Roughtown

This week's Sky Watch shows you a view along the Tame Valley towards the part of Mossley called Roughtown.

The view is from Mossley Hall, formerly a mill owner's house then later the local town hall. St John's Church, Roughtown, dominates the skyline with it steeple. To the right of that is the hill Wharmton, with a television mast on its summit.

In the middle distance the Manchester to Huddersfield railway line and the A635 road curve around the side of the valley. On the left is the former gatehouse to Mossley Hall and, behind it, the tower on the former Wesleyan Sunday School. This dramatic view is only 4 miles from the centre of Ashton.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

ABC Wednesday: Bridge

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is B for Bridge.

Like last week's photo, this is another image showing the Ashton Canal. This location, on the boundary between Ashton and Audenshaw, shows a disused railway bridge crossing the canal.

In the background is Guidebridge Mill, the largest cotton mill to have been built in Ashton. The photo was taken last year before the trees shed their leaves!

See Birds Eye View of this location.

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

Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

Railway Station

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows Ashton under Lyne railway station. Some of you will be pleased to note that I haven't followed the trend of calling it the Train Station!

The train that has pulled up at the platform is heading for Manchester Victoria.

There were at one time three railway stations around Ashton's town centre. This station was originally known as Charlestown station, while the two that have closed now were Park Parade and Oldham Road stations. The station has two platforms on an island between teh tracks. The ramp leads down to the subway that leads out towards Wellington Road.

The building visible in the background is Tameside Council's administrative office block, which was also seen in the background of the photo that appeared here two weeks ago.

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

Old Railway Line

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows this bridge that carries Cranbourne Road across an old railway line.

The railway line was the Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway which opened in 1861 with stations at Ashton, Oldham Road (where Monk's Garage is) and at Park Bridge, where a 12-arch viaduct carried the line high above the Medlock Valley.

Passenger trains ceased in 1959 but the railway carried freight until 1967, after which it was dismantled. In recent years the trackbed has been given a good surface and is now a cycle way and foot path from Ashton to Park Bridge. The path starts at Turner Lane, not far from the town centre, and is a good and easy route out into the countryside.

Few of the people who drive or walk across the bridge on Cranbourne Road realise that they are crossing such a smart 3-arch brick viaduct.

I showed you a view of this bridge from the other side in 2008.

See Bird's Eye View of this location.

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

Trans-Pennine Express

Today's photo shows the Trans-Pennine Express passing through Guide Bridge Station at the western boundary of Ashton. The train is heading for Manchester's Piccadilly Station. Being an express, the train doesn't actually stop here at Guide Bridge, but has to slow down where the line from Stalybridge joins the line from Glossop. (The junction can be seen in the distance if you look at the larger version of the photo.)

We saw a view of the station from the road bridge a couple of weeks ago.

See Bird's Eye View of this location.

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"Trans-Pennine Express" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Guide Bridge Station

"G" is for "Guide Bridge Station" and today's photo shows this railway station which is on the western boundary of Ashton.

The train in the photo is on its way from Glossop to Manchester Piccadilly. At one time the line continued through Woodhead Tunnel to Sheffield. The Trans-Pennine Express trains pass through the station without stopping, turning left a quarter of a mile on, towards Stalybridge.

This station was the first railway station to open in Ashton and was originally called Ashton and Hooley Hill. It took its later name from the adjacent bridge over the Ashton Canal (not over the River Tame, as suggested in Wikipedia). The canal runs behind the trees on the left of the photo.

The station is a shadow of its former self, with the remaining platform-side buildings sealed up. Only the trains on the Glossop line stop here now. The regular service between Stalybridge and Stockport has been replaced with a so-called "parliamentary" train, running one journey a week in one direction only, from Stockport to Stalybridge, stopping at the platform on the "wrong" side here at Guide Bridge after emerging from the Stockport line.

A footbridge between the platforms burnt down five years ago and has not been replaced, necessitating a long walk round from one platform to the other.

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See Birds Eye View of this location.
See Google Street View of this location.

"Guide Bridge Station" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "G" posts from around the world please follow this link.
Please leave a comment below.

Station House

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"S" is for "Station House" and today we see the former station building of Micklehurst railway station in Mossley, around four miles from the centre of Ashton.

The nearest railway line is half a mile away, on the other side of the valley, but there is a clue to the past in the name of the road - Station Road. This was the site of Micklehurst Station, one of four stations on the "Micklehurst Loop line", which ran more or less parallel to the earlier railway between Stalybridge and Diggle. The extra lines were needed to cope with the increasing volume of rail traffic.

