Book-buying in Morecambe by Train

Events of Thursday, 26th May 2022

There's a rather special second-hand bookshop in Morecambe called Old Pier Bookshop. Because of the pandemic, I'd not made a visit since 2019 (see post here) but in May 2022 I determined to venture back.

I took the familiar Avanti 'Pendolino' service from Wolverhampton to Scotland as far as Lancaster. The weather forecast hadn't been very good and, as we headed north, the skies darkened and we went through patches of rain. At Lancaster, it was dry but not very warm and, having walked the short distance to the north end bays, I was happy to board the waiting Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) to Morecambe.

We set off on time for Morecambe and, crossing the River Lune. I noticed the poor visibilty on the seaward side with the Heysham Power Stations a looming, grey presence in the distance. At Morecambe South Junction we left the West Coast Main Line, swinging left onto the single line to Bare Lane where we were joined by the single line from Hest Bank which completes a triangular connection with the West Coast Main Line. The route immediately splits into two parallel single lines which continue to serve the two platform faces of Morecambe's modern station. Ten minutes are allowed from Lancaster to Morecambe, including a brief stop at Bare Lane.

It was raining in Morecambe but, undismayed, I set off along Northumberland Street to the seafront, turning east along Central Marine Road. In good weather, the location commands impressive views of Cumbria to the north. There's an exhibit called 'Lakeland Panorama' to assist visitors in identifying what they can see but it was rather redundant on my visit as only low, grey cloud was visible. I passed the Clock Tower and soon reached my destination, the family-run Old Pier Bookshop named after the older of Morecambe's two now-lost piers, which opened in 1869 and was named the Central Pier following the opening of the West End Pier in 1896. According to Wikipedia, the West End Pier was demolished in 1978 while the Central Pier closed in 1986 and was demolished in 1992.

In the bookshop, books crowd in from all directions with shelves fitted in every evailable space. A step ladder is provided to reach high-level shelves. An aisle between bookshelves will often turn a right angle, left or right to reveal more books. The convoluted layout of the bookshelves is reminiscent of ancient rectilinear key patterns (which I believe are strictly called 'meanders') used in geometric borders, sometimes referred to as 'Greek Key' designs. The overall effect is pleasingly eccentric and visitors should not be surprised to come across mannequins browsing the shelves.


Old Pier Bookshop, Morecambe
Old Pier Bookshop, Morecambe (The framed print shown includes a quote from Terry Pratchett's writing)

Did I find a book? Yes, I left the bookshop much later loaded with two large carrier bags of books (mainly from the transport section, as you might have imagined). Fortunately, the rain had stopped but the day remained overcast and none too warm. Fortified by a snack at the Clock Tower Cafe (which I consumed seated at one of the seats conveniently built into the base of the adjacent Clock Tower). I decided to cut short my trip to Morecambe and concentrate on transporting my rather heavy haul of books home. For variety, I took an alternative route through the pedestrianised town centre and Market Street onto Central Drive, quite near the station so this route proved a good choice as I was encumbered with my book purchases. Since I was travelling back earlier than anticipated, I was a little vague about available services but a well-patronised DMU was waiting in the platform so I was soon returned to the bay platforms at Lancaster station.

A number of passengers leaving the train were exiting the station by a pedestrian 'back gate' I'd not seen on previous visits so, despite being loaded with books, I decided to see where it led. Most of the passengers were walking towards the more modern, mainly residential area of the city to the west of the station but I followed the few who were taking West Road over a narrow road bridge, now only available to pedestrians, which crossed the railway revealing new views of the station.


View of Lancaster Station from West Road Bridge looking south

I trudged up the steep hill leading towards Lancaster Castle, where the Crown Court elevation was covered in scaffolding and the maintenance workers were just packing up for the day. I continued into the graveyard of Lancaster Prory Church of St. Mary. It was very peaceful and pleasantly warm so I rested for a few minutes on the steps adjacent to a memorial whilst quickly scanning my recently-acquired books.


Outside Lancaster Priory Church of St. Mary

Deciding it was time to return to the station, I made my way downhill to a pedestrian entrance to the up side of the station, just east of the West Road Bridge. This charming entrance features substantial, carved stone pillars and retains an elaborate iron gate. Of course, the current custodians of this feature, Network Rail have seen fit to adorn one pillar with a modern sign declaring 24-hour CCTV surveillance. They even managed to mount the gharish notice off-centre.


