View source for Oldham Loop Line

{{about|the historic railway|the present Metrolink line|Oldham and Rochdale Line}}
{{Oldham Loop map}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
The '''Oldham Loop Line''' was a [[Commuter rail|suburban-line]] in [[Greater Manchester]], England, used by trains that ran from [[Manchester Victoria station|Manchester Victoria]] to [[Rochdale railway station|Rochdale]] via [[Oldham Mumps railway station|Oldham Mumps]]. Services on the line at the time of its closure were operated by [[Northern Rail]].

The line closed on 3 October 2009<ref name="GMPTE information">{{cite web|url=http://www.gmpte.com/trains/oldham_loop.cfm|title=Oldham Loop Line Closure|publisher=[[Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive]]|access-date=2009-10-04}}</ref> for conversion during 2009–2012 to [[light rail]] use for [[Manchester Metrolink|Metrolink]] services;<ref name="metrolinkconversion">{{cite web|url=http://www.gmpte.com/content.cfm?subcategory_id=6029059|title=Oldham – Rochdale Line|publisher=[[Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive]]|access-date=2008-09-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081116115527/http://www.gmpte.com/content.cfm?subcategory_id=6029059|archive-date=16 November 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="conversion-lrta">{{cite web|url=http://www.lrta.org/Manchester/mlnn2008.html#sep.c|title=Oldham and Rochdale line — conversion work start date announced|date=2008-09-24|access-date=2008-10-27|publisher=[[Light Rail Transit Association]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418191458/http://www.lrta.org/Manchester/mlnn2008.html#sep.c|archive-date=18 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> the route now carries trams and is known as the [[Oldham and Rochdale Line]] (ORL).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://recruitment.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/oldham-and-rochdale-line.asp|publisher=metrolink.co.uk|title=Oldham and Rochdale line|access-date=2013-02-18|archive-date=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329225805/http://recruitment.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/oldham-and-rochdale-line.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Description==

The Oldham Loop diverged from the [[Caldervale Line]] at Thorpes Bridge Junction in [[Newton Heath]], [[Manchester]] and re-joined it at Rochdale East Junction. The line was {{convert|12+1/8|mi}} long, and was double-track from Thorpes Bridge Junction to [[Shaw & Crompton railway station|Shaw & Crompton]], and single-line from Shaw & Crompton to Rochdale East Junction. There were two tunnels on the route between [[Oldham Werneth]] and [[Oldham Central railway station]]s. There were nine intermediate stations on the route. In the early 1970s the line from Shaw & Crompton to Rochdale was reduced to single track working. This was due to save money on maintenance when services were much reduced.

==History==

The history of the Oldham Loop Line was intertwined with the early history of railways in the Manchester and Oldham area, and to some extent also with the geography of Oldham which meant that there was no direct Manchester to Oldham line until quite late in the 19th century.

The first railway line to be built in the area was the [[Manchester and Leeds Railway]] (M&LR) which opened on 4 July 1839 to Littleborough and throughout on 1 March 1841. Although this line ran close to Rochdale, it missed out Middleton and more importantly Oldham as well. A station was built at [[Mills Hill railway station|Mills Hill]] to provide a railhead for Middleton and Oldham. This was only intended as a short time measure given that Oldham was already a substantial manufacturing centre by this date. The first railway into Oldham was a branch from [[Middleton Junction railway station|Middleton Junction]] to [[Oldham Werneth railway station|Oldham Werneth]] which opened on 31 March 1842. This line included the [[Werneth Incline]] which had a gradient of 1 in 27 and was one of the steepest lines in the country regularly used by passenger trains.<ref name="disused-stations.org.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oldham_werneth/index.shtml |title=Oldham Werneth Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918011116/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oldham_werneth/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> The situation of the first station in Oldham on the outskirts of town was not entirely satisfactory, and in 1847 the [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] (L&YR), the successor to the M&LR, extended the line from Oldham Werneth to a new station at [[Oldham Mumps railway station|Oldham Mumps]]. There was also an intermediate station at [[Oldham Central railway station|Oldham Central]]. The line and the two new stations opened on 1 November 1847.<ref name="disused-stations">{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oldham_mumps/index.shtml |title=Oldham Mumps Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918004339/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oldham_mumps/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

There was a further extension of the line from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale East Junction on 1 November 1863. This line included stations at [[Milnrow railway station|Milnrow]], [[New Hey railway station|New Hey]] and [[Shaw & Crompton railway station|Shaw & Crompton]]. A branch off this line to [[Royton railway station|Royton]] was opened on 21 March 1864, followed on 1 July 1864 by [[Royton Junction railway station]].

