The Ghost Railway Station of Manchester Explored

[3rk4u]

Manchester had 3 main stations Piccadilly which served the south ie trains 2 london birmingham/Victoria for the north ie newcastle leeds blackpool and central which served liverpool north wales sheffield etc,but im pretty sure that the central stn was turned into the gmex centre,so i cant figure out what stn this is,

[mancunianfodo]

@3rk4u It's Mayfield, it's just adjacent to Piccadilly on the other side of London Road from Platforms 13/14

[ismaelkhan]

get a load of that cast iron build work :) real vintage

[NannyGaming]

Did you find any bits of old rubbish or posters etc?

[daveallalone]

The Woodhead Line route sim for TS1012 has these platforms working, if slightly hidden, in the route. In fact I ran a DMU out of Mayfield this very afternoon :)

[destinationdocklands]

Fascinating..I adored this video..well done..Is it still like this today?

[duxberry1958]

i never knew it was a station ...

[TheNastiG]

ghost station no dont think so, more like abandoned station

[MrMrliamo]

why did a station this large close?

[noonsight2010]

Ghost! where does that come into it? Disused or derelict, but not ghost!

[mongoosekid14]

@noonsight2010 ghost means the same thing in long terms...

[BITCHFACEFUCKER]

love this, had me captivated, very interesting

[djclarky1982]

Great vid! keep the vids coming.

[zagreus101]

i do believe I won. 

[anthfax]

hi mate it was passenger till 1960 then goods till 1986.

[darkstar1345a]

was allways of the opinion that mayfield was cargo/luggage depot and not for the use of passengers ... i could be wrong though

[AtheistOrphan]

Would love to see this done with better camerawork (i.e. NOT held at a 45-degree angle!) on a camera with image stabilisation AND with a light if it's going to be shot after dusk.

[mybrickwall]

I'd love too explore this...

[AustinSomerset]

Sadly, the latest I hear is that Piccadilly Station is close to full capacity - yet they still won't recommission Mayfield, which is naturally the ideal solution. We are so short sighted in this country when it comes to transport planning.

[mckendrick4046]

@AustinSomerset

Quite right, Austin.... and they're crying out for extra capacity in Manchester - even to the point of considering extending Victoria!!!! How mental is that - twenty odd years after they built an arena on top of sixteen perfectly useful platforms and turned them into five. And quite frankly the MEN should have been built on waste land beyond Ancoats. Then there's Exchange!!! What a waste. Don't get me started!

[AustinSomerset]

@mckendrick4046 I'd be happy to see the Woodhead Tunnel reopened and the Buxton to Matlock line to give routes to Manchester extra flexibility. That should sort out the need for HS2! :)

[flamesecureUK]

did you go alone?

i have been there quite a few times in the last couple of months. its all smashed up nowand the floorboards down at the bottom of the stairs (at street level) are rotten and soggy and can not support the weight of a human so we had to stay at the top.

(to be continued)

[flamesecureUK]

@flamesecureUK we gained access through the parcel shelf, there was a locked door at it with a small hole in, we looked through the hole and on the other side it seemed clean. it makes me wonder if half of it is in use as the door is in line with a fence on the ground.

[iLoveJesus164]

its gonna look like that everywhere when the muslims becoming more.....

[zagreus101]

@iLoveJesus164 wow....You're a total racist bastard

[iLoveJesus164]

@zagreus101 yes, youre right, im a racist!! thats why im white, have a black girlfriend and my friends are mostly foreign born! thank you! ..... SPEAKING THE TRUTH ISNT RACIST, AND IF IT IS, THEN THERES NO FREEDOM OF SPEECH ANYMORE!!!

[zagreus101]

@iLoveJesus164 There is freedom of speech. But using it to say that 'the muslims becoming more....' is a poor use of it. It's not only false to say that everywhere will be abandoned and broken but it's also tantamount to racism.

[iLoveJesus164]

@zagreus101 well if you cant stand the truth.... then im sorry for you... dont you see how your country is changing?.... walk by yourself through a islamized area of your country in the evening.... these muslims gonna show you how much they love "infidels"..... educate yourself about islam.... it doesnt make sense talking to someone who doesnt know the truth.... or just wait till the war begins.... and this will be anytime within the next 15 years!!!

