Manchester Victoria then and now

[pokemonsuper9]

At the time I think it was only served by an hourly Clitheroe, half-hourly services on the Oldham loop (hourly in each direction), the Huddersfield stopper and the Leeds via Hebden Bridge. Possible I've missed something though.

Nothing from Atherton or Eccles?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ah ok, interesting - thanks. I swear it seemed a bit old and run down but maybe it was the quietness of the station which gave that impression. At the time I think it was only served by an hourly Clitheroe, half-hourly services on the Oldham loop (hourly in each direction), the Huddersfield stopper and the Leeds via Hebden Bridge. Possible I've missed something though.

Southport peak extras, Kirkbys, Athertons and the Chat Moss local services too.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Those who struggled with the Victoria subway would not have been able to cope with the one at Leeds prior to the last rebuild. Now that really was oppressive!

I still have PTSD from the smell of the gents toilets in the Leeds subway.

is what it looked like around 1997 - classic concourse (much more spacious without the Arena bridge and gateline) and the platforms themselves were quite modern-looking (and still clean back then) bare concrete.

The big difference was when they extended the Arena entrance further over, it makes it feel so claustrophobic.

Plus that McDonald’s upstairs was always a nice place to wait as it was never particularly full.

At the time I think it was only served by an hourly Clitheroe, half-hourly services on the Oldham loop (hourly in each direction), the Huddersfield stopper and the Leeds via Hebden Bridge

The Oldham loop was 4tph, 2tph Shaw short and 2tph all the way round (except in leaf season). Plus Atherton, Kirby, and the Chat Moss stopper.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Plus that McDonald’s upstairs was always a nice place to wait as it was never particularly full.

Yes, I never saw it busy at all (Although might've been busy when there was a concert about)
Haven't been up there for years now.

 

[deltic]

I used to bunk off school to go spotting at Victoria in the late 1970s - for such a large station it was very quiet with very few services. The monotony was broken by the occasional freight that would need to be banked and the even rarer deltic on a transpennine service.

 

[nw1]

Southport peak extras, Kirkbys, Athertons and the Chat Moss local services too.

Ah ok, thanks. I thought that many of these went from Piccadilly but looks I'd misremembered.

 

[Revaulx]

I can just about remember it before Exchange closed. The entire complex was absolutely vast, with activity concentrated in disparate pockets: the electrified Bury platforms and the through bits being the busiest. The two west facing bays at Exchange saw very little traffic, though I suppose they would have done before the LNW Bolton and Wigan lines closed.

 

[Bevan Price]

I believe that parts of Manchester Victoria were damaged during WW2, and never fully repaired, which is why some areas looked a bit shabby and neglected before the rebuild. Unfortunately the rebuild made it worse - dark and gloomy under the arena - and the number of through platforms & through lines were reduced.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

You can probably also blame the IRA for some of the damage to Victoria Station, as that was never repaired until the recent redevelopment and the new roof was fitted

The Ariana Grande concert bombing saw off the arena mcdonalds, until then it was a popular spot for train crew on meal breaks...

 

[pokemonsuper9]

concert bombing saw off the arena mcdonalds, until then it was a popular spot for train crew on meal breaks...

I certainly used it multiple times as a young child (likely also when waiting for the train) until the bombing, it was always so incredibly quiet. I do also wonder how many people even knew the McDonalds was even there, since the other Manchester ones are much busier.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I certainly used it multiple times as a young child (likely also when waiting for the train) until the bombing, it was always so incredibly quiet. I do also wonder how many people even knew the McDonalds was even there, since the other Manchester ones are much busier.

I remember it being there but never used it because it didn't (if I recall) have a sit in area. The way the doors from the station footbridge were laid out and the signage that was on them I recall also acting as a dissuader for going in there at all.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I certainly used it multiple times as a young child (likely also when waiting for the train) until the bombing, it was always so incredibly quiet. I do also wonder how many people even knew the McDonalds was even there, since the other Manchester ones are much busier.

Didn't the J D Williams mail order company have a large call centre in the building next door to the Mc Donald's one?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I remember it being there but never used it because it didn't (if I recall) have a sit in area.

I remember it having seats in the outside-but-still-inside bit (Could be wrong, long time ago)

The way the doors from the station footbridge were laid out and the signage that was on them I recall also acting as a dissuader for going in there at all.

I remember using a lift.

Didn't the J D Williams mail order company have a large call centre in the building next door to the Mc Donald's one?

No clue, a child would not care about a call centre when there's a McDonalds

 

[Senex]

I believe that parts of Manchester Victoria were damaged during WW2, and never fully repaired, which is why some areas looked a bit shabby and neglected before the rebuild. Unfortunately the rebuild made it worse - dark and gloomy under the arena - and the number of through platforms & through lines were reduced.

That's my memory of the Victoria/Exchange complex too. I wonder what it might have been like if a proper rebuild/restoration job had been done to deal with the wartime damage instead of leaving it all (like most of the railway north of Manchester) to decay gently.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

That's my memory of the Victoria/Exchange complex too. I wonder what it might have been like if a proper rebuild/restoration job had been done to deal with the wartime damage instead of leaving it all (like most of the railway north of Manchester) to decay gently.

At least Manchester Victoria railway station survived, unlike the fate that befell Liverpool Exchange railway station.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

When did the (infamous) underpass/subway at Manchester Victoria, mentioned upthread, actually go?

