds Railway here at Sowerby Bridge Railway Station.

References

NB: These references relate to all the articles about the Manchester and Leeds Railway.

Herbert Rake; The Manchester and Leeds Railway: The Origin of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, December 1905, p468-474
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https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/trans-pennine-rail-in-the-age-of-victoria-1807452, accessed on 23rd September 2024.
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A Rail Strategy for Greater Manchester (1983). …

Manchester’s Network in 2023

40 years on from thi9s report it is interesting to note how much of what was planned came to fruition. As we know the high cost solution of tunnelling under the city centre was not developed. A Light Rapid Transit solution was given the go-ahead and has met much of what was intended.

The network map can be found here [2].

The first line constructed was the Altrincham to Bury line through Victoria Station and the centre of the city. A link to Piccadilly Station was also installed in the early years. The following history is gleaned from Wikipedia [3].

Phase I opened in 1992. The original Market Street tram stop handled trams to Bury, with High Street tram stop handling trams from Bury. When Market Street was pedestrianised, High Street stop was closed, and Market Street stop was rebuilt to handle trams in both directions, opening in its new form in 1998.

Shudehill Interchange opened between Victoria station and Market Street in April 2003. The bus station complementing it opened on 29 January 2006.

Phase 2 provided a link with Salford Quays with a line running to Eccles. Cornbrook tram stop was opened in 1995 on the Altrincham line to provide an interchange with the new line to Eccles. There was initially no public access from the street, but this changed on 3 September 2005 when the original fire exit was opened as a public access route.

Two of the original stops; Mosley Street, and Woodlands Road were closed in 2013. The latter being replaced by two new stops (Abraham Moss and Queens Road) opened nearby.

By the mid-2000s, most of the track on the Bury and Altrincham routes was 40+ years old and in need of replacement. In 2006 it was decided that a £107 million programme to replace this worn track would take place in 2007.

Phase 3 entailed a significant expansion of the network. It turned into a series of different phases as different funding arrangements had to be made:

Phase 3a – created four new lines along key transport corridors in Greater Manchester: the Oldham and Rochdale Line (routed northeast to Oldham and Rochdale), the East Manchester Line (routed east to East Manchester and eventually to Ashton-under-Lyne), the South Manchester Line (routed southeast to Chorlton-cum-Hardy and eventually to East Didsbury), and eventually the Airport Line (routed south to Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport). A spur was also added to the network to link from the Eccles line to Media City. The link to Media City was opened in 2010. The Line to Chorlton opened in 2011. The other lines opened gradually between 2011 and 2013.

Phase 3b – Three lines mentioned in the paragraph above were extended from initially shorter lines. The construction of the East Manchester line extension from Droylsden to Ashton-under-Lyne, the East Didsbury extension from Chorlton and the Airport line via Wythenshawe, commenced in 2011 and all was complete by the end of 2014.

Phase 2CC – Second City Centre Crossing – was completed in 2017.

Trafford Park [4] – The Trafford Park line linked the Trafford Centre to the network and opened in 2020.

References

W.J. Wyse; A Rail Strategy for Greater Manchester; in Modern Tramway and Light Rail Transit, Volume 48 No. 545; Light Rail Transit Association and Ian Allan, Shepperton, London; May 1983, p146-150.
https://images.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/4RsbFDfzF2zVYfE67Njh8H/0018c0020be875e86e41b04e940433ab/23-0483_Metrolink_Map_-_Sept_2023.svg, accessed on 11th October 2023.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Manchester_Metrolink, accessed on 11th October 2023. The featured image comes from this Wikipedia article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafford_Park_Line, accessed on 11th October 2023.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/02/manchester-metrolink-line-opens-ahead-schedule, accessed on 11th October 2023.

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