Oldham: The Railway Town That Gave Up On Railways

Famous for being a cotton-spinning capital benefiting from its close proximity to industrial Manchester, the town of Oldham was once a landscape of chimneys and red-brick mills. But it was also railway mad, full of goods depots, engine sheds, grand old stations and crisscrossed by a complicated set of lines.
Today its one of the largest towns in Britain with no mainline connection to its town centre. So what happened to Oldham's railways?
In this video I follow the recently abandoned line through the town centre, which closed only in 2009. Here the infrastructure is still largely in place, including good track bed, bridges and two short tunnels with some epic portal mouths. We'll look at the former stations of Mumps, Oldham Central, Oldham Clegg Street and Oldham Werneth, and the famous Werneth incline, the steepest railway incline in the country.
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MUSIC CREDITS
'In the Driving Wheel' - Punk Rock Opera

[@FelixvonMontfort]

I hope people realize that closing railroads is a stupid thing to to do in such changing times.

[@Isochest]

Ordinary People do. Politicians make the Dumbcrafty decisions. Remember: Our Famine is their Feast. A Narcissistic Zero Sum Game

[@gaugeonesteam]

In the UK in the 1960s, 50% of the railways only carried 5% of the traffic and the revenue on these lines was only about 10% of the cost of running them. We had 18500 miles of railway in a country only 600 miles long. I'm a huge rail fan but they had to do something. In my opinion the worst thing they did was selling off sections of track-bed land but I believe some of the original government compulsory land purchase orders contained clauses which forced the railway to sell land back to descendants of the original land owners.

[@letsseeee]

Great informative video, delivered and narrated in such a warm, unassuming style. Often peered down that tunnel at Werneth whilst standing on that platform waiting for a train to peep its head out. Incidentally, I went down to Victoria one Saturday afternoon in Oct 2009 when the line finally shut down that day for trains and coming back on the loop, got off at Mills Hill for a pint at Rose of Lanc then back on to Rochdale determined to be the last person ever to get off at Werneth which I did that night. Going down that declivitous ride to Hollinwood was sometimes hair-raising, in fact, fabulous.

[@ianschofield8259]

I used the line from Shaw to Manchester for many years. The real problem for the line was the singling of the track between Shaw and Rochdale. This single section meant that punctuality was terrible and cancellations numerous. There were also significant problems with leaves on the rails on the steep inclines. This often meant overcrowded and reduced service frequency. They missed a trick with the Oldham loop. The Windsor curve that allows direct access between Victoria and Piccadilly would have been ideal for a service running directly from Manchester Airport round the Oldham loop which would have given Manchester its own ‘Cross Rail’ for a tiny fraction of what it cost in London. But that’s the story of Oldham really, massive under investment, badly managed decline and a serious lack of vision and planning.

[@DanWRS]

This channel doesn't get the subscribers or views it deserves, always top quality content and very well made videos. Thank you!

[@jollyrogererVF84]

I agree, it's a brilliant channel. But admittedly for nerds😃

[@andyroid7339]

@@jollyrogererVF84 if this is nerdism then count me in!

[@DanWRS]

@@jollyrogererVF84 I'm a self confessed nerd 🤣

[@uk-martin4905]

By the mid-1960s the main drawback for many potential rail users was the fact that the station at Mumps was no longer convenient for the town centre and shops. In Victorian times had been quite a bustling shopping centre at Mumps but over the years the town centre became concentrated nearer Tommyfield Market. As happened in many towns during this era, the station became separated from the town it was designed to serve by a 6-lane dual carriageway; access was by means of a somewhat uninviting pedestrian subway under the bypass. The local shopping centre and industry had by this time departed. I lived in Oldham for a number of years until 1997; I vowed to leave before the town became disconnected from the rail network as I did not want to be marooned in a train-free town. The Evening Chronicle printed my lament at the forthcoming loss of the train service......in particular was the fact that it was not appropriate to replace a 'semi-fast' rail service (13 minutes or so) between Oldham and Victoria by a small tram with considerably less eating capacity, on a journey which overnight increased to more than half-an-hour as it wandered through places that the majority of Oldhamers did not particularly want to visit on their way to work or to the shops. Then there was the matter of the fares, too, which, as I forecast, would sharply increase when Metrolink arrived. A sad and unnecessary end for the railway in Oldham.

