On the 1st July 1893, the LNWR Company informed the BoT of its intention to open to public use the new Stalybridge Junction Railway.... it is proposed to commence working traffic over the line on 1st August 1893". Major Marindin inspected the line and reported in late July that the railway was to be opened as a double line, 1 mile 48 chains in length, commencing at a junction with the line from Stockport to Dukinfield and terminating at a junction with the line from Ashton to Stalybridge".

The Stalybridge Reporter, 29th July 1893, informed its readers: "There are indications that the London and North Western Railway Company will shortly open their new line between Dukinfield and Stalybridge for traffic. This week, large signs have been erected on each side of the iron girder bridge spanning Alma Street bearing the words "London and North Western Railway, Dukinfield and Ashton". The station, which is close by, will be handy for Ashton people residing about the geographical centre of the town to get to the LNW system. If the Company will put on a sufficient number of convenient trains there is no reason why they should not be well patronised".

A speed restriction of 20 m.p.h. was at first imposed due to the unfinished condition of the permanent way and the need for signalling alterations. These were remedied during August 1893. The old link between the Hooley Hill line and the MS&LR line, a length of 27 chains, was closed to traffic on the 1st July 1903; a 2Y' O.S. plan of 1910 shows no sign of the erstwhile connection.

The route between Ashton and Stalybridge assumed a gradual curve to the south east, the chief features being the numerous stone under bridges which carried many of Ashton's roads and streets over the railway which lay, for some distance, in a cutting. Henrietta Street came first on leaving the station, the old waterworks road, followed in succession by Cow Hill Lane, Romney Street, Katherine Street tunnel (actually bridge No.28 and 92 yards in length under Katherine Street and Crickets Lane), Mossley Road, Queen Street, Grafton Street, Stainford Street, Currier Lane and finally Granville Street ten bridges altogether. The south easterly curve ceased beyond Granville Street, bringing the railway back to an easterly alignment alongside the Great Central's line, the latter sandwiched between the Ashton Branch and the LNWR's Stalybridge Junction line - the triple approach to Stalybridge Station. Before arriving at the station, the Ashton branch traversed Clarence Street overbridge and immediately formed Stalybridge Branch Junction, the point where a connection left the LYR line to link with the GCR line.

Much of the above description of the 1 1/2 miles of railway between the two towns applies as much today as in LYR and LMS days. The traveller between Ashton and Stalybridge can sit back in the seat of a Class 142 Pacer unit and be whisked through the sylvan cutting and under the same ten bridges. Those who are keen-eyed will notice a recess in the stone retaining wall on the Down side, close to Cow Hill Lane bridge, once the site of Ashton East signal box. It is at this bridge also that the name of a Dukinfield iron foundry can be discerned on two stout iron girders which span the tracks; "Garforth's Dukinfield 1868", reminding us of the time when it was necessary to rebuild the bridge carrying Cow Hill Lane over "the railway in a cutting".

Stalybridge Joint Station: Early Co-operation

"At a special meeting of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company, the Chairman, Mr H.Houldsworth said that the Company had introduced a Bill in Parliament for obtaining powers to make a short extension of the Ashton Branch at Stalybridge to join the Huddersfield and Manchester line there .... the cost of the proposed extension to Stalybridge would be 50,000 pounds and for carrying out the agreement for the Huddersfield and Manchester Company, for the station there, 60,000 pounds".

This report appeared in the Manchester Guardian, 10th March 1849, and referred to the proposed extension beyond the LYR terminus to a point where Spring Street passed beneath the railway. Had this extension materialised, further bridge would have been necessary over Rassbottom Street, with more viaduct work and consequent dislocation of streets and disturbance of property.

On the 10th May 1849, an agreement between the LYR and MS&LR was made in London by Captain Laws and Lord Yarborough to form a connection between their respective companies and the newcomer, the LNWR. The following day, the LYR agreed to pay the MS&LR the sum of 15,000 pounds towards the cost of the work which had to be carried out on the incipient joint LYR/MS&LR station. On the 22nd May, plans were finalised - the LYR and the MS&LR both agreed to lay at equal expense, a double junction to link both lines. In addition, it was decided to run Stalybridge as a joint venture, yet retaining their separate and distinctive booking offices utilising the site of the MS&LR station. A joint goods depot with separate warehouses were to be provided on the northern side of the MS&LR line. Naturally, it was essential to run local passenger traffic between the station and Manchester London Road and Victoria in a co-ordinated manner, with a pooling of receipts. Some idea of the patronage of the station can be gleaned from a short report which appeared in the Manchester Guardian, 6th June 1849: "There were the following special trains on this Company's lines (LYR) on Saturday last. One from Stalybridge to Pontefract, carrying a thousand passengers; from Stalybridge to Blackpool, conveying 150 Sunday Scholars; one conveying 400 scholars of the Newton Heath School to Hebden Bridge....

By the 1st July 1849, one month before the opening of the LNWR's Huddersfield to Stalybridge route, the connection had been installed between the LYR and MS&LR lines. On the 1st August, a further connection had to be laid to link the third railway to the other two. Thus Stalybridge, in the Autumn of 1849 had assumed the status of a joint junction station - a meeting place of three railways, and a situation ripe for future congestion!

References to Stalybridge Joint Station are few and far between in the pioneering time between 1846 and 1860. (Note that the spelling of Stalybridge had a variant, that of Staleybridge, a spelling which seemed to alternate with the other even on official documents). One of the earliest references which has come to light was reported in the Manchester Examiner, 5th September 1846: "On Friday afternoon as the fifteen minutes past one train arrived at Staleybridge from Manchester, the engine got off the line in consequence of the lever connected with the points having been broken. The result was that the quarter to three train was detained upwards of half an hour. Fortunately, no persons were injured".

Unfortunately, this report lacks sufficient detail as to which company owned the derailed engine, the event alone apparently enough to warrant mention as a minor railway mishap. A more detailed report in the same newspaper, 17th August 1847, described how two men employed by the Huddersfield and Manchester were killed at the eastern end of the station. Two days earlier, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on a Sunday, a group of men was working in Stalybridge Tunnel, which at that time lay under construction. The job entailed ridding the tunnel excavations of rats and was achieved by creating minor controlled explosions to scare the rats away, using gunpowder obtained from a timber hut near the tunnel entrance. Owing to the carelessness of one of the men, the hut, which contained barrels of powder, tallow and other inflammables, exploded and killed two men and inflicted injuries to several others.

The number of train services operating from the joint station in 1850 were as follows:

Reference to the 25 inch O.S. plan of 1854 reveals the apparent existence of two railway stations at Stalybridge. The old and abandoned Manchester & Leeds station buildings could be reached from Rassbottom Street, its wooden platform on the south side served by a single line, although this was one of three tracks which converged and united a little to the east of the station to terminate at a 40 feet diameter turntable. A 98 feet long, single-road, engine shed stood next to the boundary wall, leaving the goods arrangements occupying land adjacent to the station building, consisting of interconnected sidings.

Into the 1860's

It was not until 1866 that local dissatisfaction and official disapproval came to the fore. The Mayor of Stalybridge, James Sidebottom, took advantage of an incident which occurred at the station on the 2nd December of that year. By informing the Board of Trade of the accident, the Mayor seized the opportunity to advise the Board of the parlous condition of the town's station. This he did in a missive dated the 8th December 1866. Colonel Yolland of the B-o-T visited the station a short while after the 11th December and was met by the Mayor, the Town Clerk, and a party of railway officials from both the LYR and MS&LR.

Fragments of the Colonel's report are worth quoting as they provide a picture of the joint station as it was then. "It appears that this station when it was first opened in September 1846, formed a terminal station for the MS&LR Company, both for goods and passengers, and two lines of way were laid down of which only one was used for the passenger traffic which arrived and departed from a single low platform 14 inches in height.... Some time afterwards the LYR Company began to use this station as a terminal station for their passenger traffic.... About six years since, another platform was erected south of the railway.... this platform is 2 feet above the level of the rails, and on it there are booking offices and small waiting rooms, and this platform and the booking offices are used to the trains of the three companies....".

The Colonel bemoaned the fact that passengers had to cross three lines of railway to reach their desired platform, especially those who had alighted LNWR trains at a different platform. In addition, he drew attention to the approach to the south platform which could be made via the coal yard below and by a long flight of 47 steps "but little used and to elderly and infirm persons must be dangerous". This south platform was only six feet wide through a length of 71 feet and was often crowded with 200 to 300 people.

The accident which had inspired the Mayor to contact the Board of Trade and prompted Colonel Yolland's visit, involved an elderly man who, in attempting to walk from one platform to another, across the rails, slipped and fell, his legs run over by as passing train. The Colonel concluded his report as follows: "The Mayor of Staleybridge and the inhabitants of that town, which contains a population of about 25,000 persons, are anxious that the railway companies should construct an entirely new station on a different site.... If the railway companies cannot determine to erect an new station, I would suggest the construction of an overbridge, so as to do away with any pretence of crossing on the level.... and provide a platform with a clear width of 12 feet, with proper shelter on both platforms".

A collision occurred that same year on the 13th July, not at the station, but at the Victoria Junction, the eastern end of the connecting line between the LYR and the MS&LR lines. Both companies were involved in the collision of two trains, partly a consequence of congestion and partly driver error. Colonel Yolland once again presided over the affair and was quick to disassociate the collision from the condition of the station. (It was the Mayor who again drew this collision to the attention of the B-o-T since the railway companies were not obliged to inform anyone!).

Disagreements between the three railway companies in 1868/ 9 contrasted with the willing co-operation of twenty years earlier. Finally, in October 1869, the LYR withdrew from the joint station and returned to its long-abandoned Manchester & Leeds building on the other side of the wall. On the 2nd October the Ashton Reporter announced the "Opening of a Railway Station" and continued in a somewhat uncertain tone to inform its readers that: "Yesterday, the old, or new station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company was opened for passenger traffic. It is far from being finished yet, however, and we therefore refrain from saying more than it is a change, but whether it is an improvement or not, only time can determine....". By the end of the month, the same newspaper, 30th October, carried an LYR announcement: "Opening of the Manchester Station, Ashton Road - The public is respectfully informed that the above station at Stalybridge is now open for passenger traffic and all the Company's trains formerly arriving at and departing from the other station will now arrive at and depart from the above station".

