A good while ago now, we lived in Chorlton-cum-Hardy (just connected to Metrolink and how handy would THAT have been when we lived there - 4 minutes walk from our old front door). In the local library was a book entitled 'The Manchester Plan' which was published immediately after the war to deal with the proposed restoration of the bomb-damaged city. It was certainly a gran scheme, with tree-lined boulevards every where. An especially grand example of these was to lead North from Albert Square (submerging the present day Brazennose Street) until it crossed the river Irwell.
Here, there was to be a huge new station called Trinity, which was supposed to replace Manchester Central, Manchester Exchange and Salford Central (and absorbing a few Victoria services as well). The artists impressions show a large multi-platform through station under a low overall roof but with an impressive building facing the aforesaid wide boulevard. Now, that I would like to have seen. Sadly, as it was a reference book, you couldn't take it out of the building to study it in depth and one day it just wasn't there. Presumably someone either saw it on the day it went on sale and snapped it up, or just nicked it, or it's gathering dust in some council archive. Pity, because it was a fascinating document apart from the transport angle.
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Regarding Picc-Vic, I was told (by a senior member of another PTE) that it took so long to get the detailed plans into central government that Liverpool (with the Loop/Link city centre tunnels) and Tyne and Wear (with the Metro) overtook Manchester in the queue for funding. All it took was another credit squeeze/financial crisis (not unknown in the 1970s) for there to be no money left over for Picc-Vic, which many people felt to be over specified anyway.
By the way, can anyone confirm or deny the urban myth (certainly being talked about when I moved here) that the Arndale Centre was built with a full size Picc-Vic 'station tunnel' underneath it, on the assumption that teh line would be built?