[@AshtonArcher]

Excellent reply. The Metrolink service is rubbish compared to mainline rail. I travel from Victoria to Ashton, and there is no way I'd use a tram for that journey, miles quicker and safer! Luckily Ashton still has its station.

[@johngraves6378]

​@@AshtonArcher Ashton station is also in the town centre.

[@emjackson2289]

Therein is your problem though, a railway station not in a useful but you want to keep it anyway.

[@staceygrove5976]

There was a pretty pathetic attempt a few years ago to turn the Mumps area into a 'happening' or 'vibrant' venue centred around the tram stop. Various coffee bars or restaurants have opened and closed over the years, and Marks & Spencer cancelled a plan to open a store there. We also seem no nearer to a worthwhile redevelopment of the old NatWest Bank building.

[@ericholmes8665]

So sad to see everything, just gone! the last time i was in Oldham,was to visit the steam depot at Lees,about 1960,and it was such a busy place,we had time to look around being mad on railways,what strikes me these days is all the orderly state,of things,nice old building, signs, little things that made up the fabric of places,maybe we were poorer than we are now,but it all seemed a nicer,friendlier,place to live,now we have ugly faceless buildings,massive warehouses instead of little shops,they call it progress,I wonder,England seemed a warmer, nicer place,with hope for the future,to a then 14 year old kid,and the orderley old British Railways were part of that,you could get on a train then not feeling you were being ripped of by the fares.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I agree...there were lots of little old details that a young I could take in, such as signs referring to 'railway servants'...The last time I was through Mumps and the Incline was towards the end of steam in 1968.

[@ericholmes8665]

@@johnjephcote7636 Yes we go forward and sometimes leave behind nice things.Has Joni Mitchell said "You don"t know what you"ve got,till its gone.Best wishs John

[@Snodgros]

As a daft young lad in the late 1970s, I and a friend walked through both of these tunnels whilst they were still in use. In fact, you got extra stupidity points if you waited in one of the refuges whilst one of the DMUs on the Oldham Loop Line passed through! There was one route missing off your map Ollie and that was the branch at Middleton Junction up to the old coal yard on Broadway (next to St Herbert's Primary School). Keep up the good work.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Ah you must be bonkers going through there when it was used!

[@johnpirateuk]

When the line was being converted to the Metrolink I worked for one of the companies taking away the old track bed ballast and delivering new for the Metrolink.Most of that ballast that was in those tunnels was only down a short time before being abandoned when the track went through the town centre.We also removed all the track side furniture and old cobbles.Most were resold or even scrapped.The roof of Mumps station went to East Lancashire railway to be reused on their line as it was perfect for the era .

[@stevenholden9520]

The Platform canopies from Oldham Mumps station are now installed on the East Lancashire Railway at Bolton Street and Rawtenstall stations

[@chrism8705]

Some are also at the trackside pub bury

[@ianrichardson8865]

.....and I provided the double faced clock which now hangs there! I lived in Park Road in Oldham from 1947 until 1962, so a lot of the video was very familiar. Good stuff.

[@frasermitchell9183]

When I was working for BR, we were converting the freight data input points, (called TOPS offices) to keyboard entry instead of punch cards. The London Midland Region had lots of small TOPS offices, one of which was at Oldham Mumps for reporting on train and wagon arrivals and departures. It had once been a busy place, but when we arrived it was almost dead for traffic.

[@rjds1800]

The take over of nature is always amazingly quick.

