Ashburys railway station

History

The station was built and opened in 1855 by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, on its line from Manchester Store Street to . First appearing in Bradshaw's Guide in July, it was referred to as Ashburys for Openshaw in November and then as Ashburys for Belle Vue in August 1856.

There is no place of this name near this station. It was named after the Ashbury Railway Carriage & Iron Company, which built it for £175 in 1855. This company flourished from 1841 until 1902, when it moved to Saltley in Birmingham, merging with the Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage & Wagon Company. Examples of its rolling stock survive to this day on preserved railways all over the world.

It became part of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway following mergers in 1847, changing its name to the Great Central Railway (GCR) in 1897. Joining the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the station passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

East of the station, towards and , there were two engine sheds. The larger was the GCR's Gorton loco shed (1879-1965) and the smaller was the Midland Railway's Belle Vue locomotive shed (1870-1956). The Gorton shed had a ferro-concrete coaling tower.

When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways under arrangement with the Greater Manchester PTE until the privatisation of British Rail. The main station buildings, subway and a third platform face survived until the end of the 1980s, but all have since been removed.

Electrification and signalling

The line was electrified at 25 kV AC on 10 December 1984; it replaced the 1500 V DC electrification, which was inaugurated on 14 June 1954 by British Railways as part of the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath scheme via the Woodhead Tunnel. There was also a signal box here, which controlled the junctions and various sidings; it opened in 1906 by the GCR and was closed in 2011, when control was transferred to the Manchester East signalling control centre. The new West Coast Main Line North Rail Operating Centre is located a short distance east of the station, next to the line to . This opened in 2014 and now controls signalling across most of the routes across the North West England, including the northern end of the West Coast Main Line and the entire Manchester area network.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has no permanent buildings, other than standard waiting shelters, or ticket provision, so all tickets must be bought on the train or prior to travel. Train running information is provided by digital display screens and timetable posters. No step-free access is available, as the station is above street level; the only access offered is via staircase and footbridge.

Services

Northern Trains provides the following services that stop at Ashburys:

• Half-hourly trains between and on the Glossop line
• Hourly services between Manchester Piccadilly and on the Hope Valley Line, via ; there is one service in each direction on Sunday
• Approximately hourly services between Manchester Piccadilly and on the Hope Valley Line, via ; there is no service on Sunday.

Other services pass frequently through the station without stopping.

Future

Under the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) programme, Ashburys would have received improvements. However, despite TIF not going ahead, it is still to receive safety, security and passenger information improvements, when funding can be obtained.

Other long term proposals include the Manchester-Marple Tram/Train scheme, which was on a reserve list of TIF projects. Significant new infrastructure works would be required between Piccadilly and Ashburys, known as Piccadilly Link. It would be incorporated within a major mixed-use development by Grangefield Estates, known as Chancellor Place, around the former station site.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

• Radford, B., (1988) Midland Though The Peak Unicorn Books.

References

1. "Explore georeferenced maps - Map images".
2. "EAW004389 ENGLAND (1947). Beyer, Peacock and Co Gorton Foundry and the Gorton Locomotive Works, Manchester, 1947".
3. Claret, Old. (23 March 2023). "Gorton 1955-1965".
4. Claret, Old. (25 March 2023). "Belle Vue 1936 - 1956".
5. "EPW050064 ENGLAND (1936). The Crossley Gas and Oil Engine Works, Openshaw, from the north-west, 1936".
6. [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/827974 Ashburys railway station 1989] Whately Peter ''Geograph.org.uk''; Retrieved 7 February 2017
7. [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3383852 Ashburys station 2009] Thompson, Nigel ''Geograph.org.uk''
8. Gillham, J.C., ''The Age of the Electric Train- Electric Trains in Britain since 1883''. Shepperton: [[Ian Allan Publishing]], 1988, p. 109.
9. Kay, P. ''Signalling Atlas and Signal Box Directory''. Wallasey: Signalling Record Society, 2010, p.15.
10. ''[[Modern Railways]]'', December 2011, p.86.
11. [http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/network-rail-reveals-record-investment-in-the-railway-in-the-west-midlands-and-north-west "Network Rail reveals record investment in the railway in the West Midlands and North West"] [[Network Rail]] 12 June 2014; Retrieved 1 April 2016
12. "Ashburys (ABY)". National Rail.
13. (14 December 2025). "Train Timetables". Northern Railway.
14. Carey, Declan. (27 February 2024). "Stockport's £1bn Metrolink expansion could see tram extend to Hazel Grove and Marple". Stockport Nub News.