[zagreus101]

@iLoveJesus164 You call yourself 'iLoveJesus164' and yet you are totally intolerable to other cultures. I'm pretty sure among the donkey genitals (Ekekial 23:20), prostituted rape (Deuteronomy 22:28) and Sexism (Timothy 2:12) the bible does say a lot about treating people as you' be treated yourself. Learn more about your own religion before faulting other peoples.

Also I live in a "Islamized" area and we are still perfectly fine. In fact, our crime rate has gone down directly due to their help

[zagreus101]

@iLoveJesus164 Also, where has this figure of the next 15 years come from? Show me proof that the nation will be taken under by Sharia law and then I may give you some time. Until then, your racist, ignorant views should be left inside your head.

[DistantHours101]

how do you get in here? i want to go for my photography coursework

[dylandior123]

That looks as though it would be a great location to make an action film or thriller.

[shayman31]

Hope one day it can be restored though less and less building are being saved at a time when we need to preserve the last few bits before they are gone forever f**k the greedy developers that want to bulldoze everything.The story is always the same that a building is beyond repair or it will cost too much !!!!

[shayman31]

Was lucky enough to work on the track in and around pic for a couple of years about 6 years since so never had to break in could just explore at my leisure.Impressed with the big buffer stops still being in place though track had long since been removed.There were some posters on the walls that made the station appear to be in use but was part of the set made up when they filmed an episode of prime suspect there.Happy memories shame some arsonist destroyed some of the roof it's an eerie place !

[nylonTS]

it would be great to see pics as it used to be

[turboslag]

Pretty sure this place has been used on one of the Prime Suspect series.

How is it that some people are struggling for a place to live yet there are places like this left to decay and ruin ?!

[YesIamEccentric]

They should open it, keep the old buildings and if possible the lovely roof... More people are travelling by train now and that's a fact so it would make sense

[mitsucanter247365]

@YesIamEccentric And who will pay for the outlay to get it up and running? I think that is one cost the tax payer could do with out. Especially as there is a viable railway network accessed from the 13 + platformed railway station across the road.

[YesIamEccentric]

@mitsucanter247365 Hmmm suppose, but if they are building the HS2 then I suppose they would need a new station

[starguard]

That would be a really cool place to hang out on the weekends

[flamesecure]

i went here today. we were pushed for time so only spent about 45 mins in there (i plan to go back)

it took long enough to find how to get in, but once we were in it was interesting.

i only have a cr@ppy compact camera so didn't get any good photos but saw what looked to be old traffic lights with the front smashed :( were they there when you went?

- luke

[pnubzart]

I have been up there. The gates next to star and garter were left open do we drove up the ramp and parked on the platform. It's an amazing place. Would be a shame if they tear it down.

[darkstar1345a]

as someone who works on the railways around manchester , we wre allways told that it was a depot for the mail freight , royal mail . wich if you are familiar with london road , there is a parcelforce depot directly opposite .

[0121cole]

great video

[NearAbbeyRoad]

Can't this be used as a Metrolink tram station?

[jeepers2655]

what a waste....nice big station!

[telemetry9]

This has evaded the tyranny of the shareholders and the process of gentrification.  I think that's what makes it so at peace. It's an authentic place that wasn't purely created for the generation of and making of money.

I see the local modern architecture hasn't fared so well.

[telemetry9]

I want to live there.

So damn peaceful. Nice bits of architecture - looks around 1918 construction.



[Urbexchauffeur]

This is mint, think i am going to have to drop in (or jump over) when i am in Manchester next, Nice work

[BahoUtot]

Watchout for headcrabs.

[XenophobeDubstep9]

hey me and my mate went there today and we got in like but when we got there the police where there ,3 vans and all that saying that loads of copper n shit had been robbed from there and all that ,, its a shame we couldn't look about

[karaloca]

Waited 10 minutes for my train to arrive - bastards are always late!

[Nigel16032009]

Denton and Reddish South see more trains!!! LOL

[flamesecure]

where exactly is this? (gmaps reference?)

[srfurley]

@flamesecure

Just before you enter Piccadilly Station look to the left. It's beyond the two tracks platforms, 13 and 14 is it, which go through to Oxford Road and beyond.