[@victorianlitterpicker9887]

But not as fast as youtube . Next week the signal box will be burned down after he filmed the open door . With urbex comes great responsibility . I would have shut the door at least so i didn't feel that i just ruined history after my video probably got it trashed .

[@dannyseville2543]

Oldham..... the town that gave up. Mumps Station pretty much epitomises the whole town.

[@thomasr6952]

Sad but true. Oldham is a shadow of its former self.

[@iancropper8356]

I lived in Oldham 12 years ago and used to travel through those tunnels on the Metrolink. I watched the new town centre tram tracks being built but left Oldham before they were completed. Scary to see how much this link has changed in such a short time.

[@TechFromYorkshire]

Great video. Very informative. Down to 1 station in Oldham area!!! Wow. Shame to see Oldham town centre deteriorate so badly in recent years. It’s the outskirts such as Saddleworth that draw visitors now, luckily where Greenfield is.

[@jonkino]

I used to play in this tunnel in the 60s when I was a kid , dodging the trains was fun!!

[@Tuberuser187]

Awesome explore and description of the history!

[@michaelgamble296]

An excellent and historically informative commentary with supporting video of the two abandoned railway tunnels in Oldham. I look forward to your next tunnel!

[@tommytrinder.1226]

I read that Oldham wasnt the biggest cotton spinning town in Lancashire,or England,or Britain.I read that it was once the biggest cotton spinning town in the world at one point.I actually spent my 21st birthday in Oldham,Lancashire!.December 11th 1988.I went to watch my team,Warrington lose to Oldham`s " Roughyeds " at Watersheddings.

[@tonyhogan2791]

Really enjoyed the video ... between 1981 and 1985, I was a daily user of the line between Newhey and Manchester Victoria Missed opportunity to keep and enhance the rail links in North East Manchester and develop our own 'Crossrail'

[@suesmith4366]

Very interesting loved the old photos, can’t wait to watch the Delph Donkey one👍🏻😎

[@simonballard6413]

I really do enjoy your videos, Ollie. You always make them interesting. Loved the tunnels in this one! Many thanks.

[@mikeclarke3882]

Hi Ollie, As usual a fun but fact packed look at local history. Always amazed at how quickly nature reclaims lost ground. When I was a kid (Noah was still an apprentice boat builder at the time) there use to be a saying (railways related) that went along the lines of ..... "I told 'em Oldham, but they dropped me off at Crew". I have no idea where that saying came from. Anyway, good to see you out and about and enjoying the good weather. All the best!

[@grahamchadwick5242]

A great video with good history of my old stomping ground , really enjoyed it

[@Terry.W]

Wow thanks for this ..I used to travel to Oldham a lot in the 70s and 80s and I used Mumps station ..so sad to see it derelict RIP Mumps ...the whole area needs to be regenerated..

[@jimmyviaductophilelawley5587]

Cheers Olly....great work as always mate wow just noticed you're over 10k subs! well done! well deserved...best wishes and take care

[@garethjones2440]

love these exploration videos. Keep it up!

[@whyyoulidl]

Thx for doing the leg work and uploading; appreciated as always and yeah, such a shame for the loss but a bonus for exploring I 'spose ;-)

[@MrNowplease]

Fantastic video and very interesting, I drove a tram through those tunnels on the last day before they closed! Great memories And a sad loss to the railway infrastructure.

[@theowdgit9790]

Presentation has impoved, Brilliantly well done.

[@CamilleTheBlonde]

Another amazing video! 👏

[@staceygrove5976]

The last train service was in October 2009, but the trams didn't start running until about 2014, as I recall. They still used the old rail line between Mumps and Werneth until the Union Street and Westwood link was finished.

[@Robslondon]

Fantastic video; so glad I’ve discovered your channel!

[@christianfreedom-seeker934]

Quite a few towns in the USA gave up on their Railroads. Winchendon MA had several and by 1979, the last one was pulled up. You can still see a bunch of the old railroad bridges and relics from that age. That town will likely become a ghost town in another generation.

