Delph railway station

The station was opened on 1 September 1851[1] as the terminus of the London and North Western Railway branch from Greenfield.

The station closed on 2 May 1955,[1] when the Delph Donkey passenger train service from Oldham to Delph via Greenfield was withdrawn. The station building (complete with platform) still survives as a private residence, now much hemmed in by later development.

For a period after closure, the station yard became home to a small, privately owned collection of railway rolling stock, including two steam locomotives. The locomotives were a Hunslet 0-6-0ST Darfield No.1, built in 1953, and a Hunslet 0-6-0ST Brookes No. 1, built in 1941. Other stock consisted of a British Railways Mark 1 bogie coach, an oil tank wagon and a goods brake van. Both locomotives have gone on to enjoy useful lives on preserved lines, but the coach and wagons were cut up on site.

One of the major features of the station was the Bailey Mill, located adjacent to the station building. The mill had been derelict since ceasing production in 1996. Evidence of the railway line still existed in front of the mill. The mill was gutted by fire in 2016 and was subsequently demolished.[2] A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of arson.[3]

• An Illustrated History of Oldham's Railways by John Hooper (ISBN 1-871608-19-8)
• steam '76, the official Association of Railway Preservation Societies Year Book & Steam Guide 1976

• Delph Station on navigable O.S. map

Delph Donkey
Delph Measurements Halt Dobcross Huddersfield line to Huddersfield Moorgate Halt Greenfield Grasscroft Huddersfield line to Stalybridge Lydgate tunnel Grotton and Springhead Lees Oldham Loop Line to Rochdale Oldham Glodwick Road Oldham Mumps L&YR Oldham Mumps LNWR Metrolink to Manchester Victoria Oldham Central Oldham Clegg Street LNWR Goods Depot GC Goods Depot Oldham Werneth Oldham, Ashton & Guide Bdge to Ashton-under-Lyne Oldham Loop Line to Manchester Victoria Scottfield GC Goods Depot