Park Bridge railway station

File:Ashton, Ashton Moss, Crothorn, Droylsden, Guide Bridge, Hyde, Oldham & Stalybridge RJD 32.jpg

1912 map of railway lines in the area

Park Bridge railway station was a stop on the Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Guide Bridge Junction Railway (OA&GB) that served the village of Park Bridge in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. It was located in the Medlock Valley near Ashton-under-Lyne's border with Oldham. It was sometimes known as Parkbridge; one photograph of the station shows the station name board with the name as one word and immediately adjacent the signal box with it shown as two.Template:Sfn

History

The station opened on 26 August 1861, when the line opened.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn

The station was located on an embankment leading up to the south side of the viaduct over the River Medlock. The main station building was on the eastern, 'down' side of the running lines leading on to the shorter of two platforms.Template:Efn There was an access road and ramp from the Park Bridge Iron Works access road.

A waiting shelter was provided on the other, longer 'up' platform, which appeared to be constructed from baulks of timber, perhaps reused sleepers. Access to this platform was via steps up the embankment from a footpath that ran along the bottom of the embankment.

There were several goods sidings to the east of the station, with no facilities other than a weighing machine. A branch led from the sidings into the Iron Works.

In 1861, the station was served by eight down trains and six up on weekdays, with five services each way on Sundays.Template:Sfn By 1895, the station had twenty three OA&GB services each way with an extra one on Saturdays; there were eleven services each way on Sundays.Template:Sfn In addition, there were three LNWR services to Stockport Edgeley, but none in the other direction.Template:Sfn

Goods services at the station stopped sometime between 1912 and 1925, with only private siding traffic being handled afterwards. The private siding closed in February 1964.Template:Sfn

The passenger station closed on 4 May 1959, following the withdrawal of passenger services on the line.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Park Bridge viaduct was long and high, with nine arches of ; it was reconstructed in 1960, as the line continued to handle heavy parcels traffic until 1967. The viaduct was demolished in February and March 1971.Template:Sfn

After the line's closure, Granada Television's Inheritance series filmed a staged crash of 1850 on the embankment.

Template:Disused Rail Start |- | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"| Oldham Road, Ashton | style="background:#Template:Temporary rail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top:solid 1px #aaa; border-bottom:0px none;" | Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway
Leased jointly by L&NW & GC | style="background:#Template:Temporary rail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 0px none; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"|Oldham Clegg Street |}

References

Bibliography

• Template:Bradshaw-1895December
• Template:Quick-stations-5