Ghost stories from the Metrolink ……… 1992

 As transport features go the Mosley Street tram stop had a short life, opening in 1992 and closing on May 18th, 2013.

When Mosley Street was a tram stop, 2010

And given that it is now 12 years since it was last used there will be many who will not know of its existence and many more who have forgotten that once Timmy tram stopped there on its way south.

It stood  along side the row of shops and restaurants under Bernard House which my Wikipedia tells me “was the last unidirectional stop on the Metrolink, with a single platform serving southbound passengers travelling towards Altrincham Interchange, Eccles Interchange, MediaCityUK and St Werburgh's Road only”.*

I used it a few times, but it was not my go to stop and then it had gone. 

It always struck me as an afterthought on the network sandwiched between St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens. Added to which it only went the one way and what I had completely forgotten was that the stop “was designed with a varied height platform, partly full height with ramped lower sections. When a service was worked by two coupled T-68 vehicles, the rear vehicle extended mechanical steps to allow access at the low-platform sections - a feature absent in the newer M5000 vehicles”.*

High Street tram stop, 1990

So, there you are a little bit of our forgotten history.  Not that it was alone, because standing on High Street was another “one directional stop” which linked Market Street and Shudehill stops.

And this one I don’t remember ever using, nor for that matter do I remember that once Market Street was also one single platform, which became two in 1998 and sealed the fate of the High Street stop.

Leaving just Mosley Street as the only city centre single platform which eventually also vanished.  It did not benefit from a major upgrade and its days were numbered.

So returning to Wikipedia, “A review of the stop's future was conducted and found that the stop could cause congestion for trams at the Piccadilly delta junction when additional services are implemented. The report also noted that the tight confines around the stop location meant that rebuilding the platform to the new specifications would impact on pedestrian flows and access to adjacent retail establishments.

With two other Metrolink stops in close proximity (Piccadilly Gardens, 160 metres (520 ft), and Market Street), the expense of a platform upgrade was not considered to be economically or operationally justifiable. The decision was taken in February 2010 to close the stop".

Laying the tracks bringing a tram to Piccadilly and beyond, 1990

And so it went, leaving me to ponder as I pass the ghost of the stop how easy it is for a city landmark to be lost and pretty much forgotten.

I have Tony Goulding to thank for pulling me back to Mosely Street and its tram stop. 

He asked  “HI Andrew, I have just looked at an old Metrolink map (2008) and was reminded that there was originally a stop on Mosley Street. 

I am not sure, but I think it may have only had one (outward) platform. Has it had a mention in one of your tram books?"

The answer was no it was not in our first three tram books but it will appear in the next which takes the tram traveller from Piccadilly Gardens via Piccadilly Railway Station and onto New Islington, Holt Town and the Etihad Stadium.

The books will cover all eight routes and all 99 stops and as their titles indicate are the History of Greater Manchester By Tram, in which Peter Topping and I tell stories of the stops, and Peter paints them, with each book telling a bit of the history of Greater Manchester.**

The books are avaibale at £4.99 from Chorlton Bookshop, the shop at Central Ref, St Peter's Square, or from us at  www.pubbooks.co.uk 

Location; Mosley Street, Market Street & Market Street

Pictures; Mosley Street, David Dixon, 2010, From this image at geograph.org.uk; transferred by User:cnbrb using geograph_org2commons, Mosley Street, Manchester Looking north east to the north end towards Piccadilly Gardens where there will be a Delta junction, November 1990, Dr Neil Clifton / Mosley Street, Manchester  Mosley Street, Manchester Looking north east to the north end towards Piccadilly Gardens where there will be a Delta junction, Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0, High Street, Manchester, April 1993, From geograph.org.uk; transferred by User:Wikidwitch using geograph_org2commons

* Mosley Street tram stop, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosley_Street_tram_stop

**A new book on the History Of Greater Manchester By Tram, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20History%20of%20Greater%20Manchester%20by%20Tram