Pedestrian entrance to Lancaster Station (Up side) from West Road

Through the gate, a short, nondescript alley leads to the small, cobbled road access on the Up side of the station and the entrance to the buildings which now lead passengers through automatic doors to the overbridge with both steps and lifts leading to island platforms 4/5 on the Up side and platforms 1/2/3 on the Down side.


Lancaster: Entrance to station on Up Side

A Northern Class 195 DMU heading for Manchester Airport preceded my train in platform 4. These CAF-built units were introduced to finally dispel the abyssmal 'Pacers'and are the diesel-powered version of the electric Class 331. My Avanti 'Pendolino' followed and, having struggled aboard with my books, I flopped in First Class for the uneventful journey back to Wolverhampton, tired after a productive day.

Book References

[1] ‘A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 10 The North West’ by G. O. Holt, revised Gordon Biddle published by David & Charles (ISBN: 0946537 34 8).
[2] ‘Wennington to Morecambe and Heysham via Lancaster’ by Roy Davies (Middleton Press 2021) ISBN 978 1 910356 58 6.

Related articles on other websites

Lancaster Priory (Wikipedia)


Related Railway posts on this website

Steam around Morecambe
Return to Heysham
Railways around Morecambe
Morecambe by Rail
My Introduction to the Railways around Morecambe

My pictures

All my Lancaster and Morecambe pictures:-
Lancaster (All pictures)
Morecambe (All pictures)

All my rail transport pictures showing areas passed through:-
West Midland Metro
West Midland Railways
Stafford Area rail
Crewe Area rail
Warrington Area rail
Wigan's Railways
Railways around Preston
Lancaster area rail.
Morecambe Area Rail

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Blackpool by rail, Fleetwood and Knott End

On Thursday, 30th June 2022, I made a trip by rail to Blackpool, Fleetwood and Knott End. This was largely a 're-run' of an earlier trip in 2021 described here

I caught the 07:30 bus to Wolverhampton, walked towards the station and, once again, marvelled at the slow progress of the tramway extension to the railway station. For some time, the double tramway track from the existing route stopped at Victoria Square. Then, tracks were laid along railway drive, stopping just short of the destination. Special rail joints were provided either side of the bridge over the Ring Road, presumably to allow for some bridge movement.


West Midland Metro: Flexible rail joint on bridge over Ring Road in Railway Drive, Wolverhampton.

However, recently a number of deep, square holes have been dug adjacent to the tracks along this section, with groups of orange-clad workers often in attendance but the reason for these excavations isn't obvious. Work has also continued with tracklaying on the final section extending to the site of the tram station adjacent to the railway station entrance. This tracklaying is enclosed by two adjacent sets of fencing separated by a narrow walkway to allow public access to and from the railway station. The worksite gates are continually opened and closed as workers and materials move between the two areas.
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Wolverhampton Station: View from station towards the City showing tramway tracks under construction on Railway Drive (Trip to Blackpool)

The obstacle race involved in getting to the station gives an unwelcoming feeling to the area which is compounded inside the building by the bleak internal finish of painted building blocks more suggestive of a prison than a modern transport hub. But I suppose it serves as preparation for the high fares and frequent train cancellations on offer.

The displays showed my train, the 08:37 Edinburgh, as 'On time'. Once on the platform, I used my mobile phone to interrogate Railcam UK (described here) to show the approaching train, reporting number 9S44, near Coseley, but preceded by an all-stations local, terminating at Wolverhampton. As frequently happens, my train was slowed or stopped near Monmore Green, waiting for the local to tuck itself into bay platform 5 before the route could be reset and signal BW4271 cleared for my train to follow into through platform 1, arriving 2 minutes late.

The trainset was an 11-car unit, 390117 named 'Blue Peter', re-liveried since the days of the Virgin Trains franchise but without the re-furbishment carried out by Avanti on some of the sets. I found my seat in coach J near the rear of the train and, as we sped north, I was quickly provided with a cooked breakfast. The staff were friendly and the food was good quality, promptly supplied so I enjoyed the journey. I still consider modern arrangements fall short of earlier standards although my experience of railway restaurant cars only extends back to the 1980s, when many travellers already thought on-train catering a lost cause.