 

[SteveM70]

Didn't the J D Williams mail order company have a large call centre in the building next door to the Mc Donald's one?

Its in the Arena complex, but I thought it was in a basement. Might be wrong

 

[Scouseinmanc]

When did the (infamous) underpass/subway at Manchester Victoria, mentioned upthread, actually go?

During the ‘95 rebuild. Replaced with the bridge & pretty much filled in during the last upgrade

 

[Tetchytyke]

The way the doors from the station footbridge were laid out and the signage that was on them I recall also acting as a dissuader for going in there at all

It wasn’t the most obvious of locations for it, and the doors off the railway bridge were not designed to be used as an exit from the station- especially after ticket checks were stepped up on the concourse. It was easy enough from the concourse and to get from the McDonald’s into the station footbridge. Was often a diversion for me heading for late night Oldham and Halifax trains after a beer or three.

I do remember it having limited seating. As it was usually so quiet limited seating was plenty, but I tended to take out and eat on the train.

 

[Efini92]

Yes, I never saw it busy at all (Although might've been busy when there was a concert about)
Haven't been up there for years now.

You mustn’t have gone on the weekends when the Jehovah’s had their conferences.

You can probably also blame the IRA for some of the damage to Victoria Station, as that was never repaired until the recent redevelopment and the new roof was fitted

The Ariana Grande concert bombing saw off the arena mcdonalds, until then it was a popular spot for train crew on meal breaks...

McDonald’s shut before the bombing.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Is that Pacer section still entombed in the underground depths beneath Manchester Victoria railway station?

Its in the Arena complex, but I thought it was in a basement. Might be wrong

I have just been informed that the J D Williams call centre was at the same top level as the McDonalds. It seems that skateboarders were constantly a problem in that particular area and patrol staff regularly moved them on from there.

 

[Efini92]

Is that Pacer section still entombed in the underground depths beneath Manchester Victoria railway station?

No it went years ago, I think the pacer preservation society have it.

 

[Trackman]

No it went years ago, I think the pacer preservation society have it.

Think it ended up at Blackpool TMD, don’t think you can see it from a train.

 

[D6130]

Think it ended up at Blackpool TMD, don’t think you can see it from a train.

Was this one cab from 142 059, the unit involved in the Liverpool Lime Street drive-in messroom incident in the early 1990s?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Over the entrance to Starbucks, in that iconic period lettering. there is the phrase 1st class signifying an entrance to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway establishment. Has anyone any pictorial images of what establishment would have looked like in its heyday?

 

[Trackman]

Was this one cab from 142 059, the unit involved in the Liverpool Lime Street drive-in messroom incident in the early 1990s?

Yep. Dont know if its moved since.

https://twitter.com/RailbusMemories/status/1438996248313442305?s=20

The remains of railbus 142059 have found a new home, after spending the last few years with the Poulton and Wyre Railway Society. The fibreglass driving cab front has been seen outside the carriage sidings at Blackpool North on the 17th September 2021.

 

[yorksrob]

The new version, the Arena opened well before that. Quite possibly its heyday in terms of "feel" - the concrete bit felt very modern and the concourse didn't have all the clutter of the Arena bridge and the gateline with all the advertising above it (removing that would be a massive quick win, it's oppressive).

It's since had the roof replaced, of course, but to me that never made *that* much difference, and the new roof is a cheap and nasty blow up plastic thing that to me looks rubbish.

This:

Concourse, Manchester Victoria Station Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: Concourse, Manchester Victoria Station - D9NAJD from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

www.alamy.com

is what it looked like around 1997 - classic concourse (much more spacious without the Arena bridge and gateline) and the platforms themselves were quite modern-looking (and still clean back then) bare concrete.

Indeed. If they'd maintained the train shed properly, it wouldn't have needed replacement

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Indeed. If they'd maintained the train shed properly, it wouldn't have needed replacement

Was it the IRA bomb explosion outside the Marks and Spencer department store on Corporation Street that caused much damage to the adjacent Arndale Centre that had also caused much detrimental damage to the nearby Manchester Victoria railway station?

 

[yorksrob]

Was it the IRA bomb explosion outside the Marks and Spencer department store on Corporation Street that caused much damage to the adjacent Arndale Centre that had also caused much detrimental damage to the nearby Manchester Victoria railway station?

I don't know, but the bit over the tram platforms looked a lot more dilapidated than the rest of it.

During the ‘95 rebuild. Replaced with the bridge & pretty much filled in during the last upgrade

That's a shame. Always wanted to see down there one day !

In terms of infamy, it can't have been worse then the current fume filled footbridge !

 

[D6130]

Was it the IRA bomb explosion outside the Marks and Spencer department store on Corporation Street that caused much damage to the adjacent Arndale Centre that had also caused much detrimental damage to the nearby Manchester Victoria railway station?

I don't think so....I think it was just general neglect and dilapidation, with a bit of collateral damage from the Luftwaffe....who mainly hit the roof over the through platforms. However, others more familiar with the station's history may be able to give more detailed information. IIRC, the originally-glazed end screens of the roof sections covering the West end terminus platforms had been disfigured with the ugly corrugated-asbestos sections which were also installed at Bradford Exchange after World War 2. The degradation of both station's roofs may also have been in a large part due to the soot blast from from generations of steam locomotives over more than a hundred years.