Glossop railway station

Glossop railway station serves the Peak District town of Glossop in Derbyshire, England. Glossop is the third busiest railway station in the county of Derbyshire after Derby and Chesterfield.

Glossop
The exterior of Glossop railway station in 2006, with the GMPTE logo visible on the station sign
Location	Glossop, High Peak England
Coordinates	53.444°N 1.949°W
Grid reference	SK034942
Managed by	Northern Trains
Transit authority	Transport for Greater Manchester[note 1]
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	GLO
Classification	DfT category D
History
Original company	Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Central Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
9 June 1845	Opened as Glossop for goods only
30 June 1845	Opened for all traffic
10 July 1922	Renamed Glossop Central
6 May 1974	Renamed Glossop
Passengers
2015/16	0.876 million
2016/17	0.901 million
2017/18	0.933 million
2018/19	1.114 million
2019/20	1.129 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is 15 miles (24 km) east of Manchester Piccadilly station, and is the terminus of the Glossop Line. Together with nearby Derbyshire stations at Hadfield and Dinting, Glossop is considered to be part of the Greater Manchester rail network as it lies only a short distance over the county boundary and the line goes no further into Derbyshire. For that reason the station signs at Glossop feature the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) logo, and the station features on the TfGM rail network map.[1] However, Greater Manchester concessionary fares do not apply to passengers travelling from Glossop, Dinting or Hadfield.[2]

History

Glossop station in 1967

Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk built the spur line from Dinting viaduct to Howard Town over his own land at his own expense. He then sold it to the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway[3] for £15,244 10s 10d (equivalent to £1,520,000 in 2019).[4] The station was opened on 9 June 1845 to goods traffic; the formal opening was on 30 June 1845 – it was attended by some of the SA&MR Directors, and passenger traffic began immediately afterward.[5] The station buildings were constructed to the designs of John Grey Weightman and opened in 1847.[6]

There was a previous station called Glossop on the main line but that was renamed "Dinting" with the opening of the Glossop station on the branch.[7] The new station was originally named Glossop, and was renamed Glossop Central on 10 July 1922, reverting to Glossop on 6 May 1974.[8][9]

Originally built with two platforms, the station was reduced to one operational platform in the 1970s (when the branch was singled). When the voltage changed from DC to AC on 7 December 1984 the AC trains continued to use the old platform before the single line was transferred from one side of the island to the other. Double-ended electric multiple units arriving from Manchester Piccadilly reverse to proceed to Hadfield, and vice versa. The other platform face and redundant station buildings were incorporated into an extension for the next door Co-op supermarket and car park, now owned by The Co-operative Group.

The station is now a Grade II Listed building and a blue plaque was unveiled in 2006.[10][11]

Services

A Northern Rail Class 323 unit calls at the station in 2012

There is generally a half-hourly daytime service to Manchester Piccadilly and Hadfield. This is increased to every 20 minutes in the morning and evening rush-hour periods.[12] In order to increase the frequency with the same number of units in service, the peak hour timetable is altered so that there is no direct service to Hadfield in the a.m peak (passengers must change at Dinting) and afternoon Manchester services run via Hadfield instead of direct.

Trains operate hourly in the evenings and half-hourly on Sundays. When there is engineering work on Sundays, the replacement bus service only operates hourly.

A number of services to/from Manchester Piccadilly start or terminate at Glossop during the rush hour, early morning and late evening.

All passenger services are operated by Northern Trains, who use Class 323 EMUs on the route from Manchester Piccadilly to Glossop and Hadfield.

Facilities

Glossop station is the busiest on the line from Manchester Piccadilly (excluding Piccadilly itself). The ticket office is open seven days a week (Monday - Saturday 06:25 - 19:40, Sunday 10:00 - 17:30). Outside the station building, on Norfolk Street, is a small car park. The town's main bus stop and taxi rank are located 30 yards from the station entrance, on Henry Street. The former station hotel is now the George Hotel, located on the other side of Norfolk Street from the station. Also very close by are the Star and Norfolk Arms public houses.

On 2 September 2011 a £75,000 refurbishment of the station was officially opened with a new ticket office and waiting room. The waiting room features past photographs of the railway station and work by local Derbyshire artists.

Automatic ticket barriers are in operation at the station.

Train running details are offered via automated announcements, digital information displays and timetable posters. A payphone is also provided in the entrance hall. Level access is provided between the entrance ticket hall and platform.[13]

Friends of Glossop Station

The Friends of Glossop Station (FOGS) was formed in 2002 as a splinter group of Glossop Environmental Trust (GET).[14] They are an active station adoption group who have carried out a number of projects at the station, including creating a station garden, painting cast iron railings, holding 'Community Rail Days' [15] and beautifying the station with hanging baskets, floral displays and redecorating.[14]

Notes

1. As noted, Glossop is one of three stations to be considered as part of the Greater Manchester rail network but not lying within the metropolitan county

References

1. "Greater Manchester Rail Network" (PDF). Retrieved 13 October 2014.
2. "Greater Manchester Concessionary Fare Map" (PDF). Retrieved 13 October 2013.
3. Birch, A.H. (1959). "2". Small Town Politics, A Study of Political Life in Glossop. Oxford University Press. p. 18.
4. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
5. Dow, George (1959). Great Central, Volume One: The Progenitors, 1813-1863. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 289. ISBN 0-7110-1468-X.
6. Historic England, "Glossop Railway Station and Co-op Building (1384287)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 3 March 2017
7. Dow 1959, p. 290
8. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 104. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
9. Slater, J.N., ed. (July 1974). "Notes and News: Stations renamed by LMR". Railway Magazine. Vol. 120 no. 879. London: IPC Transport Press Ltd. p. 363. ISSN 0033-8923.
10. "Events". Friends of Glossop Station.
11. Rowley, Tom (12 January 2013) [27 September 2006]. "Revamped station's plaque of honour". Manchester Evening News.
12. Table 79 National Rail timetable, December 2016
13. Glossop station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 27 February 2017
14. "Friends Of Glossop Station". Friends of Glossop Station. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
15. Photos Page, Friends of Glossop Station, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13

External links

Railways around Glossop and Hadfield
To Tameside Lines Etherow viaduct Dinting viaduct Glossop Dinting Hadfield Crowden Woodhead Woodhead Tunnel To Penistone

• Train times and station information for Glossop railway station from National Rail
• Northern
• TfGM
• Friends of Glossop Station
• Glossop Community

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Dinting		Northern Trains Manchester-Glossop		Terminus
Dinting		Northern Trains Manchester-Hadfield via Glossop		Hadfield
Hadfield		Northern Trains Manchester-Glossop via Hadfield		Terminus