There followed a timetable in which it was shown that 16 trains left for Manchester throughout the day, the earliest being at 5.30 a.m., the latest at 10.45 p.m. The joint station appellation was to be borne henceforth by the MS&LR and the LNWR, the LYR having forfeited its right to use the station, a sum of 6,250 pounds being paid by the other two companies to the LYR.

Prospects for Change

The year 1877 was a year of significance in the history of Stalybridge Joint Station. On the 29th April, a 33 year old man, John McCarty, a journeyman tailor who worked in Ashton, was killed outright by the 8.40 p.m. LNWR Manchester to Leeds train as it entered the station. Like others before him, he had been compelled to cross the lines of rails to reach the departure platform for the train to Ashton, and despite shouts of warnings by porters, was too late to escape. Three women, also crossing the rails at the same time narrowly missed death or injury from the same train. The accidents caused an outcry of anger and disgust, not least in official Stalybridge circles. The Stalybridge MP, James Sidebottom, (formerly the Mayor) fully supported the condemnation of the railway companies for their obvious neglect and indifference to the dangerous state of the station. In a letter to the jury foreman at the inquest of McCarty, the MP wrote: "I am in receipt of your letter and newspaper and thoroughly deplore the dreadful accident which has occurred owing to the extremely unsatisfactory state of the Stalybridge station. I am quite prepared to do anything I can either by waiting on the President of the Board of Trade, or the Home Secretary alone, or in conjunction with any deputation which may be appointed....".

In a lucid and emotive letter to the Manchester Examiner immediately following the accident, a reader censured the MS&LR Company for its inattention to the basic requirement which Colonel Yolland had recommended in 1866, and which had not materialised - a footbridge. Parts of the letter are included below to illustrate one person's observations of what he termed "the town's slaughterhouse" and "the abomination of abominations": "The number of trains coming to and passing through Stalybridge is very great. Considering the vast amount of traffic in passengers and luggage, the station is ridiculously small, and the continued blocks, stoppages, and accidents (not to mention frights) are proof enough of its utter inadequacy to meet the requirements".

The letter then described the manifold connections from and to the station which could be made, and continued: "One can therefore see that its traffic is both great and important: but what is the accommodation provided for the proper working of that traffic? On arriving at the station from London Road, on the left-hand side are booking offices and waiting rooms (cold and neglected), built of stone, for passengers going to Leeds and the North.... No great objection is made to this portion; but it is on the opposite side, and between it, that the danger lies".

A description of the dangerous crossing which had to be made from this platform to the MS&LR platform was also given: "Crossing three lines of rails on a long wooden footpath laid between the rails... you reach a long wooden platform built some 17 years ago, on wooden piles, driven into a great slope of ground... This platform is about a yard from the ground.... About the middle of this wooden platform is a wooden edifice of one storey, with booking offices, a small general waiting room, and a still smaller one for "Ladies, First Class".

The writer continued by referring to the wooden edifice, describing it as a "partitioned in huts.... the dirtiest and filthiest auction ever afforded for the public convenience", and further remarked, "This wooden building is about 18 yards long, and, in consequence of its width, comes to within a yard and a half of the edge of the platform".

The danger of trains arriving at the crowded platform appalled the writer, especially the vision of carriage doors swinging open and colliding with people. The platform itself was made up of planks spaced one inch apart affording ventilation in the summer, and cold draughts in the winter.

To conclude his long epistle, the writer asked for the erection of a footbridge and criticised the MS&LR for having spent 40 pounds on a timber signal box which the B-o-T inspector condemned as soon as he saw it and which now stood abandoned, its sides missing, rotting and "a fitting monument to the propensity and weakness of human nature in high quarters". By comparison, the LYR's station remained aloof.. in the words of the letter writer's post scriptum, the joint station:.... must not be confounded with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Station, which is of very easy access, no crossing of the line, covered over, with accommodating and clean rooms".

On the 9th June 1877, the Stalybridge Reporter included an item on the inquiry into the death of John McCarty. Colonel Yolland presided, accompanied by officers of the LNWR and the MS&LR, and included no less a personage as Charles Sacre, the latter Company's Engineer, plus a collection of town officialdom. The inquiry was held in one of the station waiting rooms, and after questioning a number of employees, the Colonel himself was subjected to a grilling by the Mayor, Thomas Harrison, and the Town Clerk, in a most cavalier manner. The Reporter, on the same day, commented on the Colonel's visit in its acerbic editorial: "Colonel Yolland's third visit was made on Thursday afternoon, and so far is the main facts are concerned, he need not have troubled himself with taking evidence at all. The station and its dangerous surroundings remain the same as before, therefore he has nothing new to report upon, except this great fact, that the directors have accomplished nothing".

The long-awaited footbridge it seemed, at the end of this shabby episode, was at last to be constructed, but the above-mentioned editorial lamented that "the prospect of a new station altogether is by no means promising". This pessimism was duly seen to be well founded. By June 1877, it was clear that, although plans for a new station had been drawn up, and that a local brick maker had been approached for a supply of bricks, there was a difference of opinion between the two railway companies. The niggardly attitude of the MS&LR contrasted with the LNWR's which considered a new station an absolute necessity in view of its Reddish - Saddleworth proposals which were at that time reaching fruition. This being so, the LNWR was desirous of spending a larger sum of money than that of its partner. (In-fighting between these two companies had its roots at Manchester London Road station where the MS&L was usually the underdog).

To add to the wrangling, the Stalybridge Town Council rejected the two LNWR schemes it learned of at the beginning of 1878. The Stalybridge Reporter, 12th January, referred to the matter as follows: "Opposition to the Railway Schemes. The Council afterwards met in Committee, being a meeting of the General Purposes Committee, when it was decided to oppose the schemes of the London and North Western Railway Company for making a new line through the Borough from Reddish to Saddleworth, and also a joint scheme with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Company for a joint station".

The rebuilding of the joint station, from its inception in December 1879 to its completion in May 1885, was a long process, fraught with frustrating delay and hindered progress. The Stalybridge Reporter, 6th December 1879, was obviously privy to the joint plans, and looked forward to seeing them implemented: "After a patient waiting for many long years, the Directors of the MS&LR and LNWR Companies are at last to fulfil their promises and Stalybridge is to have a handsome and commodious railway station.... Some idea of the vastness of the work proposed to be carried out may be formed when it is stated that the estimated cost will be something like 150,000 pounds....".

The plans revealed that the station was approached again from Rassbottom Street, but with a verandah, whilst there would be a "large and handsome block to accommodate all the offices. The MS&LR Company were to have a platform and terminal line for themselves, whilst the LNWR would have three platforms to accommodate the two double lines. Underground passages were to link the platforms, each being covered by 600 feet of canopy. The goods facilities were not forgotten and would "occupy the extensive ground between the passenger station and the river, and extending in one direction beyond Russell Street". (Kershaw Wood Mill, an inveterate building in the town was demolished in November 1878 to create space for it). The report glowed with anticipation, yet there were minor problems to contend with even before work commenced. A Mr Bayley owned a mill in Bayley Street (renamed from Russell Street) and this was linked to his house by a private road. The railway plan showed it was necessary to stop up the private road and Mr Bayley, being awkward, held up the proceedings such that the LNWR threatened to withdraw the whole scheme. Evidently, Mr Bayley backed down, for the scheme went ahead.

To add spice to the on-going rumblings about the new station, The Stalybridge Reporter, 14th August 1880, gave space to an incident at the station which occurred a week earlier. An excursion train returning to Huddersfield had passed through the station and was stopped by a danger signal at Heyrod. Once given the right of way, the double headed train jerked forward and snapped the couplings so that 13 carriages out of the 20 became detached. The runaway carriages increased speed back through the tunnel and the station, and continued through Park Parade and Dukinfield stations, coming to a grinding halt before reaching Guide Bridge. The Webb Chain Brake had been applied by two guards in different parts of the detached portion - perfect ammunition for the B-o-T and the railway press who were demanding the installation of automatic continuous brakes.

Although construction of the goods yard had already commenced, it was not until January 1881 that actual work began on the new station. The Reporter, 26th February: "It was on the 31st January last that the first sod for the commencement of the new railway station was turned. This week, large gangs of men are actively employed on the work. The wide space of vacant ground between the present station and the river now presents a very busy scene....".

A year passed before any mention of activity appeared in the same newspaper. On the 29th February 1882, it was announced that the contract for the new passenger station had been let, and that the station when completed would include "ample and commodious refreshment rooms", to be worked by the well-known proprietors Spiers and Pond. During this intervening period, between January 1881 and February 1882, it appears that much clearance and peripheral work had to be undertaken before reconstruction. Meanwhile, the existing premises functioned as best they could. Some idea of the state of the old station can been taken from a report of a Special Meeting of the Town Council which appeared in The Reporter, 27th January 1883. January storms had played havoc in the area, not least at Stalybridge station. On the south side of the station an old shed had succumbed to the gales and had disintegrated. "It had been there for some 25 years, and now it had been removed by the wind, the station was very dangerous. The whole of the timber was completely rotten and if any great crowd.... was to get on to the platform, the whole thing would collapse and the result would be a very serious loss of life".

Whether the MS&LR was prompted to look into the matter is not recorded. By the 24th March 1883, the contract for the new station was let to Mr Williarn McGregor of Dukinfield for a price of 23,156 pounds. Mr MeGregor was one of the partners in a local firm well-known for its work on the new goods warehouse, coal drops and extensive sidings. The work at last began to show signs of progress and a system of single line working carried all through traffic which at certain times, such as the Wakes holidays and Whit Week, posed extra strain. The Stalybridge Reporter, 19th May 1883: "On some of the days there have been 20 or 30 extra trains. excursions or specials of one kind or another, and as all traffic both ways has to be worked over a single line, delay and danger would have been the result".

In act, a near-accident occurred that same month between a standing MS&LR train and a LNWR express drawn by two engines entering the station from the tunnel end at speed, narrowly missing colliding with the MS&LR train owing to its hurried departure from the platform. Had an accident occurred, The Reporter contemplated, both trains would have been hurled from the bridge into the street below.

