Diggle railway station

Diggle railway station was a station that served the village of Diggle on the Huddersfield Line to the north of Uppermill. Immediately to the west of the Standedge tunnels, it was opened in 1849 along with the first rail tunnel and closed to passenger traffic in 1968.^[1] In its heyday, the station had platforms serving all four lines but little trace remains of it today—all of the buildings and much of platforms having been demolished (although the nearby signal box remains operational).

Railway accident in 1923 from The Sphere 14 July 1923

Diggle
Site of the station in 1996
General information
Location	Diggle, Oldham England
Grid reference	SE007080
Platforms	4
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 August 1849	Station opens
7 October 1968	Station closes

On 5 July 1923, an express passenger train, hauled by Ex-LNWR Whale Experiment Class 4-6-0 No. 1406 George Findlay, was in a rear-end collision with a freight train. Four people were killed.^[2]

Local residents have periodically campaigned for the station to be reopened. This has often been connected to proposals to fully reopen the Standedge Tunnels.^[3]

In 2012, a renewed effort was launched by a local Liberal Democrat parish councillor.^[4] This was unsuccessful, as Transport for Greater Manchester concluded that much of the cited passenger demand would actually be abstracted from the existing station at nearby Greenfield.^[5]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Saddleworth Line open, station closed		London and North Western Railway Huddersfield Line		Marsden Line and station open
Uppermill Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway Micklehurst Line

v t e Micklehurst Loop
Legend
to Huddersfield Standedge Tunnel Diggle Butterhouse tunnel Uppermill Friezland Royal George tunnel Micklehurst Staley and Millbrook Stalybridge to Manchester

Notes

1. Diggle Community Association - Railways www.digglevillage.org.uk; Retrieved 20 March 2009
2. Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 31. ISBN 0-906899-01-X.
3. "Anniversary Of When Local Stations Closed – SADDLEWORTH LIFE". www.saddleworthlife.com. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
4. "Diggle Station platform for investment". Oldham Evening Chronicle. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
5. Disused Stations- Diggle Disused Stations; Retrieved 7 January 2016

References

• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
• An Illustrated History of Oldham's Railways by John Hooper (ISBN 1-871608-19-8)

53.5692°N 1.9904°W / 53.5692; -1.9904