[@johntheman2006]

Great informative and entertaining video as always. Thanks Olly. Hoping you keep gaining more subscribers. More power to your elbow.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Cheers thank you 🤜🤛

[@stravinskymusic]

Amazing video! Thank you!

[@peterstevenson5418]

Yet another great video thank you

[@ianmcclellan7695]

Great video, I can remember catching the train from Royton Junction in to Oldham and on to Manchester Victoria; and I'm old enough to remember STORM - Save The Oldham Rochdale Manchester (Rail Link). So it's great that the loop is retained in a way via the Metrolink but a shame that the old stations like Mumps have gone. I'm also old enough to remember one particularly ghoulish thing from Mumps Station; posters appealing for people to call the Police if they recognised the Yorkshire Ripper's handwriting. Now I've discovered your channel, I'm going to check out the rest of your content 😃👍

[@nickcaunt1769]

I remember going to Oldham in the early '70s on football specials from Nottingham. I think we went to both Mumps and Werneth on different occasions. Your comment about lack of investment in the stations rings true with me as I remember them looking like we had arrived at a disused station.

[@staceygrove5976]

Are you a Notts County fan?

[@AlRaw94]

The delph donkey is a great walk with a few bits of railway history left to see, another branch off the Huddersfield line nearby is the butterhouse tunnel in diggle off Bridge 69 on the canal, not as impressive as the standedge tunnels but a easier to access

[@davidmarshall6635]

My mates and l used to walk through the Butter house tunnel from Uppermill to Diggle, it was a short cut,

[@johnprice5784]

I've been through the Werneth tunnel on foot a couple of times, mainly as a dare with other kids, this was during the early seventies when it was still a fairly busy line. I remember all the old sidings being removed when they built Oldham bypass, plus the sad decline of the railway since then. The goods depot shown at 6-50 was curved and was a listed building, Oldham council wanted to knock it down and build on the land but were stopped because it was protected by the listing. The council then just left it for thirty years till it collapsed, and then they could legally demolish it as unsafe. I have been up and down the incline behind steam and diesel, that was fun. Werneth station was a great station, at least through a seven-year-old's eyes, when I first used it in 1966. Not all the changes since then have been for the better unfortunately, though I still live in Oldham to this day. I now live in Lees village, just yards from the branch line walk way that leads to the old Delph donkey line, keep up the videos as they are fascinating.

[@majorpygge-phartt2643]

I read somewhere that diesel unit trains, DMU's, used to get stuck on the werneth incline.

[@johnprice5784]

@@majorpygge-phartt2643 Rescued by steam engines usually as well unless a Deltic was nearby, the rails on the incline used to get greasy from spilt diesel oil. All good fun.

[@sarahmiller4734]

Down here in the South of England there is a perculisr issue with buildings that randomly catch fire after planning permission has been denied which then of course means that they have to be demolished for "safety".

[@oafctom]

Brillant video i knew and often travelled through Mumps i knew off Oldham Central but never knew about Glodwick Road or Oldham Clegg Street. A fantastic video

[@SuperBlackguard]

well done mate good informative video..

[@jonkino]

We used to sit on the top of tunnel wall and get covered in sooty smoke from the steam engines. And also played on the embankment in between the two tunnels putting pennies on the line.

[@AJ-xv7oh]

Great video 👍

[@MrKb1959]

Thanks ,I've loved all your vids and my missus too enjoys them brilliant .

[@johnandrewhargrave5288]

Love this. I used to travel on that line with my dad as a kid. Also the next video you mention sounds good. I only live in springhead so all on my doorstep

[@nickbenke3306]

I was sad to see the Mumps bridge go! It was a thing of beauty! Great clip fella!

[@None-zc5vg]

"HOME OF THE TUBULAR BANDAGE" (the ad. on the old bridge)

[@albertross-ndt]

Cracking informative video👍 I worked on the railways 1969-2011 p-way & NDT, worked on all these lines and many other areas in the Northwest plus.

