Metrolink openings ... and a closure

The Metrolink line beyond St Werburgh's Road to East Didsbury, with intermediate stops at Withington, Burton Road, West Didsbury, and Didsbury Village, opens to passengers on Thursday 23 May. The route lies on the trackbed of what was once a main line from Manchester Central to London St Pancras, with expresses suach as the 'Palatine' and later the famous 'Midland Pullman' passing through before joining the line which still exists as a goods line running along the Davenport / Bramhall border and as a passenger line south of Hazel Grove. The 'Disused stations' website has some interesting pictures of the 'Old' Didsbury station.



This picture by Greg Mape shows trams on test at East Didsbury station on 14 May. On the left is the Trans-Pennine Trail cycleway, which continues on the trackbed under the bridge in the distance and then down to the side of the Mersey river which it follows to Stockport town centre. This section of the Trail has been closed off for some time, hopefully it will be open again soon.

Trams to East Didsbury run via Manchester Victoria and do not serve Manchester Piccadilly, so the best wasy to catch one is to travel by a train which is running through towards Bolton and change at Deansgate. East Didsbury (Metrolink) is not adjacent to the Network Rail station on the Airport line, it's few minutes' walk away across a major crossroads and on a higher level.

Less welcome to some people is that Mosley Street tram-stop will close permanently after the last tram on 17 May, now that the real-time indicators on the other stations in the city centre are finally working again, along with the new signalling system. Hopefully future passengers will be spared the long signal stops and other hold-ups which have been prevalent recently.

14 May 2013

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Knotweed again

Needless to say the Japanese Knotweed is growing again despite the 'treatment' by Network Rail. We have fired off another email to Mr Rankin.

14 May 2013

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Upcoming engineering work

On Sunday 19 May, and also Saturday and Sunday 25-26 May, the line between Furness Vale and Buxton will be closed for engineering work, with replacement buses in operation. As far as we can see, train times at Davenport are the same as normal, but do check before travelling.

Also note that a new timetable period starts on 19 May: there do not seem to be any dramatic changes. The leaflet can be downloaded or you can get a copy from the station during opening hours Monday - Saturday mornings.

25 April 2013

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Save our Parks

Stockport Council, still desperate to cut costs, is proposing to cut the costs of looking after our parks, including Cale Green Park and Hallam Gardens. There is a Consultation on the Council website in the form of an on-line questionnare which will be live until 31 May. We would encourage everyone to complete this, as if some of the plans are carried out the parks would start to lok very shabby and unwelcoming. Already, flower displays have been abandoned, although the Friends of Cale Green Park are doing their best to remedy this and would appreciate help.

In future, planned measures for the parks include 'Graffiti deemed to be non‐offensive would be removed as and when resources allow' and 'Most parks and open spaces will be litter picked no more than once a week.' Trained gardeners will be replaced by 'Multi-tasking operatives.'

See the Friends of Cale Green Park website for more information.

25 April 2013

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Buxton Fringe

Michael Cain writes: 'I am a committee member of the Buxton Fringe and am trying to foster busking and train entertainment so that the journey and the town feel festive. Details are on the website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/. '

Over 100 events have already been entered for this year's Fringe which runs from Wednesday July 3 to Sunday July 21. If you would like to be part of the Fringe, there is still time so - see the information for entrants. The strict and final deadline for the printed programme is April 21.

9 April 2013

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Buxton station, Sunday 7 April, with trains awaiting the Monday morning peak. How nice it would be if the ocasional Sunday special ran over the goods lines to Chinley and Dowlow...

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Knotweed, pt 2.

We've received a reply from Mr Rankin, Network Rail's Community Relations Advisor, who writes: 'We have recently been to site and and treated the Japanese Knotweed. I trust this is helpful.'

Will it return? Time will tell...