A visitor to Stalybridge station today cannot fail to observe the bridge which carries the railway over Market Street. In 1883, the construction of that new bridge caused much delay in the progress of the development of the station renewal. Let the Stalybridge Reporter, 2nd June 1883, describe how it saw things at the time: "This week, the fixing of the massive cross-girders of the new bridge spanning Market Street at the bottom of Rassbottom Brow has been completed. The large iron-walled girder measures 27 yards and is built upon intersecting plates riveted together to different thicknesses. Upon this have been placed the cross-beams at a distance of about three feet apart and the whole structure presents an exceedingly strong and massive appearance. It has evidently been built so as to withstand the wear and tear of heavy traffic for a long period, regardless of expense".

By the 11th August, the bridge had been completed and a large gang of platelayers was employed connecting the double line of rails across the bridge with the existing lines at either end. The land around the station must have been, by the middle of 1883, an area of reconstruction amidst a sea of devastation as retaining walls were demolished, earth carted away, gangs of men trampled the ground, and building materials were delivered daily and stored wherever space permitted. Complaints about the quagmire which existing in the area were frequent. During this languid activity (never frenzied), the LYR Company decided to erect a new warehouse and enlarge its own complement of sidings. The latest in warehouse design was constructed by the contractors Messrs T. & W.Meadows & Co. at a cost of 6,897 pounds, 1 shilling 10d with a further 750 pounds for machinery. The new warehouse consisted of four floors, each supported by cast iron columns; a cellar completed the accommodation, and the overall size of the warehouse was 162 feet by 42 feet.

At the beginning of 1885, work on the new station was drawing to a close. The Stalybridge Reporter, having followed every moment of progress from the start announced the impending completion on the 24th January, reporting: "Judging from appearances, the new booking hall should be ready for occupation.... and every vestige of the old station should be cleared away long before Easter. The lighting of the platforms by gas has been commenced, and in a few weeks the whole length on the one side will be covered over. It is some satisfaction perhaps to think that by next winter there will be less discomfort than has now to be endured".

In its 7th February 1885 issue, the same newspaper referred to the army of navvies, bricklayers, masons and joiners who had lived in Stalybridge for the past few years. The "army" had been reduced to a small number in order to accomplish the finishing touches, and the report commended the behaviour of the men throughout their stay in the town over the years and was unable to recall any serious offence which had been committed, other than an occasional drunkard after a hard day's graft who came before the magistrate.

By September 1885, the "finishing touches" were being attended to. A clock had been affixed to the booking hall and the waiting rooms were being fitted out with furniture. The Reporter, 19th of the month, called for further clocks to be positioned on the platforms, and complained about the method of ticket collecting at the MS&LR side which had caused groups of arriving passengers blocking access to those departing attempting to reach their trains. Furthermore, The Reporter asked, why was it necessary for MS&LR passengers to have to walk to the far end of the long platform beyond the covered portion in order to board their trains? This seemed an example of the old adage that you can please some of the people some of time, but not all of them all of the time. On the 8th April 1886, Major General Hutchinson of the Board of Trade made his report following inspection of the new joint station: "This new station has been erected on the site of the old one in which the accommodation arrangements had become totally inadequate to the important traffic to be dealt with at it. The new station has two through lines, two platform lines and three dock lines; there are also two goods lines on the south side of the station joining the main line on the west side of it. Ample accommodation has been provided on each platform with a subway for communicating between the platforms. The alterations have involved the reconstruction of the bridges carrying the railway over Rassbottom Street and Clarence Street. These new bridges have been constructed with masonry abutments and with iron girders both for four lines of rails. The signal arrangements have been carried out in four new cabins, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of which 4, at the east end of the station was inspected some time since". A new L&Y signal box was erected close to Clarence Street bridge, replacing the older cabin which had stood to the east of the bridge.

By the turn of the century, the joint station lay in the control of the Great Central Railway and London & North Western Joint Committee. The L&Y services continued to operate from that company's own station although it was felt in 1914 that amalgamation of the L&Y station with the Joint station would be to the advantage of the public. The Stalybridge and District Year Book, 1914, commented on the situation before the advent of the Great War: "A brick wall only divides the two stations, and if the L&Y were agreeable, the brick wall could easily be razed, and the station made into one, or the L&Y service to Victoria could be provided with platform accommodation of a superior nature at the more convenient Joint Station. This would be a change welcomed by the public and would lead to economies of working".

The Joint station, it continued, was capable of holding seven passenger trains simultaneously at the platforms, the latter being almost a quarter of a mile in length, whilst in addition, three bays accommodated the local traffic to Stockport and London Road. As a prudent economy measure on the 2nd April 1917, the L&YR passenger station closed, never to re-open. An announcement, however, appeared in The Reporter, 7th April 1917, which indicated that three Easter holiday trains had been cancelled at the L&Y station thus suggesting that for the holiday period, at any rate, the station was still functioning. The adjacent goods yard flourished beyond the 1923 Grouping, becoming known as the High Level Yard under the LMS.

It is worth mentioning a few peripheral aspects of the railway scene at Stalybridge. Firstly, the double line approach to the Bayley Street coal drops. The junction of this short spur was located near to No. 1 signal box, the lines then branching oft' the descending Joint Goods Yard line, and immediately crossing Bayley Street on a metal girder bridge which was supported on hefty stone abutments. The elevated coal drops faced a yard which occupied a triangular area situated between the Globe Iron Works and Bayley Street. On the other side of Bayley Street, opposite the coal yard, a set of steps led the walker to a footbridge which spanned the goods sidings, the Joint lines and L&Y lines, thereby linking Bayley Street and pathways leading to Starnford Lodge and Kelsall House, two imposing residences close to Stamford Street. The only reference found to the footbridge appeared in the Manchester Guardian, June 1884, inviting contractors and others to offer tenders for the extension of a footbridge over the Lancashire and Yorkshire line in connection with the new goods station for the MS&L Railway and LNW Railway Companies, at Stalybridge".

The Joint Goods Yard occupied a triangular area between Bayley Street, the River Tame and the higher level main lines in the station. An inclined approach, with sidings alongside, led back from No.1 signal box, spreading out into an array of yard sidings at the bend in Bayley Street. It was reported in November 1878 that the previous occupant of the land, Kershaw Wood Mill, was under demolition to make space for the intended goods yard which eventually consisted of a coal siding, overhead travelling crane, weighbridges and associated offices, two 20 ton yard cranes, and a large goods shed. The latter was a brick structure (with stone facings) and a slate roof, its northern side penetrated by a pair of through sidings.

John Summers' Globe Iron Works had been established in Stalybridge in 1851 for the manufacture of sheet iron, boiler plates, machine-made nails and clog irons. By 1880, the business occupied five acres of land between Bayley Street and the Huddersfield Canal, the south east wall of the works flanking the River Tame. From the beginning the works was connected to the MS&LR by a tramway, and of necessity, had to cross Russell Street (Bayley Street) on the level. The Stalybridge Reporter, 20th March 1880, ran a potted history of the business and referred to "a double line of rails into the Works"; a study of a variety of O.S. plans shows that only a single line ran across Bayley Street at any one time. The value of such a connection had been quickly realised by John Summers, specifically for the reception of large quantities of coal. It was estimated that on average, 1,000 tons of traffic (coal, iron ore, finished goods, etc.) arrived at or left the works each week by rail.

In January 1872, the Stalybridge Town Council wished to pave Russell Street and requested John Summers to lift his tramway. He refused on the ground that the tramway was MS&LR property. Costly litigation followed, the impasse finally resolved by allowing the tramway to remain providing the Globe Iron Works paid 25 pounds per year to the Council. The level crossing on Bayley Street was controlled by two men, one positioned each side of the track, and each in possession of a green and red flag. The visitor to this seedy part of the town today sees but a few remnants of railway infrastructure extant. Heavy stone abutments, obliquely positioned in relation to each other still stand as reminders of the bridge bearing the coal sidings across Bayley Street. Also, a peculiar octagonal cast iron post (originally painted white) on the south side of Bayley Street at the site of the level crossing. The name "Saxby & Farmer, London" can be clearly seen embossed on one facet of the post, betraying its purpose as some form of signalling device.

The literal connection between the MS&LR and the Globe Iron Works has a more tragic side to the story. Alfred Summers was the fifth son of John Summers and was one of the partners in the business. The family home was at "Sunnyside", a house in a sylvan setting on land wedged between the LYR and MS&LR lines as they approached Stalybridge near Granville Street, Ashton. For years it had been the custom to use the MS&LR line as a short cut between the works, the station and Sunnyside. Although this was strictly forbidden by the railway company, John Summers had even provided a gate leading to the house from the railway. Disaster struck on the 28th October 1887 when Alfred, having left the station at 12.20 p.m., his mind full of a meeting he had had with Mr Gladstone minutes earlier, walked along the four-foot on his return to the works. Despite shouts of warning, he was knocked down by the 12.25 train to Stockport from Stalybridge, dragged some distance and mutilated by the wheels which passed over him. The Ashton Reporter, 29th October, regretfully announced the tragedy, imparted no blame, and ended the report thus: "The body was conveyed to the Town Hall and there placed on an ambulance and conveyed to the residence of the deceased, Sunnyside, Ashton. The sad event has created a profound impression particularly amongst those who had stood by his side only a few minutes before.... Mr Summers, who was in his 27th year, was as greatly esteemed as he was well known. The news of his death will be received with very great regret in a wide circle". One wonders if the gateway remained in place after this incidence.

Most of the following is based on a 1937 official ratings plan with supplementary information obtained from an article which appeared in British Railways Illustrated, V61.4, April/May 1992.

1. The Down Platform. This was indented at the western end to form the North Bay. It had a carriage ramp at its head so that road vehicles could be loaded and unloaded easily on to wagons from the platform. It also had two lines of rails with a scissors cross-over for engine release purposes about two-thirds of the length from the bays exit. The Down platform buildings included, from the western end, the following units: Refreshment Room and kitchen; Station Staff Room; General Waiting Room; WC; Ladies Waiting Room 1 st Class; Ladies Waiting Room 3rd Class; WCs; Station Master's Office; Telegraph Office; Inspector's Office; Porters' Room. The rear of the Booking Office Hall overlooked the Down main line, the platform ramp descending to rail level coincident with the Porters' Room. The Booking Hall possessed the main entrance off Rassbottom Street, plus the Booking Office and Parcels Office.

