Jan Ford's World: By Rail to Manchester

Tuesday 19 March 2013

By Rail to Manchester

Sundry Notes and Musings, divided (approximately) into two periods

Pre-1980:

I don't believe I travelled to Manchester in the steam era, so I only know the line as it was around Manchester from photographs. Back then, the main services from my nearest station, Wolverhampton, were routed via Stafford, Crewe, Sandbach and Stockport.

Stafford

In the '50s and '60s I travelled as far as Stafford many times and was amazed by the Stanier 'Pacifics' rushing through the station with 'Named' expresses. The section 'Some Related Posts in this Blog' (below) has links to a couple of posts describing Stafford in that period.

Crewe

Less frequently, I travelled from Wolverhampton as far as Crewe - it was a 'Mecca' for me and I've written a number of posts featuring Crewe, listed in the section 'Some Related Posts in this Blog' (below).

Sandbach

In the 1960s, travelled as far as Sandbach on the Manchester line from Crewe. This was after the Euston to Manchester route had been chosen for the first major 25kV a.c. overhead electrification project. My trip to Sandbach was for an official visit to the new Power Signal Box (arranged by a kindly manager at Crewe). The power box was just north of the station on the Up side.

Sandbach Power Signal Box (now demolished)
after electrification of the line.
(Stephen Craven) / CC BY-SA 2.0

Westinghouse Brake and Signal installed a 'One Control Switch' ('OCS') panel at Sandbach. Track circuit and signal indications were on a vertical, geographical display. Controls were on an inclined, modular panel in front. Each signal had at least one thumbswitch (red for main signals, white for subsidiary) which was turned to clear the signal. Where there were additional routes beyond the signal, additional thumbswitches were provided, one for each route. The thumbswitches for each signal were stacked in a vertical column, where the top thumbswitch selected the 'leftmost' route. Any required point movements were automatically 'called' by turning the signal thumbswitch, although there were also 3-position individual point thumbswitches, black in colour (Normal, Automatic, Reverse).

An example of an 'OCS' panel on display at Crewe Heritage Centre.

Westinghouse installed similar new 'OCS'panels at Wilmslow (where the Styal Loop diverged from the main line through Stockport) and at Manchester Piccadilly (see below).'OCS' did not remain in favour much longer and 'Entrance-Exit' (enjoying the rather odd acronym 'NX') became the preferred approach for later power box schemes.

Stockport

Oddly, the Stockport area evaded signalling modernisation during electrification and the conventional signal boxes at Cheadle Hulme, Edgeley Junction No. 1, Edgeley Junction No. 2, Stockport No. 1, Stockport No. 2 and Heaton Norris remained for some time with mechanical operation of points although colour light signals replaced the earlier semaphore signals. They were all L.N.W.R. boxes (except Heaton Norris, which had been rebuilt with a B.R. Standard frame).

Manchester

In 1908/1909, the station (then called Manchester London Road) was re-signalled with the 'Crewe' All Electric system installed in three signal boxes. There's a brief description of the system here.

Manchester London Road No. 2 box in 1957.

These three boxes survived until electrification of the line, when Westinghouse Brake and Signal installed a 'One Control Switch' ('OCS') panel, similar to Sandbach and Wilmslow, in a new building on the Down side.

The Manchester Piccadilly Signal Box housing
the 'OCS' panel (Photo: John Hillmer).

Post-1980:

It was the 1980s before I started to travel regularly to Manchester, initially for a series of business meetings and later to reach what was then called 'Manchester Museum of Science and Industry' (now MOSI and part of the Science Museum). I became involved as a 'Railway Volunteer' at the Museum and there are a number of posts in this blog about the museum to which there's a link in the section 'Some Related Posts in this Blog' (below).

As you'd expect, having electrified the route, traction in the 1980s was electric - either Mark I coaches locomotive hauled or the lively Electric Multiple Units. Over the years since then, both the pattern of services and the rolling stock has changed quite a bit. Now, addition to modern EMUs and Pendolinos, DMUs and Voyagers are common 'under the wires'.

The north end of Wolverhampton Station in 2007.

My journeys in the 1980s started from Wolverhampton which, by that time, had been provided with a Power Signal Box and an 'NX' signalling console by Westinghouse Brake and Signal during electrification of the area.

This 2008 view Wolverhampton Power Box shows that it is little altered externally and (unlike some similar Power Boxes like Trent, Saltley and Derby) retains its flat roof. Larger overhanging fascias have been fitted since its initial construction, presumably because of difficulties viewing the signalling console in strong sunlight

Signal boxes between Wolverhampton and Stafford had been abolished by Wolverhampton Power Box although Littleton Colliery box survived as a Shunting Frame until the pit was closed in 1993. Stafford had been reduced to two boxes - Number 4 at the south end of the station on the Up side and Stafford Number 5 at the north end on the Down side.

Stafford No. 4 in 2008.

View of Stafford No. 5 signal box snatched from a 'Voyager'.

There was then a fairly small power box with an 'NX' panel at Norton Bridge then (although the ground floor relay room remains, the operating floor has now gone). At Norton Bridge there were two possibilities - continue on the former L.N.W.R. main line to Crewe then turn right for Manchester or turn right at Norton Bridge and follow the North Staffordshire Railway route, joining the line from Colwich at Stone and continuing through Stoke-on-Trent to Cheadle Hulme where the L.N.W.R. route from Crewe was rejoined for the remaining journey through Stockport to Manchester.

Approaching Stockport from the south, the Buxton line converges from the right at Edgeley Junction No. 1.

Edgeley Junction No. 1, Stockport.

After a few hundred yards, the line from Chester converges from the left at Edgeley Junction No. 2.

Edgeley Junction No. 2.

The line continues through a cutting to Stockport Station. This was originally a tunnel but was opened-out during electrification to improve clearances for the overhead catenary. A further two highly-modified LNWR signal boxes look after Stockport Station itself - Stockport No. 1 at the south end and Stockport No.2 at the north end.

Stockport Number 2 in 2008.

The terminus in Manchester was called 'Manchester London Road' until 1960 when, in a fit of modernisation, British Railways changed the name to 'Manchester Piccadilly'. British Railways had a lot of bright ideas like this. In 1965 British Railways finally lost their 'way' (geddit?) and became modern, thrusting 'British Rail'. The signal box with the 'OCS' panel has now been replaced by Manchester Piccadilly Signalling Control Centre. A visit I made to the new signalling centre in 2013 is described here.