The operational problems of the Werneth Incline had led to the consideration of a more direct route from Oldham Werneth to Manchester to bypass it as early as 1848, but it was not until August 1876 that construction of the line began. It took nearly four years to complete, opening on 17 May 1880 along with the stations at [[Hollinwood railway station|Hollinwood]] and [[Dean Lane railway station|Dean Lane]]. [[Failsworth station]] opened slightly later on 26 April 1881.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/failsworth/index.shtml |title=Failsworth Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918004331/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/failsworth/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> With the construction of this section of line the whole route from Rochdale East Junction to Thorpes Bridge Junction, Newton Heath was complete and it became known as the Oldham Loop Line.

In the early-1920s the L&YR proposed to [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrify]] the Oldham Loop Line using a unique 1,200 volt side-contact [[third rail]] system, following the successful electrification of the nearby [[Bury Line]] with this system. The scheme progressed to an advanced stage, however with the reorganisations of railway companies in the 1920s, the new management had no interest in pursuing the scheme and it was dropped.<ref>Wray, Tom (2004). Manchester Victoria Station. Peter Taylor Publications. ISBN 0-9549451-0-7.</ref>

==Closures==

The Royton to Royton Junction line was listed for closure by the [[Beeching Report|Beeching Axe]] of the 1960s. Royton closed to goods services on 2 November 1964 and passenger services on 18 April 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/royton/index.shtml |title=Royton Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918010101/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/royton/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Although not mentioned by Beeching, a further closure in the 1960s was [[Oldham Central railway station|Oldham Central]] which also closed on 18 April 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oldham_central/index.shtml |title=Oldham Central Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918010008/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/o/oldham_central/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

Royton Junction station, renamed as Royton, stayed open but by the 1980s a replacement for it was being considered. [[Derker railway station|Derker]] opened on 30 August 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/derker/index.shtml |title=Derker Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918004324/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/derker/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> For a short period trains stopped at either Derker or Royton, but eventually Royton (formerly Royton Junction) railway station was closed on 8 May 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/royton_junction/index.shtml |title=Royton Junction Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918010708/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/royton_junction/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> This was the last station closure before the whole of the Oldham Loop Line was closed for conversion to Metrolink.

==Passenger train services==

The pattern of passenger services over the line was always that all trains from Manchester ran to Oldham Mumps, but fewer continued on to terminate in a bay platform at [[Rochdale railway station|Rochdale]]. It was not usual for trains to terminate at Oldham Mumps and instead they ran on to Royton (until its closure in 1966), and subsequently to [[Shaw & Crompton railway station|Shaw & Crompton]]. While the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line was open there were a few services over that route to Oldham Mumps, Royton or Rochdale. By 1950 this had reduced to a handful of trains per day, and the services over the line reduced further until its closure in early 1963.<ref name="disused-stations.org.uk"/>

During the late 1960s and early 1970s only slightly fewer trains ran from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale, but in May 1972 the [[Secretary of State for Transport]] announced that this part of the Oldham Loop would be closed. The closure did not go ahead because what later became the [[Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive]] (GMPTE) agreed to fund the continuation of services. The involvement of the GMPTE also led to a more frequent pattern of trains serving the Oldham Mumps to Rochdale section.<ref name="disused-stations" />

From 2007 Network Rail made the annual leaf fall timetable permanent year round due to concerns over the condition of the track and performance. Trains were timetabled to connect with the Caldervale Line services to [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]] via {{stnlnk|Hebden Bridge}} and [[Bradford Interchange]]. All stations and all scheduled train services were operated by [[Northern Rail (Serco-Abellio)|Northern Rail]] and its predecessors. During the week, trains ran every 15 minutes on the route, with express trains leaving Manchester at 00 and 30 minutes past the hour calling at Oldham Mumps, Shaw & Crompton and all stations to Rochdale, and stopping trains calling at all stations between Manchester and Shaw & Crompton, leaving at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. This skip-stop service gave an effective half hourly service frequency to the stations on the line. During the evenings and on Sundays services were less frequent with an hourly service calling at all stations.