[@WYP-cz4zi]

Interesting and well presented.

[@renners4367]

These videos are great 👍 good work

[@DeepakVerma-cd4fe]

I remember when I was a child, a shunter used to shunt parcels in the 1970s . That was great that was at Clegg street railway depot were u are standing on Waterloo railway bridge, I saw the signal box there , it was a great memory .

[@np1584]

Thanks for this video. I'm learning so much more about the railways and what was seen as typically British. Great to see some things exist, very sad the amount destroyed. Can't wait for the next video :)

[@Nathan.Manchester]

I was born in Oldham - I went to Clarksfield School and Crompton House - great video

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Great explore, never knew that Oldham no longer had a proper train station in the town centre. Your vid came up, after watching one of ALWs videos.

[@em00k]

Ahh brilliant, a way to distract myself from monday morning work! Cheers!

[@acme181169]

Its Tuesday!!!!!!

[@jetsons101]

Olly, GREAT to see you again..... We missed you. Good use of B & W photos to help carry the story also can't have to many maps... Enjoy you passion when you tell your stories. Look forward to your future work.......

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks Mike. I loves me maps I do!

[@jetsons101]

@@BeeHereNowuk Yes you do.... Yes you do............

[@KevinWilliams-hm9ct]

Thanks for an interesting video. As a young Manchester Victoria driver in the second half of the 80s I knew the Oldham Loop extremely well. Shame to see the tunnels abandoned. I would have preferred the real railway to continue, but at least it wasn't replaced by buses.

[@kenpridmore6623]

Interesting local video . Around 1957/8 I rode up the Middleton to Werneth link on a Church / Sunday Schools Day Excursion to Southport. Yes a full train ! All I remember of the day was the extreme exertions of the steam engine (can’t recall the class)getting up Werneth Bank.

[@MrSameerMalik1]

thanks for the video. as an oldham resident this is very interesting and i'd love to visit. dropped you a sub, hoping for more oldham content!

[@leroyholm9075]

Excellent video with a great history of Oldham Railways now sadly obliterated.

[@Fr.FintanStack]

I watched this while eating a butty at the Co-op in Lees, then had to drive to Middleton, following the route you mention back to Middleton Junction. Sat nav even took my down Lydia Becker Way, which goes straight through what was the goods yard near Chadderton (now full of new build houses!)

[@majorpygge-phartt2643]

Is that where the old chadderton coal yard was which closed in about 1989? And I see the old wooden bridge near broadway has now been got rid of to build a new road.

[@bungle6668]

@@majorpygge-phartt2643 no, lydia backer way is actually the railway proper (near enough) known as werneth bank! the coal (oil) yard was off Hunt lane :)

[@talesofbazzilbrush5800]

this is brill mate thank you ... What Great History Telling 💙💚🧡... I will soon visit here at night in sure there will be some spooky activity

[@WhoJizzedInYourMilkshake]

Went down here yesterday, it's completely overgrown up until the tunnel it's self to a point where the old tracks are home to a sparce forest that has deer in it, the tunnel it's self is open

[@mckelvienotmcleave5281]

I went down there a while ago and assumed the tunnel had been knocked down as I couldnt find it

[@WhoJizzedInYourMilkshake]

@@mckelvienotmcleave5281 Definitely still there, your best bet is to go beyond the home bargains and very through the fence and go left (West) until you go under a bridge with some trolleys under it, then just keep going straight ahead through the brush

[@mckelvienotmcleave5281]

@@WhoJizzedInYourMilkshake cheers mate

[@douglasfleetney5031]

Being from the deepest, darkest South East where we lost a few lines before the Sheppey Lad (Beeching) swung his axe, I find it beggers belief just how a major town like Oldham can lose most of its rail connections. I have a son living in Platt Bridge who is married to a wonderful Lanky Lass (her description, and I'll not argue as I love her to bits) and am stunned everytime I visit them as my boy always finds another abandoned line to explore. The Lanky is probably my joint second favorite pre-grouping line (LCDR 1st, Lanky & North British joint second) it was nice to see something of what I've only read about. Thank you so much for making and posting this video.

