Notes: Chorlton-cum-Hardy station was opened by the Midland Railway on 1st October 1880 as part of the Manchester South District Railway that connected Manchester Central to Stockport Tiviot Dale.

From as early as 1864 a number of schemes had been proposed to create a line from Manchester through Didsbury and down towards Stockport. In 1873 that the Manchester South District Railway (MSDR) obtained an Act to create a line from Manchester via Didsbury to Alderley.  A year later, on 30th June 1874, the MDSR obtained a variation Act which

The other two CLC partners, the Manchester, Sheffield, & Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) and the Midland Railway (MR), decided to press ahead and purchase the MSDR. The MR in particular wanted a route of its own into Manchester so that it was not beholden to other companies. Since 1867 its train services from the south had had to use Manchester

Work began on the line in 1878. Chorlton-cum-Hardy was the first intermediate station on the line from Manchester Central.

Chorlton-cum-Hardy was provided with two platforms. The northbound (Manchester Central) platform was provided with a substantial brick building that included a two storey station master’s house. It was built to a design that had been used by the CLC on its main line between Manchester and Liverpool The southbound platform was provided with a large

The station also had extensive goods facilities which were located on the west side of the main line to the north of the station. These included a brick goods shed and a 5-ton crane.

On 1st October 1891 the station was transferred to the ownership of the CLC, and it would remain with them until nationalisation in 1948. From the beginning the station was served by local services running from Manchester Central to Stockport Tiviot Dale and by services running to Buxton. The former services were known as the South District trains, and by the early

From 2nd May 1892 Chorlton-cum Hardy Station was also served by trains that ran between Manchester Central and Guide Bridge. This service commenced with the opening of the Fallowfield Loop line which had been built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) so that trains from their main line between Manchester and Sheffield, via

On 1st October 1901 the MR opened part of a new line between Heaton Mersey and New Mills, and from this date half of the South District services began to run to a new station at Cheadle Heath. The new line was built to provide a faster route to the south for express services. Cheadle Heath was provided as an interchange station so that passengers could transfer

In 1923 Chorlton-cum-Hardy station became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. By 1939 there were up to forty South District trains per day in each direction on weekdays.

In 1948 Chorlton-cum-Hardy became part of the nationalised British Railways network. By the 1950s the South District services had gone into serious decline. Trains that had consisted of seven coaches were reduced to four. By 1956 the service was reduced to sixteen trains a day in each direction, only two more than had run at the time of the station’s

Early in 1961 Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) were introduced onto the South District locals between Manchester Central and Cheadle Heath, and between Manchester Central and Stockport Tiviot Dale. The goods yard closed on 30th November 1964 although a private siding remained open after that date. The South District local services continued to operate until 2nd

By this time the electrification of the LNWR route to London was complete and traffic was concentrated onto that route.

The last express service along the South District line ran on 1st January 1968. From this date only two passenger trains per week were scheduled to run through the site of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, and they finished on Sunday 4th May 1969, when the very last train services operated out of Manchester Central. Freight trains continued to pass through the station site,

Artists impression of the new Metrolink extension at the site of Chorlton-cum-Hardy Station

Sources: . Lost Railways of Merseyside and Greater Manchester by Gordon Suggitt. Published 2004 by Countryside Books ISBN 13: 978-1853068690 The Midland Route from Manchester Part one – Central to New Mills by E M Johnson Foxline Publications ISBN 1 870119 20 7, Manchester (Rail Centres) by Stanley Hall 2008 Booklaw Publications ISBN 1 901945 29 4 , The Railways Around Stockport by Gregory K.Fox, Foxline Publications ISBN 1 870119 00 2

Other web sites:Closed South Manchester Railways, The Hyde & Peak Railtour, Bike rides around the Greater Manchester area & Levenshulme then and now. David Hey's Collection - Transition from BR steam. Includes railway photographer ER Morten's photographic tour from Buxton - Derby.

Eight and a half miles of the Matlock - Buxton line now forms the Monsal Trail starting at Coombs Road Viaduct, one mile southeast of Bakewell and finishing at the head of Chee Dale, about three miles east of Buxton. There is a diversion round the tunnels.

Further reading. The Fallowfield Line, EM Johnson 2000 Foxline Pub.ISBN187011969X

Tickets from Michael Stewart, route map drawn by Alan Young

To see other stations between Manchester Central & Matlock click on the station name: Manchester Central, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Withington & West Didsbury, Didsbury, Heaton Mersey, Cheadle Heath, Hazel Grove (Midland), Buxworth, Chinley (2nd site) STILLOPEN, Chinley (1st site), Chapel-en-le-Frith Central, Peak Forest, Cheedale Halt, Buxton (Midland), Blackwell Mill Halt, Millers Dale, Monsal Dale, Great Longstone, Hassop, Bakewell, Rowsley (Second site), Rowsley (First site), Rowsley South PEAK RAIL, Darley Dale, Matlock Riverside PEAK RAIL & Matlock STILL OPEN.
See also Stockport Tiviot Dale & Stockport Portwood