The Delph Donkey

Starting Point - Greenfield Station. Finishing Point - Site of Delph Station. Distance 2.4 Miles

The line from Saddleworth Junction north of Greenfield to Delph opened in 1851 and closed in 1955. The route had a passenger service from Oldham which was nicknamed the Delph Donkey, the route from Oldham to Greenfield closed at the same time and is also now a footpath, though we visited the route as a couple of short walks / pub crawls.

Rail Map Online

Google Maps

1932 Map

Greenfield

We began by taking a train to Greenfield. The line from Greenfield to the site of Saddleworth Junction is of course still in use as part of the main line from Manchester to Leeds via Huddersfield so a walk along local roads is necessary to reach the former Delph Branch.

Moorgate Halt

Where Dark Lane crosses the railway there was a station called Moorgate Halt, this served the town of Uppermill. Uppermill was also served by the Diggle to Stalybridge Loop Line which I visited on another walk. Being quite a simple halt which was added to the service in 1912 it lacked the substantial buildings of the original stations and nothing remains of the station today. 

From Dark Lane a footpath runs alongside the railway to the west, joining the former Delph Branch at the site of Saddleworth Junction.

1932 Map

Dobcross Halt

Another small halt added to the route in 1912, here the steps up from Ladcastle Road can still be seen.

Below - The former pedestrian access to Dobcross Halt.

1934 Map

Measurements Halt

Measurements Halt was quite a short lived station, built to serve the Measurements Factory the station just had a train each way coinciding with shift times. Nothing remains of the station. 

Delph

The station building at Delph survives and is now a house with many original features preserved by its owner.

Below - The former station at Delph.

Delph station was for a time home to a couple of preserved locomotives, a coach and a couple of wagons. This was a private collection rather than a heritage railway. The locomotives were Brookes No 1 which is now at the Middleton Railway and Darfield No 1 which is now at the Chasewater Railway. The coach and wagons were scrapped on site.

The goods shed has been demolished and houses built on the site of the goods yard as the Station Approach development.

The station area was dominated by the Bailey Mills woollen mills. I just missed the main mill building which closed in 1996 and was burned down in an arson attack in 2016. Some of the buildings to the south of the mill site survived but were in quite derelict condition and were fenced off.

Below - Surviving mill buildings.

From Delph station we returned to Greenfield, via some pubs, back along the former railway.

Another railway continued beyond Delph for the construction of Cattleshaw Reservoir. The railway followed the course of Huddersfield Road and Waterworks Road.