Oldham - Ashton line and Park Bridge Ironworks

Starting Point - Oldham Mumps Tram Stop. Finishing Point - Aston under Lyne Station. 

Distance 5 Miles

Following on from my recent visit to the Oldham Loop line I dug bag through my photos to an earlier visit to the nearby Oldham, Ashton under Lyne and Guide Bridge Junction Railway. Much of the route is walkable, though there isn't much to see in terms of former railway structures. The route does have some interesting bits to see of the industrial heritage alongside the former railway though.

The OA&GB was a Joint Line operated by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (later Great Central Railway) and the London & North Western Railway. With these two companies becoming parts of the LNER and LMS in the grouping of 1923 the OA&GB survived the grouping and continued as a joint line operation until both companies became part of British Railways in the 1948 nationalisation. Passenger services were discontinued in 1959 and the line closed completely in 1968. More information about the history of the line can be found in the Wikipedia article.

Rail Map Online

Google Map

1894 Map

Oldham Glodwick Road

The OA&GB connected end on to the L&NWR's Delph Donkey branch line at Oldham Glodwick Road station. The station itself was in a slight cutting which has been filled in and landscaped over, the site of the station is now an area of grass at the corner of Glodwick Road and Southlink. The former goods shed does survive though on the south side of Hamilton Street.

Below - The former goods shed.

The OA&GB line ran to the south of the Lancashire & Yorkshire line through Oldham, the Oldham Loop I covered earlier. Originally the MS&LR had intended to form the joint line with both the L&YR and the LNWR but the two rivals would not work together and the L&YR pulled out.

Below - The bridges over Waterloo Street, the closest one with the missing bridge span is that of the OA&GB, behind it is the former L&YR Oldham Loop line and I am stood on a footbridge on the abutments of the bridge that took the lines in to the goods yard.

Oldham Clegg Street

1894 Map

Clegg Street station on the Ashton line was next to the L&YR's Oldham Central. After closure of the railway the site of Clegg Street station was used to build a parcels depot. In recent years the site has been redeveloped and is now occupied by the Alexandra Retail Park. The LNWR goods shed on the corner of Park Road and Woodstock Street survived in to recent years but the unsafe condition of the building resulted in its demolition in 2012.

Below - Gateposts of the former LNWR goods yard. The retail park on the site of Clegg Street station can be seen through the trees.

Across the road from the entrance to the retail park the footpath along the former railway can be found. The railway once passed under the goods yards and Park Road so the cutting has been partly filled for the footpath to start at road level. Similarly at Honeywell Lane the bridge has been removed and the path crosses at road level.

Park Bridge

At Park Bridge the railway crossed the valley on a large viaduct which was demolished after the line closed, there did seem to be a bit of rubble around where the path descends to the valley bottom which may have been from the viaduct. The most interesting sight is the remains of Park Bridge Ironworks.

1894 Map (1)  1894 Map (2)

Below - The buildings at the northern end of the site around Dean House on map 1 above. A heritage centre has been established by Tameside Countryside Services in the building across Dean Terrace.

Below - The buildings around Mill Brow, still in industrial use by a company making industrial shelving.

Below - A few bits of machinery are dotted around the site including this forge hammer.

On the map (1) above a tunnel is shown around Mill Brow on the old map, also to the west of the site of the viaduct the road along the valley still has the name Waggon Road, this is after a tram road that brought coke to the works from mines and a coke works. The smaller scale 1882 Map shows this better (towards the bottom centre of the map). Also it can be seen on the Rail Map Online site by selecting Industry in the Layers option in the menu at the top of the page. East of Alt Lane a footpath follows the course of the tram road, meeting the cycle path back to Alt Hill Road along the former rail connection from the OA&GB.

Below - At the eastern edge of the site the former Rocher Pit coal mine.

The cycle path along the former rail access into the ironworks climbs to the height of the viaduct and this is where the rest of path along the railway route south from Park Bridge is accessed. Trees have grown over the site of the exchange sidings and the site of the station.

1935 Map

On the approach to Ashton a few of the bridges over the railway survive, I don't know why I didn't get photos of these. 

