Manchester to Rochdale via Oldham Line
Encyclopedia
The Oldham Loop Line was a local railway route in Greater Manchester
, England, used by trains that ran from Manchester Victoria station
to Rochdale railway station
. Services on the line at the time of its closure were operated by Northern Rail
.
The line closed on 3 October 2009 for conversion during 2009-2012 to light rail
use for Manchester Metrolink
services.
at Thorpes Bridge Junction in Newton Heath, Manchester and re-joined it at Rochdale East Junction. The line was 12+1/8 mi long, and was double-track from Thorpes Bridge Junction to Shaw and Crompton railway station
, and single-line from Shaw and Crompton to Rochdale East Junction. There were two tunnels on the route between Oldham Werneth and Oldham Mumps railway station
s. There were nine intermediate stations on the route.
The first railway line to be built in the area was the Manchester and Leeds Railway
(M&LR) which opened on 4 July 1839 to Littleborough and throughout on 1 March 1841. Although this line ran close to Rochdale, it missed out Middleton and more importantly Oldham as well. A station was built at Mills Hill
to provide a railhead for Middleton and Oldham. This was only intended as a short time measure given that Oldham was already a substantial manufacturing centre by this date. The first railway into Oldham was a branch from Middleton Junction
to Oldham Werneth which opened on 31 March 1842. This line included the Werneth Incline which had a gradient of 1 in 27 and was one of the steepest lines in the country regularly used by passenger trains. The situation of the first station in Oldham on the outskirts of town was not entirely satisfactory, and in 1847 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
, the successor to the M&LR, extended the line from Oldham Werneth railway station
to a new station at Oldham Mumps
. There was also an intermediate station at Oldham Central
. The line and the two new stations opened on 1 November 1847.
There was a further extension of the line from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale East Junction on 1 November 1863. This line included stations at Milnrow
, New Hey
and Shaw & Crompton. A branch off this line to Royton
was opened on 21 March 1864, followed on 1 July 1864 by Royton Junction railway station
.
The operational problems of the Werneth Incline had led to the consideration of a more direct route from Oldham Werneth to Manchester to bypass it as early as 1848, but it was not until August 1876 that construction of the line began. It took nearly four years to complete, opening on 17 May 1880 along with the stations at Hollinwood
and Dean Lane
. Failsworth station opened slightly later on 26 April 1881 . With the construction of this section of line the whole route from Rochdale East Junction to Thorpes Bridge Junction, Newton Heath was complete and it became known as the Oldham Loop Line.
which also closed on 18 April 1966.
Royton Junction Station, renamed as Royton, stayed open but by the 1980s a replacement for it was being considered. Derker
opened on 30 August 1985. For a short period trains stopped at either Derker or Royton, but eventually Royton (formerly Royton Junction) railway station was closed on 8 May 1987. This was the last station closure before the whole of the Oldham Loop Line was closed for conversion to Metrolink.
. It was not usual for trains to terminate at Oldham Mumps and instead they ran on to Royton (until its closure in 1966), and subsequently to Shaw and Crompton railway station
. While the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line was open there were a few services over that route to Oldham Mumps, Royton or Rochdale. By 1950 this had reduced to a handful of trains per day, and the services over the line reduced further until its closure in early 1963.
In the 1960s and 1970s fewer and fewer trains ran from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale, and in May 1972 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that this part of the Oldham Loop would be closed. The closure did not go ahead because what later became the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
(GMPTE) agreed to fund the continuation of services. The involvement of the GMPTE also lead to a more frequent pattern of trains serving the Oldham Mumps to Rochdale section.
In the period immediately prior to closure trains were timetabled to connect with the Caldervale Line services to Leeds via and Bradford Interchange. All stations and all scheduled train services were operated by Northern Rail. During the week, trains ran every 15 minutes on the route, with express trains leaving Manchester at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour calling at Oldham Mumps, Shaw and Crompton and all stations to Rochdale, and stopping trains calling at all stations between Manchester and Shaw and Crompton, leaving at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. During the evenings and on Sundays services were less frequent with an hourly service calling at all stations.
at the southern end of the Oldham Loop. Usually only a single train a day uses this facility. Its future operation will be unaffected by the conversion to Metrolink.
In the period up to closure all passenger services were operated by diesel multiple units. The most common types of unit were Class 142
and Class 150
with occasional Class 153
and Class 156
.
operation. The proposed Light Rapid Transit system was intended to run from Rochdale via Oldham through Manchester Victoria and across Manchester City Centre via on-street tram lines. The system eventually came into operation in 1992 as Manchester Metrolink
. While the Oldham loop line was not included in the first phase of Metrolink, the line is currently being converted to Metrolink operation as part of Phase 3 of the Manchester Metrolink
network.
