Rochdale’s hidden past uncovered after water main bursts

Photo: Bill Pilkington

Tram tracks from the early 1900s buried under Whitworth Road

Workmen sent to repair the burst water main on Whitworth Road at the weekend also uncovered a slice of history from over one hundred years ago.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/133009/burst-water-main-closes-whitworth-road

Buried just a few feet below the tarmac surface are tram tracks from the early 1900s when Rochdale had its very own electric tram network. It is thought the tram line ran from Rochdale through to Bacup, operated by the Bury, Rochdale and Oldham Steam Tramways Company Limited.

In 1901 Rochdale Council was forward-thinking and decided to replace the older steam-driven trams with new fangled electric models. The network had lines running out of the town centre towards Whitworth, Littleborough, Newhey, Thornham, Castleton and Norden and linked up with other boroughs in the North Manchester area.

The tram services ran until the 1930s when the new kid on the block, the motorbus, started to gain popularity and the tracks were to be forever redundant. The main photo shows three rails, with the fourth just about visible, still under soil on the far left hand side of the excavation.

Credit for local history to Peter Gould.