Manchester Victoria's £9 million makeover

[dunks]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1108225_victorias_9m_makeover

I assume this is taking the place of the proposed £300 million office/retail revamp promised 2 years ago & probably now curtailed by the current economic situation. Still, if it means a more "faithful" restoration of the original trainsheds & concourse then thats good news. Never liked the sound of the boomerang roof in the bigger proposal anyway..

 

[Benn88]

I can't make out from that article if they are going to actually sort the roof out, or rip it down and put a new one up... I hope it's restoration.

 

[dunks]

I can't make out from that article if they are going to actually sort the roof out, or rip it down and put a new one up... I hope it's restoration.

I hope its reglazing. Its by far the most realistic option with a £9 million rebuild.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

Why has it taken 13 years to sort out the damage from the IRA bomb? Pathetic if you ask me. It proves that Piccadilly will always get the lion's share of the money in Manchester.

 

[daccer]

Considering Network Rail have 35bn to spend over the next five years and Edinburgh Waverley has just had 100m plus promised for a new roof i cant help feeling that manchester is getting the poor mans promise again.

Victoria could be a gem. if it was a London station it would have had the cash pumped in or promised long ago. if not now when will the station ever get the renovations needed. This station handles 5m plus passengers per year. 9m seems a measly amount to be spent. Corby station cost what 15 milion plus. East Midlands Parkway probably 25 million plus. To scrimp on what is a major Northern terminus and also a blighted architechtural gem seems miserly in the extreme when money seems to be available for much less worthy projects.

To me this is where Lord Adonis needs to find himself a northern based advisor to highlight these kinds of disparities between priorities in London and the North. The fact that there is to be a partial revamp only of Victoria should be a matter for debate. There is a consensus that capacity and quality in manchester is lacking and yet Victoria lays mouldering and Mayfield hasnt seen a train in decades. I repeat that if these two stations were in London they would be being revamped as we speak in readiness for increased services. This is an issue that stretches far and wide and it seems to highlight the inability of politicians in the North of england especially to mobilise and get things done. Adonis is a rail supporter - he should be looking at Victoria as a chance to right a wrong.

 

[The Snap]

Victoria is a bit of a dump, particularly platforms 1 and 2, and the main concourse and roof. With a lick of paint throughout, new roof and cleaned up platforms, which look the part (as they did with Piccadilly), Victoria will be great again. The old relics of the 1960s and before still remain in the station in vast numbers, so simply polishing the station up and make it look presentable will be great - the contrast between new, modern station platforms (like at Piccadilly) and technology, and the old-fashioned original features will be excellent.

Of course, it doesn't help that the MEN was dumped on top of it in the 1990s, which (from pictures I've seen as I'm not old enough to remember it before ) really spoils what once seemed to be a buzzing, vibrant interchange.

 

[dunks]

Victoria is a bit of a dump, particularly platforms 1 and 2, and the main concourse and roof. With a lick of paint throughout, new roof and cleaned up platforms, which look the part (as they did with Piccadilly), Victoria will be great again. The old relics of the 1960s and before still remain in the station in vast numbers, so simply polishing the station up and make it look presentable will be great - the contrast between new, modern station platforms (like at Piccadilly) and technology, and the old-fashioned original features will be excellent.

Of course, it doesn't help that the MEN was dumped on top of it in the 1990s, which (from pictures I've seen as I'm not old enough to remember it before ) really spoils what once seemed to be a buzzing, vibrant interchange.

http://neilharvey4789.fotopic.net/c853426.html

Heres a link to pics of Victoria's through platforms before the MEN Arena, which shows the remenents of the Victorian train shed dating back to 1844. It was still in need of repair itself after WW2 bomb damage, but it still had more character than the Arena that replaced it. Even £9 million spent making the existing station look at the very least presentable would be better than nothing. But like someone mentioned earlier I cannot believe someone hasn't been brought to book or been forced to do something to improve things.

Despite whats happened to it, I feel Victoria remains probably the only Manchester terminal with a genuinely interesting tale to tell. It was built by George Stephenson, the father of railways & was the original terminus of the Manchester & Leeds Railway and the biggest station outside London when it opened in 1844. It was the first station to provide refreshment to lowly third class passengers & probably one of the first with full electric lighting. In 1929 Victoria's platform 11 was joined to Manchester Exchange's platform 3 creating the longest platform in the United Kingdom - this enabled 3 expresses to depart simultaneously - from Victoria, Platform 11 Middle & Exchange. The L&Y were great innovators & introduced an overhead parcels carrier for the movement of parcels & luggage. It was also home to the famous Manchester School Of Signalling - tutors training students using a Bassett Lowke scale model railway to show methods of operating. Commissioned by the L&Y & housed at Victoria for many years - it is now at the NRM. It also has other claims to fame - Newton Heath, Victoria's main depot even giving birth to Manchester's most famous football team. It also played host to the last steam workings on British Rail & the last 'titled' steam hauled express - The Belfast Boat Express from Heysham Harbour in 1968. Many preserved steam workings continue to operate to the new station and its convenient for interchange for the ELR at Bury.

So heres hoping the future brings something more worthy of its great history & its contribution to the life of the city than how it currently stands. The return of Blackpool services is a start, and there are rumours of a 5th TPX service going via Victoria. And new operators would demand better facilities.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

As is always the case, some people cannot be pleased in any way. I am one of those people. A complete dump in 1989, a complete dump 20 years later. At least in 2009 some of the structure appears more sturdy.

The best thing that could happen to Victoria is a good fire - allow them to try again. £9million is not nearly enough in my opinion. £99 million, maybe.

Excellent pics by the way dunks - enjoyed them throughly!

 

[dunks]

http://www.transportdiversions.com/publicationshow.asp?pubid=4712

These are top class books on Manchester in steam days.

http://www.transportdiversions.com/publicationshow.asp?pubid=4713