The station sits adjacent to the site of the original Shaw and Crompton railway station, a regional rail station which opened (initially for haulage) on 2 November 1863 and closed on 3 October 2009 for conversion to Metrolink. Known as Shaw railway station between 1974 and 1989, it was along the Oldham Loop Line, which operated from Manchester to Rochdale via Oldham and thus was almost identical to the current Metrolink route.
Former signal box, demolished during conversion to light rail
The railway line between Oldham Mumps and Rochdale was first proposed in 1845, but not authorised until 1859.[3] The line was opened to freight trains on 12 August 1863, and for passengers on 2 November.[4] One of the four new stations opened that day was Shaw, 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0km) from Oldham Mumps.[4][5] The new line from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale East Junction created a Middleton Junction to Rochdale route. In 1880 a line was built from Oldham Werneth to Thorpes Bridge Junction near Newton Heath. Subsequently, the whole Thorpes Bridge Junction to Rochdale East Junction route became known as the Oldham Loop Line. The pattern of train services on the Oldham Loop Line involved a greater number of trains serving the Oldham stations, and less services continuing on to Rochdale. In the 1960s and 1970s fewer and fewer trains ran from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale, and in May 1972 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that this part of the Oldham Loop including Shaw and Crompton Station would be closed. The closure did not go ahead because SELNEC PTE (which became Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) in 1974) agreed to fund the continuation of services. The involvement of the GMPTE led to a more frequent pattern of trains serving the Oldham Mumps to Rochdale section.[6]
Intended originally to serve local cotton mills,[7] the station later became used by commuters. It was renamed three times: originally named Shaw, it became Shaw and Crompton on 1 December 1897;[5] Shaw on 6 May 1974;[5][8] and finally Shaw and Crompton on 15 May 1989.[5][6]
The station had a signal cabin (which supervised the southern end of the single track section to Rochdale, along with the turnback siding used by terminating trains from Manchester) and one of the United Kingdom's sixteen hundred road level crossings. The box was closed and demolished during the conversion work, whilst the crossing is now protected by traffic lights.
After being initially shelved, plans to turn the line into part of Greater Manchester's Metrolink network were accepted by the government on 6 July 2006.[9]
The station closed on 3 October 2009, was converted to light rail and re-opened on 16 December 2012.[1][2] The new station was built on the opposite side of Beal Lane,[10] removing the need for terminating trams to cross the road.[11] Services were extended from Shaw northbound to Rochdale via Milnrow on 28 February 2013.[12][13]
A park and ride facility with 93 car parking spaces is located at the station.[14]
Manchester Metrolink is a tram/light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along 64 miles (103 km) of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kingdom. Over the 2022/23 financial year 36 million passenger journeys were made on the system.
The Oldham Loop Line was a suburban-line in Greater Manchester, England, used by trains that ran from Manchester Victoria to Rochdale via Oldham Mumps. Services on the line at the time of its closure were operated by Northern Rail.
Oldham Werneth railway station was situated on the Oldham Loop Line, 6+1⁄4 miles (10 km) northeast of Manchester Victoria. The station was situated on Featherstall Road South, in the Werneth area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Opened on 31 March 1842 it was the oldest of the six railway stations that at one time existed in Oldham.
Oldham Mumps is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system in the Mumps area of Oldham which opened in 2014.
Milnrow is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 28 February 2013 and is located in Milnrow, a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, England.
Newhey is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 28 February 2013 and is located in Newhey, a suburban village the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, England.
Hollinwood tram stop is a tram stop and park & ride site on the Manchester Metrolink Oldham and Rochdale Line in Hollinwood, Greater Manchester, England. It was formerly a railway station before its conversion to a tram stop between 2009 and 2012.
Failsworth tram stop is a Manchester Metrolink tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line serving the town of Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England. It was formerly a railway station before its conversion to Metrolink in 2012.
Central Park is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 13 June 2012 as part of Phase 3a of Metrolink's expansion, and is located in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, England.
Firswood is a tram stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) and Airport Line of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. Located in the Firswood area of Stretford, it was built as part of Phase 3a of the network's expansion, and opened on 7 July 2011.
West Didsbury is a tram stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 23 May 2013, in West Didsbury, South Manchester, England.
East Didsbury is a tram stop on Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system and the terminus of the system's South Manchester Line (SML). It is on the east side of Kingsway in East Didsbury, close to Manchester's boundary with Heaton Mersey in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. It was built as part of Phase 3b of the network's expansion and opened on 23 May 2013.
Withington is a tram stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. It is located on the west side of Princess Road on the fringe of Withington in south Manchester, England.
Burton Road is a stop on the South Manchester Line of Greater Manchester's light rail Metrolink system. It is located on Burton Road, on the border of the suburbs of Withington and West Didsbury in Manchester, England.
The history of Manchester Metrolink begins with its conception as Greater Manchester's light rail system in 1982 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, and spans its inauguration in 1992 and the successive phases of expansion.
Oldham Mumps was a railway station, opened in 1847, which served the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the Oldham Loop Line 7+1⁄2 miles (12 km) northeast of Manchester Victoria. At the time of closure, it was operated and managed by Northern Rail.
This timeline of Manchester Metrolink lists significant events in the history of Greater Manchester's light rail network.
The South Manchester Line (SML) is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester running from Manchester city centre to Didsbury. The line was opened as far as St. Werburgh's Road in 2011 and then to East Didsbury in 2013 as part of phase three of the system's expansion, and runs entirely along a former railway trackbed.
The Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester running from Manchester city centre to Rochdale town centre via Oldham, using most of the trackbed of the former Oldham Loop Line which closed in 2009. The line was re-opened in a modified form as a tramway between 2012 and 2014, as part of phase three of the system's expansion.
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