Turntable at Godley Junction

Photograph © John Philips and used here with permission.
Cheshire Lines tracks to Woodley and Stockport Tiviot Dale are on the immediate left, the G.C./L.N.E.R to Guide Bridge and Manchester beyond. This was the changeover point for trains from and to the C.L., to electric power. Hence the turntable in use. (Only one C.L. line passenger daily: the overnight from Marylebone divided here, with its Liverpool portion headed off down the C.L.)

Here is where trains heading for Fiddler's Ferry power station via Warrington Arpley would exchange locomotives. The whole point of the railway was to carry Yorkshire coal to Lancashire for burning in one way or another. Originally the trains were steam hauled but after electrification of the Woodhead line in the 1950s the class 76 electric locos would draw the train onto the branch and un-couple before running around and departing; subsequently, a diesel loco would appear and hook-on for the remainder of the trip. Freight services over Woodhead ended in 1981 and this line became redundant.

This photograph by Joe Lloyd is from the Hyde Cheshire blog. Here the Hattersley estate is visible in the background.

See how the remains of the turntable looked in 2007 on Hyde Daily Photo Volume 1 and in 2010 on Hyde DP Xtra.

Photographs of the overgrown turntable as it looks now can be found on Hyde Daily Photo and Hyde DP Xtra.

Hattersley Cutting 1951

Photograph © Ben Brooksbank.

Taken on 28th July 1951 at Hattersley Cutting, with the Cleethorpes - Manchester express passing through.

The view is Eastward towards Broadbottom, Woodhead and Sheffield along the ex-Great Central Manchester - Sheffield main line, which since July 1981 was cut back to a local line just to Hadfield. The masts for the electrification had been erected in 1939 but electrification was not complete until the New Woodhead Tunnel was opened in June 1954. The very deep cutting used to be two tunnels until they were opened out in 1931. The train is the 09.27 Cleethorpes - Manchester London Road, headed by B1 4-6-0 No. 61160.

See how it looks nearly 60 years later on Hyde Daily Photo.

Broadbottom Station Car Park 1965

Photograph © Ben Brooksbank.

This photograph was taken on 5th May 1965 by Ben Brooksbank.

I recently posted his photograph taken from the Moss Lane bridge.

This is from the other side of the station looking West from Mottram Road down into the car park. The station buildings and Moss Lane can be clearly seen.

Compare it now with my recent photograph on Hyde Daily Photo taken from Mottram Road. The car park is much fuller and the abundant foliage obscures any view of the station buildings.

Broadbottom Station 1965

Photograph © Ben Brooksbank.
This photograph was taken on 5th May 1965 by Ben Brooksbank.

The view is eastward from Moss Lane towards Hadfield and Sheffield on the then ex-Great Central Manchester to Sheffield (Victoria) main line. It was called 'Mottram & Broadbottom' until 1954. The station is now served by local trains from Manchester (Piccadilly) to Hadfield and Glossop; the main line to Sheffield having lost its through passenger services in January 1970 and its freight in July 1981.

You can see how it looks 45 years later on Hyde Daily Photo.

Godley Junction Marshalling Yards

This photograph of the marshelling yards at Godley Junction was taken on 24th March 1989 by Peter Whatley and is reproduced here with permission.

It shows the extent of the sidings required at Godley Junction for locomotive changes between electric and diesel traction. At one time, the trackbed to the right was the main route for Yorkshire coal to Fiddlers Ferry electricity generating station via Woodhead. Godley Junction was the point at which electric traction gave way to diesel. Changes in coal flows and the expense of traction changes at both ends of the journey led inexorably to the Woodhead route's closure in 1981.

Godley Junction had no rationale as a passenger station and was replaced by a new station simply named Godley, but pending formal closure proceedings was renamed Godley East and served by a handful of trains on weekdays to fulfil legal requirements.

You can view Station Road, Godley on Hyde Daily Photograph.

Hyde Central Station 1989

Photograph © Peter Whatley from the Geograph website.

For a contemporary view see Hyde DP Xtra.

For a view of the street see Hyde Daily Photo

Newton for Hyde 1989

Photograph © 1989 Peter Whatley

Last week I showed you the ways in and out of Newton for Hyde station.

The picture day shows the platforms and is taken looking towards the Victoria Street bridge. The houses on Danby Road are clearly visible.

Twenty years on and they are hidden from view by tall trees as you can see in the recent photograph on Hyde Daily Photo.

In and Out at Newton for Hyde

These photographs from 1989 are © Peter Whatley.

The first shows the way out from the Manchester bound platform at Newton for Hyde station.


The second shows the old booking office on Castle Street.

To see how it looks 20 years on, visit Hyde Daily Photo.