We were back on time approaching Crewe but were brought to a stand briefly at signal CE107 (again, as frequently happens), making our arrival in platform 11 one minute in arrears. Our departure was seven minutes late but I didn't discover the cause. On our journey north with brief station stops at Warrington and Wigan, some time had been made up before Preston where I alighted but I never found out whether I would have made the advertised connection with the 10:09 departure to Blackpool as the platform displays indicated that the train had been cancelled. Following the Covid19 pandemic, typically no apologies are made for frequent cancellations. Fortunately, there was another service at 10:25.

I walked along the straight, broad platform 3 towards the footbtidge admiring, as always, the gabled overall roof. Such structures are often called 'train sheds' which seems a rather mean description. The airiness and sense of space combined with generous admission of daylight I find very appealing. The arched structures at, for instance, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly and York are perhaps better-known but the Preston design is very effective.


Platform 3 at Preston with 9S44 preparing to leave: Trip to Blackpool


Preston platform 3, view looking south from the footbridge with platform 2 on the right: Trip to Blackpool:

The train forward to Blackpool arrived on time from the south comprising two 4-car sets of Class 331 EMU built by CAF in Spain. Although I'd seen Class 331 in various locations this was only my second chance to ride on this class introduced in 2019 (the first was a short trip from Edge Hill to Lime Street described here). The modern interiors are decent standard but I didn't find the ride particularly good on the way to Blackpool. The train formed part of a regular Northern Trains electric service between Hazel Grove (the limit of electrification on the Buxton branch from Stockport) and Blackpool North. My train (reporting number 2N63) had left Hazel Grove at 09:03 and travelled via Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Bolton, Horwich and Chorley before joining the West Coast Main Line to reach Preston. Our arrival at Blackpool North was on time at 10:47.

The pedestrian route from the station to the town remained initially via the rather inconvenient arrangement of narrow ramp and stairs to reach the Talbot Gateway area still dominated by building work. The tram station at Blackpool North was still under construction but, having noted the overhead conductor system had been installed and that the tram signals were lit, I was not surprised as I walked along Talbot Road to the seafront when a tram marked 'Not in Service' passed me. Afterwards, I found out that my visit coincided with a week of testing the new line with empty trams running every ten minutes during the day.


Tram carrying out test running on the new extension along Talbot Road: Trip to Blackpool

There had been a little light rain on my journey along Talbot Road, ignored by lightly-dressed holidaymakers, but this soon stopped as the sun emerged and the day warmed. I joined a few passengers waiting for a northbound tram at the North Pier Tram Station and, after a few minutes wait, one of the fleet of Bombardier 'Flexity' trams arrived. I secured a seat at the front offering a view ahead and, having purchased a return ticket to Fleetwood Ferry from the friendly conductor with a rapid contactless payment, settled down for the eight mile journey punctuated by frequent stops to the northern terminus.

It's just a few yards from the tram terminus across the Esplanade to the ferry and, despite just missing a departing ferry, I couldn't resist wandering around the area whilst waiting for the next departure thirty minutes later, finding one of the 'Heritage' trams awaiting its next trip and then exploring Euston Park, with the North Euston Hotel in the background.


Blackpool 'Heritage' tram on loop line at Fleetwood Ferry: Trip to Blackpool


Euston Park, Fleetwood with the North Euston Hotel background left and the Lower Light background right: Trip to Blackpool

Fleetwood Ferry Port is a substantial square-ended dock which towers over the modern Wyre Estuary Ferry 'Wyre Rose'. A long ramp leads passengers down to board the ferry via a short power-operated gangway mounted on the port side of the ferry.


Fleetwood Ferry Port and 'Wyre Rose': Trip to Blackpool

The ferry is operated by two men - the 'skipper' has an elevated 'pilot house' giving improved visibility, the other looks after mooring, the gangway and collecting fares (cash only, collected in a white plastic bucket).


Wyre Estuary Ferry during the crossing showing gangway in raised position, raised 'pilot house' and white cash bucket: Trip to Blackpool

The crossing takes only a few minutes to Knott End (or Knott End-on-Sea to give its full title) on the far side of the Wyre Estuary where the ferry moors alongside a long concrete slipway leading to the expanded village forming part of Parish of Preesall and Wyre Council. It's an odd mixture of old, not-so-old and modern. There's a cafe and shop aimed at tourists, the Bourne Arms public house and restaurant and a long esplanade looking across the bay with Cumbria to the north but my eye is always drawn to the incongruity of the view of the two nearer nuclear power stations at Heysham.


