Manchester Victoria 21st April 2003

Manchester Victoria station - a shadow of its former self with Stanier Black 5 45407 (as 45157) & BR Standard 4MT 76079 on "The Cotton Spinner", a steam special train around the Oldham Loop. The trains ran from Victoria to Miles Platting & forked right at Thorpes Bridge to Oldham & onward to Rochdale returning to Victoria via Middleton. The platform on the right is the old Platform 11, at one time the longest in the world. The view is looking north & east so Rochdale & Oldham are to the right.

35 years earlier a Black 5 would have been standing on the banker's siding located near to where the roof pillar on the left is located today.