Ancoats railway station

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Ancoats Station was a goods station in Manchester built by the Midland Railway to handle freight. It was on land bought from the Mosley family, whose Ancoats Hall was also used by the railway for business. The Midland Railway had been in Manchester since 1861 and initially worked with the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway at London Road.

Manchester’s traffic was growing, and the city council initially opposed a new station in Ancoats, a busy industrial area. The Midland got permission to build a large goods yard on about 70 acres in 1865 after offering £5,000 to compensate the city for streets that would be used by the development. The site was bounded by Adair Street, Great Ancoats Street, Helmet Street, and St Andrew’s Square.

Construction began around 1868, and Ancoats Station opened on 2 May 1870. It was linked to the rail network by a track from Ashburys that crossed a viaduct on Great Ancoats Street. The station had three entrances (Great Ancoats Street, Watson Street, and near St Andrew’s Church) and plenty of storage space, sheds, and yards. There were at least three platforms.

Goods were moved across the tracks using traversers, and wagons were moved on the tracks with hydraulic capstans rather than horses. The yard had eight two-ton cranes and 36 one-ton cranes (20 of which could also be used manually). The hydraulic system was powered by a 40-horsepower engine at 700 psi. There were weighing machines capable of handling carts up to 20 tons, and space was left for future expansion. The total construction cost, including connecting lines and bridges, was about £486,000.

When the station opened, the Midland ceased goods traffic at Ardwick. The yard included a bonded warehouse, and a rifle range for employees was opened in 1909. A remodel around 1937 increased wagon movements, reaching about 200 wagons in and out daily. By that time the Midland Railway had merged into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), which operated the station. Ancoats Station closed on 17 July 1972. The site is now the Piccadilly Trading Estate.