Gamesley and Dinting Railway Layouts 1850-1900.
The current Glossop station is the third to bear that name. Before the Dinting Viaduct was built the line initially termined at Gamesley with a station named Glossop. Once the line was extended the new station at Dinting was called Glossop and the one at Gamesley (which became a goods station only) was renamed to Old Dinting. With the building of the original branch the second Glossop station was renamed Dinting.
This extract from the 1857 Poor Law Map shows the route of the lines at the time. It doesn't show the tracks as they were not relevant to its main purpose. At the bottom left the Goods Station shows a further renaming, having become Gamesley. At the top centre we see the layout of Dinting Station as altered in 1846 to accommodate the joining of the Glossop branch to the main line. The reservoir, constructed to provide a water supply for the engine used on the Glossop branch, can be seen but, although there is a bridge over the railway just to the north of the station, note the absence of Dinting Road which was not built until 1864 as part of the public works undertaken to assist workers who were unemployed as a result of the Cotton Panic.
The 1879 Ordnance Survey Map, above, tells us that renaming was not at an end, the Goods Station then being known as Dinting whilst the passenger station had become Dinting Junction. The original route of Dinting Road is clear, either side of the existing bridge and running alongside the reservoir. The major change is the addition of the Waterside Branch Railway, which had just been constructed to serve the mills on the Etherow.
The 1897 Ordnance Survey Map reflects the changes which came about as a result of the MS&L Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1883. The route of Dinting Road has been altered, and the reservoir moved, in order to accommodate the cutting for the realigned curve towards Hadfield and the new westward curve towards the Viaduct. The old line is still there, having become the access for the new engine shed and yard which would later be home to Dinting Railway Centre. A huge American steam navvy, popularly known as "the devil", was used to dig the cutting for the Hadfield curve. It was afterwards stored in a siding at Dinting until March 1888 before being taken on to its next job - to dig the Manchester Ship Canal at Thelwall.
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Last updated: 4 October 2020