[@ollie-t7862]

Cranleigh Line, Horsham to Shoreham as well. Would have been popular today if they weren’t shut down

[@douglasfleetney5031]

I’m further East than that… Try Canterbury, we lost the Canterbury and Whitstable, Elham Valley, East Kent (most of it) Sheppey Light BEFORE Beeching…. Of those the C&W would have been ideal today as a Tram/Metro to reduce traffic between the two towns and the Elham Valley ran through some of the most spectacular scenery in the County. The East Kent was never finished and had run its course but the Sheppey Light could have done well today, again as a Tram/Metro. If only…

[@ianmcclavin]

In this case, most of the line didn't actually close, but was converted to the Metrolink tram system as mentioned. The decision to divert the line away from Werneth was because the new alignment would better serve the Town Centre locations, a light rail system can have street running and go where heavy rail systems can't. There is a tram stop at Oldham Mumps, not far from the old station site. I first rode the Oldham Loop myself in 1988, when I had a cousin living near Shaw & Crompton Station. I used to live in Crawley, the old Three Bridges to East Grinstead line passed very close by; no chance of THAT one re-opening now...

[@Deepakverma-yb5ro]

I used to live in Oldham in the 1970s 1980s,i used to enjoy seeing the shunter, shunt parcels in 1980, A shunter used to shunt parcels at 9 in the morning, and 5 in the evening, I remember in 1980, the shunter used to shunt, wooden and metal parcel express vans, that really meant a lot to me, when. I look at the video of the tunnels u made, it brought back memories of steam trains, throwing smoke out. sadly they closed my favourite railway depot, in Oldham on clegg Street, in 1982

[@Originalspruce]

Never been to Oldham in my life but always look forward to your presentations. They are always interesting. Good job.

[@ShalomBrother]

If I was you I’d keep it that way 🤣

[@grottonisred6541]

Stay away ...I've been here all my life and the decline over the past 64 years is palpable.... I think it's too late for me to get out but I have encouraged my two sons to move out as soon as they can...

[@sarahcrowther6267]

Looking forward to next video.....Lydgate tunnel.....fab. enjoyed this one and lets hope someone has the sense to get this area turned into an accesible green space, tunnels included. 👍

[@suebrown4224]

I lived in Acre Lane in the early 70s. Often used to catch the train at Royton Junction to shop in Manchester. . Shocked to learn that Mumps has gone. Haven't been back for over 40years but so sorry for the loss of the trains.

[@raybeaumont7670]

Nice one! I was brought up on Nugget Street, Glodwick, and remember riding the Delph Donkey so am looking forward to your next adventure. I also used to visit Clegg Street goods yard to help collect supplies of fresh fish for a local shop. Good memories!

[@kaiwenwu1947]

Hi i used to walk those in the late sixties and early seventies, standing in the hides. Looked like fireplace to me lol 😊 with class 40s and passenger DMU,s whistling past, in the dark. Great fun. Then. 😮. Boy have got some tales from there and mumps station. I could write a book

[@markcharles3969]

In the early 90,s once a month catch train from Manchester to Oldham for a day on the booze!..weird to see it all gone ! Plus always wondered what the little holes in the tunnels entering lime Street.. and now I know

[@socklesslad]

I still think it's weird that when the Metrolink took over the Bury and Altrincham lines they kept all the old infrastructure whereas the Oldham Loop was pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. There must have been some old station architecture they could have kept!

[@mcfcianb]

As said above the mumps station became inconvenient to the centre.

[@TABRO284]

healey dell viaduct is impressive in rochdale. great video

[@basfinnis]

Really interesting video. Thanks. Amazing abandoned structures with all the man hours that went into building them.

