Smithy Bridge Station in Greater Manchester formally celebrated its 40th birthday at a special event on Thursday 18 September.
Situated on the Calder Valley Line between Rochdale and West Yorkshire, Smithy Bridge Station was opened in 1868 and closed, before the Beeching Report, in May 1960. Thanks to an imaginative partnership between Greater Manchester Council, British Rail and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, the station reopened on 19 August 1985 as a ‘temporary experimental’ station. The ‘experiment’ worked, and the station has long been a permanent feature in the area.
The anniversary event was held at Smithy Bridge Methodist Church with the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Janet Emsley and her Consort, Mr Ken Emsley as guests of honour. Rail industry and transport authority staff were represented, as well as Paul Waugh, MP for Rochdale, and members of the local community and Rochdale Council.
The event was made possible by generous financial support from Transport for Greater Manchester’s Small Grants Fund and Rochdale Council’s Pennine Townships’ Fund.
As part of the celebrations, the volunteer group also published a special commemorative leaflet along with ‘Smithy Bridge 40’ fridge magnets, manufactured in Rochdale by DPS Sign and Screenprint.
Richard Lysons, chair of the Friends of Littleborough Stations (the group that has adopted both Smithy Bridge and Littleborough stations), said: “Smithy Bridge Station has been an unqualified success over the past four decades, taking thousands of car journeys off our borough’s crowded roads. More importantly, for residents without access to private transport, the station is a lifeline to access Rochdale, the cities of Bradford, Leeds, Manchester and Salford and other towns and communities along the line, whether for work, education, medical appointments, shopping, meeting relatives and friends or days out and holidays.
“Having two trains per hour from the station for six days a week is a wonderful facility. This 20-minute rail journey into Manchester city centre cannot be matched for speed and convenience by any other form of transport. Equally important is the fact that Smithy Bridge Station is adjacent to the Rochdale Canal and only a short walk to Hollingworth Lake and its stunning countryside scenery.”
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from station adoption groups along the Calder Valley Line via the Calder Valley Line CRP website.
Header image courtesy of Paul Waugh MP.