Wilbraham Road railway station was a station on the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...

 line from Manchester Central

Manchester Central railway station

Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester City Centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it now houses an exhibition and conference centre named Manchester Central.-History:...

 via Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Chorlton-cum-Hardy railway station

Chorlton Metrolink station is a Manchester Metrolink station built on the former Cheshire Lines Committee line. The station is one of the first stations opened as part of Phase 3A of the Big Bang extension plans and is built on the site of the former railway station...

 to Fairfield

Fairfield railway station

Fairfield railway station serves the Fairfield area of Droylsden, Tameside, Greater Manchester and is east of Manchester Piccadilly station. It was opened by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1892, when the branch to Chorlton-cum-Hardy opened, and replaced an earlier station...

 and Guide Bridge

Guide Bridge railway station

Guide Bridge railway station serves Guide Bridge, a part of Audenshaw, Tameside in Greater Manchester, England and is operated by Northern Rail. The station is 4¾ miles east of Manchester Piccadilly on the Glossop Line.-History:...

. It was situated near the junction of Alexandra Road South with Mauldeth Road West. The station served the expanding Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 residential suburbs of Whalley Range and Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of the city of Manchester, England. It is known locally as Chorlton. It is situated about four miles southwest of Manchester city centre. Pronunciation varies: and are both common....

.

History

The station was opened by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway on 2 May 1892 and was named Alexandra Park station. From 1 August 1897 to 1 January 1923 the station was owned by the Great Central Railway

Great Central Railway

The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...

 (GCR). The GCR was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 during the Grouping

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

 of 1923. That company renamed the station as Wilbraham Road on 1 July 1923 to avoid possible confusion with the north London suburb of Alexandra Park.

During 1918-1919 the station goods yard was used to receive aircraft fuselages, wings and other major components from Avro

Avro

Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...

 at Newton Heath

Newton Heath

Newton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....

 and the National Aircraft Factory No. 2

National Aircraft Factory No. 2

National Aircraft Factory No. 2 was a World War I UK government owned aircraft factory located at Heaton Chapel, Stockport. It produced over 450 warplanes during 1918/19.-Management:...

 at Heaton Chapel

Heaton Chapel

Heaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of Heaton Moor to the west, Reddish and Heaton Norris to the east and Heaton Mersey to the west and south...

 for assembly at the nearby Alexandra Park Aerodrome

Alexandra Park Aerodrome

Alexandra Park Aerodrome was the second purpose-built aerodrome in the Manchester area. The site was chosen by the War Department in 1917 because of its open agricultural nature, and lay between the neighbouring districts of Fallowfield, Chorlton, Withington and West Didsbury, at the junction of...

.

The renamed station was closed by British Railways on 7 July 1958.

On May 7, 1964, Granada Television

Granada Television

Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

 transformed the disused buildings into 'Chorltonville', a southern U.S.-style station, for a programme called 'Blues and Gospel Train' with Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

, Sonny Terry

Sonny Terry

Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...

 and Brownie McGhee

Brownie McGhee

Walter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...

, Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an Amercian pioneering gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock and roll accompaniment...

, Rev. Gary Davis and others.

Today, the trackbed of the line crosses a road on the former site.

Diagram of railways in the area of Chorlton and Withington