Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in

Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...

, England. One of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it has been converted into an exhibition and conference centre, originally known as G-MEX, but now named Manchester Central. The structure is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. On 27 March 2020, the UK government announced that the building would be converted into an emergency hospital, intended to deal with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and with 1,000 beds.

History

The station was built between 1875 and 1880 by the

Cheshire Lines Committee The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire an ...

(CLC), and was officially opened on 1 July 1880. The architect was Sir John Fowler and the engineers were Richard Johnson, Andrew Johnston and

Charles Sacré Charles Reboul Sacré (4 September 1831 – 3 August 1889) was an English engineer, Engineer and Superintendent of the Locomotive and Stores Department of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Samuel Waite Johnson was his assi ...

for the three companies which formed the CLC. While it was being built, a temporary facility, Manchester Free Trade Hall Station (after the

Free Trade Hall The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. T ...

a landmark building nearby) was in use from 9 September 1877. It had two wooden platforms serving four tracks. When the station opened, the temporary station became Manchester Central Goods. In 1963, the building was Grade II* listed for its special architectural or historic interest.

Construction details

The station's roof is a single span

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

structure long with a span of , and was high at its apex above the railtracks. Glass covered the middle section, timber (inside) and slate (outside) covered the outer quarters. The end screens were glazed with timber boarding surrounding the outer edges. It was constructed by Andrew Handyside and Co. The substructure and masonry partition were provided by Robert Neill and Sons of Manchester. Underneath the train shed is a large brick

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

with intersecting tunnel vaults, above which were six platforms above street level which exited the station onto viaducts and bridges. The undercroft was used for storage and connected to the adjacent goods sidings by a carriage lift. The station's two-storey south wall has 15 bays separated by brick

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. At ground-floor level the bays have three round-headed windows and at first-floor level three square-headed. In the 20th century a glazed canopy was erected at the entrance at north end. Manchester Central railway station 2098689 7fd83365

Manchester Central railway station 2098689 7fd83365

A temporary wooden building, erected at the front of the station to house ticket offices and waiting rooms was planned to be replaced by a grander edifice, for example a hotel and railway offices as at

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...

, but remained in use until the station closed. The Midland Hotel was built by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

in 1898–1903 on an adjacent site.

Railway usage

The

(MR), one of the CLC's partners, used Manchester Central as its terminus for services including express trains to

. Beginning in 1938, the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

(successor to the MR) ran two prestige expresses, '' The Peaks and the Palatine'', stopping en route at

Chinley Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historicall ...

Millers Dale Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet of the same name. It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being preserved a ...

, Matlock,

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. Between 1960 and 15 April 1966, during the

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

of the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

, Central Station was the terminus for the '' Midland Pullman'', a streamlined blue six-coach diesel multiple unit. This stopped at

Cheadle Heath Cheadle Heath is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, west of the town centre and southeast of Manchester. Cheadle Heath railway station, on the site now occupied by Morrisons supermarket, closed in 1967. It is home to Chea ...

(now closed), before running fast to St Pancras. Services through Millers Dale finished in July 1968, when the line was closed as a through route. The station provided local services to Chester and Liverpool, but closed to passengers on 5 May 1969, when the remaining services were switched to

Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Oxford Road railway station is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the second busiest of the four stations in Manchest ...

and

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

stations.

Accidents and incidents

*On 8 June 1939, a passenger train departed against a danger signal and was in collision with another passenger train. Several people were injured. *In October 1965, detectives who had arrested

Ian Brady The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

for the murder of 17-year-old Edward Evans in

Hattersley Hattersley is an area of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England; it is located west of Glossop and east of Manchester city centre, at the eastern terminus of the M67. Historically part of Tintwistle Rural District in Cheshire until 1974, it i ...

discovered evidence in a left luggage locker at the station. This evidence connected them to the disappearances of two missing children, who were soon discovered to have been murdered by Brady and his accomplice

Myra Hindley The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

in the widely reported

Moors murders The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

, in which at least five children and teenagers were murdered.

Post-railway era

Dereliction and redevelopment

Manchester Central station 1980 - geograph

Over a decade, Central Station fell into a dilapidated state, was damaged by fire and was used as a

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

. The property was acquired by

Greater Manchester Council The Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilities for roads, public transport, planning, emergency services ...

and, in 1982, work began on converting it into an exhibition centre, which opened in 1986 as the Greater Manchester Exhibition and Conference Centre or G-Mex. It was subsequently renamed Manchester Central, in honour of its railway history. The undercroft was converted into a car park, serving the centre and

Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build in the 1990s, and hosts over 250 performances a year. It is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as to the Hallé ...

Light rail

The opening, in 1992, of the Metrolink light rail system has seen the conversion of suburban heavy rail lines such as the former

Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester. The MSJ&AR line operat ...

to Altrincham and the disused

route via

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

. With the introduction of Metrolink, rail services from south Manchester ran once more to Central Station. However, instead of trains running into the Central Station arch, light rail vehicles now cross the railway viaduct and stop at

Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop Deansgate-Castlefield is a tram stop on Greater Manchester's Metrolink light rail system, on Deansgate in the Castlefield area of Manchester city centre. It opened on 27 April 1992 as G-Mex tram stop, taking its name from the adjacent G-Mex Cen ...

. They then run down a ramp which runs parallel to Lower Mosley Street, alongside the south-eastern side of the former train shed, before reaching street level where they operate as trams and head towards St Peter's Square.

Gallery

Image:Manchester Central Station 1.jpg, Derelict station in 1981 Image:Manchester Central Station 2.jpg, Derelict platforms Image:Manchester Central Station 3.jpg, Platform detail Image:Manchester Central Station 4.jpg, Inside the derelict station Image:Manchester Central Station 5.jpg, Looking towards the platforms Image:Manchester Central Station 6.jpg, GMEX Centre in 2007 File:Manchester central 1894.jpg, 1894 map showing the location of Central Station

References

External links

*
A Guide to Civil Engineering in Manchester

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester Central Railway Station Repurposed railway stations in Europe Disused railway stations in Manchester Grade II* listed buildings in Manchester Grade II* listed railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1880 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1969 Former Cheshire Lines Committee stations