[@shereenlawford3220]

Great video, I don't know what it is or why but I love old railway history, I live in Dorset and like walking the castlemen line

[@robertscholey109]

I am Shocked !!! that Oldham has lost both Mumps and Werneth Stations. I for shame was registered as being born in Oldham and used Oldham Mumps station regularly to attend my grandparents who lived near to Manchester Victoria.

[@anthonybeaman3300]

My father was a booking clerk at Glodwick Road station around 1920.

[@tenterdentown2452]

Interesting story. Quite a good location for a heritage line. It is surprising nobody had thought of that before they took the track up! It is a pity they didn't think of installing a tram-train as has been done at Rotherham. Thanks for uploading.

[@SMlFFY85]

Foresight is something sorely lacking in Oldham. The council is more into short term box ticking. The wanted a tramline to bring people into Oldham, without bothering to create a reason to come.

[@tenterdentown2452]

@@SMlFFY85 In the KZbin videos that have been made about the Rotherham train tram, they do say it was extremely difficult to get the project approved, and it goes without saying Rotherham has the only train-tram line in the whole country. However, all is not lost if the route of the old Railway has not been built on as Oldham could still be reconnected to the National Rail network. You would have propose this yourself, as I do not live in this area.

[@MarkJT1000]

I wonder if that protruding mortar pointing is as a result of the soft stone eroding away, like it was in the other tunnel, leaving the mortar proud. Loved the old pics of the goods yards and the trains. Played it back again to pause on them and take it all in.

[@BitTwisted1]

The erosion is likely because of sulphur in the coal and then the soot forming sulphurous acid. Steam engines were designed to use cheap dirty coal. I suspect British rail diesel was similarly dirty until environmental legislation required improvements in emissions. Just the way it was.

[@jasonrarick4649]

video very crisp and sharp good job sir

[@premraghvani]

Fun fact: the closest railway station to Oldham Town Centre is actually Mills Hill, 3 miles away, 2 miles less than Oldham Town Centre to Greenfield

[@premraghvani]

...and it isn't even in Oldham, its in Middleton / Rochdale Council area

[@grahamdavidcowley]

So........Yeah! Very interesting!

[@ericleach7074]

I vaguely recall Clegg Street Goods Yard as a working entity, but not Clegg Street Station. It was such a shame they could never save the old curved Goods Warehouse. As kids we would go to Alex Park, pop over to the café on Park Road, near the Park Hotel, walk up Woodstock Street, and over the old footbridge into Oldham Town Centre (wasn't that bridge used in a couple of old movies?). My late mum and I would also catch the train from Mumps Station to Manchester. I bet, at a push, I could recall all the stops on the way to Victoria. The one that gets me is the Oldham -Ashton Line. Obviously, this must have passed under Park Road and followed Kings Road down toward, Honeywell Lane. But, after that, all evidence of that line disappears. The Fitton Hill Estate must have been built over part of it, during the 1950s, but it's hard to see where it went from there. The line reappears at Park Bridge, and yes, there is evidence of old railway bridges, but all that is ever written about at Park Bridge is the line from the metal works/foundries into Ashton, never Oldham. The rest of that line (still evident) is my dog walking track. All the old sidings are still there and several old bridges.

[@OMGExploring]

Awesome footage there are is loads of history around there and close surrounding areas, have a look at Hayrod near Stalybridge there are old shaft building and a coal conveyer bridge hidden but in plain sight, there is also Hayrod old power station which is accessible as well. We can arrange an outing if you like in the near year, I travel all over. :)

[@paulchambers3788]

Looking at the concrete slabs that have been “dismantled” it looks more like people have been lifting them looking for scrap cables, I doubt if it was dismantled they would leave anything uncovered as they’d be liable if an accident happened (even if someone was trespassing)

[@matthew09ify]

I miss that old line used to get the train to Manchester so I could go to Blackpool

[@sefgrt]

Love this. Although personally I class Mills Hill as oldham, although some don’t.

