Manchester Exchange railway station

Former railway station in Salford, England

Manchester Exchange

A postcard illustration of Manchester Exchange railway station in 1904, seen looking up Cathedral Approach

General information
Location| Salford, Salford
England
Grid reference| SJ837988
Platforms| 5
Other information
Status| Disused
History
Original company| London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping| London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping| London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
30 June 1884| Opened
16 April 1929| Platform 3 extended to link with Victoria platform 11
5 May 1969| Closed

Location

Remains of Manchester Exchange railway station in 1989

Manchester Exchange was a railway station immediately north of Manchester city centre, England, which served it between 1884 and 1969. The main approach road ran from the end of Deansgate, near Manchester Cathedral, passing over the River Irwell, the Manchester-Salford boundary, and Chapel Street; a second approach road led up from Blackfriars Road. Most of the station was in Salford, with only the 1929 extension to platform 3 east of the Irwell in Manchester.

## Construction and opening

[edit]

The station was built by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and opened on 30 June 1884.[1] The station had five platforms: 1 and 2 were bays and 3, 4 and 5 were through.[1] Platforms 4 and 5 were reached by a footbridge from near the station entrance. The opening of Exchange allowed the LNWR to vacate Manchester Victoria station to the east, which it (and its predecessors, including the Liverpool and Manchester Railway) had shared with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (and its predecessors) since 4 May 1844.[2][3]

From 16 April 1929, Exchange had a platform link with the adjacent Victoria, when an eastward extension of platform 3 over the Irwell bridge was opened, meeting Victoria's platform 11, thus creating Europe's longest platform at 2,238 feet (682 m); it could accommodate three trains at once.[4][5]

Eastbound goods train in 1966

## Services

[edit]

Exchange station served trains to Liverpool Lime Street, Huddersfield, Leeds, Hull Paragon and Newcastle Central; also Warrington Bank Quay, Chester and North Wales. Local LNWR passenger trains operated via Walkden to Bolton Great Moor Street and via Tyldesley to Wigan North Western.

View westward, along Platforms 2/3 in 1966

The station originally provided alternative services from Manchester to London Euston. Between 1884 and 1943, the Great Western Railway operated a competing passenger train service from Chester General station via Frodsham, Warrington Bank Quay and Eccles to Manchester Exchange.

## Second World War damage

[edit]

The station suffered hits by several German incendiary bombs during the Christmas 1940 Manchester Blitz. On 22 December, the station roof was severely damaged, portions of which were never replaced. Fires took extensive hold on the building which could not be re-opened for passengers until 13 January 1941.[6]

## Closure

[edit]

The railway station was closed on 5 May 1969[7] and all remaining services were redirected to Manchester Victoria.

Despite closure, the station remained operational for newspaper trains until the 1980s. Manchester produced several 'northern editions' until the newspaper revolution. The nighttime operation was very busy with several trains being loaded and readied for departure to various trans-Pennine destinations (Halifax / Huddersfield / Leeds / York etc.).

After many years of remaining relatively intact (with trains still running beneath the train shed until the track layout was redesigned), it continued to operate as a car park for some years.

In July 2017, Q-Park opened a brand new car park called Deansgate North, restoring the original red brickwork of the Exchange Station.

## Location maps

[edit]

* 1889 Ordnance Survey map showing the Manchester Exchange and Victoria station complex (note the platform link over the River Irwell)

* Railway Clearing House 1910 map of central Manchester showing the railway system at that date and the position of Exchange station at the end of the LNWR line from Liverpool via Eccles (marked in red)

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ a b Rose 1987, p. 121
2. ^ Marshall 1970, p. 62
3. ^ Marshall 1969, pp. 57–58
4. ^ Joyce 1982, p. 23
5. ^ Marshall 1970, p. 67
6. ^ Hall 1995, p. 90
7. ^ Butt 1995, p. 153

Bibliography

* Butt, R.V.J. (1995), The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens, ISBN 1-85260-508-1
* Hall, Stanley (1995), Rail Centres: Manchester, Ian Allan Ltd, ISBN 0-7110-2356-5
* Joyce, J. (1982), Roads and Rails of Manchester 1900-1950, Ian Allan Ltd, ISBN 0-7110-1174-5
* Marshall, John (1969), The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1, Newton Abbot: David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4352-1
* Marshall, John (1970), The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 2, Newton Abbot: David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4906-6
* Rose, R.E. (1987), The LMS and LNER in Manchester, Ian Allan Ltd, ISBN 0-7110-1708-5

Preceding station  |  | Disused railways  |  | Following station

|
|
|
|

Ordsall Lane
Line open, station closed |  | LNW |  | Manchester Victoria
Line and station open

## External links

[edit]

* A leaflet from the late 1920s, advertising period excursions to North Wales from Manchester Exchange
* History page, including photographs, at Disused-stations.org.uk