Knott End-on-Sea: View looking north showing Heysham Nuclear Power Stations with Cumbria in the background (Trip to Blackpool)

A nearby postbox carried a 'postbox topper' celebrating crimefighting in Lancashire, which reminded me of my last sighting of these knitted adornments in Wallasey (mentioned here).


Postbox Topper 'You can run but you can't hide' celebrating Lancashire Constabulary in Knott End-on-Sea (Trip to Blackpool)

I decided not to explore beyond the esplanade with its modern apartment buildings facing the sea so, having recorded the Bourne Arms, I made my way back to the Knott End Cafe and indulged in a vanilla ice cream cornet.


The Bourne Arms, Knott End (Trip to Blackpool)

Although I was well aware that Knott End had formerly been connected to the West Coast Main Line via a single line railway to Garstang, it wasn't until I started to write this report that I realised the Knott End Cafe is actually on the site of Knott End Station. I believe the disused station buildings served as Knott End Cafe for some years before being rebuilt and expanded into the current structure. Refreshed by the ice cream, I hurried to the slipway, just in time to catch up with the last of the passengers boarding the next ferry for the short return trip.


View in 2021 from Knott End Slipway showing Knott End Cafe and H. M. Coastguard

At Fleetwood Ferry, a modern tram was waiting at the terminus, with the crew enjoying the warm sunshine on the adjacent pavement. After exchanging a few friendly words, I secured a seat at the front for the return journey and we set off almost immediately. Although we didn't have to stop at every tram station, plenty of passengers boarded and alighted on the way back to Blackpool.

As we neared Blackpool, work in setting up the annual Illuminations (sometimes called 'The Lights') was in progress. The website for the 2022 Illuminations (2nd September 2022 - 2nd January 2023) is here. The major displays are largely mounted on substantial long steel tubes mounted vertically in prepared foundations in the margin on the seaward side of the tramway, held in place by wooden wedges. At least some of these tubes appeared to be re-purposed supports for the tramway catenary or similar. We passed a Blackpool Council articulated flatbed lorry at work, fitted with a serious-looking Atlas crane (probably from their 'medium' range). Atlas manufacture in Germany but there's a UK website here.


Blackpool Illuminations being erected (Trip to Blackpool)

A few of the large displays were already in place, featuring Sooty and friends (who were appearing at Blackpool North Pier in 2022).


Blackpool Illumination 2022 being erected (Trip to Blackpool)

I left the tram at North Pier and, spotting another Heritage Tram waiting in the loop at North Pier, went across to take a picture. It was a rather attractive open top, 'Gondola' style tram with a driver, conductor and a couple of passengers on board.


Heritage Tram, open top, 'Gondola' style, waiting in the loop at North Pier (Trip to Blackpool)

The tram didn't seem about to move so I then spent a short time on the pier, taking yet one more picture of Blackpool Tower viewed from the pier.


Blackpool Tower, viewed from North Pier (Trip to Blackpool)

It was so warm, I'd ended up carrying my coat. I'd intended to travel home on a 'Pendolino' from Blackpool later in the afternoon not requiring any changes but knowing I could travel an hour earlier with a single change at Preston and starting to get tired and feeling warm, I crossed to Talbot Road and started walking towards the station. The walk took longer than expected and, for a moment, I wondered if I'd catch the earlier train but all was well. As I hurried through Blackpool station, I noticed that the later, direct train I'd intended to catch had been cancelled so I gratefully flopped onto the 14:28 Blackpool North to Hazel Grove, another Class 331. This made stops at Leyton, Poulton and Kirkham. The reporting number was 2H00. On arrival at Preston, I crossed to platform 4 and found a station seat, having around half an hour to wait for my connaction.

