This is the latest entry into the ongoing saga of how modern roadworks expose history beneath the road surface – and for this website that of course means first generation tram tracks! This time we’re off to Greater Manchester where some track – and setts – have been found again in Sale.
Roadworks are taking place at the A56 Cross Street/Ashfield Road/Atkinson Road junction in Sale as part of a major project to improve the traffic flow here. The work is due to take 12 weeks and got underway on 7th April 2026.
Manchester’s first generation tram network closed in 1949 and so these rails which have now been found have been buried for almost 80 years!
Its not just the track which was buried under the tarmac as the old setts are also there! This is at the junction of Ashfield Street and Cross Street in Sale.
Another view of the exposed track and setts in Sale. (Both Photographs by Keith Chadbourne, 19th May 2026)