5 April 2013

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Bus changes

The following bus route changes affecting Davenport take place from 7 or 8 April:

Route 372 Mondays - Saturdays, Stockport - Woodsmoor and North Park Road, run by Stagecoach.  Until early afternoon, journeys are extended to Hazel Grove, Fiveways via Stepping Hill and Torkington, partly replacing bus 390. An interesting feature of this is that to reach Stepping Hill Hospital it runs along a section of Bramhall Moor Lane past the former Mirrlees factory which has not been served by buses in recent times. It also provides a useful link from the Davenport and Woodsmoor areas to the Sainsbury's 'Superstore' in Hazel Grove. Here is the timetable leaflet.
 
Route 378 Stockport - Wilmslow. From Sunday 8 April evening, Sunday and public holiday journeys will be run by Stagecoach and are changed to run between Grove Lane and Stockport only. Monday to Saturday evening journeys also run Grove Lane only, due to financial cutbacks by Cheshire East council. Timetable leaflet.

The weekday evening 378 will be run by Manchester Community Transport, who are also taking over the 307/308 Stockport - Bramhall circular routes, with changes to the route and timetables. This again raises the irritating issue of non-availability of Stagecoach bus 'Dayrider' and 'Megarider' tickets on other operators' services. 



Above: On 7 March, one of the last 372 journeys by BakerBus of Biddulph, who have now pulled out of Stockport area operations, passes Davenport station. Stagecoach now operate this route.

5 April 2013

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Cale Green Park Farmers' Market

On Easter Monday 2013 (1 April) from 11 am until 3pm, the Friends of Cale Green Park are hosting a Farmers Market. There will be about 20 stalls, an Easter Egg Hunt, some egg and spoon races, a magician [for the children], clog dancers, and much much more.

27 March 2013

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No trains Sunday 31 March

A bus replacement service will operate all day between Hazel Grove and Manchester on Sunday 31 March. See the Journey Planner for details.

Also, engineering works connected with the enlargement of the station at Salford Crescent will block the line through Salford Crescent all day on 30 and 31 March. On 30 March the trains which normallly run between Hazel Grove and Preston will run between Hazel Grove and Manchester Oxford Road at the normal times.

27 March 2013

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The Wallace Sutherland Collection

We have been given permission by Mrs Sutherland to present a collection of colour slides taken by her late husband J.W.Sutherland, including many of Davenport and the Buxton line. Follow this link to explore the collection.

27 March 2013

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Knotweed

We've sent the following email to Network Rail. If it generates any response we'll let you know:

'Davenport station  has been infested with Japanese Knotweed all along the back of the up platform for several years. This is a threat to neighbours' property, and is also a great disincentive to Friends Group members from gardening at the station due to the risk of transferring it to our own gardens. You say on your website that it is your policy to remove this invasive plant, but nothing has been done. Please can something be done soon? It is not close to the track and will not require any precautions regarding passing trains.'

15 March 2013

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150 years Whaley Bridge to Buxton

June 2013 marks 150 years of the opening of the line from Whaley Bridge to Buxton, which took place some years after the opening of the original Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge line in 1857. We understand that there will be events along the line to commemorate this, including at Chapel-en-le-Frith Carnival on 15 June. More details when we can find them.

5 March 2013

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More bus changes

Following on from the changes to bus service mentioned earlier, there are some other alterations in forthcoming weeks. Cuts in subsidy by Cheshire East Council have resulted in changes (from 4 March) in the Stockport - Poynton - Macclesfield / Middewood services which have been operated recently by Potteries-based BakerBus. These will now be run by High Peak (Macclesfield service 392/3) and GHA (Middlewood service P1). The Middlewood service no longer serves Stockport, running instead from Hazel Grove railway station and calling at Poynton Railway station en route. Unfortunately, departures from Hazel Grove station at 37 minutes pass the hour are not a particularly good match with trains from Manchester which arrive at 13 and 45 minutes past.

As a result of the above, BakerBus no longer wish to run 'our' 372 service Stockport - Davenport - Woodsmoor - North Park Road, and their bright yellow buses will disappear from the scene, replaced by Stagecoach buses. This is in fact a benefit to Davenport passengers as Stagecoach day and monthly passes can be used on any bus to/from Stockport during the day.