Work started on the conversion in 2009, after the heavy rail services ceased on 3 October 2009. Replacement bus services were planned to operate until the tram service commenced, but lack of patronage led to their withdrawal within months. Pending completion, former rail users have the choice between normal bus services, none of which run along the complete length of the loop line, or driving to an alternative rail head. The latter occurred immediately after the Oldham Loop closure, leading to severe overcrowding on the Caldervale line .
GMPTE originally announced that Metrolink services would be introduced as follows
By summer 2011, the project was running several months behind schedule. The reasons include diversion of resources to other Metrolink extensions to Chorlton and Ashton (themsleves badly behind schedule) and issues with the new signalling system proposed for systemwide use. No section of Metrolink has opened as originally scheduled since the tram system's inception. Announced dates for Oldham loop openings were shown on Metrolink's own site as follows on August 11th, 2011
The local press have reported a series of complaints about the conversion project and, latterly, the delayed opening dates.
Phase 3B of the expansion project envisages constructing a branch between Werneth and Oldham Mumps into Oldham town centre.
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England, used by trains that ran from Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is the city's second largest mainline railway station. It is also a Metrolink station, one of eight within the City Zone...
to Rochdale railway station
Rochdale railway station
Rochdale railway station serves the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Manchester and Leeds Railway opened a station serving the town in the 19th century...
. Services on the line at the time of its closure were operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
.
The line closed on 3 October 2009 for conversion during 2009-2012 to light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
use for Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
services.
Description
The Oldham Loop diverged from the Caldervale LineCaldervale Line
The Caldervale Line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool...
at Thorpes Bridge Junction in Newton Heath, Manchester and re-joined it at Rochdale East Junction. The line was 12+1/8 mi long, and was double-track from Thorpes Bridge Junction to Shaw and Crompton railway station
Shaw and Crompton railway station
Shaw and Crompton railway station which opened on 2 November 1863 was a railway station located in Shaw and Crompton, within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England...
, and single-line from Shaw and Crompton to Rochdale East Junction. There were two tunnels on the route between Oldham Werneth and Oldham Mumps railway station
Oldham Mumps railway station
Oldham Mumps Railway Station opened on 1 November 1847 and served the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The station was a primary station located on the Oldham Loop Line north east of Manchester Victoria operated and managed by Northern Rail....
s. There were nine intermediate stations on the route.
History
The history of the Oldham Loop Line was intertwined with the early history of railways in the Manchester and Oldham area, and to some extent also with the geography of Oldham which meant that there was no direct Manchester to Oldham line until quite late in the 19th century.The first railway line to be built in the area was the Manchester and Leeds Railway
Manchester and Leeds Railway
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
(M&LR) which opened on 4 July 1839 to Littleborough and throughout on 1 March 1841. Although this line ran close to Rochdale, it missed out Middleton and more importantly Oldham as well. A station was built at Mills Hill
Mills Hill railway station
Mills Hill railway station is in the Mills Hill area of Middleton in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. The station is 9 km north of Manchester Victoria on the Caldervale Line...
to provide a railhead for Middleton and Oldham. This was only intended as a short time measure given that Oldham was already a substantial manufacturing centre by this date. The first railway into Oldham was a branch from Middleton Junction
Middleton Junction railway station
Middleton Junction Railway Station was on the Caldervale Line, from 1842 until closure in 1966. It lay within Chadderton. Originally called Oldham Junction, it was opened on 31 March 1842 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway, whose chief engineer was George Stephenson, as part of the branch to...
to Oldham Werneth which opened on 31 March 1842. This line included the Werneth Incline which had a gradient of 1 in 27 and was one of the steepest lines in the country regularly used by passenger trains. The situation of the first station in Oldham on the outskirts of town was not entirely satisfactory, and in 1847 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
, the successor to the M&LR, extended the line from Oldham Werneth railway station
Oldham Werneth railway station
Oldham Werneth railway station was situated on the Oldham Loop Line, 10 km north east of Manchester Victoria. The station was situated on Featherstall Road South, in the Werneth area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England...
to a new station at Oldham Mumps
Oldham Mumps railway station
Oldham Mumps Railway Station opened on 1 November 1847 and served the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The station was a primary station located on the Oldham Loop Line north east of Manchester Victoria operated and managed by Northern Rail....
. There was also an intermediate station at Oldham Central
Oldham Central railway station
Oldham Central Railway Station was opened on 1 November 1847 as part of the extension of the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line to Oldham Mumps. It was eventually one of six stations in the town of Oldham and was adjacent to Clegg Street railway station which closed on 2 May 1959...
