This was supposed to be the big answer to the North's train problems. So why is it not happening?
manchestereveningnews.co.ukAt the age of 13, Jim Bamford embarked on an adventure he will never forget. Unaccompanied by adults, joined just by a friend three years his senior, he travelled across the North of England to see its great railways in all their glory.
Reflecting on the extraordinary trip he took when he was barely a teenager some 56 years ago, Jim shares his most cherished memory of the week-long tour.
The pair hitched an overnight ride on a steam train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria, joining the crew from Newton Heath in the cabin. "It was an absolutely magical train ride with the sun rising," he recalls. READ MORE: These trains were meant to be the future.
Now they're being pulled after just four years READ MORE: Manchester needs a bigger city centre with more offices to grow like London, report recommends At the time, Manchester had five stations in the city centre with 49 platforms.
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