Now, I am the first to admit, this is not the most remarkable photograph of either a tram, or a tram leaving Media City.
But perhaps in a century or so, if it survives, it will be used by historians and those interested in Salford’s history as a clue to how a once busy place at the heart of docklands looked just a few decades after the ships had gone.
It may also play its part in that debate about how Salford has changed and continues to do so.
For some this “new Salford” is something to regret, and regularly I read comments full of fondness for that “old Salford”, mixed with criticism of what has replaced it.
And there is no denying that there was a tremendous community spirit which was lost when the terraced streets were cleared away, and the glass and steel giants began marching their way across the city.
But that is to forget that many of those terraced houses were no longer fit for purpose, and the presence of a factory, gasworks or timber yard at end of the street presents residents with a shedload of noise and pollution.
Added to which the architecture of much of Salford was not that very different from its neighbour over the river and could be replicated in towns and cities across the country.
Location; Salford
Picture; leaving Media City, 2016, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
It may also play its part in that debate about how Salford has changed and continues to do so.
For some this “new Salford” is something to regret, and regularly I read comments full of fondness for that “old Salford”, mixed with criticism of what has replaced it.
And there is no denying that there was a tremendous community spirit which was lost when the terraced streets were cleared away, and the glass and steel giants began marching their way across the city.
But that is to forget that many of those terraced houses were no longer fit for purpose, and the presence of a factory, gasworks or timber yard at end of the street presents residents with a shedload of noise and pollution.
Added to which the architecture of much of Salford was not that very different from its neighbour over the river and could be replicated in towns and cities across the country.
Location; Salford
Picture; leaving Media City, 2016, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
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