[@majorpygge-phartt2643]

I've been through these tunnels loads of times, both on crappy old pacers and on the trams, and once on an unusual loco hauled service from liverpool lime street. and this vid has only been here two days and already there's so many comments!

[@Greenfieldsmodelrailwaygauge]

Lovely

[@williambell8282]

The eroded stone is quite soft, fine sandstone. The sulphur in the steam engine exhaust attacked the stone and caused the erosion..

[@bryan3550]

My thoughts, too... 👨‍🔬

[@BuzbyWuzby]

There used to be a direct train connection between Southport and Oldham Mumps which I used to catch from Southport to Manchester Victoria for the Trans-Pennine when I was a student

[@sloth-gaming]

Trans pennine? Them services certainly have never called St Southport to my knowledge

[@stevenmoran4060]

No one did they did, it was stated a connection from Southport to Man Vic and then to Oldham via Trans Pennine which is correct.

[@BuzbyWuzby]

@@sloth-gaming I got the Southport to Oldham Mumps service as far as Manchester Victoria where I changed onto the Trans-Pennine service from Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle-upon-Tyne (via Manchester Victoria)

[@sloth-gaming]

@@BuzbyWuzby ah I understand now!

[@sloth-gaming]

The Southport services terminate practically anywhere nowadays if they're going past Wigan they'll go stalybridge Blackburn, Rochdale, Alderley Edge, Victoria, Oxford Road are a few I've seen them go in the last few years

[@rontanser9369]

That was very interesting thank you I only came to Oldham for the company I worked for once and I think it was Oldham mumps I came into and I think the street I was working in was Yorkshire Street probably both long since gone

[@judithcartwright7621]

I commuted om this line from 1961 to 1968 and on at least one occasion our DMU was diverted from Victoria to Werneth via Middleton Junction (because a shunting engine derailed at Werneth) and we needed a banking (steam) engine up the incline. The story was that the centre of the Werneth to Central tunnel collapsed during construction and was made into a cutting.

[@michaelcowcill4936]

The wernerth tunnel used to have a coat of armed over it just seen in one of the last black & white pictures now gone I wonder to where ? Great video

[@BeeHereNowuk]

I think it's still there but I couldn't get near

[@barrythedieselelectricstea5217]

so sad to see a town without a railway 😥how many towns are like that and to destroy what there was left of it wonder what the Victorians would think if they were to come back and the railway they built no longer there they would think we've gone raving mad

[@jollyrogererVF84]

Nature has done a very thorough job reclaiming the land

[@almilhouse9059]

I hate when they remove the tracks, infrastructure and tunnel.... These should all be preserved

[@timglennon6814]

We have similar railway tunnels where I live in Royton. There was a train crash in Royton in 1961.

[@charleysmith7565]

A greatly informative video but there's actually a second one that is just in Oldham Borough, Mills Hill. Though the name shows Mills Hill Manchester, its just outside the border of Middleton, Manchester. This I did not know about 10 years ago and to find this one is actually Oldham's second station in the district surprised me. Hopefully this is useful information for all.

[@DadgeCity]

Ditto Bury. It wouldn't be so bad that these towns had lost their railway stations if you could still buy tickets to them. eg. From here in Birmingham, if I search online for train services to Oldham or Bury, they don't exist, which I think is really bad for the business and image of those towns. We need a more integrated public transport network.

[@chris8405]

Shocking to see this - I remember my last full trip on the Oldham loop in November 2008, class 156 up to Rochdale, a 142 back - which was full and standing from Mumps. I remember thinking how pretty the station building and awnings were at Mumps, although a bit neglected. Why on earth was it destroyed? In an alternative world the line from Victoria to Oldham Mumps could have been electrified and been the natural terminus of the half-hourly electrics from Lime Street. The line could have been shared if necessary with tram-trains serving the town centre. Now Oldham has become one of the largest towns in Britain to be cut off from the national railway network, which seems crazy. Maybe one day this strange policy will be reversed.