The line opened in 1885. The station closed in 1907 but the line continued to be used for goods traffic until it was shut in 1966 (apart from the section between Stalybridge and Hartshead Power Station at Millbrook).

Today the former track behind the building has become a footpath, cycleway and bridleway running through Greenfield to Uppermill.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

See Google Street View of this location.

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

Sunday in Saddleworth: Saddleworth Viaduct

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We take another visit to Saddleworth today, after a period of unintentionally ignoring it!

This is the view looking along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal southwards from Brownhill Bridge, Dobcross. The canal enters Lime Kiln Lock, where it drops ten feet to the next level, which passes beneath the giant central skew arch of Saddleworth Viaduct. This carries the Manchester to Huddersfield Railway.

What you can't see is that immediately before the lock, the canal passes over an aqueduct across the River Tame. The building on the left is Brownhill Countryside Centre.

See Google Street View of this location.

Night Shelter

This night-time view shows the seats below the Victorian-style shelter on Wellington Road in the centre of Ashton. On the left, behind the red Royal Mail pillar box is the side of Ashton Town Hall.

The building on the right was originally the town's Fire Station but is now an estate agent and pub.

The line of lights in the distance are on the platform of Ashton's railway station.

On the opposite side of the road a solitary passenger waits for the bus home.

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


See Birds Eye View of this location.

Sunday Stroll: Delph Donkey

The Delph Donkey was the nickname of the branch railway that ran from Uppermill to Delph. The line was closed in 1963 and the track has since been made into a cycle track and walkway. It can be accessed from Uppermill or from Brownhill Visitor Centre around 7 miles from Ashton and, once the short climb to the track has been made, provides a level walk right through to the old Delph Station.

The walk is particularly suitable on a weekend like this, when there has been a lot of rain recently, as the track does not become as muddy as many field paths do. Yet there are views of the fields and hills between the trees that line the track.

Trains ran from Delph to Greenfield, then through Lees to Oldham. One of the stations on the line, not far from the location of the photograph, was called Measurements Halt, named after the factory it was built to serve.

Some have suggested that the line was so-named because the carriage was originally pulled by a horse. However, this was not the case, as this would not have been allowed because the track joins on to the busy main line.

The photo shows the bridge where Wall Hill Road crosses the track. This bridge was built on a skew, with interesting angled stonework forming the arch.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Saturday in Saddleworth - Diggle Hotel

The Diggle Hotel is off the main road through Diggle - up Sam Lane and across the railway. It is close to the original settlement of Diglea or Diggle Lee, which is older than Diggle itself and appeared on this blog in May.

The pub stands close to the entrance of the Standedge railway tunnels and the site of the former Diggle railway station.

The pub is also at the foot of Boat Lane, which was used by the boat horses on their way over the moors between Diggle and Marsden while the boat they normally towed was being legged through Standedge Canal Tunnel, the longest canal tunnel in Britain.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Sky Watch: Zebra Sky

This week's photo shows a zebra-effect cloud pattern over Mossley.

The view is looking south from the steep hillside above Mossley railway station. One of the station's platforms can be seen. The other is hidden behind the vegetation. Manchester Road is on the left of the picture and Stamford Road on the right.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It will link with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Ashton Moss North Junction

This is a view of Ashton Moss North Junction, seen from Richmond Street, on the western edge of Ashton. The photo is looking westwards, with the high-rise buildings in the centre of Manchester visible in the distance. The train is heading from Ashton towards Victoria Station in Manchester.

The signal box stands in the middle of the junction, with one of the tracks branching off to the left in front of the box and the other line passing behind it. The line to the left goes to Stockport and is used by freight trains.

To the right of the picture is a corner of Richmond Street Playing Fields. Ashton Cricket Club's ground is out of sight to the left.

"Ashton Moss North Junction" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.


See Birds Eye View of this location.

Saturday in Saddleworth - Delph Station

Delph Station was the terminus of the "Delph Donkey" branch that left the main Huddersfield to Manchester line between Moorfield Halt and Saddleworth Viaduct.

The station building, close to Delph Cross Roads, is still there and is now a private house. The platform is now seeing service as a patio! A new housing development now occupies the former goods yard and siding just beyond the station.

The "Delph Donkey" line had two stations at Dobcross and at Measurements, a halt added for workers travelling to and from the Hirst Brothers' Measurements factory, which made watches and clocks. Trains from Delph called at Greenfield on the main line and then continued on another branch through a tunnel to Grotton, Lees and Oldham Clegg Street.

