Withington and West Didsbury railway station (previously named Withington railway station and Withington & Albert Park railway station) is a former station in

West 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 ...

, in the southern suburbs 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The station was located on Lapwing Lane, close to the junction with Palatine Road and opposite Withington Town Hall. Nothing now remains of the old station buildings, which have been demolished. West Didsbury is now served by

West Didsbury tram stop West Didsbury is a tram stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system. It opened to passengers on 23 May 2013, in West Didsbury, South Manchester, England. The Metrolink stop sits some 300m south ...

which is approximately further down the line from the original railway station.

History

In 1873, the

Manchester South District Railway 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 two ...

obtained permission to construct a new railway line from Manchester to Alderley. The company fell into financial difficulty and was eventually bought out 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 1877, who went on to build the line. Construction began in 1878 and the line opened to passenger service on 1 January 1880, running from the new

Manchester Central Station Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester city centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it has been converted into an exhibition and conference centre, originally know ...

through south Manchester suburbs to . The station at West Didsbury opened on 1 January 1880 and was originally named ''Withington'', even though it was located around south of

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...

village. There was uncertainty concerning the station name; four years later in 1884, the Midland Railway decided to rename the station ''Withington and Albert Park'', possibly in an effort to associate it with the fashionable Albert Park housing development and to attract more passengers. In 1915 the station was renamed once again, to ''Withington & West Didsbury'', reflecting its geographical location. The line ran south through West Didsbury via a

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

, passing underneath Palatine Road. Withington & West Didsbury Station was situated on the north side of Lapwing Lane, set back from the road with a small forecourt area. The station building was a red brick

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

house, almost identical in style to other nearby stations of the period such as . The building incorporated a booking hall, a parcels office, and ladies' and gentlemen's waiting rooms as well as a two-storey station master's house. There were two platforms in the cutting with glass canopies and a footbridge. Withington Town Hall, which stood opposite the station, was built for Withington

Local Board Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

around 1880–90. From 1923, the MR was absorbed into the LMS, and after 1948 the line became part of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

Closure

Site of Withington and West Didsbury Station 17 51 18 306000

After the station's initial popularity, passenger use from Withington & West Didsbury declined after 1900, possibly brought about by competition from

Manchester Corporation Tramways Between 1901 and 1949 Manchester Corporation Tramways (known as Manchester Corporation Transport Department from 1929 onwards) was the municipal operator of electric tram services in Manchester, England. At its peak in 1928, the organisation ca ...

, which opened a tram line along Palatine Road to West Didsbury in 1900. When the former

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

line from became the principal route for London express trains, the South District Line lost its importance. In the

postwar period In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

, the South District Service declined in frequency, and in 1961 British Rail decided to close the station due to low footfall. The last passenger train departed Withington & West Didsbury station on 2 July 1961. Passenger express and freight trains continued to run through West Didsbury until the line was fully closed in 1969. The station building was demolished around 1969. Nothing remains today of the old Midland Railway station building, and the site today is occupied by a block of flats.

Line re-opening

The former South District Line lay derelict for several decades. In 1984,

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 the

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive was the public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SELNEC PTE Until 1969, the conurbati ...

announced the ''Project Light Rail'' scheme to develop a new light rail/

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

system by re-opening use of disused railway lines in the region, including the route through West Didsbury. The first phase of the

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Kin ...

system opened in 1992, but it was not until 2013 that the network was expanded to reach West Didsbury. Tram tracks were laid along the former

trackbed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast a ...

, but as West Didsbury station had been demolished over 40 years earlier, it was decided to locate the new

approximately further down the line from the original railway station, on the other side of Palatine Road. File:West-didsbury-station2.jpg, The derelict site of the station photographed in 2008 File:Withington & West Didsbury railway station (site), Greater Manchester (geograph 3815626).jpg, The site of the station on the new Metrolink line File:West Didsbury tram stop 09 51 18 392000.jpeg, West Didsbury Metrolink stop, on the opposite side of Palatine Road File:Didsbury transport map.png, Map of railways past and present in Didsbury

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* * {{Closed stations Greater Manchester Didsbury Former Midland Railway stations Manchester South District Line Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1880 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961