It was built as an overflow station for London Road, now Piccadilly, rather as Birmingham Moor Street was to Snow hill. It closed around the time of the electrification, then re-opened as a mail depot, then closed again, must be about twenty years ago now. Had a major fire a few years ago.

[flamesecure]

@srfurley okay. i'll check it out. thanks!

[srfurley]

@flamesecure

Sorry, what I wrote yesterday wasn't very clear; I meant as you enter Piccadilly by train, e.g. from London, ant as you enter the station building from the street.

There was a proposal to re-open the station to relieve Piccadilly, again much as the original Birmingham Moor Street has re-opened; the main objection seemed to be that it's quite a long walk from Picadilly by road.

[srfurley]

@flamesecure

Sorry, ran out of characters.

It could be a much shorter walk via the bridge, and I think that may have been what the stairway to nowhere at Mayfield was originally for.

A couple of years ago the government proposed to build a large office complex on the site for staffed moved from London.  I haven't heard any more about this recently, so it may have been delayed by the economic situation, but Mayfield will probably be demolished fairly soon.

[stillfanta00]

You're very brave lol

[imcrazy525]

Awesome! Definately going to do this when I'm older :)

[applesweeter]

I never saw that kind of things in Hong Kong. Here, train and subway on expand but never abandened.

[MrShempenman]

Jeez I need to find this place. I know almost where it is. It is behind the Star and Garter. I sometimes go for a walk round there cos of its Dickensian feel. I wanna go on a situationist drift around that station! It looks too too good.

[martsutube]

Excellent footage. Wish I could go there

[follytowers]

Very good. You resisted the temptation to have a sound track, allowing people to get a better feel of the place,

Thanks

[carlrichie2009]

do a video of whittingham mental asylum in preston

[Augenauf2010]

Had a nosey around there today, what with the workmen near the canal, the taxi drivers at the front and a very vocal british rail employer who yelled at me from piccadilly station, its becoming difficult to get into

[ultimatedynamo1]

great vid, i wanna go and do this, just need 2 find more peeps willing 2 go with me.

[Albanwinter]

This scary, creepy and fascinating all at the same time. I'm too chicken to go exploring like that so I'm always grateful to people who post stuff like this on youtube!

[piranhaunimatt]

went there recently and some one was inside so we left in a rush :(

didnt evan get in!

[yadda101]

Damn, lucky there's no bums living down there. Just the look of this place is unsettling.

[Agentdoommachine]

is that where they filmed wayne rooneys street striker i recognised it

[TheRailFilmer]

cool for play airsoft

[XxSomxRayxX]

oh ok...thnx:)

[Marillionmad]

Got an erie feeling at 02:26 on that wide shot, did not like the look of that at all!

Would love to explore!!

[XxSomxRayxX]

listen at 3:19! freaky! and 6:13??

[XxSomxRayxX]

listen at 3:19! freaky!

[Marillionmad]

@XxSomxRayxX its a car horn :) lol

[XxSomxRayxX]

listen at 3:18!!! freaky noise!

[olderguyphil]

very sad to see such a glorious building abandoned thanks for sharing regards Phil.

bet you spooked out when you heard TICKETS PLEASE

[olderguyphil]

very sad to see such a glorious building abandoned thanks for sharing regards Phil.

[ffluc]

Thanks for puting this on. I last visited Mayfield in 1987 when I had to visit for my job at Piccadilly. It was about 12 months after the Royal Mail closure. All the desks and windows etc were still intact. Looks a bit worse for wear now. Prime Suspect 5 was filmed here in 1996.

[ShropshireTraveller]

Love the faint announcement at  01:50 - presumably drifting from Piccadilly... addsa ghostly quality!

[colwynkid]

Are you sure that's not Colwyn Bay after hours?

[LebaneseBrit]

I'd never heard of this one before.

Would make a good music video location.

[AustinSomerset]

I hear they're still arguing over whether to demolish this and build office blocks - Which seems incredibly short sighted considering the increase in rail travel and that Piccadilly station is close to capacity on the number of trains/services it can take.

[pugman205]

This station was also used as a filming location to the 1999 ITV mini series "The Last Train"

[ffluc]

@pugman205 also Prime suspect 3.