The connection was a 'Pendolino', reporting number 9M56, timetabled to depart Preston 15:18, Wigan 15:30½, Wigan 15:41½, Crewe 16:01½, getting to Wolverhampton at 16:33½. The train was a few minutes late into Preston and, with plenty of passengers boarding and alighting, the computer logged departure as 8 minutes late. I settled myself in First and there was amusement when the catering lady came to take 'orders from Preston' as we each recognised the other from the Down journey that morning. After I'd left the train at Preston, trainset 390117 'Blue Peter' had continued to Edinburgh and returned on its London-Edinburgh-London diagram to pick me up again. The service was friendly and attentive, although I found the afternoon menu rather limited. I'm afraid I didn't pay a lot of attention on the journey. The Openrail computer logged us 8 late at Wigan, 5 late arriving Crewe (we'd been brought to a stand outside Crewe North Junction) and I made us 7 late into Wolverhampton. The earlier than planned train home meant that I was in time to catch the last bus to Brewood (at 17:10!). The warm weather and the walking had left me tired but I'd had a very enjoyable day.

Garstang and Knott End Railway

Although I never saw the railway operating, I made one brief visit by road some years after closure of the line. For a rather obscure railway, I was surprised how much history was readily available on the internet and I list a few sites below:-

Garstang and Knot-End Railway
The Garstang and Knott End Railway – Part 1
The Garstang and Knott End Railway – Part 2
THE GARSTANG & KNOTT END RAILWAY
Disused Stations Site Record: Knott End

Related posts on this website

Previous trips to Blackpool are linked below. Note that the dates below are posting dates, not the date of the events described.

Halfex to Blackpool 5-Jul-2008
A Trip to the Seaside 17-Jan-2014
Railways around Blackpool 18-Jan-2014
Return to Blackpool and Fleetwood (part 1) 19-Feb-2016
Return to Blackpool and Fleetwood (part 2) 15-Oct-2016
Blackpool by Train 17-Feb-2019
Blackpool by Electric Train 28-Aug-2021


My pictures

Pictures taken on this trip:- Blackpool Trip


All my rail transport pictures showing areas passed through:- West Midland Metro
West Midland Railways
Stafford Area rail
Crewe Area rail
Warrington Area rail
Wigan's Railways
Railways around Preston
Blackpool's Railways
Blackpool Trams


All my Blackpool, Fleetwood and Knott End pictures:- Blackpool and Fleetwood


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Old Locomotive Committee Annual General Meeting, 2022

The Covid19 pandemic resulted in cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 Annual General Meetings of the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO). The 2022 A.G.M. was held on Saturday, 7th May 2022 at the Museum of Liverpool.

Getting there

I travelled on the same West Midland Trains service from Birmingham to Liverpool Lime Street that I'd used a short time before for my New Brighton trip (described here). This train leaves Wolverhampton at 08:21 but on Saturdays there is no bus early enough to get me to Wolverhampton, so I next considered catching the train at Penkridge, where the 08:21 calls on weekdays but, I discovered, not on Saturdays so instead I travelled by car to Stafford to pickup the train there.

The 8-car Siemens 'Desiro' Class 350 gave us an uneventful and on-time journey to Liverpool Lime Street where I transferred to the underground Merseyrail station for the short journey to James Street by one of the elderly Class 507/508 3-car sets which are due to be replaced by Stadler Class 777. Back at ground level, it was sunny but rather windy as I walked to the Waterfront. The ten o'clock Mersey Ferry had just left Pier Head but my attention was drawn to the adjacent Cruise Terminal where Tui cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 3' was moored.


Cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 3' visits Liverpool: OLCO A.G.M. 2022

I then walked to the Museum of Liverpool, housing the 1838 locomotive 'Lion'. The museum is home to some interesting artefacts but I will never forgive the 'dented shoebox' architectural design of the building, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 (my report is here). A few years earlier, in 2004, Liverpool had achieved World Heritage Status from UNESCO for the "outstanding universal value" of its waterfront. But this was withdrawn in 2021 (only the third site in 50 years to lose the coveted status) because of "significant loss to its authenticity and integrity" caused by the host of ghastly redevelopments including the museum itself.

'Lion' was on display in the Great Port Gallery, but it was disappointing to find most of the display screens provided to interpret 'Lion' and the Great Port Gallery were out of use. There's a short post here describing the arrangements commissioned in 2011. I understand that, such is the pace of technological change, maintenance of these systems is becoming problematic.


'Lion' on display at the Museum of Liverpool: OLCO A.G.M. 2022

Informal proceedings started around 1.00 p.m. as the Chairman, John Brandrick, described the David Royle Archive of ‘Lion’-related documents held by OLCO and displayed a number of drawings for examination. There was then a special illustrated talk about the Museum of Liverpool Transport Collection given by Transport Curator Sharon Brown which was very vell received.


