flanneruk

Pete:

Manks they may be - but if I had to decide between the accuracy of the museum's claims for itself, and PalQ's memory of their claims, I'd bet on the museum any time.

I'm sure they're not overclaiming. And that PalQ's been on the Dulux again.

Pete_R

As far as the train goes, they have a replica of the original train manned by enthusiasts.

The museum has a siding that connects to the main line viaduct. So for the princely sum of £1 you can let a boiler-suited amateur chug you and a train full of others to within a wooden barrier of the Liverpool-Manchester train line.

PalenQ

Don't know if MoSi makes that claim and i'd take Pete's word for that it does not

I relayed the info i got poorly as it was only a guy at the information desk, who did not appear to be a docent, etc. but some low-level position that in response to my question about what was only labeled the Train Station Building so i asked the guy about the train station building's history - how old, etc.

And he said exactly that - it was the world's first passenger train station.

Perhaps the minds of Mancunians is as hazed over as some Liverpiddlians?

But I saw nothing in the museum that even said anything about the Train Station and that's why i asked.

Where did the train come from - Stockport - presumably the venue of the other world's first train station?

flanneruk

No, the world's "other" first PASSENGER railway station (leave out the "passenger" bit and you get all the Northeasterners batting on about the Stockton and Darlington railway, and that then gets the Cornish going on about the thing they invented to drag hand-made pasties from thg bottom of the local Furry Dance headquarters) was on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

On which, amazingly enough, the trains came from Liverpool, though in the very early days they occasionally stopped at Rainhill on the way for the ceremony of Killing The Local MP.

Maria_H

One of the downloads on this page says it is the "oldest surviving passenger railway station in the world"

http://www.msim.org.uk/explore-mosi/...rail-transport

If you travelled into Manchester via Stockport on the train, you crossed Stockport viaduct "one of the largest brick built structures in Europe". It's probably the most interesting and distinctive feature of the town

Pete_R

<i>If you travelled into Manchester via Stockport on the train, you crossed Stockport viaduct &quot;one of the largest brick built structures in Europe&quot;. It's probably the most interesting and distinctive feature of the town</i>

You've obviously not been to the Hat Museum then.

Maria_H

Hi Pete, I've resisted the lure of the hat museum so far! My husband worked for a short while at Christies (many years ago) which was one of Stockport's felt hat works.

- we also have some air raid shelters, staircase house and our own &quot;Kings Valley&quot; complete with pyramid. Perhaps PalenQ will visit next time he comes &quot;up north&quot;.

markrosy

&quot;It's probably the most interesting and distinctive feature of the town&quot;

Mr Darcy would beg to differ.

Maria_H

OK, I give in, Stockport is quite fascinating - I was just trying to keep the hordes of tourists away

gertie3751

Lyme Hall isn't exactly in the centre of Stockport. Nearest village is Disley about 6 miles outside Stockport and its viaduct.

Maria_H

- but it has a Stockport postcode, as does the equally pretty Bramhall Hall.

markrosy

There's also Dunham Massey and Tatton Park within Springer sniffing distance of SK1.

Add to that Chatsworth and Arley Hall there's enough to keep any self respecting Pevsnerite going for a week.

markrosy

Oh god - how could we forget about the M60 - CoOp bank glass pyramid!!

Maria_H

I think I'll change career and become a Stockport tour guide

gertie3751

Isn't there an LS Lowry picture of the Stockport viaduct or am I getting senile?

thit_cho

I've been there a couple of times on business, most recently staying at the Midland (where Rolls met Royce) and having dinner at a new hotel built in the Free Trade Hall -- where Dylan played his famous &quot;Royal Albert Hall&quot; concert (the bootlegs were mislabeled, and even when officially released, they refer to the Manchester show as the &quot;Royal Albert Hall&quot; show, but they use quotation marks).

markrosy

gertie

don't mention him - he's the one that started all the grim stuff off - his painting are as close to the reality of contemporary life in the North as Picasso's are to Spanish life!

My son has more a developed impressionist style than LSL.

PalenQ

Thanks for the ups on Stockport, Maria and others

Though my train en route to Manchester was diverted after the electrical feed went dead somewhere south of Stockport on the return trip i was struck by this viaduct that the train crept across rather slowly - i even spotted the words Hat Museum down in the gully in town in some old brick industrial building - a hattery no doubt

And i thought, about the Hat Museum, now that's kind of weird, especially out here in this backwater.

But Stockport did look rather impressive from the air so yes i may take a quick look next time.

PalenQ

What is first train station in the world? - Yahoo! Answers

What is first train station in the world? ... Liverpool road Manchester, UK. was the first passenger station in the world.
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071127033528AAYDDze&amp;show=7

Liverpool once again 2nd best to Manchester???

PalenQ

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Stockton &amp; Darlington railway, England, opened in 1825 was the first railway thus had the first stations. These first stations had no buildings or amenities.

The first city stations in the modern sense were on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened in 1830. Liverpool Crown Street and Manchester's Liverpool Road Station thus being the first city stations. The Manchester station opening 2 days before the Liverpool one.

Heuston Station (or Dublin Heuston) 1845 is often cited as the oldest surviving and still used city railway stations in the world