2. The Up platform was of the same length, but the glazed canopy extended further west whilst the buildings were positioned opposite the North Bay. Again, from the Manchester end, the facilities included; urinals/WC; Plumber's Room; Ladies Waiting Room 3rd Class; WCs; General Waiting Room; WC; Ladies Waiting Room I st Class; Coal Hole; Plumber's Shop. All of these were contained in a continuous length of building which was situated opposite the North Bay. A detached Refreshment Room faced the same on the Down platform. The Up platform also accommodated a single line bay platform on the south side, designated No. 1 Bay.

3. Between the two platforms were the four main running lines; Down Slow and Down Through; Up Slow and Up Through, the slow lines serving the platforms. Two sets of scissors cross-overs connected the two sets of Up and Down lines, and were positioned opposite the dead-end of the North Bay. On the south side of the Up platform were the Up and Down goods lines. A sleepered barrow crossing linked the ramps at each end of the platforms, whilst for public use, a subway linked the two platforms at the eastern end of the station, with inclined white glazed approaches, 104 feet long, 8 feet wide, the subway itself being 11 feet wide. The main entrance faced Rassbottom Street, via the Booking Hall, whilst an exterior covered approach on the south side led to the same subway. (The bricked up secondary entrance/exit can be seen today on the Up or "Trains to Manchester" side of the subway).

4. The LYR old passenger platform, with its abandoned buildings were in use by the Goods Department in 1937. The 1884/5 three-story goods shed dominated the yard to the north of the old station; the brick building had a trio of gabled wooden hoists on each side, the south-facing side also possessing an integral deep-valence canopy which overhung a single siding. The setted yard was furnished with a 10 ton crane between the old platform and the goods shed. Ashlar stone-built stables occupied the western end of the yard, and an older goods shed occupied land between Rassbottorn Street and St. George's vicarage. Two cartways extended westwards and several hundred yards on either side of a double dead-end coal siding. There were also cattle pens adjoining Rassbottorn Street, with coal offices, weigh bridge and office beyond the end of the old station building.

5. The massive alterations brought about by the building of the new station occasioned the need for five new signal boxes, four of which were designated by number: thus from Clarence Street bridge, these boxes were numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. The fifth box was of LYR origin and was officially known as Stalybridge Junction (colloquially, "Lanky Junction"). This was situated on the Down side, a few yards west of Clarence Street bridge. No. 1 box stood adjacent to the Guide Bridge line, about 46 yards cast of the same bridge. The British Railways Illustrated article states: ".... in 1886 it had 31 working levers and 9 spare. It controlled access from the main line to the south side goods yard and coal yard as well as switching LNW goods trains.... on to either the Guide Bridge or Hooley Hill routes.... ".

No.2 box was positioned about 110 yards west of the Up platform ramp. This was the largest box with a 70 lever frame; it controlled the western end of the station, the goods line, and traffic movements to and from the two bay platforms. No.3 box was completely different in that it was mounted on a steel lattice gantry above the four lines running between the platforms. The points, crossings, and signals in the central portion of the station were under its control: "Access to No.3 for signal men was by ladder from either platform, all coal for the stove having to be carried up in buckets".

At the tunnel end of the station was signal box No.4, positioned adjacent to the Down line, about 106 yards west of the portal. Colonel Rich, inspected the new station to the Micklehurst Loop in August 1885 and reported his findings thus: "I have inspected the new junctions, connections and alterations at Stalybridge where the new double line from Stalybridge to Saddleworth, which is now constructing, joins the London and North Western Railway from Manchester to Huddersfield. The junction cabin contains 40 levers, 4 of which are spare".

6. Tunnel End Sidings were pressed into a compact semicircular area bounded by the Down main line, Stainford Street bridge, and the retaining wall above Spring Street. The small yard possessed three sidings, a coal shoot which channelled the fuel down to a small low-level coal yard off Spring Street. Despite its lack of size, the siding area also accommodated a set of cattle pens, platelayers' hut and storeroom.

Much of the infrastructure described above is now but a memory. The visitor to the station today may still see the fully functioning signal box No.2 (now designated "Stalybridge"), the main subway, and the white glazed approaches inclined up to the platforms. The station buildings remain intact on the Down side, largely out of use except for the ticket collector's office and the refreshment roomcum-pub where a meal, drink and a nostalgic discussion about the station in its heyday can be had with the landlord, Ken Redfearn. Whilst at the station, note the two larger diameter canopy posts with the remains of the gantry at their tops which once supported No.3 signal box. The name of their maker, R & J Rankin, Union Foundry, Liverpool is still visible on one of the posts.

To the rear of the station buildings is the setted approach which led up to the bay end of the Down platform, complete with a rootless coal house, originally used by the refreshment room, and a portion of the stone wall which once separated the Joint station from LYR property. Immediately behind the refreshment room, the approach to the platform was graced by a single stone arch, long since gone, an ornamental entrance to the North Bay platform.

As with the LYR's Ashton Branch, the LNWR's Huddersfield and Manchester route between Stalybridge and Diggle remains intact and therefore available for observation by the interested enthusiast. Most of the LNWR infrastructure, of course, has long since gone, this being true of the LMS mantle which overlaid it, and yet a journey along the line, or a visit to various locations along its length reveals something of what used to be.

After pausing for some time at Stalybridge Station, let us suppose we are back in LMS days, and that the Down platform of the joint station is thronged with passengers. Some are destined for Huddersfield, Leeds or indeed beyond; others, like ourselves, to smaller places on the way. The local stopping train arrives to carry us to Diggle, one of the smaller places in the middle of nowhere, at the foot of Neele's 'back-bone of England'.

There is still much to see in the immediate surroundings as the train left the station. Carried on a viaduct, some 20 feet above the streets, the railway crossed Spring Street, past the adjacent coal yard, and Tunnel End Sidings guarded by the slim-line No.4 signal box. On the Up side, the Micklehurst Loop line diverged to the right to follow its own course beneath Cocker Hill, leaving the old route to pass under Stamford Road bridge, and plunge headlong into the 649 yards long Stalybridge Tunnel. This bore is 25 feet wide and 18 feet 6 ins from rail level to the crown of the arch, lined with brick and stone on stone side walls. There was a single ventilation shaft, 65 feet deep and 30 feet diameter, which allowed a glimmer of daylight to penetrate the Stygian hole. The toy) of the shaft is still marked by a high circular stone wall which is perched on a mound of tunnel debris, a prominent feature clearly seen from Blandford Street and Wakefield Road. (In 1977, major repair work was carried out on the tunnel which uncovered disused mine workings 498 feet and 528 feet from the Mossley end portal. At both locations, the mine workings run at right-angles to the railway and had to be back-filled and rebuilt, especially the Down side tunnel wall. At 561 feet from the same point, a small cavity was found in the Up side which had to be backfilled and rafted over with four 18 feet long timbers, each one some 7 ins x 24 ins, covered by a sleeper mat).

Stalybridge Tunnel was actually curved so that the railway emerged in a north-easterly alignment near Derby Street, just off Wakefield Road. Whilst underground, the railway passed beneath Glent Quarry, Luzley Road and Wakefield Road, and it was to this highway that the old route preferred to keep company until parting at Roaches Bridge, Mossley. Even so, it was never far from the Tame and its companion Huddersfield Narrow Canal, the two watery ways, continually coming together and separating along the valley floor.

The first bridge under the line was represented by a stone arch over Printworks Road, close to Acres Bank House, Souracre. From this point the railway approached Wakefield Road, the latter skirting the valley side well above and overlooking the rails. An occupation bridge carried a footpath from the main road to Printworks Road, the old right of way crossing a riveted wrought iron, lattice footbridge, the whole supported on stone piers. Beyond, on the Up side, stood Heyrod Hall, set in its own grounds and accessed by a private driveway and occupation bridge No.9.

Still curving, the railway ran parallel to the main road beneath another stone occupation bridge (one of several on this route!) and then a stone arch bearing Spring Bank Lane. This location, generally, was dominated by Hartshead Power Station, a prominent feature on the eastern side of the railway. A large power station to serve the SHMD area had been planned in 1916 and 26 acres of land were purchased at Heyrod for the purpose. In 1923/4, preparations for the site were in progress, the new plant being commissioned on the 25th September 1926, coming into full use in January 1927. The Mossley Borough Jubilee Booklet, 1885 - 1935, gave a full account of the new generating station: 1n 1932, a private railway siding was added to Hartshead Power Station in order to facilitate the handling of coal. To link up these siding with the power station it was necessary to drive a tunnel under the main LMS line, and cross the River Tame and the Huddersfield Canal by means of a steel lattice bridge. The sidings were capable of holding some 130 10 -12 ton wagons with provision for 100 full and 30 empty. There were two wagon tippers capable of dealing with 20 tons wagons, and modem automatic weighbridges.... By this means, incorrect weighings of coal are an impossibility. A fireless steam locomotive, which is charged with steam through a pipeline at a pressure of 2001bs per sq.in is used for shunting purposes and the locomotive can travel 9 miles with one charge".

The first of the twin cooling towers was erected in 1943, both structures to become familiar landmarks to regular travellers by rail, and by road, between Stalybridge and Mossley. The plant was to survive until 1979.

On the approach to Black Rock, the railway took on a north-westerly direction. Black Rock Sidings were located on the Down side and consisted of two long sidings buffer stopped against bridge No.9; one short siding lay close to the main road. Black Rock signal box was sited on the Up side, just to the south of Black Rock underbridge (No.10), exactly 9 1/2 miles from Manchester. No.10 was a heavy masonry skew bridge which marked the boundary between 66 Stalybridge and Mossley, and where Wakefield Road changes its name to Manchester Road. Travellers by road today appreciate the narrowing and kink in its course, a disposition forced upon the Turnpike when the railway was constructed.

In 1854, Black Rock was the scene of a serious accident to a Manchester bound train, the locomotive of which became derailed and continued to run this way until it left the metals and ploughed into the cutting side on the Up side, "close by a new footbridge carried over the line near the Grapes Inn at Heyrod". Full details of this incident appear in Chapter 14. Over 30 years later, the location was to feature again in the catalogue of railway accidents which occurred on this line. The Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 10th October 1885, provided its readers with the story: "On Thursday morning about half past six, an accident happened at Black Rock Cabin near Mossley, which blocked both lines and caused considerable delay in the traffic. It appears that a goods train to Leeds was shunting at the sidings at Black Rock, and on coming to the points the brake van took the siding line of rails and the next truck kept to the main line....

