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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

'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 I ...

. 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 identified ...

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 ...

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 inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

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 assembla ...

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 A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

separated by brick

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

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, 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 ama ...

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 London St Pancras. 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 ...

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

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 ...

, 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 gain ...

and Leicester. 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 histo ...

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 The ''Midland Pullman'' was the name given to a former express passenger train service operating on British Railways' old Midland Main Line between and via and Millers Dale. The train completed the journey in 3 hours 15 minutes. This servi ...

'', 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 Che ...

(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 and Manchester Piccadilly 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 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 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.

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 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. 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 Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Both ...

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