End of the line for loop

WHEN passengers step off the last train from Manchester late on Saturday night it will signal the end of more than 140 years of railway services on the line.

Oldham’s loopline, which has ferried countless passengers to Manchester and Rochdale since the 19th century, is to make way for tram tracks.

The journey to bring Metrolink to Oldham has been a long and tortuous saga which has seen the project cancelled and restarted many times because of funding problems.

And though the money is now in place, the scheme is still not without controversy as the conversion work will take more than two years and see commuters having to rely on express buses instead.

The first line into Oldham was a branch from Middleton to Werneth in 1842, and the Werneth to Mumps line followed five years later. The line was continued to Royton and Rochdale in 1863, but Hollinwood was not connected to Mumps and Manchester until 1880.

There are some unusual aspects to the 12-mile long line, which has nine regular stations on route, with services operated by Northern Rail.

Commemorate

There are two tunnels on route between Oldham Werneth and Oldham Mumps and the stretch of line near Werneth, with its gradient of 1 in 27, contributes to the Oldham loop being the steepest regular passenger line on the country.

Other pieces of railway history will disappear along with the track, such as the late Victorian Shaw signal box in Beal Lane that will make way for a new access to the new Shaw and Crompton Metrolink stop.

A host of events are taking place on Saturday to commemorate the closure with large crowds of enthusiasts expected.

But while it’s a sad day for railway buffs they also accept improvements are badly needed — though aspects of the closure still rankle.

Richard Greenwood, chairman of campaign group STORM (Support the Oldham, Rochdale, Manchester Rail lines) said: “It will be a sad occasion. There will be a lot of people there. I remember the last train to Bury before Metrolink, which was only closed for three months, and that had a carnival atmosphere as it was to reopen again so soon.”

It’s sparked nostalgic memories of when the railways ruled, the highlight being the Wakes Weeks when extra trains arrived to ferry huge crowds excitedly gathered on the platform to their holidays.

There were near disasters as well though, such as in February,1959, when an empty diesel went through the buffer in Royton and demolished a row of houses, the driver just getting out in time.

Mr Greenwood said: “It was in 1956 when diesels came on that the service got better. Royton closed after the Beeching cuts in the 1960s but the service in Oldham improved over the years and from the 1990s on we got fast trains to Manchester and more stops during the day.

“It’s been a pretty good service and pressure from Storm also saw the Sunday service return, which was a success.

“But the end was more or less inevitable when Oldham Council built the by-pass and cut the railway station off from the town centre. That act divided Oldham town centre from the railway and the only way to get to it was to go through the most appalling subway.

“It was inevitable it would go downhill from there. The numbers using the station at Oldham compared to similar stations like Bolton are incredibly low. It became an unfortunate anachronism, while Oldham Council devoted all its efforts to road transport.

“Metrolink should offer the solution when it comes through the town centre. Unfortunately the way it’s been done does not meet anyone’s approval, except the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE).

“It had the opportunity to close the line in stages and keep trains running in Shaw, New Hey, Milnrow, Rochdale and Manchester as long as possible, lessening the impact on users.

“But GMPTE decided to shut it completely for what’s the most ludicrous length of time and it’s compounded by the fact that the alternatives are so poor.”

Trams are expected to begin running to Oldham Mumps in autumn 2011, and Rochdale in spring 2012.

Saturday’s events include Northern Rail commemorating the closure by naming one of its Class 156 trains “Gracie Fields” after the much-loved Rochdale-born singer and actress.

A naming ceremony at Manchester Victoria at 4pm will see Oldham’s Mayor, Councillor Jim McArdle, along with the mayors of Rochdale and Manchester, and Gracie’s nephew Dougie Wakefield, unveil the nameplate.

Transformation

The train will then make an inaugural journey as the 4.38pm departure to Shaw and Crompton. “Gracie Fields” will also operate the last scheduled passenger train, departing at 11.28pm from Victoria.

On arrival at Rochdale, the train will make an additional journey to Manchester via Castleton for the benefit of people wishing to travel on the last train.

After the commemorative event, the train will carry passengers on routes across the North-West.

A Northern Rail spokeswoman said: “Rather than being the end of the line for this busy commuter route, it is the beginning of its transformation into a new Metrolink line.”