Both the Up and Down lines were blocked by a heap of overturned trucks necessitating the breakdown gang from Longsight to attend the scene.

Beyond Black Rock, the Up line was paralleled by a long siding which trailed back some 460 yards. The footbridge which made a connection with Manchester Road and a group of cottages (Osbome Villas and Oakwood View) spanned the three tracks. The long siding just referred to, was used in the summer months to berth excursion carriages which were much in use during the Wakes holidays. On the approach to Scout Tunnel, the route curved gradually north east, the western aspect dominated by the high Scout Embankment, reputed to be 60-70 feet high. A shoulder of high ground sloping down from the eastern side forced the river and the main road to occupy a narrow gap, a natural feature formed by the river long before man's interference with the landscape. Both the railway and the canal were in need of a tunnel to pass beyond this physical obstacle. The canal tunnel, 205 yards in length, penetrated the eastern side of the shoulder, whilst the railway, hugging the western side of the valley, occupied a deep cutting as it neared Scout Tunnel. The tunnel had no need of a ventilator shaft, its length being only 202 yards; it was identified as Bridge No. 11 and from the start, "The Earl of Stamford and Warrington (was) to have liberty to make streets, roads and ways over any portion of Scout Tunnel" (The 25 feet span tunnel has a line speed of 60 m.p.h. today).

A rock-sided cutting led the railway from the tunnel, the land on the Up side occupied by a stone goods shed which had its east wall facing Manchester Road. A cast iron plate bolted to the remnant of the wall informs the fire service of a "3in S.V. 5ft. To Shut off Hydrants Inside of Warehouse"). A long curved siding trailed back from the Up line, keeping parallel to it for some 310 yards. Two short dead-end siding stubs served the goods shed and a set of coal shoots fed coal into a diminutive yard opposite Egmont Street.

The main line swept northwards on the final quarter of a mile to Mossley Station. Lying opposite Waggon Road, a flight of steps led the walker safely over the railway at Apsley Side, a setted footpath linking Manchester Road with Abney Road. The footbridge which spanned the tracks was of similar design to the one near Printworks Road already mentioned. Somehow, the Victorian builders had managed to squeeze a row of stone-built houses and shops between the main road and the railway. The backs of these premises were cheek by jowl with the railway, their narrow flagged communal yards providing a close encounter with a passing train on the Up line from behind the safety of wrought iron railings perched on the edge of a stone wall.

One such person, responsible for a small number of these buildings immediately south of bridge No.13 (Old Brow Stainford Road) was George Mayall, the local mill owner and entrepreneur. The Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 19th November 1881, was proud to announce: "The seven new shops and cocoa taverns recently erected by Mr George, Mayall near the railway station at Mossley are now tenanted and present a very pleasing appearance. We doubt whether a similar number of good looking and substantial shops can be found anywhere this side of Manchester. In addition to being an ornament to the town they will form a little market and we trust the inhabitants will patronise those who have ventured to take possession of them and thus keep as much money at home as possible".

Immediately north of bridge No. 13 was Mossley station, occupying from its earliest days a narrow cleft at the southern end of Mossley Cutting, a deep gash in the surface some half a mile in length. The station received scant attention in a contemporaneous description of the Huddersfield and Manchester line's opening. The 25" O.S. plan of 1885 shows the station prior to its rebuilding in 1880

(indicating if nothing else, that maps and plans can be much out of date and therefore need interpreting with care), occupying a small area a short distance to the north of bridge No. 13, the station building sited almost directly opposite Sun Street. Events were to reshape bridge No. 13, the station, and the high stone retaining wall overlooking it. Let us look at these alterations in order of date through the eyes of the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter. Regarding the retaining wall, the Reporter had the following to say about it on the 3rd July 1880: "We are pleased to notice that the high wall opposite the railway station, which we drew attention to a week or two ago as being in a dangerous state in consequence of bowing so much, is about to be pulled down and rebuilt. While this is being done, it would be a good thing if arrangements could be made to have more road space at the corner, the turn at the corner being rather sharp".

An agreement between the Mossley Local Board and the LNWR Company, led to the widening of bridge No. 13 and the consequent easing of the corner of Mossley Brow and Starnford Road. By the close of October 1880, the newspaper announced: "The long desired and much needed alterations at Mossley Railway Station are being pushed on with vigour. Operations have proceeded so far that both the old entrances have been blocked. Every precaution has been taken to prevent accidents. The places where operations are most extensively being carried on have been properly barricaded, and at nights lighted with lamps...."

By the 11th December, good progress had been made and the Reporter glowed with satisfaction: "The footbridge, by means of which passengers will have to cross the line, was fixed on Sunday.... on that day on account of the lessened traffic. Many people complain that there will not be an entrance or outlet on the Stamford Road side, but still taking all in all, Mossley will have cause to be proud of the greatly improved railway accommodation".

The new booking office was opened on the 31st March 1881, the new footbridge gaining much attention due to the extra safety it provided persons wishing to cross from one side of the line to the other must now cross by the bridge. This improvement has long been needed and Mossley can now boast of possessing one of the prettiest and neatest stations between Manchester and Leeds".

The footbridge became bridge No.14. The widened bridge and the eased corner enabled increasing road traffic and the movement of trams over the railway and along Stamford Street. It was not until 1911 that "a terrible accident" occurred at the foot of Stainford Road, close to the bridge. A tram car which was descending the steeply inclined road with a full load of early morning workers, ran out of control at high speed, left the rails, crashed through the parapet, "and fell with its human freight on to the metals below". Four people were killed at once, the tram guard dying at the infirmary later. The Manchester Evening News, 20th October 1911, painted a solemn: "The accident occurred a few minutes before half past five. All was dark and gloomy in the vicinity of the grim tragedy. The work of rescuing the unfortunate passengers was a very difficult as well as painful task, more so because it occurred almost beneath the bridge.... over the railway. With the aid of hand lamps secured from the station however, the rescuers were able to go about their work, though they sometimes had to grope their way in the gloom".

Those with a superstitious proclivity would be quick to point out that trouble could only be expected at a bridge numbered 13. Fortunately, no train was a due at that time, or if one had been, its progress was halted by telephoned messages sent to signal boxes on either side of the incident.

Before leaving Mossley station, it is of interest to note that one of the town's famous sons, Ernest Sykes VC, is said to have carved a design in the rock face above and behind the platform shelter on the Down side. The man's workmanship cannot be discerned from the platform, or indeed the footbridge, and it is necessary to climb on to the roof of the shelter in order to do so. The author admits to not having taken the liberty of ascending the shelter via a tangle of shrubs and wild undergrowth!

Mossley station is not the sole feature of the railway hereabouts. Standing aloft on its lattice girder mounting was Mossley No. 1 signal box, (a Type 5 box), with its rear against the rock face of the cutting. Its position, so close to the wet rock face, led the box to be a damp place to work the lever handles always covered with a film of rust. Directly opposite, on Manchester Road, were the Britannia Mills of Mayall origin, the stone building stretching back from the road to the river behind. Not only was the first Mossley station erected on Mayall's land (actually his farm which was sold to the railway company), but the influence of this industrialist embraced several agreements with the LNWR. Take, for instance, the "following agreement dated 24th December 1858: "LNWR to have privilege ot taking water from cistern belonging to J & G Mayall in case of fire. J & G Mayall to have use of overflow from cistern belonging to LNWR".

The advantage of a direct railway much to the public back in 1881. Author k collection connection between the Britannia Mills and the sidings at Mossley was readily seized upon, and a single standard gauge spur was laid at right-angles to the main line, leaving a siding by means of a wagon turntable. The spur then entered the mills by way of a tunnel under Manchester Road. For over 140 years, observant passengers would have noticed the arched opening in the stone retaining wall on the Up side of the main line. Even though now sealed up, the shape of the arch is still to be seen, plus a set of rails embedded in the setts of the yard.

Mossley Sidings proper extended for some distance from the northern end of the station, as far as a set of coal drops at what is now Mill Lane. The sidings were confined to a narrow strip of land between the Up main line and the stone retaining wall along Manchester Road, the wall breached by a gated opening opposite Portman Street. Mossley No.2 signal box controlled movements to and from the northern end of Mossley Sidings, its position being on the Down side with the rear of the box facing the sloping land up to Stainford Road. While passing the sidings, and beyond, passengers had a fine view eastwards of the motley collection of cotton mills which were closely grouped on both sides of the River Tame: Milton; Carr Hill; Woodend, to name but three of them.

The railway now took on a north-easterly alignment, curving gradually towards Roughtown. From the terminus of Mossley Sidings, there were a series of road bridges and occupation crossings, some on the level, others by way of footbridges. These crossings were inveterate and leading lanes and footpaths from the western side of the Tame Valley to the valley floor, lanes and byways which predated the railway. The 1849 railway builders were, by law, obliged to retain public and private rights of way which the railway severed; their efforts to do this are the seen in the variety of bridges which cross and dive under the line at intervals along this section of the route. The construction and maintenance of these all added to the cost of the finished railway.

At Roaches Bridge, where Manchester Road crossed the Tame, the railway and the road to Holmfirth parted for good. The railway hugged the hillside, in places forming cuttings in the sloping land, whilst on the Up side there were examples of massive embankments. A steeply-graded embankment can be seen from Roaches Bridge, reputed to be 50 to 60 feet in height above the river. At this point, the Tame was diverted and straightened to make way for the railway at a place then known as Solomon's Wood. At Wright Mill Bridge, which carries Calf Lane over the railway, the little-known 286 yards long Hobhole Cutting was reached; a 40 feet deep, rugged, gash which the early engineers blasted out of solid rock. The cutting was traversed by a narrow aqueduct, this being no more than a sloping metal channel-way supported on stone piers, sufficient to carry a stream across the railway. Also, in Hobhole Cutting, maintaining a lonely vigil, was a Down distant signal, 1,526 yards from Greenfield signal box a hard pull for the bobby on duty there.