5 March 2013

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Bus service changes

Good news on the bus service front is that the contract for the evening journeys on Route 374, connecting Stockport and Hazel Grove via Davenport and the New House Farm estate, which had been given to small local firm 'M Travel' has been returned to Stagecoach Manchester who run the route for the rest of the day. This not only means that more modern buses are used, but also that Day Saver tickets bought on Stagecoach buses earlier in the day can be used for the return journey.

Less good news for some, however, is that the 23:00 bus from Stockport to Grove Lane, which had also been entrusted to M Travel, has now been withdrawn completely. The last buses from Stockport Bus Station to the Davenport station area are now the 22:30 which continues towards Bramhall, and the 22:45 on route 309 which continues along Garners Lane. However, the 192 along the A6 to Hazel Grove has much later departures from Stockport, until after midnight.

The timetable booklets are available as a PDF file from the TfGM bus leaflet finder.

31 January 2013

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Greengrocery news

We reported previously on the closure of the 'Garden of Eden' greengrocery on Bramhall Lane. Following this, customers found that the nearby 'Spar' shop does have a good selection of fruit and vegetables, and makes a point of proudly labelling those which produced in the UK, a matter which some customers consider important.

We are pleased to say that the 'Garden of Eden' has now re-opened under new management. We wish them good luck with their venture. Recently the baker next door to the 'Garden' had begun to include fruit and veg in its range, but has agreed to cease.

Down the road at what used to be called Charlestown, the 'Best One' store remains closed and shuttered, and is now advertised for lease or sale.

Updated 31 January 2013

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Middlewood Sundays (update)

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Timetable notes

Extra departures from Davenport towards Manchester on Sundays are at 09:16, 13:16, 15:11, 17:17, 19:11 and 21:11. Note the variable times and the gap in the morning service. Return from Manchester Piccadilly is more regular at 12:22, 14:22, 16:22, 18:22, 20:22 and 22:22.  All these trains use Platforms 13/14 at Piccadilly and also serve Oxford Road, Deansgate and Salford Crescent stations, which is useful. However, from 6 January to 10 February they will run between Hazel Grove and Piccadilly only.

Less welcome news about the new timetable is that the policy of running buses to Buxton in place of the last trains of the day, Monday - Thursday,  to allow engineering work, has now been included in the timetable, and will happen every Monday - Thursday from the New Year until 31 March. However, it's not too bad for us in that the 21:52 and 23:10 trains from Manchester will run as far as Hazel Grove before handing over passengers to a bus. In the downhill direction, the 21:29 Buxton - Manchester (Davenport 22:04) runs as normal, and there will still be a train starting at 23:32 from Hazel Grove (Davenport 23:36) to Manchester, but passengers wanting the last train from Buxton (22:56) will need to travel all the way by bus, arriving at Davenport at 00:01. Days to be avoided if planning a trip to the Buxton Opera House, perhaps.

Another change is that - with exceptions in the early morning and late evening - trains from our line towards Manchester on Mondays to Saturdays, even the ones from Buxton, do not stop at Heaton Chapel or Levenshulme. However, it has not been possible to make this change in the reverse direction, and most trains do continue to call, so we will have to continue to compete for seats at Manchester.

3 January 2013

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Metrolink Matters

Metrolink trams are now running beyond Oldham Mumps to Shaw & Crompton, calling at Derker. The line is served by trams from St Werburgh's Road (Chorlton) via Victoria, so it is necessary to change if travelling from Piccadilly, either at St Peter's Square or by walking from Piccadilly Gardens to Market Street. The line to Droylsden, which leaves Piccadilly station in the opposite direction from other routes, is now scheduled to open on 11 February.

For a story about the ongoing fiasco with the new tram signalling system which has led to much inconvenience, and is likely to prove expensive, see the Manchester Evening News.

3 January 2013