Manchester Central Station (GMEX)

Ojay/Bigjobs...

Manchester  Central Station was opened by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) railway company on 1st July 1880

The CLC was a partnership of three railway companies that had come together in the 1860's, consisting of the Great Northern  Railway (GNR), the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) and the Midland Railway (MR)

The MSLR shared a terminus station with the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) at Manchester London Road

The MSLR allowed the MR and the GNR to use their part of the station, but by the 1870's this  situation was becoming a problem as London Road was increasingly congested

Choosing its resident engineer Lewis Henry Moorsom, the CLC decided to build the permanent  Manchester Central station, and work on the building commenced in 1875

Areas  of notorious slum dwellings, which inspired the writings of Frederick Engels, had occupied the land on which the station was built

The City fathers were pleased to see the area cleared, although it is doubtful that any thought have been given to the individuals who lived there

Robert Neill & Sons, at a  cost of £124,778, undertook the construction work

When the station opened it consisted of a magnificent arched single-span roof,  constructed by Andrew Handyside & Co

The dimensions of the arch at Manchester Central were 210 feet wide, 550 feet long and 90 feet high at the  highest point

The frame itself weighed 2,400 tons and was covered using a  combination of slate and glass

Underneath the roof, there were six platform faces, four of which were situated on two island platforms served by nine tracks

The lines exited the station via some very heavily engineered bridges and viaducts that carried the line down to Cornbrook where the Liverpool, Heaton  Mersey and Chester lines separated 

                    

For the public the main entrance to the station was at the Windmill Street end

A large clock face was provided on the inside and on the outside of the station

The last trains ran out of the station on Saturday 3rd May 1969.

(Here two DMUs waiting to depart, with closure looming, only local services to Chester and Liverpool remained).

Following its closure the station was sold to the NCP Car Parking empire in 1972

It slowly decayed, acting not only as a symbol of the decline of Britain's railways but also of the country's Northern industrial towns

It was purchased  by the Greater Manchester Council in 1978

Thankfully, as Manchester began to resurrect itself from its decline in the early 1980's, the City officials focussed their attention on the  station

In 1983 it was given Grade II Listed status, then work began on converting it to an exhibition hall

On 7th March 1986 it re-opened to the public as the GMEX exhibition hall

The station had an extensive undercroft, 

which was a former goods storage and trans-shipment area

(A couple of older pics from previous visits)

The rooftop also provides a unique view of the City from above

Myself & Bigjobs

It's a bit noisy to say the least this one, inside there appeared to be a number of people looking for us, on the way out I decided we go wave and say hello, naturally Jobs obliged :D

"You've been up there haven't you?"

Bigjobs:

"No mate.. You can't get up there anyway can you" ;)