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Great
Northern Experience
Adjacent to the former
Central Station was a large freight interchange that
included the Great Northern Warehouse. So large was
this complex that nine acres of streets, hotels, inns,
commercial property, a burial ground and a school were
demolished to make way for it. The complex operated as
an interchange between rail, road and canal. The Great
Northern Warehouse was completed in August 1899.
    The Great Northern Experience web site says of the historic complex, "Inside was a spaghetti junction of rail lines with five platforms and twenty five cranes. To facilitate the movement of goods, wagon turntables were incorporated at the end of the lines to allow wagons to be turned round. The Manchester and Salford Junction canal, constructed in 1939, ran under the Warehouse, passing through a specially-built dock. Two 40-cwt lift shafts were used to transport goods to each of the building's six levels, ready for dispatch to their next destination whether by canal or horse and cart." 350 men worked at the goods
interchange and eighty horses were stabled beneath the
viaduct. During the WWII, the canal that ran under the
warehouse was drained to provide an air raid shelter
for the public.  The Warehouse was
closed in 1963 although it hadn't been used for some
time prior to that. It then lay empty until in 1998
it received a £100 Million metamorphosis creating a
leisure and shopping centre. Today it is home to a
16 screen AMC cinema, a Virgin Active gym, a casino,
bars, cafés and parking for 1200 cars.
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