CORRECTION: Essen Stadtbahn Unit 5211 (ex-DLR Number 11) was apparently scrapped a few years ago, though the rest of the fleet remain in operation there.
Hola David. Your search for Fallowfield Loop is a precious stone. I was looking for real Manchester's tourist secrets out of typical tourist trap. Great work !!!
Hi, thanks for posting this video. I must admit I watched it less out of an interest in rail lines and more from a sense of nostalgia. I grew up on Athol road (which terminates at the old Wilbraham road station). I have a few memories of the line before the cycle track but really remember it after it was repurposed. "The Track" was something of a lifeline for me, I walked/rode it to and from school, to my friends in chorlton (and later the pubs) and later in the opposite direction for work. I used "The Track" multiple times a day every day for over a decade. I can remember the smell of the honeysuckle around the withington road bridge. It's beyond my reach these days but your video brought it a little closer. Thank you.
During the light rail demonstration they needed a temporary substation to supply the low Voltage (750 V) d.c. to the DLR train. They actually used a power car from an a.c. electric unit for this purpose. Another interesting event took place on this line in the early ‘60s, 1964 I think. Granada Television made a programme titled Blues and Gospel Train. Fans of this music were taken by special train from Manchester Central to Wilbraham Road Station where they were deposited on one platform to see various artists perform on the other. Extracts from this programme can be found on RU-vid, and the Disused Stations website has various photographs and a ticket for the event on their Wilbraham Road page. Granada Television’s idea of the American Deep South was a bit strange, and needless to say, the event took place in the pouring rain.
You might be interested to know that this line carried a daily "Boat Train" in each direction from Liverpool Central, via Manchester Central, Sheffield , the East Midlands and East Anglia to Harwich Parkeston Quay (now Harwich Harbour I think). It was a full service train with dining and bar car, leaving Liverpool, late morning and connecting at around 8 pm with the night sailing to the Hook of Holland, where there were onward rail connections to Amsterdam via Rotterdan, and to Hamburg and up the Rhine Valley to Basle in Switzerland. I used it regularly in the 1950s and as far as I know it operated well into the 1960s. This was a popular way to the continent before the common us of air travel.
I remember that daily service in the late '50s too, having been a pupil at Chorlton Grammar School where the playing field was next to the line where it was crossed by the St Werburghs Road bridge. And although I haven't visited Manchester for more than 50 years, I didn't recognise anything in the video!
Thanks for the video David, really interesting. Also perfectly shows the state of our railways at the end, how you only had an hourly service during the day on an urban railway. Unbelievable.
Excellent video David, very well researched with excellent maps. Born, raised and still live across the road from the loop and just down the road from the South District line. Lots of memories, good - watching the steam trains then the regular diesel freightliners in the 70's. And the bad - seeing the line singled at the beginning of the 70's then watching the rails being lifted around 1991. Great video, liked and subscribed! 🙂👍
thanks David that was interesting. I lived on burton road and would often peer into the overgrown cutting and remember I once travelled from Manchester Central back to London on that line. I will try and find yr film of that route.
A great and informative video and almost complete about the loop itself and the area around the Fallowfield loop. In my opinion, you could mention to the Gorton Cemetery (opened in around 1902 as I found a grave somebody died in 1902) as well! The most interesting part for me.
If ever Metrolink runs out to Glossop the reinstating the Gorton / Fairfield to St Werburghs Road to become a Metrolink line would make an excellent south circle service.
7:14 Where you're passing through now used to be a huge coal depot. I was brought up about 200 yards ahead on the left (Ladybarn Road) overlooking the train line. The sound of goods trains running through the night was like a lullaby.
Just to let you know, you took the long way round to get to street level at Hyde Road, if you went the other way down the hill you would have come out onto Tannery Way, then just straight down onto Tan Yard Brow then it's just a small uphill cycle and you're on the main road. Though in the current development situation, you can access the site by a green gate on Tan Yard Brow... a muddy path up, but there's a ton of remains on the surface, including several of the original station platform pillar supports. Along with some features underneath the platform area. If you need to know of the conditions or most interesting features of nearly any railway station in and the many around Manchester, just ask.
Hi David. Great insight on the Fallowfield loop line. How short sighted shuttling and lifting what would of made another great Metrolink line 😆 I lived on Wilbraham rd. I spent many a Sunday afternoon at Reddish sheds 👍🏻
Brilliant Video! was looking forward to watching this one and it reminded me of 2 months ago which I walked the Fallowfield Loop Line, a few things I'd noticed was that at St. Wreburgh Road Tram Stop the junction there was called Chorton-cum-Hardy Junction which I found out on a old OS Map, at 13:24 when you were looking for clues of Hyde Road Station, since I travelled in February 2020 when they were removing the bridge, myself did find it a massive pain, even for someone who don't know that area very well! sadly when I did it I couldn't get to the station :( also when I was at Levelshulme South, they were doing work on the building which you mentioned. At 15:04 when you spotted the location for a junction, it was called Hyde Road Junction which as you mention the line to Gorton and Fairfield split, also at Fairfield there is a path before the station which takes you to the disused platforms where the Fallowfield Loop Line joined at the station which are next to the Manchester bound platform. But it is a recommended walk/Cycle.
Manchester desperately needs railways returned to this area and many more. It needs lots of new lines but the lack of ambition compared to Birmingham in this regards now, is sad. Up to recently Manchester had been very ambitious, but a few low capacity tramlines is no solution to global ambitions Manchester.
Nice work, looking forward to more of these, whenever it's possible. Might be worth flagging them as having been made pre-lockdown - it'll save you a bit of aggro. Bon chance, hope you're keeping well and safe.