The footpath emerges on to Turner Lane where the line went in to a tunnel under Lordsfield Avenue. At the other end of this short tunnel was Ashton Oldham Road station

Ashton Oldham Road

1935 Map (top right of map)

The Berkeley Business park has been built on the site of the railway south of the tunnel and the south portal of the tunnel is obscured by buildings (but can be seen on ariel photos). No trace of the station site can be seen today. The western parapet of the filled in bridge under Oldham Road survives. 

The line crossed the surviving L&YR line between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, heading southwest through what is now a Sainsburys store. The IKEA store occupies the site of the goods yard. In 1911 the Ashton Moss Curve was added by the GCR to form a triangular junction with the L&YR, this curve and a short section of the OA&GB survives as a freight route through the former LNWR line to Stockport.

At the centre of the above map is the National Gas Engine works. The former works survives as the Kayley Industrial Estate.

Below - The former National Gas Engine works.

Below - The works seen across the short surviving section of the OA&GB. Note the gantry of the former 1500v DC Woodhead route electrification, this allowed electric trains off the former GCR's Woodhead route to access freight yards in the area.

Below - The works entrance from Richmond Street.

Ashton Moss

Just off Knight Street was the former Ashton Moss station which was in use for less than a year when the line opened in 1861. 

1894 Map (left side of map)

South of Ashton Moss station the LNWR's Guide Bridge Junction line went off to Stockport and this survives. The triangular junction on to the GCR line through Guide Bridge has been removed, until recent years it could be clearly seen from passing trains (also with former Woodhead Route electrification masts) but is quite overgrown now. The LNWR line from Guide Bridge to Stockport has just one passenger train a week from Stalybridge to Stockport. Occasionally the connection from Ashton Moss Curve has been used for charters or diverted mainline trains to access the line through Stockport from Manchester Victoria rather than Manchester Piccadilly. I have previously travelled this route on a charter and on a diverted Cross Country service. There were no passenger trains this way on this trip so I walked to Ashton under Lyne station for a train home.

The Oldham Loop

Revisiting the Oldham Loop on the tram route that replaced it with a short walk around the abandoned section of railway around Oldham itself.

The Oldham Loop between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale via Oldham was closed in 2009 and converted into a tramway as part of Manchester's Metrolink system, reopening in 2012. The section where the line ran to the south of Oldham's town centre was replaced with a section of street running through the main Union Street. I travelled around the Oldham Loop in 1999, a decade before it's closure as a suburban railway route though the conversion to a tramway was already on the cards at that point. In 2024 I revisited the route by tram.

RailMapOnline

Rochdale

1930 Map (top left of map)

Below - The Oldham Loop trains used to depart from the Platform 2 bay at Rochdale. The bay platform is still there but just sees occasional use in the event of engineering work or service disruption resulting in services from the east turning back at Rochdale rather than Manchester Victoria.

Below - Since Platform 2 lost its regular Oldham services a new bay on the west side of the station has been added for services turning back from the Manchester direction. 

Below - The current Rochdale station is about half of the station that used to be there. Currently the station is an island platform with bays at either end, originally there were two island platforms with the original Manchester facing bays on the abandoned one. Here the subway can be seen passing under the abandoned island platform.

Below - A southern entrance to the station has been reinstated recently opening up this previously blocked off view of where the subway passed under the abandoned island platform. Where the red fencing can be seen was the southern most platform of the station.

Below - Looking towards where the Manchester facing bays were located on the abandoned island platform.

Below - The reinstated southern entrance to the station.

Below - Stairs up to the abandoned island platform.

Below - The main entrance to the station. Originally there was a station building here but now there is just a canopy with the station buildings being at platform level.

Below - The tram line crosses over the lines through Rochdale station on a single track bridge before descending to street level. A tram stop to connect with the railway station is provided on Maclure Road. This was not the first time trams had operated at this location. The tram line extends in to Rochdale town centre, the route following Drake Street and Smith Street just as the original tram line in to the town centre did.

Below - The town centre stop in Rochdale.

Shaw & Crompton

1930 Map

Below - A Pacer at the original Shaw & Crompton station.

Below - A footbridge was provided at the level crossing at the station.

Below - The site of the station today

Below - The signal box across the road from the station. The tram stop for Shaw and Crompton has been built in this location, across the road from the original station.

