Did you know – that the last passenger train to use Grotton Station was in April 1955, when the service to Delph was curtailed and the Lees sheds lost their regular passenger work. The station at Lees had been opened in 1856 and reflected the rapid growth of the cotton industry in this area, with most of the Springhead mills having their own service lines off the new line from Clegg Street in Oldham to Delph via Greenfield
Our first picture shows in fact the ‘Delph Donkey’ approaching Grotton from Oldham in spring 1955. The Liberal Club is easily seen, centre right, behind the Ratcliffe Mill that stood in the valley below what was Kershaw’s Garage.
This is the only photograph that we can find of the early ‘Libs’.
