Hi my name is Phil I did 50yrs on the footplate 8yrs on steam i started at edgeley shed in 1961in 1962 I was made a fireman at Trafford Park shed so I worked trains over that over that way in 1968 moved to Guide bridge when edgeley closed so again worked that way.In 1974 I moved to longsight as a driver I finished my time out at longsight Regards Phil.

That was great to see Fallowfield Station. I'm currently building a model railway of it so it definitely helped me.

I’ve cycled this line loads of times in the last few years and only just found this video. Fabulous to see how things used to look. Esp the stations, a lot have been desecrated sadly, esp fallowfield. Cuttings have been filled and bridges, shame it wasn’t preserved a little better

Last time I passed through Gorton Station, the signal at the platform-end, visible at :00.30, still had the redundant "feather" that controlled entry to the "Fallowfield Loop". The P.T.E. could have done more to take over and protect the integrity of the disused trackbeds within its area, but they were perverse (or canny) in allowing them to be sold to developers for supermarkets or housing. The diversion of East-West services from the late Eighties via the remodelled junctions at Ardwick also meant that freight could be diverted via platforms 13 and 14 at Piccadilly and onto the twin-track section up to Deansgate which is now a bottleneck. Keeping the Fairfield/Gorton to Old Trafford link, even in two-way single-track form, would have alleviated the present 'quart-in-a-pint-pot' overcrowding in the city-centre. It's too late now, and it'll be difficult to squeeze in the much-needed twin tracks between Piccadilly and Deansgate.

Really enjoyed the tour. I used to frequent Reddish depot but I stopped going in 1984. Thanks for sharing this fascinating film.

Brilliant,my early secondman turns at reddish and even firing turns on the fallowfield trip workings,happy days,sad to see it left to rot,but interesting to watch , thanks for sharing.

Fantastic video brought back some good memory's used to go there on a Sunday mornings with my dad nobody bothered you just walked round chatting to staff brilliant.

Really enjoyed that footage Allan. Priceless.

More great stuff used to go to Reddish sheds on a Sunday afternoon always something unusual there for wheel turning saw a few 87s & 86s there.

A very interesting video. I grew up in Chorlton and my parents shopped at the Safeway supermarket adjacent to the Chorlton station in the early 90's. Back then it was a single line. I remember the track was lifted around 1991.

Would love to see it done again to see what’s left now. Great video.

I went to the light rail demo at Debdale Park using DLR unit 11 when Metrolink was being planned. Look for a video titled “Blues and Gospel Train”; I think there’s an extract from it on KZread. It as made by Granada Television in the early ‘60s and featured the music fans being taken by special train from Manchester Central to the closed Wilbraham Road Station where they alighted onto one platform to watch the musicians perform on the other.

i moved to levenshulme in may 1999 and recall the sheds still there

Would love to see the full footage from Chorlton to Old Trafford if possible? I was fascinated by the line for many years in it's disused state but also too young to have seen it in 1993l! Thoroughly enjoyed this video from start to finish, thanks so much for sharing!!

I can remember when there was still a single track on this line, I used to see it as I passed over it on the styal line on an old class 304 on my way down to burnage.

Interesting. Thanks for posting that up.

took a steam train from chorlton to hayfield a while back, a long while back.

such a shame so much has been lost with the conversion into a cycle route especialy at levenshulme south! im Ashton born and bred and moved to Bristol 15 yrs ago and here in Bristol on the old Bristol to bath greenpark route they have preserved A LOT of the station platforms ect and even a tunnel you can cycle through (also part of it is still operational as a heritage line with a cycle path running down the side of the operating line!) I know its not manchester Allan but you can check it out on google maps ect and see what can be done with an old line converted to a cycle way with some thought and care put in to preserving the history of the line ( un like they have done with the fallowfield loop sadly) and the bristol one was done yrs ago think it was one of the 1st cycleways in the uk converted from an old rail line! www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/bristol-and-bath-railway-path/?gclid=CjwKCAjwqvyFBhB7EiwAER786e4vliFtgfOR4CN-Kh-BaVw5SR-9fyVkfznzEykExcqexzsTX5NOmhoCZJQQAvD_BwE

Great exploration, as with the Sheffield video. I went to school at Alexandra Park in the 60s and after school, we trainspotters used to walk to the Fallowfield line to see if anything would appear, If we were lucky, we got to see the Liverpool to Harwich Parkstone Quay boat train passing through. Quite impressive. If you walked just a bit further, parallel with Princess Road, you came across the Central to St Pancras Midland main line on which of course there was quite a bit more going on. So really interesting to see how it is now, and rather sad.

Remember seeing this in Reddish when attended the Carnival there, in the 1970s. Always wondered what line it was. Never saw trains on it.

So sad to see but fascinating as well

The blue pullman spare set was housed at reddish tmd at one point, there is a picture of it in woodhead the electric railway by e m Johnson

Another very interesting video!

Fantastic video!

Went to redish to see the tommys lined up awaiting their fate and guide bridge , the wath branch of woodhead line ran past my house, none stop 76's on coal trains all day long, remember a class 40 going past redish depot auriol i think

Very good video much enjoyed. I live in Fallowfield and cycle the route often. London Brick Company had a yard at Fallowfield station with an access road for lorries leading from Wilmslow road down a slope alongside what is now Sainsbury's. In your video the yard was I believe what you show as the coal storage yard. Never knew there was a second rail track under Wilmslow road that you walked into and show a loco at. Alexandra Park Station was used on 7th May 1964 by Granada TV for a program called "The Blues and Gospel Train" and they renamed it Chorltonville for the programme. The engine was an Ivatt 2-6-0 fitted with a cow catcher to give the American steam loco' styling. kzread.info/dash/bejne/q5inmZmNganMlKg.html The line had been closed by then but the track was still usable and the audience arrived by steam strain. Also to the other side of the Alexandra Road (West side) was a small siding and Bird's Eye foods had a small plant there.

I imagine this was some time ago judging by the class 305 units at the beginning of the video and Reddish Depot is now a housing estate

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Just got wind that they're going to be widening Hyde Road, from what I can see from the plans, the bridge and much of the embankment where the station entrance was is going to be destroyed! I've explored the site a fair few times over the past couple of years, the white bricks to what looks like a passenger subway is just about poking out near the front of the embankment by the roadway, some other features, poking out here end there, including the remains of one of the support pillars, but hidden in the undergrowth just before the pillar and about half way up the embankment, is a small hole, this small hole opens out into a large chamber where the station building was.... but now it's all at risk, risk of being wiped away, lost forever if all goes according to Manchester Council's plans! As such, I'll be off to the site this Sunday, to photograph and video what's left, before it is gone for good! 😠😬

@Zentron

3 жыл бұрын

Recently went inside the chamber I discovered, saw a lot, but my biggest find.... was a thrid chamber! Though in this chamber, I found that it had either a fireplace, or the bottom of a coal chute, so I've now started to excavate that as well.

Why Ardwick-Guide Bridge was reduced from four tracks to two is anyone’s guess. Totally and utterly ridiculous. It’s now very busy and a significant bottleneck!

good video

Damned housing estates.

@stevelomas4119

3 жыл бұрын

Because we don't need houses yes ?

@angelsone-five7912

3 жыл бұрын

@@stevelomas4119 No, it`s the reason we DO need more houses that bugs me.