Millbrook Sidings

Millbrook Sidings is located in the village of Millbrook, close to Stalybridge in Greater Manchester. It was part of the Micklehurst Line which ran between Stalybridge and Diggle junction in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The line was approximately eight miles long was also called the Micklehurst Loop.

Millbrook Sidings and goods shed were built in 1932 to feed the Hartshead Power Station. Built to the east of the power station, on the opposite side of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, the sidings delivered coal via a hopper underneath the sidings. The coal was then transported on an enclosed conveyer belt to rise high above the ground, over the canal and the river Tame, then into the station. The bulk of the sidings fanned out with their stop-blocks overlooking Buckton Vale Road. The sidings were expanded as the power station increased capacity.

The sidings were capable of holding approximately 130, 10 ton wagons. A fireless steam locomotive, which is charged with steam through a pipeline at high pressure, was used for shunting the wagons. The locomotive could travel 9 miles on one charge. The sidings held 20 wagon tippers and automatic weighbridge's.

The power station had a final generating capacity of 64 Megawatts, but this was not enough for today's needs and it closed on 29 October 1979. It was demolished during the 1980s, although part of the site is still used as an electrical substation.

A good shed remains on the site of the sidings, empty and damaged. The sidings are gone, empty rail beds with a few sleepers remain. The hoppers are filled in and rubble is all that remains of the sites infrastructure.