OLCO A.G.M. 2022 (Photo: Sharon Brown)

The formal A.G.M.followed. In his report, the Chairman particularly thanked the editor of the OLCO Magazine 'Lionsheart' for informing and entertaining the membership during the Covid Pandemic when face-to-face activities were not possible. It was noted that Rapido Trains are introducing an 00 gauge model of 'Lion', based on John Hawley's drawings of the prototype, which should be viewed as an opportunity to expand OLCO's activities. [Progress on this project is shown here]. A full report on the A.G.M. has been circulated to OLCO Members.

The A.G.M. finished at 16:20. The weather was glorious but, already tired, I was not tempted by further exploration. I walked back to James street and caught the next train to Liverpool Lime Street.


Class 508 entering James Street station, inbound to Liverpool before traversing the Liverpool Loop and becoming an outbound train: OLCO A.G.M. 2022

I had intended to catch the next hourly West Midland Trains service back to Wolverhampton but I discovered that there was an earlier Avanti West Coast train to London which called at Stafford. Having confirmed the validity of my ticket on this train (Train Operating Companies seem obsessed with having very complicated and irritating restrictions on which trains different tickets can be used), I had a decent journey by 'Pendolino' to Stafford, with only a few minutes to wait there for a connection on to Wolverhampton.

It was good to meet my OLCO friends face-to-face after being restricted to remote communication for so long.

Related posts on other websites

The Titfield Thunderbolt 70th Anniversary Range (Rapido Trains UK)

Related posts on this website

Royal Visit to the Museum of Liverpool
Audio Visual Installations at the Museum of Liverpool

To find all my posts about the Old Locomotive Committee and the locomotive 'Lion', click here or select 'OLCO' under 'Labels to select a blog topic'.

My pictures

OLCO A.G.M. 2022
The Old Locomotive Committee and Lionsmeet (All my OLCO Collections)


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Manchester by rail

On Friday, 8th July 2022, I made a trip by rail to Manchester area to visit a friend.

Over the years, I've made many trips to Manchester, particularly when I was a volunteer at what was then called the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. My previous trip on the route, as far as Stockport, had been in November 2021 and that is described here.

I caught the 07:30 bus to Wolverhampton, then walked to the railway station passing the West Midlands Metro extension where numerous workers in high visibilty clothing and hard hats swarmed over the new construction. I made my way to platform 2 for the 08:14 train to Manchester. I used Railcam UK (described here) to confirm that my train, reporting number 1M18 had been scheduled to depart Southampton at 05:15 that morning, leaving Birmingham New Street at 07:57, Wolverhampton 08:14½, Stafford 08:28½, Stoke 08:44½, Macclesfield 09:01½, Stockport 09:14½ and arriving at Manchester Piccadilly at 09:23. On that day, the train was reported three minutes late leaving Birmingham. When the train arrived, I had some confusion identifying the correct coach for my reservation as, although the passenger information display on the platform indicated the marshalling of the two 4-coach 'Voyager' sets was with the two First Class areas in the centre of the train, on that day, the leading set was in reverse. Anxious to get the train away, the platform staff advised "just get on and walk through". However, the nearest door was blocked by what I assumed was an assistant guard who only relectantly let me use 'his' door. We left two minutes 'down' and I walked through the leading set to reach my booked seat. That seat was already occupied but a number of adjacent seats were available so I settled down for the journey.

After our Stafford stop, we were only one minute late departing, passing a Down train of sand in bogie vehicles headed by 66160 waiting on the goods line next to platform 6. Departing from our Stoke stop, we were two minutes late as I noted the Northern Electric Multiple Unit reporting number 2H82 in platform 3 ready to work the all-stations to Crewe. As expected, we picked up a crowd of commuters at Macclesfield, leaving three minutes late. We left Stockport two minutes late and I didn't note our arrival time at Piccadilly but the leisurely timings specified combined with the reserves of power provided by the eight Cummins QSK19 diesel engines on the train offer plenty of scope for recovering lateness where local speed limits permit.