==Goods services==

At the time of closure the line's sole regular goods service was to the waste management plant next to [[Dean Lane railway station]] at the southern end of the Oldham Loop. Usually only a single train a day used this facility. Its current operation is unaffected by the conversion to Metrolink.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/dean_lane/index.shtml |title=Dean Lane Station |publisher=Disused Stations |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=18 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918005957/http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/dean_lane/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Rolling stock==
[[File:Class 142 at Failsworth.jpg|thumb|right|[[Northern Rail]] [[British Rail Class 142|Class 142]] at [[Failsworth railway station|Failsworth station]] in 2008]]
In the period up to closure all passenger services were operated by diesel multiple units, as the line was not electrified. The most common types of unit were [[British Rail Class 142|Class 142]] and [[British Rail Class 150|Class 150]] with occasional [[British Rail Class 153|Class 153]] and [[British Rail Class 156|Class 156]].

==Last day events==

Events held on 3 October 2009, the last day of operation, included the naming of Class 156 unit no 156 466 as ''Gracie Fields'' to commemorate the Oldham Loop Line's 146 years of history. A steam special hauled by locomotive [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0_5231|45231]] was the last steam train over the line. It was followed later in the day by a heritage diesel railtour. The last train from Manchester Victoria to Rochdale departed at 23:25.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Oldham Loop closes after 146 years| magazine=[[Rail Magazine]]| issue=628| date=7 October 2009| page=6}}</ref>

==Metrolink conversion==
{{main|Oldham and Rochdale Line}}
{{See also|Manchester Metrolink#Phase 3|l1=Manchester Metrolink&nbsp;— Phase 3}}
{{infobox rail line
 | name = Manchester Metrolink<br />Manchester to Rochdale<br />line
 | color = 00BDBC
 | map = {{Rochdale Manchester Metrolink line}}
}}
The Oldham Loop was included in proposals in 1984 for conversion to [[light rail]] operation. The proposed ''Light Rapid Transit'' system was intended to run from Rochdale via Oldham through Manchester Victoria and across Manchester City Centre via on-street tram lines.<ref name="brochure1">{{citation |author=Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive |title=Light Rapid Transit in Greater Manchester |publisher=GMPTE |year=1984}} – publicity brochure</ref> The system eventually came into operation in 1992 as [[Manchester Metrolink]]. While the Oldham loop line was not included in the first phase of Metrolink, the line is now open, having been converted to Metrolink operation as part of its [[Manchester Metrolink#Phase 3|Phase 3]] development.

Work started on the conversion in 2009, after heavy rail services ceased on 3 October 2009.<ref name="metrolinkconversion"/><ref name="conversion-lrta"/> Replacement bus services were planned to operate until the tram service commenced, but lack of patronage led to their withdrawal within months. Pending completion, former rail users had the choice between normal bus services, none of which ran along the complete length of the loop line, or driving to an alternative station. The latter occurred immediately after the Oldham Loop closure, leading to severe overcrowding on the Caldervale line<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news/31115/more-carriages-to-ease-overcrowding |title=Oldham News &#124; News Headlines &#124; More carriages to ease overcrowding – Chronicle Online |publisher=Oldham-chronicle.co.uk |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924072348/http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news/31115/more-carriages-to-ease-overcrowding |url-status=live }}</ref> In response TfGM stepped in to pay for the former loop line stock to be used to strengthen Manchester-Rochdale services.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/extra-carriages-on-oldham-loop-too-932143 |title=Extra carriages on Oldham loop 'too little, too late' |date=14 October 2009 |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411012406/https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/extra-carriages-on-oldham-loop-too-932143 |url-status=live }}</ref>

GMPTE originally announced that Metrolink services would be introduced as follows <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.tfgm.com/trains/oldham_loop.cfm| title=Oldham Loop Line Closure| website=Transport for Greater Manchester| date=2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302074408/http://www.tfgm.com/trains/oldham_loop.cfm| archive-date=2 March 2012}}</ref>
:
* Manchester to Central Park (Monsall) – spring 2011
* Manchester to Oldham Mumps – autumn 2011
* Manchester to Rochdale station – spring 2012

