| Delph Donkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Delph Donkey was a line of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in northern England which opened in 1849 to connect Oldham, Greenfield and Delph to the main Huddersfield to Manchester line.
| Delph Donkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Delph Donkey was a line of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in northern England which opened in 1849 to connect Oldham, Greenfield and Delph to the main Huddersfield to Manchester line.
Both the Saddleworth villages of Delph and Greenfield are on the western slopes of the Pennine hills. The branch followed the main cross country line between Manchester and Huddersfield as far as Delph Junction set above the village of Uppermill. Just before the junction was Moorgate Halt. Although this was situated on the main line, it was only ever used by trains to Delph. The Delph branch then left the main line and veered sharply left past Ladcastle Quarry before reaching Dobcross halt. It then continued to Delph with one additional intermediate halt that served the 'Measurements' factory on Delph New Road where trains only called at the start and end of the working day. The line terminated at Delph where a private siding served Messrs Mallalieu's Bailey Mill. There was also a goods shed and coal staithes serving local business. Delph was the only station on the line beyond Moorgate with permanent structures; the station building still survives as a private residence (as does Grotton & Springhead station). Services ran to and from Oldham via Greenfield with connections to several other destinations, and summer specials ran usually to coastal resorts.
The line took its name from a claim that the original service on the railway was a carriage drawn by a donkey. However, Gordon Suggitt states in his book, Lost Railways of Merseyside & Greater Manchester, that it has never been proven that there was a donkey or horse-drawn service on the line. [1] Since trains on the branch worked onto the main Manchester to Huddersfield line, it is unlikely horse-drawn trains would have been permitted. [2]
Passenger trains ceased running on the Delph Donkey in April 1955, although a limited number of freight trains continued to use the line until November 1963. [3] The track was lifted in 1964 to turn the line between Oldham and Grotton into a cycle and walk way. The line between Moorgate and Delph became the Delph Donkey Trail footpath and bridleway, on which the halts at Dobcross and Measurements are now marked by replica station nameboards. The section of the railway between Greenfield and Grotton was either abandoned as waste land or converted into small footpaths. A section of the line that ran below Grasscroft through Friezland is now part of a large housing estate.
As of 2012 [update] , old pieces of track, that had not been moved since the closure almost 50 years before, remained outside Bailey Mill at the old Delph terminus.
In March 2020, a bid was made to the Restoring Your Railway fund to get funds for a feasibility study into reinstating the line between Oldham and Greenfield. The bid was unsuccessful. [4]
The tunnel running underneath Lydgate, connecting Grasscroft and Grotton, is still completely intact and maintained, but it is unused and completely inaccessible. It was felt, after lifting the track and deciding the future use of the new available land, that it would be too costly and dangerous to collapse or infill the tunnel, especially as there were more structures above the tunnel, such as housing, than there had been when the tunnel was built in the mid-19th century. Minor work was carried out in the 1980s, as part of a planned maintenance programme, which in-filled the centre air vent to avoid any subsidence.
In 2008, 44 years after the tunnel had been last used, a routine inspection revealed some areas of loose and hollow brickwork in the tunnel lining. Routine maintenance work to rectify that was carried out by BRB (Residuary) Limited, with substantial areas of the tunnel lining replaced with new brickwork, incorporating drainage pipes and other securing works. News of the inspection and remedial work led to concern by some local people that the tunnel was near to collapse, but BRB(R) stated that was never a risk, and the work was just on-going planned maintenance. [5]
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the west side of the Pennine hills.
Greenfield is a village in Saddleworth, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Oldham, and 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Manchester. It lies in a broad rural area at the southern edge of the South Pennines. To the east of the village Dovestone Reservoir, Chew Reservoir and Greenfield Reservoir lie in the Peak District National Park.
The Calder Valley line is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail routes between Leeds and Manchester, and the northernmost of the three main trans-Pennine routes.
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. Regional services are operated on the line by TransPennine Express and local services were operated by Northern, until May 2018, when local services were taken over by TransPennine Express as well.
Delph is a village in the Saddleworth civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies amongst the Pennines on the River Tame below the village of Denshaw, 4.0 miles (6.4 km) east-northeast of Oldham, and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north-northwest of Uppermill.
Greenfield railway station in the village of Greenfield, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Huddersfield Line 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Manchester Victoria. It is the final station in Greater Manchester before the West Yorkshire boundary.
Whit Friday, meaning "white Friday", is the name given to the first Friday after Pentecost or Whitsun.
Grotton is an residential area in Saddleworth, a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Located along the A669 road, it forms a continuous urban area with Austerlands and Springhead, which in turn link to Lees and Oldham, all of which are to Grotton's west.
Oldham Clegg Street railway station was the Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Guide Bridge Junction Railway station that served the town of Oldham in northwest England, it had three associated goods stations.
Oldham Glodwick Road railway station was one of five stations that served the town of Oldham. It was close to Oldham Mumps railway station, but was on a different line.
Grasscroft railway station served the village of Grasscroft between 1912 and 1955.
Moorgate Halt railway station was opened on 1 January 1912 on the London and North Western Railway route from Stalybridge to Huddersfield. The station was only ever served by trains from Oldham to Delph via Greenfield. The station closed on 2 May 1955 when this service, known locally as the Delph Donkey, was withdrawn. The location of Moorgate Halt is now marked by a foot crossing over the railway at Uppermill, although no trace of the station remains. Nearby can be seen the foundations of Delph Junction signal box, where trains used to receive the token giving them authorisation to enter the single line section to Delph.
Dobcross railway station served the village of Dobcross between 1912 and 1955.
Measurements Halt railway station was opened on 18 July 1932 as part of the former London and North Western Railway route from Oldham to Delph. The station closed on 2 May 1955, when the Delph Donkey passenger train service to Delph via Greenfield was withdrawn. It served Measurements Factory and only one train in each direction called at the station per day.
Delph railway station served the village of Delph, Oldham, in what is now Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, between 1851 and 1955.
Saddleworth is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It lies between the town of Oldham and the Pennine hills, and it is largely rural, with agricultural land and moorland. It also includes suburban areas to the east of Oldham. The principal settlements are Austerlands, Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, Grasscroft, Greenfield, Grotton, Lydgate, Springhead, and Uppermill. The parish contains 385 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, five are listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade.
Saddleworth is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It lies between the town of Oldham and the Pennine hills, and it is largely rural, with agricultural land and moorland. It also includes suburban areas to the east of Oldham. The principal settlements are Austerlands, Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, Grasscroft, Greenfield, Grotton, Lydgate, Springhead, and Uppermill. The parish contains 385 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, five are listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade.
Saddleworth is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It lies between the town of Oldham and the Pennine hills, and it is largely rural, with agricultural land and moorland. It also includes suburban areas to the east of Oldham. The principal settlements are Austerlands, Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, Grasscroft, Greenfield, Grotton, Lydgate, Springhead, and Uppermill. The parish contains 385 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, five are listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade.