Today we start a new series, “Manchester Metrolink Then & Now”. In this series we will be taking a look at sections of the Metrolink route before the tracks were laid and more recently after services had begun. With thanks to Keith Chadbourne for providing the images the first part of this series will be on the Manchester Airport line.
Our first stop in this series is Hardy Lane. This is now a section of on-street running for Metrolink and is between the stops at Barlow Moor Road and Sale Water Park. A residential area of Chorlton-cum-Hardy the double track of Metrolink runs along the tree-lined road.
This before image was taken on 29th August 2010 and is the south west of Hardy Lane. With housing either side of the road and plenty of trees there is also ample space for on-street parking.
The Manchester Airport line of Metrolink opened on 3rd November 2014 and it’s the second day of operation that we are back on Hardy Lane here with 3062 running along the road bound for Cornbrook (which was where Airport line services terminated to start with). Aside from the fact that there are now tracks in the road not much else seems to have changed with trees, houses and parked cars all still in evidence. (Both Photographs by Keith Chadbourne)