I'd travelled early to allow a visit to witness some testing in Stockport before visiting my friend but, at the last moment, the testing was cancelled so I had some time free. I'd decided to make a visit to the former Manchester Museum of Science and Industry which is now part of the Science Museum with the logo 'SCIENCE+INDUSTRY MUSEUM' with a website here. I'd started volunteering at the museum back in 1988 and you can find the posts about my involvement here. Back then, my travel to the museum from home would either be by car door-to-door or by train to Manchester Piccadilly. Sometimes, I'd walk from here to the museum, just over a mile away. If I was lucky, I could cross to platform 14 and catch a local train to Deansgate, leaving a walk of only 0.3 miles to the museum. Not all trains stopped at Deansgate so an alternative was to alight at Oxford Road and walk the 0.7 miles from there to the museum but I rarely adopted this strategy. In 1992 the Manchester Metrolink trams started running from Piccadilly to Deansgate Castlefield tram station and then on to Altrincham, offering another method of reaching the museum.

On 8th July, I decided to use the tram so I descended into the undercroft at Piccadilly, part of which forms the tram station. A tram for Altrincham arrived after a few minutes and I boarded for the journey to Deansgate Castlefield tram station. The tram runs at street level through Piccadilly and St. Peter's Square but then climbs above ground approaching Deansgate before continuing on part of the Castlefield Viaduct which originally carried the approach tracks to Manchester Central Station which was the Manchester terminus of the Cheshire Lines Committee and featured a remarkable arched train shed, listed grade II*, now re-purposed as Manchester Central Convention Complex ('GMEX'). When this tram station first opened, there were just two lines passing through but, since it serves 'GMEX', it has been expanded to three platform tracks with facilities for reversing trams.


The expanded Deansgate Castlefield tram station in 2016

In a welcome improvement, the original fearsome steps between the tram station and ground level have been supplemented by a lift so I was able to descend to Deansgate itself in comfort and then walk to Liverpool Road.


Manchester: Deansgate, looking north from the junction with Liverpool Road.

The museum didn't open until 10:00 so I spent some time in Castlefield Urban Heritage Park which displays remains of Roman Castlefield and a quite nice re-creation of the appearance of the North Gate of Mamucium Roman Fort. My attention was drawn to the set of stairs leading from Beaufort Street to the approach to Castlefield Viaduct which serves as Collier Street Car Park which is now joined by a nearby lift I didn't remember. This prompted a bit of searching which revealed that the National Trust is converting a 300 yard section of the listed viaduct structure into a 'Urban Sky-Park', presumably inspired by New York's High Line. Public viewing, I read, should start at the end of July 2022.

The museum frontage on Liverpool Road was completely obscured by scaffolding and hoardings proclaiming 'REVOLUTION IN PROGESS'. Additional signage read 'A multi-million-pound restoration programme is underway at our globally significant industrial heritage site to carry out crucial restoration work and reveal new spaces and perspectives for all visitors to enjoy, play and learn in.' The museum entrance is in Lower Byrom Street, with a separate entrance to a ground floor cafe which already seemed quite busy. The museum itself was still quiet but a young member of staff confirmed, after checking his watch, that they were open. Years ago, I made some useful purchases in the large retail shop but, on this visit I found only overpriced rubbish, I'm afraid. Because of the 'revolution in progress', most of the museum areas were closed. There was a large display of textile machinery I found interesting but the explanatory text was rather limited. On the first floor the 'Discovery' section introduces young children to various scientific principles. I found the alternating light levels between 'fairground primary colours' and sepulchral gloom rather irritating. The large first floor bistro was still closed. I didn't take in the temporary special exhibition of black and white pictures of Amazonian tribes but I was amused to see another temporary exhibition - one of Rowland Emett's eccentric steam train creations called 'A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley' but I didn't return later to see the demonstration of the 'kinetic sculpture' moving.


'A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley' by Rowland Emett: Science+Industry Museum, Manchester

I appreciate I didn't see the museum at its best, but the contrast with my happy memories of working at the site made me rather sad. Looking along the derelict Pineapple Line towards the new bowstring bridge on Network Rail's Ordsall Chord line which has truncated the site emphasises that offering the experience of real steam train rides in the future at the birthplace of passenger railways would be very difficult.


