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Manchester Exchange was a railway station immediately north of Manchester city centre, in
The station was built by the
Exchange station provided trains to ,
The station was closed on 5 May 1969 and all remaining services were redirected to Manchester Victoria.
Despite closure, it remained operational for newspaper trains until the 1980s. Manchester produced several Northern editions until the newspaper revolution. The night-time operation was very busy, with several trains being loaded and readied for departure to various trans-Pennine destinations; these included Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
The station remained relatively intact after closure, with trains still running beneath the train shed through
platforms 3, 4 and 5. Platforms 1 and 2 operated as a car park for some years. The trainshed was demolished in the early 1980s; the tracks were lifted in 1993, during the rationalisation of Victoria station.
File:Manchester Exchange and Victoria stations map.png, An
A leaflet from the late 1920s, advertising period excursions to North Wales from Manchester Exchange
History of Exchange station at the Disused Stations website
{{coord, 53.4861, -2.2463, region:GB_type:railwaystation, display=title Disused railway stations in Salford Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1884 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1969
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England, which served it between 1884 and 1969. The main approach road ran from the end of Deansgate, near Manchester Cathedral
Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the c ...
, passing over the River Irwell
The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the bound ...
, the Manchester-Salford boundary and Chapel Street; a second approach road led up from Blackfriars Road. Most of the station lay in Salford
Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
, with only the 1929 extension to platform 3 east of the Irwell in Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
.
Construction and opening
The station was built by the London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.
Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
(LNWR) and opened on 30 June 1884. The station had five platforms: 1 and 2 were bays and 3, 4 and 5 were through. Platforms 4 and 5 were reached by a footbridge from near to the station entrance. The opening of Exchange station allowed the LNWR to vacate Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England, is a combined mainline railway station and Manchester Metrolink, Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathe ...
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.
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; this created Europe's longest platform at , which could accommodate three trains at once.
Services
Exchange station provided trains to , North Wales
North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
, , Chester General, , , Hull Paragon and Newcastle Central. Local LNWR passenger trains operated to via and to via .
The station originally provided alternative services from Manchester to London Euston. Between 1884 and 1943, the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
operated a competing passenger train service from Chester General station via , Warrington Bank Quay and to Manchester Exchange.
Second World War damage
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.Closure
The station was closed on 5 May 1969 and all remaining services were redirected to Manchester Victoria.
Despite closure, it remained operational for newspaper trains until the 1980s. Manchester produced several Northern editions until the newspaper revolution. The night-time operation was very busy, with several trains being loaded and readied for departure to various trans-Pennine destinations; these included Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
The station remained relatively intact after closure, with trains still running beneath the train shed through
platforms 3, 4 and 5. Platforms 1 and 2 operated as a car park for some years. The trainshed was demolished in the early 1980s; the tracks were lifted in 1993, during the rationalisation of Victoria station.
The site today
In July 2017, Q-Park opened a brand new car park called ''Deansgate North'', restoring the station's original red brickwork. Much of the site has now been redeveloped as office and residential blocks, as part of the ''Greengate'' regeneration scheme.Location maps
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
map from 1889 showing the Manchester Exchange and Victoria station complex (note the platform link over the River Irwell)
File:Manchester RJD 47.JPG, A Railway Clearing House
The Railway Clearing House (RCH) was an organisation set up to manage the allocation of revenue collected by Railways Act 1921, pre-grouping railway companies for the conveyance of passengers and goods over the lines (or using the rolling stock ...
1910 map of central Manchester showing the railway system at that date; the position of Exchange station is marked in red at the end of the LNWR line from Liverpool via Eccles)
References
Citations
Bibliography
* * * * * *External links
A leaflet from the late 1920s, advertising period excursions to North Wales from Manchester Exchange
History of Exchange station at the Disused Stations website
{{coord, 53.4861, -2.2463, region:GB_type:railwaystation, display=title Disused railway stations in Salford Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1884 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1969