Oldham Branch Railway
This was the first railway to reach Oldham, albeit up a severe incline to Werneth on the west side of the town.The method of working was devised by Captain Laws, the company General Manager;[3] it used a balancing load of mineral wagons and a brake van on a reserved track, with a cable passing round a large drum at the head of the incline.Traffic proceeding up the incline would be attached to the rope and drawn up under control by its own locomotive using the descending load to reduce the effort required.[8][9][10] The line from Chadderton Junction to Oldham was closed to regular passengers in 1958 although some diverted services used it in 1960 and completely on 7 January 1963.[13] The Chadderton goods and coal depot remained open and in use until 1988 (the track was eventually lifted in September 1991).