. The line and the two new stations opened on 1 November 1847.
There was a further extension of the line from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale East Junction on 1 November 1863. This line included stations at Milnrow
Milnrow railway station
Milnrow railway station which opened on 2 November 1863 served the town of Milnrow, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England...
, New Hey
New Hey railway station
New Hey railway station, known by its archaist name, which opened on 2 November 1863 served Newhey, a suburb of Milnrow in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England ....
and Shaw & Crompton. A branch off this line to Royton
Royton railway station
Royton Railway Station which opened on 21 March 1864 served the town of Royton, England. It was at the end of a short branch line from Royton Junction railway station on the Oldham Loop Line. Royton closed to goods services on 2 November 1964, and to passengers services on 16 April...
was opened on 21 March 1864, followed on 1 July 1864 by Royton Junction railway station
Royton Junction railway station
Royton Junction railway station which opened on 1 July 1864 was a station on the Oldham Loop Line in Greater Manchester, England. It was the junction for the short branch line to Royton railway station. The line to Royton was closed to goods on 2 November 1964, and to passengers on 16 April 1966...
.
The operational problems of the Werneth Incline had led to the consideration of a more direct route from Oldham Werneth to Manchester to bypass it as early as 1848, but it was not until August 1876 that construction of the line began. It took nearly four years to complete, opening on 17 May 1880 along with the stations at Hollinwood
Hollinwood railway station
Hollinwood railway station opened on 17 May 1880 and was situated in the Hollinwood area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. The station was 7 km north east of Manchester Victoria on the Oldham Loop Line operated and managed by Northern Rail.The station was next to the M60 motorway...
and Dean Lane
Dean Lane railway station
Dean Lane railway station opened on 17 May 1880 and served Newton Heath, Manchester, England. The station was on the Oldham Loop Line 2½ miles north east of Manchester Victoria and was operated and managed by Northern Rail. There were once three stations in Newton Heath: , Dean Lane and...
. Failsworth station opened slightly later on 26 April 1881 . With the construction of this section of line the whole route from Rochdale East Junction to Thorpes Bridge Junction, Newton Heath was complete and it became known as the Oldham Loop Line.
Closures
The Royton to Royton Junction line was listed for closure by the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. Royton closed to goods services on 2 November 1964 and passenger services on 18 April 1966. Although not mentioned by Beeching, a further closure in the 1960s was Oldham Central railway stationOldham Central railway station
Oldham Central Railway Station was opened on 1 November 1847 as part of the extension of the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line to Oldham Mumps. It was eventually one of six stations in the town of Oldham and was adjacent to Clegg Street railway station which closed on 2 May 1959...
which also closed on 18 April 1966.
Royton Junction Station, renamed as Royton, stayed open but by the 1980s a replacement for it was being considered. Derker
Derker railway station
Derker railway station was a railway station in Derker, an area of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It was on the Oldham Loop Line, north east of Manchester Victoria and was managed by Northern Rail at the time of closure....
opened on 30 August 1985. For a short period trains stopped at either Derker or Royton, but eventually Royton (formerly Royton Junction) railway station was closed on 8 May 1987. This was the last station closure before the whole of the Oldham Loop Line was closed for conversion to Metrolink.
Passenger train services
The pattern of passenger services over the line was always that all trains from Manchester ran to Oldham Mumps, but fewer continued on to terminate in a bay platform at RochdaleRochdale railway station
Rochdale railway station serves the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Manchester and Leeds Railway opened a station serving the town in the 19th century...
. It was not usual for trains to terminate at Oldham Mumps and instead they ran on to Royton (until its closure in 1966), and subsequently to Shaw and Crompton railway station
Shaw and Crompton railway station
Shaw and Crompton railway station which opened on 2 November 1863 was a railway station located in Shaw and Crompton, within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England...
. While the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line was open there were a few services over that route to Oldham Mumps, Royton or Rochdale. By 1950 this had reduced to a handful of trains per day, and the services over the line reduced further until its closure in early 1963.
In the 1960s and 1970s fewer and fewer trains ran from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale, and in May 1972 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that this part of the Oldham Loop would be closed. The closure did not go ahead because what later became the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive
Transport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester, in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to...
(GMPTE) agreed to fund the continuation of services. The involvement of the GMPTE also lead to a more frequent pattern of trains serving the Oldham Mumps to Rochdale section.
In the period immediately prior to closure trains were timetabled to connect with the Caldervale Line services to Leeds via and Bradford Interchange. All stations and all scheduled train services were operated by Northern Rail. During the week, trains ran every 15 minutes on the route, with express trains leaving Manchester at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour calling at Oldham Mumps, Shaw and Crompton and all stations to Rochdale, and stopping trains calling at all stations between Manchester and Shaw and Crompton, leaving at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. During the evenings and on Sundays services were less frequent with an hourly service calling at all stations.
