History
The line through Greenfield was constructed by the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway, which was absorbed by the London and North Western Railway on 9 July 1847 before any of it was opened. The section between Huddersfield and Stalybridge was opened on 1 August 1849, and the station at Greenfield was opened the same day.
On 1 September 1851, the branch to Delph opened, which left the main line at Delph Junction, about a mile to the north of Greenfield; Greenfield was the last station before the junction until Moorgate Halt opened in 1912. A second branch, to Oldham, opened on 5 July 1856; it left the main line just to the south of Greenfield.
Passenger services on the Oldham branch were withdrawn in May 1955, with complete closure following in 1964. A defunct bay can still be seen at the Stalybridge end of the station. This was used by some trains from the Oldham direction. For many years the station had a peak only service (see BR timetable 1974 et seq.).
The Beeching Report proposed closure of all stations between Stalybridge and Huddersfield. In 1968 half these stations were closed including Diggle and Saddleworth, leaving only Greenfield to serve the Saddleworth area. This means that Greenfield is Saddleworth's only remaining railway station. After the Oldham Loop line closed in 2009, it was also Oldham's only remaining railway station.
Read more about this topic: Greenfield Railway Station
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—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
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—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)