* v
* t
* e

Manchester railways

Legend

City Centre and North
Past, present and future

| Manchester Metrolink |  |

|  | Main line services

|
|
|
|

* * *

to Rochdale

|  |

|  |

to Oldham

Moston |  |

|  |
Newton Heath |  |

|  |

to Bury

|  |

|  |  | Newton Heath

and Moston
Bowker Vale |  |

|  |

to Tameside

Crumpsall |  |

|  | Clayton Bridge
Abraham Moss |  |

|  | Park
Woodlands Road |  |

|  |

to Tameside

Queens Road |  |

|  | Central Park
Monsall |  |

|  | Edge Lane
Miles Platting |  |

|  | Clayton Hall
|  |

|  | Velopark
Oldham Road |  |

|  | Holt Town
|  |

|  |
Manchester Victoria |  |

|  | Etihad Campus
Exchange |  |

|  | New Islington

| to Ordsall Chord

and to Salford

|  | Ardwick
Shudehill |  |

|  | Ashburys
High Street │  | Manchester

Piccadilly

|  | Mayfield
Market Street │  | Piccadilly

Gardens

|  |

to South Manchester

Exchange Square |  |

|  | Gorton
Mosley Street |  |

|  | Manchester Oxford Road
|  |

|  |
St Peter's Square |  |

|  |

to Belle Vue

| Manchester

Central
│  Deansgate-

Castlefield

|  | Deansgate
Liverpool Road |  |

|  |

to Hyde Road

| to Ordsall Chord

and to Salford

|  |

to Tameside

Cornbrook |  |

|  | Cornbrook
|  |

|  |
Pomona |  |

|  |

to Eccles

|  |

|  | Trafford Bar

to Trafford

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

to Trafford

|  |

|  | Firswood

to Altrincham

|  |

|  |

to Chorlton

|  |  |  |  |  |

* v
* t
* e

Closed railway stations in Greater Manchester

Bolton|

* Bolton Crook Street
* Bolton Great Moor Street
* Chequerbent (1831)
* Chequerbent (1885)
* Chew Moor
* Darcy Lever
* Horwich
* Lostock Lane
* Plodder Lane
* Rumworth and Daubhill
* The Oaks

Bury|

* Ainsworth Road Halt
* Bradley Fold
* Brandlesholme Road Halt
* Bury Knowsley Street
* Greenmount
* Holcombe Brook
* Knowles Level Crossing Halt
* Molyneux Brow
* Radcliffe Black Lane
* Radcliffe Bridge
* Ringley Road
* Sunny Wood Halt
* Tottington
* Withins Lane
* Woodhill Road Halt
* Woolfold

Manchester
(city centre in italics)|

* Baguley
* Chorlton-cum-Hardy
* Clayton Bridge
* Dean Lane
* Didsbury
* Fallowfield
* High Street (Metrolink)
* Hyde Road
* Levenshulme South
* Longsight
* Manchester Central
* Manchester Liverpool Road
* Manchester Mayfield
* Manchester Oldham Road
* Miles Platting
* Mosley Street (Metrolink)
* Newton Heath
* Northenden
* Park
* Wilbraham Road
* Withington and West Didsbury

Oldham|

* Delph
* Derker
* Diggle
* Dobcross
* Failsworth
* Friezland
* Grasscroft
* Grotton and Springhead
* Hollinwood
* Lees
* Measurements
* Middleton Junction
* Moorgate
* Oldham Central
* Oldham Clegg Street
* Oldham Glodwick Road
* Oldham Mumps
* Oldham Mumps (LNWR)
* Oldham Werneth
* Royton
* Royton Junction
* Saddleworth
* Shaw and Crompton
* Uppermill

Rochdale|

* Broadfield
* Broadley
* Middleton
* Milnrow
* New Hey
* Shawclough and Healey
* Wardleworth

Salford|

* Agecroft Bridge
* Barton Moss
* Cadishead
* Cross Lane
* Dixon Fold
* Ellenbrook
* Irlams o' th' Height
* Little Hulton
* Manchester Exchange
* Monton Green
* Oldfield Road
* Ordsall Lane
* Pendlebury
* Pendleton
* Pendleton Bridge
* Seedley
* Walkden Low Level
* Weaste
* Worsley

Stockport|

* Cheadle (CLC)
* Cheadle (LNWR)
* Cheadle Heath
* Cheadle North
* Hazel Grove (Midland)
* High Lane
* Heaton Mersey
* Heaton Norris
* Stockport Portwood
* Stockport Tiviot Dale

Tameside|

* Ashton Moss
* Ashton Park Parade
* Audenshaw (1st)
* Audenshaw (2nd)
* Droylsden
* Dukinfield and Ashton
* Dukinfield Central
* Godley East
* Hooley Hill
* Micklehurst
* Oldham Road
* Park Bridge
* Staley and Millbrook

Trafford|

* Altrincham (1st)
* Bowdon
* Broadheath (Altrincham)
* Cornbrook
* Dunham (W&SR)
* Dunham Massey
* Partington
* West Timperley

Wigan|

* Amberswood (Hindley)
* Astley
* Atherleigh
* Atherton Bag Lane
* Bamfurlong
* Boar's Head
* Golborne North
* Golborne South
* Hindley Green
* Hindley South
* Howe Bridge
* Leigh
* Lower Ince
* Lowton
* Pennington
* Platt Bridge
* Red Rock
* Tyldesley
* Westleigh
* West Leigh and Bedford
* Whelley
* Wigan Central

* List of closed stations
* List of open stations
* TfGM
* Transport

53°29′10″N 2°14′47″W﻿ / ﻿53.4861°N 2.2463°W﻿ / 53.4861; -2.2463
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