Oldham Mumps is a

tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, ...

on the

Oldham and Rochdale Line 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 ...

(ORL) of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

's light-rail Metrolink system in the Mumps area of Oldham which opened in 2014. A temporary stop of the same name opened to passengers on 13 June 2012 as part of Phase 3a of the system's expansion. Phase 3b resulted in the stop's decommissioning in 2014, and its replacement with the permanent stop at the opposite end of Mumps on a realigned track. The temporary stop was on the site of the original

Oldham Mumps railway station Oldham Mumps was a railway station, opened in 1847, which served the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The station was a primary station located on the Oldham Loop Line northeast of Manchester Victoria. At the time of closure, it ...

, a heavy rail station which opened (initially for haulage) on 1 November 1847 and closed on 3 October 2009 for conversion to Metrolink. It was along the

Oldham Loop Line The Oldham Loop Line was a local railway route 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. The l ...

, which operated from Manchester to Rochdale via Oldham and thus was almost identical to the current Metrolink route.

History

Mainline rail station

Oldham Mumps railway station opened on 1 November 1847 to serve the town of

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

. The station was a primary station located on the

north east of

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was co ...

operated and managed by

Northern Rail Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated th ...

. The name of the station is taken from its situation within the Mumps area of Oldham, which itself probably derived from the archaic word "mumper", slang for a

beggar Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public plac ...

. The station was reached across the dual-carriageway Oldham bypass, a difficult walk from the town centre. A pedestrian underpass led to the island platform, where there was a ticket office. The station closed due to the conversion of the line to Metrolink on 3 October 2009 and, by May 2010, had been completely demolished. The station canopy has been saved. It was bought by the

East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, , Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with ...

after a successful public fund-raising campaign. It is hoped that the canopy will be installed at .

Temporary tram stop

In June 2010, the

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive was the Passenger transport executive, public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SELNEC PTE ...

(GMPTE) announced that as part of the conversion of the former Oldham loop, it would submit a planning application for a temporary Metrolink terminus at Oldham Mumps, close to the site of the former railway station. Services to the temporary terminus commenced on Wednesday 13 June 2012 The temporary Metrolink stop was reached by crossing Oldham Way or could be accessed by the free

Metroshuttle free bus is a zero-fare bus system that operates in Greater Manchester. The system was first introduced in Manchester city centre in 2002, with three routes linking the city's major thoroughfares and stations with its main commercial, financia ...

service, which linked the station with the town centre and

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

. The 'temporary' Oldham Mumps Metrolink Station closed on 18 January 2014.

Permanent tram stop

The permanent Metrolink station opened on 27 January 2014 on the site of the former B&Q store and is also a bus interchange.

Service pattern

*12 minute service to with double trams in the peak *12 minute service to with double trams in the peak *6 minute service to with double trams in the peak

References

Bibliography

External links

Metrolink stop informationOldham Mumps area map
{{Greater Manchester Metrolink stations History of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Tram stops in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1847 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 2009 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2012 Tram stops on the East Didsbury to Rochdale line 1847 establishments in England