Freight services
At the time of closure the line's sole regular freight service was to the waste management plant next to Dean Lane railway stationDean Lane railway station
Dean Lane railway station opened on 17 May 1880 and served Newton Heath, Manchester, England. The station was on the Oldham Loop Line 2½ miles north east of Manchester Victoria and was operated and managed by Northern Rail. There were once three stations in Newton Heath: , Dean Lane and...
at the southern end of the Oldham Loop. Usually only a single train a day uses this facility. Its future operation will be unaffected by the conversion to Metrolink.
Rolling stock
British Rail Class 142
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom. 96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984....
and Class 150
British Rail Class 150
The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units were built by BREL from 1984-87. A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.- Background :...
with occasional Class 153
British Rail Class 153
The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...
and Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...
.
Last Day events
Events held on 3 October 2009, the last day of operation, included the naming of Class 156 unit no 156 466 as Gracie Fields to commemorate the Oldham Loop Line's 146 years of history. A steam special hauled by locomotive no 45231 was the last steam train over the line. It was followed later in the day by a heritage diesel railtour. The last train from Manchester Victoria to Rochdale departed at 11.25 pm.Metrolink conversion
The Oldham Loop was included in proposals in 1984 for conversion to light railLight rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
operation. The proposed Light Rapid Transit system was intended to run from Rochdale via Oldham through Manchester Victoria and across Manchester City Centre via on-street tram lines. The system eventually came into operation in 1992 as Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
. While the Oldham loop line was not included in the first phase of Metrolink, the line is currently being converted to Metrolink operation as part of Phase 3 of the Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
network.
Work started on the conversion in 2009, after the heavy rail services ceased on 3 October 2009. Replacement bus services were planned to operate until the tram service commenced, but lack of patronage led to their withdrawal within months. Pending completion, former rail users have the choice between normal bus services, none of which run along the complete length of the loop line, or driving to an alternative rail head. The latter occurred immediately after the Oldham Loop closure, leading to severe overcrowding on the Caldervale line .
GMPTE originally announced that Metrolink services would be introduced as follows
-
- Manchester to Central Park (Monsall) - spring 2011
- Manchester to Oldham Mumps - autumn 2011
- Manchester to Rochdale station - spring 2012
By summer 2011, the project was running several months behind schedule. The reasons include diversion of resources to other Metrolink extensions to Chorlton and Ashton (themsleves badly behind schedule) and issues with the new signalling system proposed for systemwide use. No section of Metrolink has opened as originally scheduled since the tram system's inception. Announced dates for Oldham loop openings were shown on Metrolink's own site as follows on August 11th, 2011
-
- Manchester to Central Park - winter 2011
- Manchester to Oldham Mumps via former railway line - spring 2012
- Manchester to Rochdale station - summer 2012
- Oldham/ Rochdale street sections - 2014 (month/ season not given)
The local press have reported a series of complaints about the conversion project and, latterly, the delayed opening dates.
Phase 3B of the expansion project envisages constructing a branch between Werneth and Oldham Mumps into Oldham town centre.
Places served
The places served by the Oldham Loop Line in the period immediately before closure were as follows:- Dean Lane: for Newton HeathNewton HeathNewton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....
- FailsworthFailsworthAt Failsworth lies north-northwest of London. It shares common boundaries with Manchester and Oldham, on its west and northeast respectively. Failsworth is traversed by the A62 road, from Manchester to Oldham, the heavy rail line of the Oldham Loop and the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the...
- Hollinwood
- OldhamOldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
WernethOldham Werneth railway stationOldham Werneth railway station was situated on the Oldham Loop Line, 10 km north east of Manchester Victoria. The station was situated on Featherstall Road South, in the Werneth area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England...
: for WernethWerneth, Greater ManchesterWerneth is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-southwest of Oldham's commercial centre and one of Oldham's most ancient localities.-History:...
and ChaddertonChaddertonChadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire... - OldhamOldhamOldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
MumpsOldham Mumps railway stationOldham Mumps Railway Station opened on 1 November 1847 and served the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The station was a primary station located on the Oldham Loop Line north east of Manchester Victoria operated and managed by Northern Rail....
: for Oldham Town Centre, SaddleworthSaddleworthSaddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
, Mossley and Holts Village - Shaw and CromptonShaw and CromptonShaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...
- NewheyNewheyNewhey is a suburban village in the Milnrow area of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England...
- MilnrowMilnrowMilnrow is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, and forms a continuous urban area with Rochdale...