Below - The tram stop seen from the site of the signal box.

Oldham Mumps

Disused Stations page about Oldham Mumps

Below - Here the tram route through the centre of Oldham diverges from the original rail route. The masts of the tram line can be seen on the left at the other side of the road. The rails are still set in the road towards the original rail route. When the line reopened as a tram route it originally ran to a temporary tram stop built at the site of Oldham Mumps station.

Below - The trackbed looking towards Oldham Mumps.

Below - View from the site of Oldham Mumps station looking towards Rochdale

Below -  A similar viewpoint when still in use as a railway station.

Below - The station building on the platform. On the left the subway to the station entrance can be seen.

Below - A train heading to Rochdale. The subway entrances on the platform and at the station entrance can be seen. Originally a building was provided at the entrance and this was replaced with a more modern building in 1957 but it was demolished in the 1990s with just a canopy over the steps to the subway replacing it, all station facilities then being provided in the buildings on the platform similar to the situation seen at Rochdale.

Below - A Pacer heading towards Manchester.

Below - A train heading to Shaw. Some trains were turned back at Shaw, the crossover just beyond Shaw station can be seen in the earlier picture. This practice continues with Metrolink but a third platform is provided for trams turning back there.

Below - Another couple of Pacers heading to Manchester.

Below - A Pacer heading towards Manchester seen from a footpath bridge over the site. The west facing bay platform can be seen. This was taken out of use in the 80s, the bay at the other end of the station was taken out of use in the 1970s but was filled in.

Below - A Pacer approaching Oldham Mumps from the Manchester direction.

Below - The former entrance to the station site today.

Below - There were remnants of a yellow sign for the temporary tram stop provided at Oldham Mumps before the street running section opened.

The footbridge across the western end of the station site from which a couple of the shots above were taken.

Below - A shot looking west from the above bridge of a Pacer heading towards Manchester.

Below - And a Pacer arriving from the Manchester direction.

Below - Bridges over Waterloo Street. The furthest bridge is Oldham Way, the middle bridge is the former railway, the missing span is the former line to Clegg Street station which diverged south towards Ashton under Lyne and the bridge I am on is the former rail access in to Clegg Street goods yard.

Oldham Central

Disused Stations page about Oldham Central

Oldham Central was the most convenient station for the centre of Oldham but despite this it closed in 1966. It also connected with Clegg Street station on the line to Ashton under Lyne.

Below - The site of Oldham Central station today.

Below - Remnants of the retaining wall for the station.

West of Oldham Central the line went in to a tunnel, emerging at Oldham Werneth station. The tunnel is not visible on the photo above for the vegetation. I went to the Oldham Central tram stop on Union Street to continue my journey on tram.

Below - The Oldham Central Metrolink stop on Union Street.

Oldham Werneth

Disused Stations page about Oldham Werneth

For a few years after the tram was diverted through the town you could clearly see where the line once went in to a tunnel just beyond Werneth Station at the tight bend in the tramline where it rejoins the former railway west of Oldham. Industrial units have since been built on the station site, you just get a glimpse of the tunnel behind them as you pass on the tram now.

Below - A Pacer heading towards Manchester at Oldham Werneth.

Dean Lane / Newton Heath

Disused Stations page about Dean Lane

I got off the tram at Newton Heath, this tram stop is at the site of Dean Lane station. Here a stub of the railway survives to serve a waste terminal. It appears to be double track but is in fact a bi directional single track tram line and platform with the head shunt from the freight terminal alongside. Originally there were platforms on both tracks but the other platform was removed when the line was converted to a tramway.

Below - A tram at Newton Heath heading towards Manchester.

1936 Map

The Oldham Loop joined the mainline in to Manchester Victoria alongside Newton Heath depot. Now the tram line crosses over the line again on another bridge to use the trackbeds of the former Newton Heath Loop and Collyhurst Connecting Loop to join with the Metrolink line from Bury which was one of the first lines converted to tramways in Manchester. Metrolink has its depot on the site of the former sidings at Cheetham Hill Junction.

I continued into Manchester on the tram. The tram stop at Manchester curves across the site of several former bay platforms that were largely once used for local services that are now part of the Metrolink network.