By summer 2011, the project was running several months behind schedule. The reasons include diversion of resources to other Metrolink extensions to Chorlton and Ashton (themselves badly behind schedule) and issues with the new signalling system proposed for systemwide use. Announced dates for Oldham loop openings were shown on Metrolink's own site as follows on 11 August 2011 <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/oldham-and-rochdale-line.asp |title=Metrolink – Oldham and Rochdale Line |access-date=11 August 2011 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807130758/http://www.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/oldham-and-rochdale-line.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>
:
* Manchester to Central Park – winter 2011
* Manchester to Oldham Mumps via former railway line – spring 2012
* Manchester to Rochdale station – summer 2012
* Oldham/ Rochdale street sections – 2014

[[Transport for Greater Manchester]] announced during the week commencing 4 June 2012 that the line as far as Oldham Mumps will open to passenger services as an extension of the Manchester Victoria to [[St Werburgh's Road tram stop|St Werburgh's Road]] service on Wednesday 13 June 2012.

Trams finally began running through to Shaw & Crompton on 16 December 2012 and through to Rochdale on 28 February 2013, almost a year later than originally planned.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Metrolink loop reaches Shaw & Crompton| magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]]| issue=1343| date=March 2013| page=95}}</ref> This section has two new stops (at Kingsway and Newbold) and has been re-doubled from Shaw to Rochdale, except for the flyover which takes it across the Calder Valley main line. Trams also began running through to [[East Didsbury tram stop|East Didsbury]] in May 2013, with the commissioning of the South Manchester Line extension from St Werburgh's Road.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/Pages/south-manchester-line.aspx| website=Metrolink| title=South Manchester Line| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827115722/http://www.metrolink.co.uk/futuremetrolink/Pages/south-manchester-line.aspx| archive-date=27 August 2013| access-date=2013-08-23}}</ref>

The local press have reported a series of complaints about the conversion project and, latterly, the delayed opening dates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/58983/jay-is-driven-off-the-rails |title=Oldham News &#124; News Headlines &#124; Jay is driven off the rails – Chronicle Online |publisher=Oldham-chronicle.co.uk |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=19 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219055732/http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/58983/jay-is-driven-off-the-rails |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/59380/revenge-of-the-lawnmower-man |title=Oldham News &#124; News Headlines &#124; Revenge of the lawnmower man – Chronicle Online |publisher=Oldham-chronicle.co.uk |date=2011-08-05 |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=19 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219055737/http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/59380/revenge-of-the-lawnmower-man |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/57825/opening-of-rochdale-metrolink-line-delayed |title=Rochdale News &#124; News Headlines &#124; Opening of Rochdale Metrolink line delayed |publisher=Rochdale Online |date=2011-06-22 |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824050823/http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/57825/opening-of-rochdale-metrolink-line-delayed |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/57860/trams-delay |title=Oldham News &#124; News Headlines &#124; Trams delay – Chronicle Online |publisher=Oldham-chronicle.co.uk |access-date=2014-07-27 |archive-date=31 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131174143/http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/57860/trams-delay |url-status=live }}</ref>

Phase 3B of the expansion project involved constructing a branch between Werneth and Oldham Mumps into Oldham town centre.<ref name="BBC-future-map">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/travel/images/metrolink_map_2006.pdf|title=Metrolink future Network|year=2006|publisher=GMPTE|access-date=2009-03-21|archive-date=17 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717221919/http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/travel/images/metrolink_map_2006.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This was fully operational in 2014. The line between the heavy-rail Oldham Mumps and Oldham Werneth stations has been lifted for re-use in other areas.

==Places served==

The places served by the Oldham Loop Line in the period immediately before closure were as follows:
*Dean Lane: for [[Newton Heath]]
*[[Failsworth]]
*[[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester|Hollinwood]]
*[[Oldham]] [[Oldham Werneth railway station|Werneth]]: for [[Werneth, Greater Manchester|Werneth]] and [[Chadderton]]
*[[Oldham]] [[Oldham Mumps railway station|Mumps]]: for Oldham Town Centre
*{{stnlnk|Derker}}
*[[Shaw & Crompton]]
*[[Newhey]]
*[[Milnrow]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Railway lines in North West England}}
{{Manchester Metrolink stations}}
{{Portal bar |United Kingdom |Lancashire |Greater Manchester}}
{{Authority Control}}

[[Category:Rail transport in Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Former railway lines converted to Manchester Metrolink lines]]
[[Category:Railway lines in North West England]]
[[Category:Railway lines closed in 2009]]