LNR Longport stops

[ashworth]

The reality is that the local council seem quite happy to just let the city rot. It is littered with derelict and crumbling pottery factories which in any other decent city would have been converted or demolished years ago. If, instead of crying about the decline of the pottery industry, the local councils had been proactive about it, they could have made the city attractive to businesses and tourists alike. Unfortunately it's gone too far now and I'm not sure it will ever recover.

A couple of years ago I took a relative to visit the Moorcroft Pottery Factory Shop. Driving around the area trying to find it, and getting back to the A50 afterwards, I was quite shocked at what seemed like miles and miles of complete dereliction. I don’t think I’ve been around any urban area in the country with surge huge derelict areas. It literally did look like a bomb site.

The surrounding area, in most directions, has some lovely countryside and much of this part of Staffordshire and over into Cheshire are very desirable areas to live. There seems to be an enormous amount of new house building happening in these rural areas especially going out towards Uttoxeter and an unbelievable amount of large expensive houses are being built within a few miles of Crewe. What a waste of lovely, irreplaceable countryside, when all this derelict land could be cleared and developed. Perhaps it has now gone too far, and it’s such a mammoth task to bring these areas back to somewhere desirable, or even acceptable to live, and these brownfield sites will never be reclaimed and redeveloped.

 

[The_Train]

A couple of years ago I took a relative to visit the Moorcroft Pottery Factory Shop. Driving around the area trying to find it, and getting back to the A50 afterwards, I was quite shocked at what seemed like miles and miles of complete dereliction. I don’t think I’ve been around any urban area in the country with surge huge derelict areas. It literally did look like a bomb site.

The surrounding area, in most directions, has some lovely countryside and much of this part of Staffordshire and over into Cheshire are very desirable areas to live. There seems to be an enormous amount of new house building happening in these rural areas especially going out towards Uttoxeter and an unbelievable amount of large expensive houses are being built within a few miles of Crewe. What a waste of lovely, irreplaceable countryside, when all this derelict land could be cleared and developed. Perhaps it has now gone too far, and it’s such a mammoth task to bring these areas back to somewhere desirable, or even acceptable to live, and these brownfield sites will never be reclaimed and redeveloped.

You're spot on. It's much better for a developer to purchase a plot of land in nice surroundings to build a new estate than have their nice new estate surrounded by derelict buildings. Unfortunately that comes at the price of the lovely Staffordshire/Cheshire countryside. Ironically these people which buy these nice new houses are probably the first to complain about projects like HS2 ripping up the countryside but that's another discussion haha.

As an example of how far gone things are in Stoke there is still a plot of land next to the A500 ring road which remains unused which was where Stoke City's Victoria Ground once stood. This was knocked down in 1997

Edit: apologies I've stepped away from the original discussion regarding Longport but my point is basically that Stoke has bigger problems than whether trains stop at Longport or not

 

[Deafdoggie]

The area around Longport must be one of the most run down areas of the city, there is a lack of jobs, and therefore money. Car ownership is low, a decent train service would help people to get jobs further afield and lift the area possibly. Newcastle Under Lyme is more affluent, and converting the old goods yard to a car park would provide easier access to a train service for them

 

[LowLevel]

Stoke railway wise is a bizarre city (that said it's not exactly standard in any respect). There's a huge amount of extant infrastructure, yards etc in various stages of dereliction and disuse and the odd few in use in a comparatively small area that you don't generally see around - comparable cities either have it totally removed and redeveloped or overgrown and abandoned.

 

[Mugby]

I travelled by bus from Newcastle to the city centre (Hanley) recently, passing over the bridge where Etruria station used to be.

Given all the retail and leisure development which has sprung up in that area in recent years, it made me wonder if a station at Etruria would be more viable now than it was when it was closed?

 

[Deafdoggie]

I travelled by bus from Newcastle to the city centre (Hanley) recently, passing over the bridge where Etruria station used to be.

Given all the retail and leisure development which has sprung up in that area in recent years, it made me wonder if a station at Etruria would be more viable now than it was when it was closed?

Etruia was never a good location. It was tucked down beneath street level, not even a pull-in on a three lane dual carriageway. The path from there to Festival Park involves a subway to cross the road, in which the less desirables of the city meet. ANd even if you did work on Festival Park, or visit the cinema/shops/bowling/etc then the changes are the trains at Etruia don't go where you want to. The bus wins really.

 

[SoccerHQ]

Only station which actually is ideally located in the Stoke area is Longton. Shame that's a complete dump aswell!

 

[onlinespotting]

I just assumed they did, I live in stoke and always seem to see or hear a LNWR/LM train announces via Longport when I use the train. I assumed there was one each day that had been extended whilst the poppies are in Middleport. They do (or used to) stop at Longport as extras though whenever Crewe - Derby trains are cancelled or is by rail replacement bus

 

[vlad]

They do (or used to) stop at Longport as extras though whenever Crewe - Derby trains are cancelled or is by rail replacement bus

I never saw LM stopping at Longport when the EMT train was cancelled (a surprisingly frequent occurrence) - the choice was always wait an hour or make your own way to Stoke. LNR may be more willing to stop.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I never saw LM stopping at Longport when the EMT train was cancelled (a surprisingly frequent occurrence) - the choice was always wait an hour or make your own way to Stoke. LNR may be more willing to stop.

Longport passengers are always left stranded. Very occasionally, in planned works, they arrange stops. But it’s the exception rather than normal.