Here onwards, the railway entered the delights of rural Saddleworth, with new and varied views unfolding with every curve of the line. On the Up side, Lower Grove Mill appeared with its early square brick chimney (this still visible from passing trains) and close by, Hollin Hall, hidden amongst a cluster of trees. Beyond was Charlotte Cutting, as little-known as Hobhole, and the scene of a long-forgotten fatal accident in 1866 which befell a railway worker carrying out his daily work. The Huddersfield Chronicle, 3rd November, reminds us of the incident: "On Tuesday a fatal accident occurred on the railway line near to the Royal George. A number of platelayers were repairing the line in Charlotte Cutting, and the trains were running over the line rapidly, one after the other, in consequence of a delay by an accident at Marsden. Benjamin Schofield, one of the platelayers was caught and killed by an express passenger train".

On the approach to the junction with the LNWR's Oldham branch, were the private sidings of Oswald McCardell & Co. Ltd., soap manufacturers. A common sight were the Crossfield Chemical tankers which were held here after their journey from Warrington containing raw materials for the company. The official name for the inveterate sidings was Whitehead's Royal George Siding, originally laid to serve the Royal George Mills.

Opened by the LNWR on the 4th July 1856, the Oldham to Greenfield branch became an integral part of the Delph to Oldharn route, and by this means, Greenfield became a railway junction. The 1,332 yards long Lydgate Tunnel breached the ridge of high ground which effectively separates Saddleworth's urban fringe adjoining Lees, Oldham, with rural Saddleworth to the east. On a falling gradient of 1 in 75, a train leaving the tunnel continued the journey to Greenfield Junction by way of a short but deep cutting, Stockport Road underbridge, and the "pinched" underpass bearing Sharlot Brow. Grasscroft Halt, a latecomer to the railway scene (opened on the I st January 1912) presented the traveller with a twin timber platform located in a rustic setting, albeit sandwiched between dormitory Grasscroft and Oswald McCardell's soap works. The remaining part of the journey over branch metals led traffic across Shunt Lane, whereupon the branch lost its identity as it entered the ambit of Greenfield Sidings and trailed into the main line.

Once the line had bridged Shunt Lane (now Oaklands Road) a complex of sidings existed, complete with yard crane and weigh bridge, all wedged between the main line and the Oldham Branch, the whole railway layout confined to a space afforded between Oldham Road and Shaw Hall Bank Road. Greenfield Junction occurred opposite the signal box of that name, an all-timber structure positioned several hundred yards from the Up platform ramp and today noticeably slanted away from the Up line, indicating its original position amidst a set of sidings. A subway permitted those on foot to pass beneath the main line and the Oldham branch, so connecting Shaw Hall Bank Road with Shunt Lane. This now little-used public right of way is still intact, forming a rough passage which wends its way via a skewed arch "tunnel".

Greenfield Station was located at the beginning of Wharniton Cutting, a deep, gorge-like passage cut into the lower flanks of Wharmton Hill. The station consisted of two main platforms: the Up side could be reached via the station frontage which faced on to the inclined portion of Shaw Hall Bank Road. Facilities on the Up side comprised a General Waiting Room and Ladies and Gents Waiting Rooms, Booking Office, plus urinals at the bridge end, the platform backed for part of its length by a stone-built goods shed. The Down platform extended further west, its ramp coinciding with the end of the heavy stone retaining wall, with an additional recessed or "bay" platform extending in a gradual curve to serve Oldham branch trains. Canopies covered both main line platforms; the Down platform possessed two separate canopies, one of which protected Oldham bound passengers. An inclined path led down to the Oldham platform from Oldham Road and from early days, access/exit could be made near the skew road bridge via a gated gap in the boundary wall, which led the intrepid pedestrian down a set of stone steps. The Down platform offered the passenger a General Waiting Room, Ladies and Gents Waiting Rooms, plus a urinal tucked away in a dark spot at the end of the Oldham branch facilities. To cross the lines, passengers had use of a subway, which, according to those who used it, was subject to flooding in wet weather. Reference to a new subway was made in the Oldham Chronicle, 12th September 1874: "For several weeks, workmen have been engaged at Greenfield station in carrying out a much-needed improvement, viz, the construction of an underground passageway from one side of the line to the other. A bridge over the line would perhaps have been preferable to a subterranean passage, especially on the score of light, but the latter will, nevertheless, be a great convenience to the passengers....

To complete the infrastructure, Greenfield boasted a coal depot which had a sloping, setted yard backed by a high stone wall. Here, a set of seven coal shoots permitted the fuel to be dropped from wagons to vehicles in the yard. Coal wagons were held in a trio of sidings, numbered 4, 5 and 6, the latter serving the coal shoots. Water provision for locomotives consisted of a reservoir tank which was positioned just beyond the Oldham branch platform ramp, plus a water column on the ramp, and a second facility at the bridge end of the Down platform behind which the steps leading to platform passed.

Today's Greenfield station is but a pale shadow of its former self. The cast iron water tanks and platform canopies have long since gone, as has the subway and recognisable station frontage. Apart from a portacabin, which serves as a ticket dispensing office, the only other sign of modernity is an attractive lattice footbridge which found a new home in the 1970s far from its former residence, reputedly at Watford.

Despite its modest size, Greenfield station, by dint of its junction status, permitted a wide scope in railway travel: whereas Mossley and Saddleworth stations served only the main line traffic, the branch to Oldham bestowed on Greenfield the attributes of an interchange point. And although small, the number and variety of incidents which took place within its surroundings are manifold. Let us pause here and take a look at a handful of these incidents, as extracts taken from the original reports. Huddersfield Chronicle, 3rd March 1860: Several passengers on the 2 p.m. train from Oldham were hurt when the carriages were allowed to free-wheel down the slight incline (normal practice) and instead of being stopped by the guard's van, crashed into the stop-block. Huddersfield Chronicle, 10th November 1866: On a Saturday morning, goods wagons broke away from a train at Greenfield and began to descend the incline towards Mossley, and were hit by a luggage train coming the other way. Oldham Chronicle, 4th September 1869: A pointsman at Greenfield left the points open so that a train from Oldham, instead of completing its journey in the normal manner, continued into a siding and crashed into a number of wagons, doing considerable damage.

Passengers travelling from the east were able to alight at Greenfield and catch a connection to Oldham and beyond, and, of course, in the reverse. In 1879, the morale of passengers seemed to be at an all-time low, and much grumbling took place at the delay in train connections, and in the off-hand way that passengers were treated by the station staff. The Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 29th March, voiced its opinion on the subject: "Wednesday evening was bitterly cold and the train from Yorkshire steamed out of the station towards Mossley at 8 o'clock, leaving a margin of five minutes for passengers to cross - if any - yet it was 15 minutes past eight when the (Oldham) train was sent off, the engine of the passenger train always being pressed into this service". Whoever was to blame, concluded the report it is a standing reproach to the Company, and the comfort of their fares should be worth better treatment than is often meted out to them at Greenfield". Whether the situation improved and the station staff hung their heads in shame is not recorded.

Thirty four years later, rail-motor trains passed through Greenfield station betwixt Delph and Oldham. (The motor trains were introduced from the 1 st January 1912). One of the last batch of LNWR rail motor trains, No.5507, had reached the area as an expedient which did not last very long. On 7th July 1913, Greenfield was the setting for a rail motor train derailment which blocked the main Down line for several hours, a situation requiring single line working until relief came with the arrival of the Longsight breakdown gang. The Oldham Standard that same evening reported the incident: "Railway traffic at Greenfield station was seriously delayed this morning by a blockage of the main line from Manchester to Yorkshire. About 8.20 a.m. a motor train was being shunted to the Oldharn Siding when it got on to the wrong track and struck a buffer with considerable force. The carriages were thrown across the main line, stopping all travelling over the same for some time". A later report on the same day provided a fuller picture of the incident, a copy of such appears in Chapter 13.

The station at Greenfield, as described above, was the outcome of alterations which took place at the turn of the century. Little is known of the infrastructure before this date, but reports of renewal were evident in local newspapers in 1901. The Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 2nd February, looked forward to welcome changes: "The long talked about changes at Greenfield station will possibly be commenced during the coming Spring. The plans are now practically complete and the structural alterations will be somewhat extensive. New waiting rooms are to be provided on each platform and the new entrances will be most convenient".

Judging by a report two years later, the anticipated improvements did not fulfil expectations. The same newspaper, 3rd October 1903, complained of "the worst constructed station on the LNWR", its report very much prompted by a fatal accident to a Mr William Waring, a passenger on the 7.20 Oldham to Greenfield train: "Many fatalities have happened at Greenfield within the last twenty years and considering the large number of summer visitors who now use the station, the wonder is that even more are not injured or killed some alterations were made, but those were of a totally inadequate character".

Beyond the station, the railway followed a long curving channel which was Wharinton Cutting, the passengers' view restricted by the slope of the hill on the Down side, and a cutting side on the other. The cutting was eventually left behind on the approach to Moorgate Halt and the level occupation crossing of Dark Lane. From a point a few yards beyond Delph Junction signal box, a third track now accompanied the main line on the Down side, remaining parallel until it swung away to the west - this was the unassuming start of the Delph Branch.

Uppermill Viaduct bore the main line over the juvenile River Tame, the Huddersfield Canal, Brownhill Lane, and the main road to Huddersfield. Once traversed, it brought the railway into Saddleworth station (sometimes referred to as Brownhill station owing to its location in the discrete area known as Brownhill). The rustic station building nestled on the Down side between the end of the viaduct and Brownhill Cutting. The stone building with its overhanging gabled slated roof, and its timber waiting room, served a truly rural area, although the nearest nucleated settlement to it was Dobcross. Access to the Down side could be made by way of a curving driveway from Wool Road, and via a sloping path which ran up from both Wool Road and Brownhill Lane. The Up platform possessed an all-timber open-fronted shelter, plus a timber hut which served as a Ladies Waiting Room. Small as it was, Saddleworth station included a stone goods shed and a cattle dock on the Down side, served by a pair of dead-end sidings which trailed back from a set of points on the Down line. Like Mossley and Greenfield, Saddleworth station had been the scene of several newsworthy incidents, and two of these are recalled. The Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 10th July 1880, reported on "a shocking accident" which involved an eleven year old girl, Elizabeth Brunsett of Diggle, who was almost killed. The near fatality illustrated the inadequate conditions at the station. "It appears that as the girl was about to cross the line round the back of the 2.20 o'clock train from Leeds to Manchester the fast train from Manchester to Leeds.... which does not stop at Saddleworth, came up and knocked her down".

