The Trams Are Coming!

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The end of August saw trams once again on the Streets on Ashton. After several years of line construction the system is ready for operations to start. After a period of testing the track in the small hours of the morning, daytime testing has started.

Update: The trams will begin passenger service from Ashton on 9th October 2013.


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Walk Mill Bridge

Today's photo shows Walk Mill Bridge across the Ashton Canal.

This bridge looks very modern - in fact it was completed only a few weeks ago, replacing an older bridge that has been there for more than 200 years. When the original bridge was built its purpose was to carry horses and carts across the canal. It was unable to cope with the modern articulated lorries that need access to the factories between the canal and the river.

This is bridge number 28 on the Ashton Canal, and is at the the bottom end of Margaret Street, close to Portland Basin.

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"Walk Mill Bridge" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "W" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Victoria Street

Today's photo shows the view looking down Victoria Street, from its junction with William Street, in Ashton's West End.

Victoria Street was built, unsurprisingly, in the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, around 170 years ago. It was a straight and broad street lined mostly with small terraced houses. Those houses were demolished during a slum clearance programme and have since been replaced by modern houses with gardens. The road has been made narrower to create more areas of greenery. The only building in this part of Victoria Street that dates back to Victorian times is the Trafalgar Inn on the right of the photo.

In the far distance you can see the steeple of St Stephen's Church at Guide Bridge.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Victoria Street" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "V" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Unicorns

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is U for "Unicorns", so just where in Ashton might a couple of these mythical creatures be seen?

The answer is on this colourful coat of arms below the clock tower of Ashton's Market Hall.

I'm afraid I could not find out what this particular coat of arms is and what it is doing there. Nor could I find out why unicorns are featured. If anyone knows, please let me know through the comments.

It was not the coat of arms for Ashton - that was different and the shield from Ashton's coat of arms is carved in stone at the bottom of the photo.

Sorry that this post is not terribly informative but perhaps you will enjoy the mystery!

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"Unicorns" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "U" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Old Street

Today's photo shows part of Old Street in the heart of Ashton. This was one of the oldest parts of Ashton, being the junction of the old roads from Manchester, Oldham and Stalybridge. The junction was originally called Newton Nook but this name has long disappeared.

The cream-coloured building on the left was the Pitt and Nelson public house. This dates back to 1685 and was originally called the Smithies. Later it was the Grapes, then the White Hart. It became the Pitt and Nelson in 1807, after the deaths of William Pitt and Lord Nelson.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Old Street" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Trains

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is T for "Trains" and the photo shows Ashton's Charlestown Station with a train at each platform.

On the right hand side, the train from Manchester heading for Stalybridge is waiting. On the left hand side, a train from Stalybridge is just arriving on its way to Manchester.

The brown building on the left houses the offices of Tameside Council. The blue buildings in the background are Assheton House and IKEA, which were seen in last week's photo of the new tram terminus.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Trains" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "T" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Old Square

Today's photo shows the location in Ashton's town centre known as Old Square. Like Chester Square and other squares in Ashton, it is not really a square. It's original name of The Circus was probably more appropriate, although the buildings form something of an octagon, rather than a circle or a square.

It was re-named King's Square and then again to Old Square some time around the 1780s, when New Square was created at the other end of Stamford Street. New Square, however, was renamed Henry Square in 1800, while Old Square has remained Old Square until this day.

Only a few of the original three story buildings remain, with the others having been rebuilt at various times.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Old Square" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

ABC Wednesday: Statue

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is S for "Statue" and the photo shows the statue of Hugh Mason which stands in Trafalgar Square in Ashton's West End.

Hugh Mason was a local mill-owner and social reformer. He owned the massive Oxford Mills complex, built by his father, not far from where his statue now stands. He built houses for his workforce, along with community facilities, and was the first local mill owner to give his workers Saturday afternoons off! He kept his employees in work during the "Cotton Famine" when some of his competitors were laying off their workers.

He became a Liberal councillor, mayor and eventually Member of Parliament for the town. When his wife Sarah died after only six years of marriage, he married her sister, Betsy. As this was illegal in Britain at the time, he obtained a special licence from the King of Denmark and was married in that country. He had one child with Sarah and four with Betsy before she died after just seven years.

The statue was originally at Chester Square but was moved after that square became a glorified traffic junction, as you saw in this recent post.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Statue" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "S" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Tram Terminus

Following on from last week's photo of the new tram lines running across Oldham Road, today's photo shows the new tram terminus in Ashton.

In the centre of the picture is the ramp leading up to the platform, with tram tracks on either side. Everything is in place and ready to roll - even the electronic matrix signs that will give the time of the next tram are switched on. A small amount of paving and landscaping work is being finished off.

Trams have been here during the night testing the track but services won't be starting just yet as they are waiting for more trams to be delivered. The next phase of the Metrolink tram system will open on Thursday, with an extension of the St Werbergs Road line to East Didsbury. The extension from Droylsden to Ashton will be next.

Immediately behind the camera is Ashton Bus Station, making interchange easy. The entrance to the Arcades shopping mall is 150 metres to the left. The photo is flanked by Ashton's two bluest buildings - Assheton House and IKEA!

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Tram Terminus" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

ABC Wednesday: On the Rails

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is R for "On the Rails" and the photo shows the rails of the almost-completed tramway7 from Manchester to Ashton.

The picture is looking westwards across Oldham Road. One set of rails is coming straight towards the camera while the other set can be seen a little to the left. The Ashton tram terminus is behind me. The trams already run as far as Droylsden and the rest of the line to Ashton will open later in the year.

The track is complete and workmen are finishing off paving and landscaping. Trams have already been to this location on test in the small hours of the night. Metrolink are being a little vague about when the line will be open for service and I suspect that they will need to wait until enough new trams have been delivered.

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"On the Rails" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "R" posts from around the world please follow this link.