A short note about extensive alterations at Manchester London Road Station appeared in the December 1958 issue of The Railway Magazine. The major alterations were designed to accommodate the electrification of the line between Manchester and Crewe.
quote: The Railway Magazine reported that “The improvements include[d] the construction of three new platforms, the lengthening of the existing platforms, to accommodate 16-coach electric trains, and the widening of the concourse. The station [would] thus have 14 platforms, of which ten [would be devoted to main-line and local traffic on the former London & North Western line, and the remainder to trains on the Great Central route. When the alterations [were] completed, the adjoining terminus at Mayfield [would] cease to deal with passenger traffic. A new power signalbox [would] control the area extending to East Didsbury and Heaton Chapel, and will replace 13 manual boxes. Electric trains [would] not be an innovation at London Road, because the Altrincham line was electrified in 1931, and the Sheffield line in 1954.”