North England Mayfield Station, Manchester. Legal Urbex!!!

mickledore said:
Just found some strike timetables. Looks like Northern Rail are not running to Manchester from over here at all. East Midland Trains are unaffected and are running from Lime Street. I can get there on the reduced Merseyrail timetable, I'll just have to have two cups of coffee while waiting. £8.85 return seems too good to pass up.
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No worries, I'll drive in, it shouldn't be too busy early on. Just need to find a safe local car park.
 
@ChrisH knows a good, cheap car park near the station. Hopefully he will be able to give directions.

My train gets in to Piccalilli at 9.43.
 
Put the following into Google maps then change it to a satellite image

53°28'44.5"N 2°13'53.8"W

The carpark is tucked down the back of the station and has about 100 spaces, if I remember correctly it costs about £4 for the day on Saturday. Theres a few interesting places around the station to look at too.

That map image will also show Mayfield station on the other side of Picaddily station.
 
ChrisH said:
Put the following into Google maps then change it to a satellite image

53°28'44.5"N 2°13'53.8"W

The carpark is tucked down the back of the station and has about 100 spaces, if I remember correctly it costs about £4 for the day on Saturday. Theres a few interesting places around the station to look at too.

That map image will also show Mayfield station on the other side of Picaddily station.
Click to expand...

Brill, thanks!
 
Damn at ion
@ChrisH @viewfromthenorth

Saturday is cancelled. Bad weather. Yeah yeah yeah. Thought it was mainly indoors.

Iv'e wasted money on a train ticket.

Chris...as I've bought a ticket do you still want to meet up?
 
Well the guy is offering a tour of some architecturally super hotel by Oxford Road station as an alternative. Might as well go on that then over to the transport museum as we discussed. I'll be at Oxford Road about 9.40. Tour starts at 10.30. Looks pretty good from his website.
Can only go home on the 4PM train so we've plenty of time to kill.

You OK with that? Andy can come too if he still fancies driving in.

Will rebook the station.
 
I'm not overly keen on the idea of driving in, especially in the present inclement weather in my rear wheel drive car, so I'll skip this one but thanks for the offer.

Just seen the email from Mr Schofield, I'm wondering how we transfer onto another without paying again? I'm guessing that we just reply to him with our date and time of choice and he just adds our name to the list. Have you guys thought about which of the dates you will re-book for?
 
I've just mailed him telling him that I'll go on the hotel trip. When he comes back I'll ask about re-booking. Do you still fancy a meet and if so which date? Either next Sat or the Saturday after that at 10.30 would be my choice, but they are not on his website.
 
He's not replied to me yet.
If all else fails I should see him on Saturday.
I'll book that one as well.
 
@ChrisH
Possible problem on the horizon.
All trains from Liverpool to Norwich today have been cancelled.
Guess which train I'm on tomorrow morning?
 
Right guys. Got a mail from the organiser.
I've been switched to the March 10 tour at 10.30.
With the train problems I think I'll scratch tomorrow. Even if I get in there's no guarantee that I'll get back and with the continuining strikes in liverpool I might struggle to get out of the city.
You rebooking chris?
 
@ChrisH
Trains are now saying that they will run as normal tomorrow. Do you still want to meet at Oxford Road for the replacement tour round the old Refuge Assurance building?

I'm booked on the morning trip next week, but have to catch the 1 o'clock train home, so the museum might be out. Could still do that tomorrow if you wish. Let me know before I go to bed tonight!
 
@mickledore

yes I'll meet you at the station at 9:40, it's a bit of a hike to the Museum but it should be worth it.


ps Asked the station guy to move my booking to the 10th too.
 
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Train is scheduled to leave Liverpool at 8.52. I'll know by 9AM how the land lies. I'll text you with progress.
 
Well that was a different sort of day!
Andy @viewfromthenorth today's trip was OK. I don' think we were ever going to go round the station. There were 40 people on this tour and most had booked before we were told about our trip. Seems the guy made a booboo and fixed up two trips at the same time on the same day:eek:
He certainly knows his stuff and puts it over well but his organisation and administration is shambolic. The weather was just an excuse as there was no problem underfoot anywhere in Manchester.

Anyway he didn't charge us so we got a freebie.

On to next week. @ChrisH please take 100 lines...
We are meeting near Piccadilly Station. NOT Oxford Road or Victoria or Deansgate.

Onwards and upwards:)
 
mickledore said:
Well that was a different sort of day!
Andy @viewfromthenorth today's trip was OK. I don' think we were ever going to go round the station. There were 40 people on this tour and most had booked before we were told about our trip. Seems the guy made a booboo and fixed up two trips at the same time on the same day:eek:
He certainly knows his stuff and puts it over well but his organisation and administration is shambolic. The weather was just an excuse as there was no problem underfoot anywhere in Manchester.

Anyway he didn't charge us so we got a freebie.

On to next week. @ChrisH please take 100 lines...
We are meeting near Piccadilly Station. NOT Oxford Road or Victoria or Deansgate.

