Notes: Notes: In the 1870s the Great Northern Railway, The Midland Railway and the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway had no station facilities in central Manchester. They joined forces to form The Cheshire Lines Committee and an Act of 1872 granted the CLC powers to extend their lines into Manchester.

Lewis Henry Moorsom, the CLC engineer was chosen to build a new station and work on the building commenced in 1875 the work being undertaken by Robert Neill & Sons at a cost of £124,778. The most striking part of the building is the magnificent single span roof, constructed by Andrew Handyside & Co.

The dimensions of the arch at Manchester Central were 210 feet wide, 550 feet long and 90 feet high (at the highest point). The frame itself weighed 2,400 tons and was covered using a combination of slate and glass, the roof spanning six platforms and nine tracks. At the Windmill Street end, with the main entrance, were wooden buildings including the booking office. These were meant to be a temporary measure as the Midland Hotel was to be constructed on the front however, this was built across the road and the wooden buildings remained in place over a century, up to Central's conversion into an exhibition centre. From Manchester Central trains ran on the CLC network to Liverpool, Chester and Stockport. The Midland railway ran express trains to London St. Pancras.

These trains continued until 1968 when they were diverted to Manchester Piccadilly but after a few years discontinued. One of the most famous trains to run in the second part of the 20th Century was the Midland Blue Pullman introduced in 1960 which ran from the station until 1966 by which time the West Coast Main line had been electrified.

In the 1980s the station which was listed in 1983 was converted into the GMEX exhibition hall which opened on March 7th 1986.

For more pictures of Manchester Central Station during its conversion to GMEX see the Lincolnshire & East Yorkshire Transport Review web site. See also Mike's Railway History.

See also Manchester & Salford Junction Canal which ran in a tunnel beneath Manchester Central Station.

For other stations on the Liverpool to Manchester CLC line click on the station name: Liverpool Central, Liverpool St. James, Brunswick, Otterspool, Garston, & Halewood