Eric S
hillsider45.bsky.social
Eric S
@hillsider45.bsky.social
Chairman of the Liverpool & manchester railway trust
This doctoral thesis from 2020 by Erin Beeston may be of interest. It is 318 pages though! A free pdf is available for download if you search on the internet.

Spaces of Industrial Heritage: a history of uses, perceptions and the re-making of Liverpool Road Station, Manchester
January 31, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Water Street Bridge. Artist unknown. Note Rocket hauling the Ducal train.....
January 31, 2026 at 6:55 PM
The National Trust has this artwork in their collection. It was originally thought by them to be Stockport Viaduct so I had to contact them to update their labelling!
January 31, 2026 at 6:46 PM
You are so talented. Excellent yet again. Have you got this book- "Oldest in the World" edited by Chris Makepeace. Liverpool Road Station Society 1979 ISBN 0 907172 01 6 ?
January 31, 2026 at 6:23 PM
If you are not aware of this, the booklet has some illustrations of the L & M Manchester scene in 1834. Hathi Trust download here
hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.390...
hdl.handle.net
January 16, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Yes, this is 1830 prior to the opening. It is not clear whether the line 1 crosses the Irwell bridge. Certainly lines 2 & 3 do and there are points there too. I wonder if line 1 continued in use at it appears to be there so the opening day guests coaches could be placed there while awaiting transfer
January 16, 2026 at 12:24 PM
I don`t think this diagram went through. The text is the subject of the transliteration. Seems as though line 1 is next to the warehouses and is only accessed by the turnrails.
January 13, 2026 at 2:24 PM
It is interesting to note that this shows a variation in the track layout compared with the Irwell bridge-Warehouse instructions.
Here`s my transliteration of the text.
January 9, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Irwell Bridge- Warehouses instructions transliterated.
January 9, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Glad to be of help. The documents are the ones I had hoped to send in the chat. There are further pages that may be of interest. The Manchester had another page which shows the tracks from the Irwell bridge. Also different instructions regarding the handling of the trains.
January 9, 2026 at 12:51 PM
The book is W O Skeat, George Stephenson, The Engineer & his letters. Published by Institute of Mechanical Engineers 1973. Page 120. Sorry, my mistake re Thomas.
January 8, 2026 at 9:09 PM
I think I have worked out how we misunderstood the engine turnround. Dukes train stops at turn c. Passengers alight. Loco reverses train to just before point 4. Uncouples. Returns to C turns 180 degrees . Uses line a to points 1,2,&4. reverses at 4 and couples to duke`s coaches again.
January 8, 2026 at 9:07 PM
The Liverpool Instructions
January 8, 2026 at 8:36 PM
There is another part to the Manchester Plan. Too large to photograph as one document .
January 8, 2026 at 8:34 PM
The original instructions are held at the Institute of Civil Engineers archive in London. Skeat omits the Liverpool instructions which also give details about the track layout at the Edge Hill Engine Station. I photographed the whole document but it is not as clear as I would like.
January 8, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Sorry Ed, my mistake. The item is on page 120 in W. O Skeat " George Stephenson. The Engineer and his letters" publised by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1973.
You probably have it . Highly recommended.
January 8, 2026 at 8:27 PM
The book is " The Liverpool & Manchester Railway" by RHG Thomas. Published by Batsford 1980. Well researched and very readable. In my opinion the best of the publications.
January 8, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Ed, I agree with the puzzling instruction that you comment about. This is Stephenson`s own writing and wording so I accept he wrote it but didn`t check it made sense. As matters turned out the return arrangements at Manchester were a complete fiasco anyway.

( I have written more but had to delete)
January 8, 2026 at 7:43 PM
The Thomas account of 1980 has this sketch of the instructions by Stephenson as to how arrangements were made at Manchester on the Opening day. It shows the layout of the tracks at the time.
January 7, 2026 at 6:42 PM