- Manchester Exchange railway station
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Manchester Exchange 
A postcard illustration of Manchester Exchange railway station in 1904, seen looking up Cathedral Approach Location Place Salford, and Manchester Area County Borough and City of Salford, and County Borough and City of Manchester Lancashire Grid reference SJ837988 Operations 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 RailwaysPlatforms 5 History 30 June 1884 Opened 16 April 1929 Platform 3 extended to link with Victoria platform 11 5 May 1969 Closed Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
Remains of Manchester Exchange railway station in 1989
Manchester Exchange Station was a railway station located immediately to the north of Manchester city centre. It served the city between 1884 and 1969. The main approach road ran from the end of Deansgate near Manchester Cathedral, passing above the River Irwell and Chapel Street; a second approach road led up from Blackfriars Road. The bulk of the station was located in Salford and the 1929 extension to the east of the Irwell was in Manchester.
Contents
Construction and opening
The station was built by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and opened on 30 June 1884.[1] The station had five platforms with Nos. 1 and 2 being bays and Nos. 3, 4 and 5 being through.[1] Platforms Nos. 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 No. 3 over the Irwell bridge was opened, meeting Victoria's platform No. 11, thus creating Europe's longest platform at 2,238 feet (682 m); it could accommodate three trains at once.[4][5]
Eastbound freight in 1966Train services
Exchange station served Liverpool Lime Street; Huddersfield; Leeds City; Hull Paragon and Newcastle Central; also Warrington Bank Quay, Chester General 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 1966The station originally provided alternative train 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.
World War Two damage and closure
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]
The station was closed on 5 May 1969 [7] and all remaining services were redirected to Manchester Victoria. After many years of remaining relatively intact (with trains still running beneath the train shed)the site is now occupied by a car park.
Location map
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
- Notes
- ^ a b Rose 1987, p. 121
- ^ Marshall 1970, p. 62
- ^ Marshall 1969, pp. 57–58
- ^ Joyce 1982, p. 23
- ^ Marshall 1970, p. 67
- ^ Hall 1995, p. 90
- ^ 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 closedLNW Manchester Victoria
Line and station openExternal links
- A leaflet from the late 1920s, advertising period excursions to North Wales from Manchester Exchange
- History page, including photographs, at Disused-stations.org.uk
Manchester Lines - City Centre and North, (Past, Present and Future) LegendTo Bury 
To Rochdale Moston 
To Oldham Bowker Vale 
Newton Heath 
Newton Heath and Moston 
Crumpsall 
Central Park 
To Tameside Abraham Moss;Monsall Clayton Bridge Woodlands Road Park Queens Road 
To Tameside Miles Platting 
Edge Lane 
Clayton Oldham Road 
Sportcity-Velodrome Manchester Victoria 
Holt Town/Sportcity-Stadium Exchange 
To Salford 
New Islington 
Ardwick Exchange Square/Shudehill 
Ashburys High Street; Manchester Piccadilly 
Mayfield;To South Manchester Market Street; Piccadilly Gardens 
To Belle Vue;Gorton Moseley Street;Oxford Road 
To Hyde Road St Peter's Square To Tameside Manchester Central/Deansgate-Castlefield 
Deansgate Liverpool Road 
To Salford;Cornbrook Cornbrook 
Pomona To Eccles 
Trafford Bar To Trafford 
Firswood To Trafford;To Altrincham 
To Chorlton Categories:- Disused railway stations in Salford
- Former London and North Western Railway stations
- Railway stations opened in 1884
- Railway stations closed in 1969
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