Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
railway company, which opened in 1861, connecting Oldham
Oldham
Oldham 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...
, Ashton
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
and Guide Bridge
Guide Bridge railway station
Guide Bridge railway station serves Guide Bridge, a part of Audenshaw, Tameside in Greater Manchester, England and is operated by Northern Rail. The station is 4¾ miles east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Glossop Line.-History:...
.
Plans
In 1847 the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire RailwayManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
(MS&LR) had submitted a scheme to Parliament, but it had been rejected in favour of a scheme for a small network of lines called the Oldham Alliance Railways which, in the end, was not built.
In 1856, a deputation from Oldham and Ashton approached the MS&LR for its support for the line, which would connect to 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...
(L&Y) and the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) 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....
.
Initially, the MS&LR had hoped that the other lines would support the scheme but they showed little interest, and the board members had to put up the finance privately. Once incorporated in 1857, the L&Y took an interest, but the MS&LR, wishing the line to be a three way venture, prevailed upon the LNWR to join in. Not wishing to be associated with the LNWR, the L&Y then withdrew, thus it was leased to the remaining two railways, and so became a joint line
Joint railway
A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.-United Kingdom:There are many examples of joint railway working in the United Kingdom...
from 30 June 1862.
Opening
The section between Guide Bridge and the L&YR near Ashton was completed in March 1860. Wet weather hampered further work, for which a long cutting and an embankment, plus the 12-arch Park Bridge Viaduct was needed. However on 26 August 1861, the first trains ran from London RoadManchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
through Guide Bridge to Clegg Street
Clegg Street railway station
Oldham Clegg Street railway station was one of five stations that served the town of Oldham in northwest England.-History:The station was the northernmost passenger station on the Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway; it opened on 26 August 1861...
, Oldham. The line connected end-on with the LNWR near Oldham Glodwick Road
Glodwick Road railway station
Oldham Glodwick Road railway station was one of five stations that served the town of Oldham. It was close to Oldham Mumps railway station, but was on a different line.-History:...
. Other stations were at Park Bridge
Park Bridge railway station
Park Bridge Railway Station was on the line from Oldham to Ashton-under-Lyne, from 1861 until closure of the passenger service in May 1959. The station was located adjacent to the south side of the viaduct at Park Bridge. The line remained in use for goods traffic until 1967, when the entire route...
and Ashton Oldham Rd
Oldham Road railway station (Ashton-under-Lyne)
Oldham Road Railway Station was one of three railway stations that used to serve the town of Ashton-under-Lyne. The station closed in May 1959 following the withdrawal of passenger services on the line, although the route remained in use for freight traffic until 1967...
, with another at Ashton Moss
Ashton Moss railway station
Ashton Moss Railway Station served the town of Ashton-under-Lyne until its closure in 1862. The station was located on Moss Lane, at the west end of the town. The railway is still in use for freight although there are no scheduled passenger services...
which closed in 1862. There were two short tunnels: Ashton (Oldham Road) Tunnel of 53 yards (48.5 m) between Oldham Road station and Park Bridge; the other, Oldham Tunnel of 59 yards (53.9 m) between Sheepwashers Lane and Clegg Street. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway became the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
(GCR) on 1 August 1897; as a consequence, the Great Central & London & North Western Joint Committee was set up in 1905, to administer various undertakings jointly owned by those two railways; these included the OA&GB.
Events since 1923
In 1923 the LNWR became part of the London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
under the Railways Act 1921
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
, and the GCR similarly became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
; in 1948, the LMS and LNER both became part of British Railways.
The passenger service finally succumbed to the competition from road transport and was withdrawn in May 1959. When the parcels depot at Oldham Clegg Street closed, the section to Ashton was closed completely in 1967. The remainder leading to Reddish
Reddish
Reddish is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Stockport and southeast of Manchester...
and Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
remains open for freight, though the connection to Guide Bridge has been severed.