Since the station had no footbridge or subway, it was necessary for passengers to reach the exit from the Up platform by crossing the tracks. There was no access or exit from the Up platform other than by this means. On the 18th March 1882, the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter gave a full account of the inquest into the near fatality, out of which the girl, then aged 13 years, was awarded 50 pounds by the LNWR. The newspaper was scathing in its condemnation of the practice of crossing the line: "There was no gate there which might be closed in order to warn people that the train was coming or leaving. Indeed, there was no place marked for the purpose over the line except two or three small steps purposely made small to allow the carriages to clear them".

Those who knew Saddleworth station in its heyday will recall that the Up and Down lines curve through the station. Whichever way the lines were crossed, the view both ways was blind, especially so if passage was made from behind an Up train. A footbridge was never installed at the station and the dangerous act of crossing the line must have continued until the Company finally provided a pathway to the Up platform from Brownhill Lane. (The steps and path leading to the Up side of the station can still be seen by peering over a wall along the lane, the original access point now sealed up by stonework).

A combination of winter weather and negligence played its part several months later, in October, when, on a snowy Tuesday evening, an hour before midnight, a luggage train en route to Manchester collided with a pilot engine travelling in the opposite direction. Vans were derailed and the lines near the station were blocked in both directions. Snowed-up signals and a misunderstanding on someone's behalf were blamed for the collision which involved the attendance of the Longsight and Huddersfield breakdown gangs and cranes.

Sweeping northwards again, following the valley of Diggle Brook, the railway passed through the short but steep sided Brownhill Cutting, over an occupation crossing on the level (David's Crossing), on to a stretch of line which hugged the hillside on the east, and presenting a high embankment which overlooked the canal; for the first time, the route now ran alongside the Huddersfield Canal, the latter this time on the west side of the railway, each shunning the wet valley floor. Before Dobcross Loom Works was reached, the railway was joined by the Mickleburst Loop line, and bearing northwards, all four tracks passed over an occupation subway which many a clogged and booted pedestrian must have used between Huddersfield Road and the handful of cottages and farms on the eastern hillside. Messrs Hutchinson & Hollingworth's 1861 Loom Works was an interesting landmark for the railway traveller, the time of day exhibited by the office tower clock. The works were extended in 1890 and in March 1891, a branch siding was added to serve the site, accessible from trailing points on the Down line just to the south of Ward Lane bridge. The inclined siding crossed the canal on a metal girder bridge which was supported on stone abutments. Closure of the Loom Works in 1967 led to the take over of the buildings by WH.Shaw & Sons, pallet makers, all traffic to and from the works handled by road.

The shunting locomotive at the Loom Works had originally been built in 1928 by the Atkinson Walker Wagon Co. and was owned by the Clogher Valley Railway until 1931 whereupon it was dismantled and the engine, boiler and all steam fittings were brought to England by the Receivers and sold to Hutchinson & Hollingworth. The latter utilised the "spare parts" and from them built an 0-4-0 engine named "Rocket" for their own purposes in 1935. The cost of building the locomotive was about 400 pounds and when running, replaced horses which had hitheto been used for siding haulage at the works.

To the south of Ward Lane, bridge No.35 spanned the line as a footbridge, just as it does today, the modern steel structure having replaced the original lattice type which also functioned as a signal gantry. Once beyond Ward Lane bridge, the Diggle complex was reached, an area which deserves a section to itself. However, before concentrating on the Diggle area, it is worth a moment's pause at Ward Lane bridge. The original stone arch had to be removed with the widening of the line, its place taken by a riveted wrought iron type which is extant. The Huddersfield Chronicle, 13th June 1885, reported the demise of the old arched bridge: '76 remove this bridge special preparations were made and Sunday noon was taken as the convenient time not to interrupt the traffic. Rumours of blowing up the bridge had got about, and a large number of spectators were present. But imagine their disappointment, for after a good many puffs and thuds, and a good deal of smoke, the bridge was still standing, only being slightly shaken, and the gang of navvies had set to work and bring it down with crowbars. Thirty two. shots were mined, but only about half the number went off".

It is surprising that the name Diggle is so widely known, at least among those who are railway enthusiasts. This notability is probably due mainly to the existence of four tunnels, one conveying a canal, and the other three of railway origin. The so-called Standedge Tunnels pierce the Pennine Hills at one of the narrowest sections of the chain of hills, being no more than three to four miles in width between Saddleworth and Marsden. Diggle as a settlement is a composite name embracing the hamlets of Diggle Lee, Kiln Green, Harrop Green, and Weakey, plus a host of individual dwellings, all of which are largely unheard of outside the local area.

The Huddersfield Narrow Canal aimed for Diggle as the point at which the tunnel could commence, thereby linking the upper Tame and Colne Valleys. Under the supervision of engineers Thomas Telford and John Rooth, the 5,477 yards long tunnel was completed in December 1810, the official opening of the canal throughout taking place on the 4th April of that year.

Investigative fieldwork carried out be the Saddleworth Historical Society's Industrial Archaeology Section in September 1974, revealed that the original line of the canal at Diggle had been diverted to allow for the construction of the railway; its previous course, for a few hundred yards in front of the tunnel mouth included two canal basins and an aqueduct over Diggle Brook. The railway engineers extended the canal tunnel for a length of 250/300 yards so that the railway could run alongside it without obstruction, the centre-line of the latter being about 50 feet south of the canal tunnel. According to one writer in British Railways Illustrated Vol. 1, No. 5, 1992.... about 32 yards of the original canal tunnel at the Diggle end was removed and the waterway covered over with steel girders and floor plates, for a length of about 275 yards". The steel girders and plating referred to can be seen today, close to the 1894 tunnel portal, forming the bed of a stream which is channelled across the station area. Upon the opening of the railway in August 1849, the disposition of the railway between Ward Lane bridge and the tunnel mouth was such that the double line crossed the canal, then Diggle Brook (which flowed in a deep clough) and finally Sam Lane level crossing, the last stretch of single line running parallel with the covered portion of the canal before entering the 1849 "Nicholson" tunnel.

The conventional wisdom is that Diggle station opened its doors to the public on the 1 st August 1849. No reference is made, however, to the existence of the station in the comprehensive account of the inaugural ceremonies which were reported in the Manchester Examiner, 18th July 1849. It may be conjectured that the station was not at that time under construction, or if it was, it was incomplete. Another report in the Huddersfield Chronicle, 28th July 1851, gave details of the early train services running between Leeds and Manchester, and in which it was clearly stated that, "All trains stopped at Stalybridge, but expresses passed Greenfield and Mossley. There was no station at Diggle".

Reference to Bradshaw's Guide for March 1850 indicates that on the Leeds - Manchester service, and return, trains ran between Saddleworth Station and Stalybridge, a few calling at Greenfield and Mossley; Diggle is not listed as a station. On a more positive note, an indication that Diggle Station was in public use in August 1850 can be drawn from the Huddersfield Chronicle report of 7th September: "On Monday 26th ult., a monster train started from Mossley Brow station, soon after 6a.m., calling at Greenfield, Saddleworth and Diggle stations, to take passengers for the cheap trip to York....

Yet another reference to Diggle Station derives from a letter sent to Mr James Lees, a Delph mill owner, dated 12th October 1850: "Dear Sir, You are requested to meet Mr William Broadbent at Diggle Station on Wednesday next, the 16th inst., at 10.45 respecting the purchase of this land".

Strangely, the Huddersfield Chronicle, although printing a weekly timetable for the Leeds to Manchester route, omits the name Diggle even in the December of 1850, as if it did not exist or mattered! For more reliable information, Bradshaw's Guide for November 1850 shows that at Diggle Station, there were four regular weekday trains in the Leeds direction (two on Sundays), and six in the Manchester direction (two on Sundays), with one extra train in both directions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. From all this, we can be assured that in August/September 1850, Diggle had joined the ranks of its neighbours in possessing a fully functioning amenity.

The single line status of the Nicholson tunnel necessitated the use of a staff and pilot engine for every train passing through. Although trains were regulated by the employment of the electric telegraph, delays at both ends of the tunnel were inevitable. In the words of Neil Fraser, writing in the Railway World, February 1967: "The expansion of traffic in the 1850s increased beyond all expectations and the tunnel became a serious bottleneck; traffic queued up at both Marsden and Diggle waiting to pass through, with goods trains being placed in sidings to allow precedence to passenger trains. When all sidings were full, other trains were set back on the opposite running line frequently with disastrous results....

Two incidents may be recalled by reference to contemporary reports in the press. Firstly, the Huddersfield Chronicle, 18th August 1866: "On Sunday evening at Diggle, the mail train from Leeds emerged from the tunnel and dashed into a train of empty carriages (Manchester to Bradford) which were being shunted so as enable the down mail to pass. Several carriages were reduced to splinters and the line was blocked for two or three hours".

Another collision took place in consequence of the necessity for queuing and waiting at Diggle for trains within the tunnel to clear. An early edition report in the Manchester Guardian, 21st October 1868, pondered over the then unclear sequence of events: "A passenger train coming from Leeds to Manchester about 10 o'clock yesterday morning ran into a goods train at the western end of Diggle Tunnel. The accounts we have received differ as to the exact spot where the collision happened one saying that it was just at the extremity of the tunnel and the other, that the goods train had reached a point at least 100 yards within the tunnel. The engine of the passenger train was considerably damaged.... The accident is one which will no doubt be strictly investigated by the railway officials".

The opening of the second single line tunnel, the "Nelson" tunnel in February 1871, should have provided immediate relief to the congestion which had prevailed at Diggle. This was not, however, achieved until both tunnels were operational on the 24th April 1871. For a few months, the old tunnel fell out of use while essential repairs were undertaken and the track through it was re-laid. During this time, the "Nelson" tunnel had to serve as the only rail passage through Standedge. On 15th April 1871, Board of Trade inspections had included not only scrutiny of the tunnels, but also an inspection of the point work and signalling installations which had been found necessary to change as a result of a new track layout.

