The Icon

In Oldham, the former Oldham Loop Line served Werneth and Mumps stations, and to get from Mumps to Derker on the way to Shaw and Rochdale, the line had to pass over two bridges over a roundabout serving many major routes in and out of Oldham town centre. To do this it utilised two bridges, one smaller one which was put in when the roundabout was constructed in the 1970s, and this one, dating back to as early as 1961.

This bridge is the original span across what was the main artery route in and out of Oldham to the north. A bridge existed here from the 1870s when the line was constructed, but the bridge was replaced with the structure we see here in 1961, and since then the shot of the bridge at Mumps has become somewhat of an icon of local historical value.