A History of Glossop, Manchester & The Woodhead Railway Line
The Glossop branch was built by the 13th Duke of Norfolk when the historic Manchester to Sheffield line bypassed the town in 1845. The Duke gave his land and paid all the expenses for the one mile extension from Dinting Vale to Glossop. The initial station was complete with a private waiting room with a fire place and a small room for the station master, porters and other staff. Glossop station was initially for the sole use of the Duke of Norfolk when he resided during the summer months at his manor house, Glossop Hall.
Glossop
Central opened for goods traffic on 9th June passenger traffic began
on 30th June 1845.
Glossop station provided a direct link to the outside world,
as there was only one stage coach that ventured out of the town a week to
Manchester and Sheffield before the railway was built. The Duke welcomed new
shipments of coal, slate & wood. He saw the potential for growth and
commissioned a goods depot and yard adjacent to Glossop Central in 1847. The
goods yard was complete with the Lord Howards Lion, which still stands to this
day, a reminder the Duke freely gave his land and money.
The railway was responsible for the rapid growth of the
town, throughout the late 1800s. Over 50 mills scattered the valley dependant
on a variety of shipments such as cotton from America and timber from
Scandinavia. The Duke of Norfolk sold
the line and gained double profit to what would become the Great Central Railway.
The station was renamed on 10th July 1922 as Glossop Central.
Glossop Central expanded the passenger section of the
station opening a booking office in 1847 and a waiting room for the 1st
and 2nd Classes. The station also had refurbishments in 1912
when the iron stanchions were put up that still exist today. As the town began
to thrive a second passenger platform was built.
The railway transported local troops during the two world
wars which proved to be a great asset as some of the Glossop men were in the
first wave of the Dunkirk landings. They also brought evacuees from Lowestoft
to safety in Glossop
During the early 1940’s Glossop, along with the rest of the
Manchester and Sheffield via Woodhead line, were making preparations for
electrification but was halted due to the 2nd World War. The line was the first all-electric line in
Britain with the first electric train arriving in 1954. The station was
refurbished to meet the needs of the new trains but resulted in the closer of
the waiting rooms.
In the 1980s
the goods yard was closed then in 1982 the second
platform closed.
In 2002 Friends of Glossop Station (FOGS) were set up and
set upon saving and preserving the historic station. They were responsible for
new improvements including new skylights reopening and renovation of the
waiting rooms and a new booking office in 2011.
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