Godley Station 1989

This photograph is by Peter Whatley and used here with permission.

It was taken in March 1989 and shows the Manchester-bound platform and a train heading towards Godley Junction.

On Hyde Daily Photo you can see recent photographs of the platform (taken from the opposite end of the station) and of the line towards Godley East.

Glossop-bound Train at Broadbottom

This photograph is by Peter Whatley and used here with permission.

It shows a Glossop-bound train at Broadbottom Station in July 1988.

A Manchester-bound train at Broadbottom Station in 2008 can be found on Hyde Daily Photo.

Broadbottom Station

These photographs were taken by Peter Whatley and are used here with permission.


This was taken on 2nd July 1988 from the cross-platform bridge looking towards Manchester.

Although the line now only goes to Glossop and Hadfield, until the 1960s there was a through service to London (St Marylebone).

Of this picture on Geograph, Peter writes

By 1988, almost all the structure had been sold for use as a restaurant. British Rail retained the "lean to" section nearest the camera as a booking office.

Of this photograph from 1977 Peter writes that it shows the station in substantially its original state with the railway booking hall and waiting room still available.

You can see how the station looks today on Hyde Daily Photo.

In George Wain's footsteps

George Wain's 1947 film Much Ado is probably the only moving memory we have of the area of Gee Cross where it was filmed.

Now seftonwallet who was responsible for transforming George's film into video-format was been revisiting the locations featured therein with Ken Richards and has produced this new fascinating video.

If you haven't seen the original I suggest you watch that first (link above) and then watch the new film.

Lines at Hyde North

Photograph © Peter Whatley and used with permission.

The theme for City Daily Photo Blogs this month is Lines.

The picture was take on 24th March 1989 from a train approaching Hyde North station. The track on the left is the electrified line from Manchester Piccadilly towards Glossop which at one time went to Sheffield via the Woodhead Tunnel.

The line South through Hyde North goes to Marple and is not electrified.

On my photograph of Hyde North station, July 2006, taken from the top of the platform crossover bridge, you can see this viewed from the opposite direction.

Peter's picture (in colour) can be viewed on the Geograph site.

163 blogs have registered and are lined up to run this theme: ~~ Albuquerque, ~~ American Fork, ~~ Arradon, ~~ Ashton under Lyne, ~~ Aspen, ~~ Auckland, (Lachezar), ~~ Auckland (Baruch), ~~ Austin, ~~ Avignon, ~~ Bandung (Eki), ~~ Bandung (Harry), ~~ Bandung (Bunyamin), ~~ Barrow-in-Furness, ~~ Barton, ~~ Baziège, ~~ Belgrade (Bibi), ~~ Belgrade (BgdPic), ~~ Bellefonte, ~~ Bicheno, ~~ Birmingham, ~~ Bogor, ~~ Boston (Clueless), ~~ Boston (Ilse), ~~ Budapest (Zannnie and Zsolt), ~~ Budapest (Agrajag), ~~ Budapest (Isadora), ~~ Buenos Aires, ~~ Canterbury, ~~ Cape Town (JSB), ~~ Cape Town (Kerry-Anne), ~~ Cavite, ~~ Château-Gontier, ~~ Chateaubriant (Trieulet), ~~ Chateaubriant (Bergson), ~~ Cheltenham, ~~ Chennai, ~~ Coral Gables, ~~ Durban, ~~ Edwardsville, ~~ Fort Lauderdale, ~~ Franschhoek, ~~ Geneva, ~~ Glasgow, ~~ Greenville, ~~ Grenoble, ~~ Hamilton, ~~ Hangzhou, ~~ Helsinki, ~~ Hobart, ~~ Honningsvag, ~~ Hyde (Gerald), ~~ Hyde (Old Hyde), ~~ Islip, ~~ Jackson, ~~ Jakarta, ~~ Jefferson City, ~~ Karwar, ~~ Knoxville, ~~ Kuala Lumpur, ~~ La Antigua Guatemala, ~~ Lakewood, ~~ Larchmont, ~~ Las Vegas, ~~ Lisbon, ~~ Lodz, ~~ London (Mo), ~~ London (Ham), ~~ Madrid, ~~ Mainz, ~~ Manila (Hilda), ~~ Manila (Anthony), ~~ Manila (Heyokity), ~~ Melbourne, ~~ Menton, ~~ Mexico City, ~~ Middletown, ~~ Milton, ~~ Milwaukee, ~~ Minneapolis (Mitch), ~~ Minneapolis (Greg), ~~ Minneapolis (Scott), ~~ Molfetta, ~~ Monrovia, ~~ Monte Carlo, ~~ Monterrey, ~~ Muizenberg, ~~ Mumbai (Kunalbhatia), ~~ Mumbai (Anu), ~~ Nelson, ~~ New Delhi, ~~ New York City (Ming the Merciless), ~~ New York City (Kitty), ~~ Norwich, ~~ Orlando, ~~ Paderborn, ~~ Palos Verdes, ~~ Paris (Elsa), ~~ Paris (Eric), ~~ Pasadena (Can8ianben), ~~ Pasadena (Petrea), ~~ Pensacola, ~~ Petoskey, ~~ Philadelphia, ~~ Phoenix, ~~ Pilisvörösvár, ~~ Port Angeles, ~~ Prague, ~~ Quezon City, ~~ Quincy, ~~ Rabaul, ~~ Ramsey, ~~ Reykjavik, ~~ Riga, ~~ Roanoke, ~~ Rome, ~~ Rotterdam, ~~ Rouen, ~~ Saarbrücken, ~~ Saigon, ~~ Saint Louis, ~~ Saint Paul, ~~ Salt Lake City, ~~ San Antonio, ~~ San Diego, ~~ San Francisco (Burd), ~~ San Francisco (PFranson), ~~ Schenectady, ~~ Seattle (Chuck), ~~ Seattle (Kim), ~~ Selma, ~~ Sequim, ~~ Sesimbra, ~~ Setúbal, ~~ Silver Spring, ~~ Singapore, ~~ Sofia, ~~ South Pasadena, ~~ Stanwood, ~~ Stayton, ~~ Stockholm, ~~ Sunshine Coast, ~~ Sydney (Sally), ~~ Sydney (Ann), ~~ Székesfehérvár, ~~ Tacloban City, ~~ Tamarindo, ~~ Telluride, ~~ Terrell (Jim), ~~ Terrell (Bstexas), ~~ Test City, ~~ Torun, ~~ Toulouse, ~~ Turin, ~~ Tuzla, ~~ Twin Cities, ~~ Vienna, ~~ Wailea, ~~ Washington, ~~ Wellington, ~~ West Sacramento, ~~ Weston, ~~ Willits, ~~ Yardley.

