Godley East railway station

Godley East
The station's remains in 1989.
General information
Location	Godley, Tameside England
Grid reference	SJ968946
Platforms	4
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway (1st station) Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (2nd station)
Pre-grouping	Great Central Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
17 November 1841 (1841-11-17)	Godley Toll Bar opened
11 December 1842	Closed
1 February 1866	Godley Junction opened
6 May 1974	Renamed Godley
7 July 1986	Renamed Godley East
27 May 1995 (1995-05-27)	Closed

Godley East was a railway station on the Woodhead Line; it served the Godley area of Hyde, in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England.

Early history

Early 1900s junction diagram, showing the layout at Godley with the then extant stations

On 17 November 1841, Godley was the temporary terminus of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway's (SAuLMR) Woodhead Line from Manchester Store Street. ^[1] The station was located close to the Hyde and Mottram Road and was sometimes referred to as Godley Toll Bar. ^[2] It closed on 11 December 1842 when the line was extended to Broadbottom. ^[1] A permanent station was opened after the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) opened the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway as far as Broadheath on 1 February 1866 and the SAuLMR, by now renamed the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), opened a line from Woodley to Godley via Apethorne Junction. ^{[2] [3]}

The station, which was named Godley Junction, ^{[1] [4]} had four platform faces: two on the Manchester line and two on the CLC route. ^[2] The CLC platforms were only ever used lightly.^{[ citation needed ]} The station and sidings were controlled by a single mechanical signal box which was located at the east end of the 'up' (Hadfield) platform.^{[ citation needed ]}

The connection to Woodley gave the MS&LR access to the Port of Liverpool without the need to go via Manchester. ^[2] This resulted in Godley becoming the point where freight traffic from as far away as Merseyside met with traffic going to and fro over the Pennines. ^[2] Exchange sidings were laid on both the MS&LR and the CLC sides of the station; those on the CLC side were known as Brookfold Sidings. ^[2] Brookfold Sidings had their own turntable and signal box. ^[2] A CLC traffic office was based at Godley and, during the Second World War, the London and North Eastern Railway had an operational headquarters at the rear of the up main line platform which controlled operations as far east as Wath and Doncaster. ^[2]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Newton for Hyde Line and station open		Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Woodhead Line		Broadbottom Line and station open
Woodley Line closed, station open		Cheshire Lines Committee via Apethorne Junction

Electrification

The electrification of the Woodhead line in 1954 gave Godley a strategic importance, as it was the point where steam and then diesel workings over the former CLC system met with electric services via Woodhead. ^[2] A traction change-over siding was installed and loops on each side of the line ran from Godley Junction to a point 700 yards (640 m) to the east. ^[2] These loops were controlled by their own signal box known as Godley East. ^[2]

On 1 April 1969, the turntable was taken out of use. ^[5] The station was renamed from Godley Junction to Godley on 6 May 1974. ^[6]

By the late 1970s, traffic had declined on the Woodhead line and the sidings at Godley had become overgrown. ^[7] Nearby, Manchester City Council erected high-rise housing estates which were served by a newly opened station at Hattersley. ^[7] On 20 July 1981, the connection to Woodley closed along with the Woodhead line between Hadfield and Penistone. ^[8] Track lifting followed in 1985–6. ^[9]

Closure

On 7 July 1986, a new station called Godley was opened on the site of the original Godley Toll Bar station, ^[10] and the original station was renamed Godley East. ^[1] Thereafter, a parliamentary train ran to Godley East on Saturdays only: the 12:38 Hadfield to Manchester Piccadilly train. ^[11] The station formally closed on 27 May 1995. ^[12]

The site today

The main platforms remain intact, although largely overgrown. Those on the Hadfield line are fenced off and the remains of the other platforms are visible from the shared-use path which now runs along the former trackbed from Apethorne Junction. The derelict footbridge was removed during the late 2000s.

The turntable pit is still in existence and remains in remarkably good condition and free of debris. ^[13]

References

1. Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 188. ISBN   978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC   612226077.
2. Johnson, E.M. (1998) [1996]. Woodhead: Part One. Scenes from the Past. Stockport: Foxline Publishing. p. 81. No. 29.
3. Holt, Geoffrey O. (1986) [1978]. The North West. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Vol. 10. Newton Abbot: David St John Thomas. p. 130. ISBN   0-946537-34-8.
4. Griffiths, R.P. (1978). The Cheshire Lines Railway. The Oakwood Press. p. 52. ISBN   978-0-85361-085-4.
5. Johnson 1998 , p. 82
6. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine . 120 (879). London: IPC Transport Press Ltd: 363. ISSN   0033-8923.
7. Johnson 1998 , p. 83
8. Hurst, Geoffrey (1991). Register of Closed Railways 1948–1991. Milepost Publications. p.  73. ISBN   0-947796-18-5.
9. "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
10. Bevan, Alan, ed. (1998). A—Z of Rail Reopenings. Railway Development Society. Warwick: Warwick Printing Company. p. 43. ISBN   0-901283-13-4.
11. Gay, Stephen (1999). Woodhead: The Lost Railway. Sheffield: The Hallamshire Press. p. 46.
12. "List of dates from 1 January 1985 to 20 January 2006 of last passenger trains at closed BR (or Network Rail stations since privatisation)" (PDF). Department for Transport Website: Freedom of Information Act responses, February 2006. Department for Transport. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
13. "Godley Junction turntable pit" England, Gerald, Geograph.org; Retrieved 15 November 2016

53°26′55″N2°02′58″W / 53.4486°N 2.0495°W / 53.4486; -2.0495