The LNWR itself, in January 1871, described the station as having "wretched accommodation", and singled out the low platforms which were no doubt a major cause of criticism. The company was pleased to announce that: "Diggle Station is to be improved and additional siding accommodation provided and a second signal box put up at the western end of the station somewhere about a quarter of a mile from the present signal box". The two platforms were extended towards the tunnel mouths in the same year.

Despite the new tunnel and the improvements in the track work and signalling arrangements, the incidence of serious accidents was not removed. Two such accidents are worth referring to as they illustrate the daily workings at Diggle. The first was reported by the Stalybridge Reporter, 5th September 1877, and concerned a young fireman named James Jones who was killed while uncoupling an engine: "Owing to the severe gradient on the line pilot engines are often attached to the engines of heavy goods trains to assist them as far as Diggle, and the engine upon which Jones was employed was sent out on Tuesday morning for the purpose of helping to bring a goods train to this point".

Unfortunately, the young man was caught by the "lifeguard" which projects downwards in front of the leading and trailing wheels of a locomotive, as both engines of the trains eased back at the same time. The same newspaper, 30th March 1878, reported the near fatal accident on the Sam Lane level crossing, to a 13 year old James Bottomley, the son of a Diggle Edge farmer. "At this place there is a level crossing over the rails and as a goods engine, which was shunting some wagons was approaching the spot, the boy started to pass from one side of the railway to the other".

Although several people witnessed the boy's impending doom, their cries went unheeded and "...he was caught by the front of the engine and knocked into the four-foot, the engine and tender and two wagons passing over him". To the relief of the witnesses, the boy rose from the ballast uninjured, the only casualty being a female onlooker who "was rendered seriously ill by what she had seen. (The author can well imagine this lady's disposition, having witnessed a lively, young dog perish in the four-foot at Crewe station a few years ago).

By the late 1880s, major changes had taken place at Diggle affecting the railway specifically, but in consequence, altering the position of the rights of way. The Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 17th September 1888, prepared the inhabitants of Diggle for the minor upheaval ahead: "Matters are likely to become lively in the Diggle district in the course of a short time. A large bridge is to be built across the railway to take place of the level crossing now in use, and another new tunnel is to be made through the Standedge Hills to Marsden.... We also hear that a large outlay is to be incurred in the erection of a new station. Verily, Diggle is becoming a place of great importance".

In 1890, the layout at Diggle had been transformed into a complex of sidings. The opening of the Micklehurst Loop Line meant that four lines converged just beyond the new Ward Lane bridge, the actual junction falling under the control of Diggle Junction signal box. Two dead-end sidings trailed back from the Down line and ran alongside the canal opposite Warth Mill. Several looped and dead-end sidings had been laid on the Up side with the familiar wagon turntable permitting access to short stubs which served a small warehouse and Diggle Paper Mill at Kiln Green. A signal box, Diggle Station box, stood at the end of the Up platform, and a dead-end looped siding passed under Station Road bridge which was the actual location of the entrance to the stone built booking office. A footbridge was installed to connect the booking office to the two platforms, the latter, on the tunnel side, ending well short of the twin portals. By this time, Sam Lane level crossing had been removed, leaving the original roadway truncated and diverted parallel to the Down main line, inclined slightly so as to meet the new bridge. The bridge is extant today, still exhibiting its riveted wrought iron girders and plates, supported on two stone piers and two stone abutments at each end.

The construction of the twin track tunnel between August 1890 and August 1894 made a profound impact on the usually somnolent Diggle. This was recognised by the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 29th November 1890, when it announced: "The Diggle part of the parish is likely to be a busy place for some time to come. The London and North Western Railway Company are making every preparation for pushing on the work of making a new tunnel through the Standedge Hills, and during the week men have been busy at work in erecting a number of huts on a piece of land near to Diggle station for the workmen to dwell in....

The new 5,344 yards long tunnel had its Diggle portal on the north side of the 1849 tunnel and to accommodate the tracks leading to it, it was necessary to extend further the original diverted and covered canal by 220 yards. By the 7th February 1891, the M&S Reporter, keeping an eye on events, informed its readers: "The work in connection with the new tunnel at Diggle is now in full swing and somewhere about 600 men are engaged. Not a few of them are Welshmen and some of them are unable to speak the English language. Many of them being of the Wesleyan persuasion, they have joined with the congregation at the Wrigley Mill Wesleyan Chapel, and to meet the requirements of the situation the managers of that place have arranged for a Welsh class, meeting once each week, and for a Welsh service in the chapel every Sunday afternoon"

In addition to the dwelling huts for the navvies, a mission room was available for meetings and entertainment. On 7th May 1892, it was reported that the room accommodated an exhibition of navvy artefacts, the proceedings opened by Mr A.A.McGregor, resident Engineer for the new tunnel.

As part of the alterations resulting from the new tunnel, Diggle station was rebuilt under a contract of 1889 with the contractors Messrs Holme & King. The station now accommodated four running lines and three platforms, the latter described by the B-o-T report as comprising "one island and two side platforms on all of which there are good waiting rooms and conveniences for both sexes". Small-scale LNWR engineering was applied during the reconstruction as exemplified by the diversion of a small hill stream which flowed down Harropdale from the Brun Clough reservoir. This stream was culverted by brick arches on the north side of the new tunnel, channelled under a short-length metal bridge beneath the main lines, carried along a stone-lined channel diagonally across the station area, and then culverted again beneath the island platform and the Up south line and platform. It eventually reappeared on the Kiln Green side of the station on course to join Diggle Brook. Most of the features associated with the stream diversion are extant, and are to be seen at the Up south track bed in the form of timber baulks and tie-rods.

Quite recently, further information came to hand in an excellent article by Geoff Brown entitled "Standedge Tunnel Water Troughs", Backtrack, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1996. The following is a brief detail from a description of other features of Diggle station which were associated with the supply of water to the troughs within the double bore tunnel. Two important parts of the station area were the iron water tank and the small water treatment plant. The former stood at the eastern end of the station, between the 1849 and 1894 tunnel portals (note the reversal of years between the old and new tunnels), at the builder's yard end of the station. According to Geoff Brown, "The brick tank house was divided into two, the half nearer the station serving as a store. The "tunnel" end of the building was fitted out as a mess room for a long term north tunnel repair programme, gas and water being laid on in May 1953. It later served as a mess room for PW gangs".

Water derived from the peaty moorland was very acidic and required treatment before its use for steam raising. Once drawn from storage in the defunct canal basin, the water passed through the treatment plant. "This process was supervised by a specialist who came from Manchester every morning and involved mixing with a pink powder which gave the water the appearance of red wine". (op cit) (Peaty water in its natural state is noticeably yellow in colour). Before passage to the troughs inside the tunnels, the water was held in a small open-air reservoir close to the nearby Diggle Hotel, the same source providing water for the water columns at the station.

Extensive alterations to the layout between Ward Lane bridge and the station brought about greater siding accommodation on either side of the main line, essentially following the layout of 1880-90. The old station signal box had been removed along with the small-scale sidings which originally served Diggle Paper Mill. By reason of its major sorting sidings for goods and coal passing between Lancashire and Yorkshire, dozens of trains each weekday were "made up", and shunting was undertaken throughout twenty-four hours.

Before leaving Diggle, its is pertinent to refer to two incidents, one minor and one major, both of which occurred at the sorting sidings. The minor episode was reported by the Mossley & Saddleworth Reporter, 6th March 1909, and amounted to a typical shunter's tale: "During shunting operations at Diggle Station on Thursday afternoon, an engine, brake van and two wagons - one loaded with beer and the other with shoddy - got upon the wrong lines. The buffer blocks at the terminus were knocked over and the wagons and van were precipitated into the old canal, causing great damage. Brakesman Sykes of Copley Hill had a narrow escape and when liberated was prostrated with shock". From this description, it would seem that the mishap took place to the rear of Diggle Junction signal box, on one of the set of four sidings adjacent to the canal.

Well documented is the Ward Lane accident which was of such violence that the national press covered the story in 1923. The incident occurred at 10.20 on the morning of 5th July to the 9.20 Leeds to Manchester passenger train as it rounded the curve, double-headed, past the signal box. The sensationalist language of the Evening Chronicle that day summarised the event: "Near Diggle station, the Leeds to Manchester express, when travelling at a terrific speed, collided with a goods engine and hurled it 30 yards along the line. The two engines on the express were overturned and the first of the coaches telescoped. A driver and fireman, and four passengers in the front coach were killed outright... From towns in the vicinity, doctors and nurses were rushed to the scene. Before their arrival local ambulance men rendered first aid to the injured as they were extricated from the wreckage... Some of the women passengers behaved with remarkable coolness, and their advice saved several male passengers from perilous positions".

The customary quietude of Diggle was, on that morning, shattered by that awful accident. Wreckage stretched from the point of impact near the signal box (a water column was positioned directly opposite, and from this the goods engine had minutes earlier taken water), to the west side of Ward Lane bridge. Photographs of the wreckage, and there are many, reveal the large number of inquisitive locals peering down from vantage points at the ghastly scene. Perhaps this accident is yet another reason why Diggle is part of the folklore of railway history.

The 6 3/4 mile Micklehurst Loop line deserves special attention, representing as it did the alternative between Stalybridge and Diggle to the 1849 Huddersfield and Manchester route. Born out of a desire by the LNWR to quadruple its tracks between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, the Loop line was a second best to the laying of an extra pair of tracks alongside the old route, a patent impossibility owing to the lack of space on the western side of the Tame valley.

The Stalybridge Reporter, 7th December 1878, assured its readers of the relatively low disturbance anticipated by describing the route of the new line insofar as it affected the town: "At the station, it (the line) diverges to the right of the present line and runs parallel to it as far as the mouth of the tunnel under Stamford Street. It here deviates further to the right hand, or south side, and is carried by a tunnel under Cockerhill. The length of this tunnel is 315 yards (sic). The line will then be carried across the river by a viaduct 306 yards (sic) and taking a bend to the north again cuts across Knowl Street, across the canal, and then up the canal to Mossley and Saddleworth".

The Reporter's description continued with an explanation of how the new railway would pass through the town itself, running along a new viaduct built alongside the old, with several streets spanned by arches, and other streets stopped up. Unlike the LNWR's rejected 1877 Bill, which would have caused the maximum disruption of the town's existing layout, the Second Bill was deemed more acceptable, for, "It will therefore be seen that there is compar