Onwards and upwards:)
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Well he’s still not replied to the email I sent him on Thursday asking how to change to the 10th. I re-emailed him again earlier today but I guess he’s been out all day, will try again tomorrow.
 
He replied to me and simply said that telling him that I would be there was sufficient. Presumably the same goes for you.
He didn't seem to do any proper roll call so I'd just turn up.
As I said, his organisation leaves a lot to be desired:confused:
 
mickledore said:
He replied to me and simply said that telling him that I would be there was sufficient. Presumably the same goes for you.
He didn't seem to do any proper roll call so I'd just turn up.
As I said, his organisation leaves a lot to be desired:confused:
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He's not responded to three emails now, to both his email addresses. I'm tempted to just turn up, as per your suggestion.
 
Well in your shoes I would just turn up. As I said he seems somewhat disorganised.
However. ...we did find out how we could get into the station anytime we fancied.
That's not info for an open forum! !!!


This is the text of the mail he sent me...

Frank,
You don't have to rebook. Simply by letting me know you've been places on the March 10 tour.
Thanks,
Jonathan
 
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mickledore said:
Well in your shoes I would just turn up. As I said he seems somewhat disorganised.
However. ...we did find out how we could get into the station anytime we fancied.
That's not info for an open forum! !!!


This is the text of the mail he sent me...

Frank,
You don't have to rebook. Simply by letting me know you've been places on the March 10 tour.
Thanks,
Jonathan
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I’ve given up hope of a reply and will just turn up. And wander in for a revisit on my own if required, I often have my urbex camouflage (hard hat and high vis) in my car.....
 
Yes, a Hi Viz jacket is one of the best forms of camouflage available. If we don't get in on Saturday we will resort to Plan B. That will need Hi Viz then we can just walk straight in!!!
 
Some more info on Mayfield station from our friends at Branch Line Society

467] More on Mayfield: (BLN 1299.368) This was a 100% London & North Western Railway owned station as was London Road; the Great Central just had a permanent tenancy of one side. Piccadilly's present P13 & 14 were a separate Manchester, South Junction & Altrincham Railway station. Parcels, post office, mail order and newspaper traffic continued after Mayfield CP 12 Sep 1960, the winter 1963/64 working timetable showed departures at:
●12.10 MX Stockport ●06.25 Wilmslow ●06.45 Buxton ●11.27 Stafford* ●14.00 SX Crewe ●18.30 SO Crewe ●19.00 SX Birmingham ●21.00 SX Crewe ●21.59 SX Stafford ●22.10 SX Sheffield ●22.27 SX Euston ●23.32 SO Durham** ●23.57 SO Stockport *DPU - Diesel Parcels Unit **Newspaper train
It is not clear how long this continued for, there are reports of the station being disconnected and later reconnected to the main line for ROG 6 Jul 1970 as the station and undercroft was converted into a secure Royal Mail / BR Parcels Concentration Depot. This included a new fully covered ramp down the south (P4) side of the station for electric vehicles hauling parcels trolleys and a simpler mainline connection. A mechanical sorting device (a carousel) was installed and a covered overhead conveyer bridge over all the tracks to link with the Royal Mail sorting office on the opposite side of Piccadilly. Various pictures have confirmed that it was AC electrified (but when?) to the end of the platform canopies - where the masts had 'Electric Trains Stop Here' or 'No Access to Electric Trains' signs. A former employee there advises that inward electrically-hauled parcels trains ran in to Piccadilly and the vehicles were shunted over to Mayfield by the Class 08 stabled there. Some departures were AC loco hauled directly out from the London end - locos didn't reach the buffer stops but a DPU might. Your BLN Editor remembers Class 82s there; the mandatory 1976 working timetable departures: ●00.53 MX Redhill E ●02.04 MX Wavertree PCD DPU ●04.00 MX Crewe† E ●04.25 MX Bolton DPU ●06.00 Buxton DMU ●09.23 Buxton DMU ●18.40 SO Crewe E ●20.26 SX Bricklayers Arms E ●20.34 SX Crewe E ●21.06 SX Bradford D ●21.24 SX Nottingham D ●21.11 SX Chester DPU ●23.08 SX Doncaster D ●21.49 SX Curzon Street E ●22.47 SX Euston E ●23.23 SX Luton FSX and ……………. Cricklewood FO
†03.50 ex-Manchester Piccadilly
E = Electric hauled; PCD - Parcels Concentration Depot; DPU = Diesel parcels Unit/s; D = Diesel hauled. Fewer arrivals were shown than this as most ran to Piccadilly and were shunted across to Mayfield.
In the 1999 ITV futuristic drama 'The Last Train' (on 'YouTube') a St Pancras to Sheffield express enters (Bradway?) Tunnel as an Asteroid hits Earth and is entombed by the resulting earthquake. [Think of the Delay Repay!] If that wasn't bad enough a canister of Cryogenetic Gas - insert your own joke here - punctures and 50 years later the survivors awake at a derelict 'Sheffield' Station. This part was filmed at Mayfield with platforms, stairs and roof in place, a few modern signs were added for authenticity.

 
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