Manchester South Junction And Altrincham Railway (msj&ar) 1849 - 1991 Route

Discussion in 'Route Suggestions & Proposals' started by classx#9142, Feb 2, 2023.

  1. classx#9142

    classx#9142 New Member

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    The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an 8-mile (14 km) route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester. The MSJ&AR line operated with three different systems of electrification within a period of about 60 years. The fast, frequent service resulting from the introduction of the first generation of electric trains in 1931 was a significant contributor to suburban development in the Stretford, Sale and Altrincham districts, south-west of Manchester. The southern part of the MSJ&AR's route has been part of the Manchester Metrolink light rail system since 1992. The northern section between Manchester Piccadilly and Deansgate stations is now an intensively-used section of the National Rail network, used by trains running north and west of Manchester.

    - Route:
    1.Manchester London RoadManchester Oxford RoadManchester Central
    2.(CLC)
    3.Knott Mill and Deansgate
    4.Castlefield Junction
    5.London and North Western Railway
    6.Cornbrook Junction
    7.Old Trafford
    8.Throstle Nest Junctions
    9.Cheshire Lines Committee via Chorlton
    10.Stretford
    11.Cheshire Lines Committee
    12.to Trafford Park & Warrington Central
    13.Dane RoadSaleBrooklandsTimperley
    14.Timperley Junction
    15.Cheshire Lines Committee
    16.to Glazebrook │ to Stockport
    17.Deansgate Junction
    18.London and North Western Railway
    19.to Warrington Arpley
    20.Navigation RoadAltrinchamAltrincham and Bowdon
    21.Altrincham Depot
    22.BowdonHale
    23.Cheshire Lines Committee
    24.to Northwich & Chester

    - Rolling Stocks:
    1). BR Class 505 (1500 V EMU) - 1,500 V DC electric multiple units (EMUs) introduced in 1931. Although assigned to TOPS Class 505 by British Railways, these units were withdrawn before the TOPS numbering system came into common use for multiple units, and the Class 505 designation is very rarely used.
    Twenty-two 3-car EMUs and two spare power cars were built for the new electric service, which started on 11 May 1931. It was common with the earlier generation electric trains for the power cars to require much more engineering workshop time than the trailers, and several systems had additional power cars built. These trains were based at Bowdon depot and ran exclusively between Manchester and Altrincham for forty years. In 1939, eight additional trailers were added, both new build and secondhand conversions, inserted into eight of the 3-car sets, and these allowed 7-car trains to be run on many peak hour services. The Altrincham electrics had substantial power installed and were well able to handle the extra car. As with other Manchester area suburban electric services, demand reduced notably from the 1950s onwards, and the 7-car trains were eliminated.

    2). BR Class 304 (AM4) - was an interurban electric multiple unit (EMU) train. Its design, which was principally devised to fulfil various requirements laid out by the British Transport Commission, was produced by a team headed by Chief Electrical Engineer S. B. Warder and Chief Mechanical Engineer I. F. Harrison. On Monday 3 May 1971, a 15-minute interval service was introduced from Altrincham, running through Manchester Piccadilly to Alderley Edge and Crewe. The unique 40-year-old, three-car Altrincham Electrics were replaced by 12-year-old, four-car Class 304 25 kV AC EMUs, based at Longsight depot. Three of the 1931 stock centre trailer cars were preserved and two are now undergoing restoration at the Midland Railway - Butterley in Derbyshire. However none of the motor coaches was preserved.
     

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    Last edited: Feb 2, 2023
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