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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