The Delph Donkey was a line of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in northern England which opened in 1849 to connect Oldham, Greenfield and Delph to the main Huddersfield to Manchester line.
Route
Both the Saddleworth villages of Delph and Greenfield are on the western slopes of the Pennine hills. The branch followed the main cross country line between Manchester and Huddersfield as far as Delph Junction set above the village of Uppermill. Just before the junction was Moorgate Halt. Although this was situated on the main line, it was only ever used by trains to Delph. The Delph branch then left the main line and veered sharply left past Ladcastle Quarry before reaching Dobcross halt. It then continued to Delph with one additional intermediate halt that served the 'Measurements' factory on Delph New Road where trains only called at the start and end of the working day. The line terminated at Delph where a private siding served Messrs Mallalieu's Bailey Mill. There was also a goods shed and coal staithes serving local business. Delph was the only station on the line beyond Moorgate with permanent structures; the station building still survives as a private residence (as does Grotton & Springhead station). Services ran to and from Oldham via Greenfield with connections to several other destinations as well as a number of summer specials usually to coastal resorts.
Origin of the name
The line took its name from the original service which was said to be a railway carriage drawn by a donkey; however Gordon Suggett states in his book “Lost Railways of Merseyside & Greater Manchester” that it has never been proven that there ever was a donkey or horse drawn service on this line.[1] Since the branch trains worked onto the main Manchester to Huddersfield line, it is unlikely horse drawn trains would have been permitted.[2]
Closure
Passenger trains ceased to run on the Delph Donkey in April 1955, although a limited number of freight trains continued to use the line until November 1963.[3] The track was lifted in 1964 to turn the line between Oldham and Grotton into a cycle/walk way; the line between Moorgate and Delph became the Delph Donkey Trail footpath and bridleway, on which the halts at Dobcross and Measurements are now marked by replica station nameboards. The section of the railway between Greenfield and Grotton was either abandoned as waste land or converted into small footpaths; a section of the line that ran below Grasscroft through Friezland is now part of a large housing estate. The tunnel running underneath Lydgate connecting Grasscroft and Grotton is still completely intact and maintained; however, it is now unused and completely inaccessible. It was felt after lifting the track and deciding the future use of the new available land that it would be too costly and dangerous to collapse or infill the tunnel especially since there are now more structures such as housing above the tunnel than there previously was when the tunnel was built in the mid-1800s. Minor work was carried out in the 1980s as part of a planned maintenance programme which saw the centre air vent infilled to avoid any rare subsidence. In 2008 though, 44 years after the tunnel was last used, there were fears that the tunnel was in danger of collapsing after an inspection revealed a dangerous build up of loose bricks directly below Lydgate village centre on the hill above. This angered many residents on the hill above about possible danger but maintenance work was carried out in 2008 and the tunnel is no longer in danger of collapsing.
As of 2012, there remains old pieces of track outside Bailey Mill at the old Delph terminus that have not been moved since the closure almost 50 years ago.
References
- ↑ Suggett, Gordon (2004). Lost Railways of Merseyside & Greater Manchester (1 ed.). Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-869-1.
- ↑ Goddard, L. (2006). Scenes from the past 49: Delph to Oldham, including Lees MPD, Motor Trains and the O.A & G.B to Ashton (1 ed.). Foxline. ISBN 1870119827.
- ↑ The Leeds, Huddersfield & Manchester Railway by Martin Bairstow (ISBN 1-871944-02-3)
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