Now-derelict Pineapple Line looking towards the girders of the new bowstring bridge on the Ordsall Chord line which truncates the site: Science+Industry Museum, Manchester

I left the museum and retraced my route to Deansgate tram station, pondering my next move. I decided to catch a tram one stop back towards Piccadilly, alighting at St. Peter's Square and walking to Manchester Art Gallery, which seems to have resisted modernising revolution fairly well and I relaxed sufficiently to enjoy an orange juice in the Gallery Cafe before touring as many of the rooms as time permitted. The Gallery website is here. My lunchtime appointment was in Altrincham so I left the gallery in sufficient time to walk back to the St. Peter's Square tram station and catch the next service back through Castlefield and then on to Cornbrook, continuing on the former Manchester South Junction and Altrincham route.

The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway opened in 1849 using steam traction. Following the 1923 Grouping, ownership and operation passed to the MSJ&AR Committee representing the L.M.S and L.N.E.R. An electric service using 1500 volts d.c. third rail started operation in 1931, using standard 3-car electric trains of a design already in use on the L.M.S. In 1971, a modernised service was introduced on the line, after conversion to the British Rail standard of overhead 25 kV a.c. electrification. This continued until the end of 1991 when the line was closed to allow Manchester Metrolink to take over much of the line. Many of the existing overhead supports were retained as part of a new 750 volts d.c. scheme. Towards Manchester, significant re-routing was necessary and the Metrolink trams now use part of the abandoned C.L.C. route as far Deansgate tram station before descending to street level and finally passing through the Undercroft of Piccadilly main line station. For more about the early history of the line, see the Wikipedia article here; for more about the line as part of Manchester Metrolink refer here.

Whilst running at street level, the speed of trams is fairly low but once on the dedicated former MSJ&AR route, the line speed limit increases to 80 km/h, allowing some spirited running between the original stations.


View from tram approaching Deansgate Junction, where the double-track Metrolink becomes single towards Altrincham: Manchester Metrolink


Manchester Metrolink, Altrincham: View from platform 1 looking south.

I arrived in platform 2 at Altrincham in plenty of time to walk to my friend's home. Together with my friend's daughter and her husband, we enjoyed an excellent salmon lunch and spent the afternoon chatting. Because of the pandemic, it was our first face-to-face meeting in three years.

I'd not pre-booked my return journey but knew that there was an hourly Northern Service from Altrincham to Stockport which then continued to Manchester Piccadilly. I'd first used this route in 2014, as described here and again in 2018, described here. I walked back to Altincham Interchange and booked a ticket to Stockport. As in 2018, the journey was in peak hours so the train was crowded and it was again raining heavily but at least the dreadful 4-wheeled 'Pacer' units had been upgraded to 'Sprinters'. At Stockport, I anticipated enough time to obtain a ticket for my onward journey to Wolverhampton: I had not anticipated that the ticket office would already be closed so I had to tangle with an unfamiliar design of automatic ticket machine with a large vertical touch-screen display. More by luck than judgement, I managed to purchase the appropriate ticket and proudly headed to platform 2 to await the Manchester to Bournemouth 'Voyager' service which would return me to Wolverhampton.

As I anticipated, there was a fair crowd awaiting the train which was already quite full when it arrived from Manchester Piccadilly. A number of passengers were content to remain standing in the vestibules at each end of the coaches but I managed to find a seat. Our first calling-point was Macclesfield, where a number of passengers I assumed to be regular commuters to Manchester left the train. I managed to secure the use of a pair of seats for the rest of the journey but I'm not a fan of the rather cramped seat layout in the 'Voyager'. I didn't pay much attention on the rest of the journey but approaching Stoke-on-Trent I caught a glimpse of a freight train attached to a Class 66 in the sidings on the Up side near Longport. Railcam UK suggested this was reporting number 6Z76 which had left Redcar at 21:20 the previous evening, arriving at 'Colas Longport' at 06:20.

On my arrival in Wolverhampton, I walked to the taxi rank and completed my journey home after an enjoyable, if tiring, day.

Related posts on other websites

Science and Industry Museum
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
Altrincham Line
Manchester Art Gallery

Related posts on this website

Note that the dates below are posting dates, not the date of the events described.

To Stockport by Rail 14-Nov-2021
The Cheshire Lines Committee 2-Oct-2014
The Cheshire Lines Committee Routes Today 7-Oct-2014
To Altrincham via the former C.L.C. 27-Aug-2018

My pictures

All my rail transport pictures showing areas passed through:-
West Midland Metro
West Midland Railways
Stafford Area rail
Manchester Area Rail
Manchester Metrolink
Altrincham Station

All my Manchester pictures:- Manchester

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