To view thumbnails of the participants to the theme, visit the CDPB portal

Godley East 1989

This photograph of Godley East Station, taken on 24th March 1989 by Peter Whatley and reproduced here with permission, appears on the Geograph site with the description

At one time, the trackbed to the left was the main route for Yorkshire coal to Fiddlers Ferry electricity generating station via Woodhead. Godley Junction was the point at which electric traction gave way to diesel. Changes in coal flows and the expense of traction changes at both ends of the journey led inexorably to the Woodhead route's closure in 1981. Godley Junction had no rationale as a passenger station and was replaced by a new station simply named Godley, but pending formal closure proceedings was renamed Godley East and served by a handful of trains on weekdays to fulfil legal requirements.

Today's picture on Hyde Daily Photo shows the present view as seen with a zoom lens from Hattersley Station.

Video Footage of Hyde 1947

Much Ado is George Wain's award winning amateur film, shot around the Gee Cross area of Hyde, about 1947. It includes Dowson Road, the Peak Forest Canal and a steam train on the Godley Junction to Apethorn railway line.



My other ABC Wednesday V posts this week are ~~ Village Fete at Hyde Daily Photo ~~ Vroom Vroom at Ackworth born, gone West ~~ Vintage Cars at Sithenah

To visit more ABC-Wednesday V posts go to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place.

Godley Junction Marshalling Yard

This photograph was taken in March 1989 by Peter Whatley and is published here with his permission. It can also be viewed on the Geograph website.

There is a clear view on the right of where the track of the old line to Apethorn and Woodley branched off. This was where locomotive changes between electric and diesel traction took place.

In the distance you can see Hattersley Station.

A 30-year old map

This copy of the Ordnance Survey 1:50000 map was sent to us by a correspondent in Canada. It is dated 1975.

Comparing it with my own OS map dated 1974, one major difference is that mine has the M67 Due to open summer 1976. According to the CRBD Motorway Database the Hyde bypass opened in 1978 and the Denton Relief Road in 1981. The M60 didn't arrive until 2000.

The other road changes are too detailed to go into here, but the railway changes are quite significant. Godley Junction was renamed Godley East for a while, before being closed.

New stations were built on the Glossop line:

• Hattersley - at the point where the yellow road lies close to the railway.
• Godley - on the North side of the A57.
• Flowery Field - South of Hyde North which is on the line to Romily just below its junction with the Glossop line.

The line from Godley Junction to Woodley is now a footpath and part of the TransPennine Trail.

A couple of cyclists have publised an account of a journey along the old railway, together with photographs, on their Bike Rides around Greater Manchester website.