[ffluc]

@ffluc sorry 5

[JTV84]

given its size and location, i'm really surprised this place hasn't been knocked down for redevelopment. i wonder if they have plans to reuse it for something.

[Agentdoommachine]

i wouldnt mind doin a ghost hunt there myself be interesting :D

[angel32736]

hi i will tell you that ghost are real u might brlieve or not but i believes

[GWR4079]

i love exsploring old railway places

[MrScotia]

Its a big station. Was this one of the main stations in the city?

[askinlad]

As the station is in so central, why dont that reopen the line or use it fo a tram or metro, its mad to close it.

[skyferret1]

You didn't talk or narrate during the recording. I then realized, no need. We just let our own perception tell the story in our minds. Everything explains itself. Whenever I see old abandon places like these, I always find myself visualizing what it would look like in its prime as well as all the activity of people moving about.

[eddyapogee]

i'm trying to find an abandoned train station to shoot a music video in. this seems absolutely perfect! except for the access it seems from the recent comments! do you know whether there is any way i could get actual access legally? who owns the place now??

[G0IFI]

Captivating. You can almost see the place as it was, teeming with commuters, the porters rushing up and down the platform, hear the whistles. One of many reminders all over the country of how important the railways were at one time, and how unimportant they seem to be now. In another 50 years, if it hasn't been knocked down, it'll be pretty much overgrown.

[Nirvana19871994]

hey

is it difficult to get into , i have seen a possible way in but it looks asthough i would need a ladder?

[oilyspanner]

Great video,also i seem to remember this old station involved in a tv drama, i'm 99% sure one of ITV' prime suspect episodes was filmed in there,in your video there was a corner of the station with a sign saying open lift shaft,i believe that was the part of the station where they filmed.

[Trek001]

@oilyspanner it was used as Sheffield station in the ITV drama "The Last Train"

[dryan5]

It's quite eerie how you can hear the announcements for the real Manchester Piccadilly Station as you walk through, after all it is only across the road....

[mattyh4100]

how did u get in plz tell wouldnt mind a look myself

[britishbulldog5505]

Did you have to break in there? lol

[Moodster020]

@britishbulldog5505

Nope,

that's against the ethos of Urbexing :), also it would make what i do illegal (Criminal damage).

There's an open way in, if you look hard enough...

[myfatproductions]

@Moodster020 ty going to check it with some friends from holland

we go by boat lol

[MickeysHits]

@britishbulldog5505 You don't have to break in. All you need to do to get in is jump over the wall at the point of the where the canal goes under...

[GWR4079]

how far does the track go?

[Moodster020]

@GWR4079

There's a pallisade fence sealing off the end of the platforms from the NR owned bit.

[hellooldchap]

Its great exploring abandoned places

[dragonwelshuk]

Great explore

[rockinghell91]

about two weeks ago there was something in the news about it being knocked down. its making way for something cool though... can't quite remember sorry.

[irishyetiboy]

wow, i can picture it in full hussle and bussel, kinda sad to think how these places end up. great vid! well done

[evy0579]

Very good! Great place to do a ghost hunt.

[MpvVideos]

nice. where abouts do u get in though?

[chloeuttley]

i went here a few days ago, and around the back there is a canal, and i climbed over the rail and i think i would have had to "scramble" up a hill :/ ahah.

i was just wondering, did you go in this way? or a different way.

[Moodster020]

Yep

[37057viking]

It's hard to believe Mayfield is still standing. For years, when I've passed it coming into Manchester Piccadilly as a kid, I've always wanted to go there, now through this video I have - sort of!  Thanks Moodster020!

By looking at this, It's one spooky place to be! lol

[Moodster020]

Cheers, got a few more like this lined up over the coming months, although this is as big as it gets..

Certainly was an eerie/Spooky place. And to cap it all, a full moon was glowing through the west sky when i got up there too!

[Bobcatonline]

Spooky! From the shots out of the windows it seems to be in a busy part of the city. I wonder why the developers haven't snaffled this one up! Great video 5*.

[Moodster020]

Yeah it's in the Red light district, had a run in with the night ladies when i parked me car, very persistent they are, bless 'em!

Think this remains as BRB who own it are thinking of reopening it as a station, but there's alot of government proposals flying around with it.