It will soon be nearly a quarter of a century since the last train ran from Stretford station which means that memories of a time before the tram will be fading
I briefly used the station back in the 1970s and had no idea of its history or the railway line.
It had been opened in 1849 by the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway and was in part designed to transport food grown in Altrincham and Stretford into the heart of Manchester and in time would challenge the Duke's Canal as the main means of carrying heavy goods in to Manchester.
I have no doubt it would have created quite a stir.
The men who built the line were viewed at best with suspicion and at worst with fear. They had a well deserved reputation for hard drinking and rough behaviour which is no surprise given the dangers of the work they undertook.
And there may well have been a few of our farm a labourers who were taken on to do some of the least skilled work while some of our farmers and market gardeners would have taken advantage of the line to move their crops to the Manchester markets.
But its impact was also to start a wave of house building along Edge Lane.
The train offered the quickest way into town and allowed those who earned a living in the city to escape to what was still the countryside.
Of course by the time I used the train Edge Lane and the surrounding area had long lost any semblance of countryside, but the station still looked like an old fashioned railway, which is where my fiend Ann comes into the story.
She “found these the other day, tucked away. Stretford station in 1961, and Manchester Central, probably a similar date. I used to travel from Stretford to Oxford Road Station, spending my time on the journey drawing the other passengers.”
And so after sixty-two years a little bit of what an old railway station looked like is here to see again.
 |
| Stretford Station, April 1961 |
It had been opened in 1849 by the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway and was in part designed to transport food grown in Altrincham and Stretford into the heart of Manchester and in time would challenge the Duke's Canal as the main means of carrying heavy goods in to Manchester.
I have no doubt it would have created quite a stir.
The men who built the line were viewed at best with suspicion and at worst with fear. They had a well deserved reputation for hard drinking and rough behaviour which is no surprise given the dangers of the work they undertook.
 |
| Central Station, April 1961 |
But its impact was also to start a wave of house building along Edge Lane.
The train offered the quickest way into town and allowed those who earned a living in the city to escape to what was still the countryside.
Of course by the time I used the train Edge Lane and the surrounding area had long lost any semblance of countryside, but the station still looked like an old fashioned railway, which is where my fiend Ann comes into the story.
She “found these the other day, tucked away. Stretford station in 1961, and Manchester Central, probably a similar date. I used to travel from Stretford to Oxford Road Station, spending my time on the journey drawing the other passengers.”
And so after sixty-two years a little bit of what an old railway station looked like is here to see again.
Now that is not so daft given that Stretford has become a Metro Stop with shiny yellow trams and Central having long lost its trains is now an Exhibition Centre.
Pictures; Stretford and Central Stations, April 1961 courtesy of Ann Love
Pictures; Stretford and Central Stations, April 1961 courtesy of Ann Love
No comments:
Post a Comment