Manchester Central railway station

Manchester Central
Location
Place	Manchester
Area	City of Manchester
Coordinates	53°28′34″N 2°14′51″W / 53.47611°N 2.24750°W / 53.47611; -2.24750Coordinates: 53°28′34″N 2°14′51″W / 53.47611°N 2.24750°W / 53.47611; -2.24750
Grid reference	SJ837977
Operations
Original company	Cheshire Lines Committee
Pre-grouping	Cheshire Lines Committee
Post-grouping	Cheshire Lines Committee London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	9
History
1 July 1880	Opened
5 May 1969	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester city centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it has been converted into an exhibition and conference centre named Manchester Central. The structure is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The station was built between 1875 and 1880 by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC), and was officially opened on 1 July 1880. The architect was Sir John Fowler and the engineers were Richard Johnson, Andrew Johnston and Charles Sacré for the three companies which formed the CLC.^[1][2]

While it was being built, a temporary facility, Manchester Free Trade Hall Station (after the Free Trade Hall a landmark building nearby) was in use from 9 September 1877. It had two wooden platforms serving four tracks. When the station opened, the temporary station became Manchester Central Goods.

In 1963 building was Grade II* listed for its special architectural or historic interest.^[1]

Construction details

The station's roof is a single span wrought iron truss structure 550 feet (168 m) long with a span of 210 feet (64 m), and was 90 feet (27 m) high at its apex above the railtracks. Glass covered the middle section, timber (inside) and slate (outside) covered the outer quarters. The end screens were glazed with timber boarding surrounding the outer edges. It was constructed by Andrew Handyside and Co.^[3] The substructure and masonry partition were provided by Robert Neill and Sons of Manchester. Underneath the train shed is a large brick undercroft with intersecting tunnel vaults, above which were six platforms above street level which exited the station onto viaducts and bridges.^[4] The undercroft was used for storage and connected to the adjacent goods sidings by a carriage lift. The station's two-storey south wall has 15 bays separated by brick pilasters. At ground-floor level the bays have three round-headed windows and at first-floor level three square-headed. In the 20th century a glazed canopy was erected at the entrance at north end.^[1]

Manchester Central Station on a winter's day in 1961

A temporary wooden building, erected at the front of the station to house ticket offices and waiting rooms was planned to be replaced by a grander edifice, for example a hotel and railway offices as at London St Pancras, but remained in use until the station closed. The Midland Hotel was built by the Midland Railway in 1898-1903 on an adjacent site.

Railway usage

Manchester railways 1910

Midland lines

The Midland Railway (MR), one of the CLC's partners, used Manchester Central as its terminus for services including express trains to London St Pancras. Beginning in 1938, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (successor to the MR) ran two prestige expresses, The Peaks and the Palatine, stopping en route at Chinley, Millers Dale, Matlock, Derby and Leicester.

Between 1960 and 15 April 1966, during the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, Central Station was the terminus for the Midland Pullman, a streamlined blue six-coach diesel multiple unit. This stopped at Cheadle Heath (now closed), before running fast to St Pancras.

Services through Millers Dale finished in July 1968 when the line was closed as a through route. The station provided local services to Chester and Liverpool but closed to passengers on 5 May 1969, when the remaining services were switched to Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly stations.

Accidents and incidents

• On 8 June 1939, a passenger train departed against a danger signal and was in collision with another passenger train. Several people were injured.^[5]
• In October 1965, detectives who had arrested Ian Brady for the murder of 17-year-old Edward Evans in Hattersley discovered evidence in a left luggage locker at the station which connected them to the disappearances of two missing children, who were soon discovered to have been murdered by Brady and his accomplice Myra Hindley in the widely reported Moors murders, in which at least five children and teenagers were murdered.

Post-railway era

Dereliction and redevelopment

Central Station car park (1980)

Over a decade Central Station fell into a dilapidated state, was damaged by fire, and was used as a car park. The property was acquired by Greater Manchester Council and in 1982, work began on converting it into an exhibition centre, which opened in 1986 as the Greater Manchester Exhibition and Conference Centre or G-Mex. It was subsequently renamed Manchester Central in honour of its railway history. The undercroft was converted into a car park, serving the centre and Bridgewater Hall.

Light rail

A Metrolink tram (1992)

The opening in 1992 of the Metrolink light rail system has seen the conversion of suburban heavy rail lines such as the former Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway to Altrincham, and the disused Cheshire Lines Committee route via Didsbury. With the introduction of Metrolink, rail services from south Manchester run once more to Central Station. However, instead of trains running into the Central Station arch, light rail vehicles now cross the railway viaduct and stop at Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop. They then run down a ramp which runs parallel to Lower Mosley Street, alongside the south-eastern side of the former train shed, before reaching street level where they operate as trams and head towards St Peter's Square.

Gallery

• 
  Derelict station in 1981
• 
  Derelict platforms
• 
  Platform detail
• 
  Inside the derelict station
• 
  Looking towards the platforms
• 
  GMEX Centre in 2007
• 
  1894 map showing the location of Central Station

See also

• The Great Northern Warehouse A former railway building nearby, now a leisure/shopping complex
• Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester

References

• A Guide to Civil Engineering in Manchester
• The Lincolnshire & East Yorkshire Transport Review.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2013). Chester Northgate to Manchester. Middleton Press. figs. 106-118. ISBN 9781908174512. OCLC 892704846. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manchester Central railway station.

• Ellis, Chris (11 January 2015). "What happened to England's forgotten railway stations?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015. 

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