The last passenger trains to Delph were in 1955 and the last goods trains in 1963. The track bed is now a walking and cycling route.

It is claimed that the line was so named because carriages were originally pulled by a donkey or horse but this is thought to be very unlikely and it may just have been a derogatory name for the little line.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Mossley on Monday: The Train Now Arriving...

The train now arriving at Mossley Station is the 13.55 to Mancheshter Victoria, calling at Stalybridge and Ashton under Lyne.

Anyone waiting at Ashton will be lucky to get a seat, though, as these two-carriage trains are often full by the time they get there.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Sky Watch: Down the Line

Today's glorious evening sky view is looking along the railway line from Ashton eastwards towards Stalybridge.

It is looking from the bridge where Cowhill Lane crosses the railway. The next bridge carries Romney Street. To the right of the bridge you can just make out the former Albion Sunday School.

On the far right of the picture is the Markazi Jamia Mosque in Newton Street, situated in a building that was formerly the old St Mary's School. The mosque will soon be moving to a new site in Hillgate Street so that Ashton's northern by-pass road can bludgeon its way through.

Sky Watch is the regular Friday feature on this photo blog. It will link with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.

Sunday Stroll: Diggle Locks

Ashton is a good starting point for walking along canal towpaths, which are more or less flat and pretty easy going. The first part of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, between Ashton and Stalybridge, is interesting enough but very industrial.

Eight miles along the canal, however, you are in another world as the locks of the Diggle flight climb up from Uppermill to Diggle, where the canal disappears into the 3.2 mile long Standedge Tunnel.

Alongside the canal, the railway also climbs towards its own tunnel, parallel with the canal tunnel.

When you are walking along a canal, it is always nice to see a boat to add colour and interest to the scene. But even more interesting also to see a steam train passing on the railway line in the background! I'm afraid the engine itself had passed by the time I got the camera ready, but this particular one was hauling twelve carriages, so I had time to capture them!

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Stalybridge Saturday: Railway Station

You would be forgiven if you didn't immediately recognise this location, as this is the brand new face of Stalybridge Station. This is the first in a series of weekly visits to Stalybridge, Ashton's next-door neighbour, just 2 miles to the east.

At a cost of £675,000 a new glass-fronted entrance has been built with seating area and departure information shown on hi-tech screens. This part of a £1.5 million scheme to improve the station which has included improved toilets and shelters.

On the down side, the number of car parking spaces on the immediate forecourt has been reduced from 13 to 6 plus 2 taxi spaces and two disabled spaces. Other spaces are available on the ramp alongside the station building and on a plot opposite, but more parking will need to be provided if more people are to use the station as a "park-and-ride" facility.

See Google Aerial View of this location before the modernisation.

Heading East

The 1607 departure from Ashton to Stalybridge moves out of what was once known as Charlestown Station for the 6 minute journey to Stalybridge, where it will terminate. Alternate trains from Manchester Victoria to Ashton and Stalybridge continue to Huddersfield, stopping at all stations en route.

The train has just passed under Henrietta Street. On the left, through the trees, Tameside Council's offices can be seen. In the distance beyond the bridge lies the blue bulk of IKEA.

This line is now used only by local trains. The Trans-Pennine Express trains bypass Ashton on the track that passes through the site of the former Park Parade Station on their way to Manchester Piccadilly.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Over The Top

This was the main A635 Manchester Road through Bottom Mossley last weekend. The road was closed off for 24 hours while a giant crane was set up to help put a replacement footbridge into position across the railway.

The railway lines runs behind the houses, which is why such a large crane, which was capable of lifting 80 tonnes, was needed.

The old and new bridges were not lifted over the houses, though. At around 3.00 am the old bridge was lifted down onto bogies on the railway track and moved along to the station yard 300 yards away, where a smaller crane lifted it off.

On Sunday afternoon the new bridge (which had arrived at the station yard by lorry) was lifted onto the bogies and moved along the track to the bridge site. The large crane in the photo then lifted it from the bogies, rotated it and placed it onto the bridge piers.

The railway line was closed to trains through much of the weekend, although some freight trains moved through very slowly late on Saturday night. The road closure caused disruption to cars and bus services. Some of the drivers of the rail replacement coaches seemed uncertain as to which way they should go to get to the next station at Stalybridge!

Hopefully the new bridge will last another 150 years!

See Google Aerial View of this location.