Unearthed photos of Manchester train stations in the 1980s and 1990s from a former British Rail worker

A former British Rail worker has shared fascinating photos of Greater Manchester's train stations taken in the 1980s and 1990s.

During his time working for the British Rail heritage watchdog, Michael Patterson was tasked with recording the nation's train stations with the aim of improving public relations with passengers. In visits to Greater Manchester, Michael took photos of Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Wigan North Western and Navigation Road train stations, between 1982 and 1993.

Not wanting his mind-blowing collection of over 3,000 snaps of stations across the UK and Europe to go to waste, Michael, who lives in Lincolnshire but is from the Wirral, created a Flickr profile showcasing his photography.

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Michael's images include the buffet area at Wigan North Western and children trainspotting on the overheard footbridge there.

Other photos show Navigation Road station before it became a stop on the Manchester Metrolink system and passengers passing through Piccadilly.

Speaking to Glasgow Live, Michael said: "In the early 2000s, I joined Flickr and thought, 'it's time I shared my photos and put them up'. It was a laborious process. All my collections were slides, transparencies, and I had to upload those to my computer one-by-one, which took a long time. It’s been very worthwhile, though, and I’m glad people can get to see the photos which would otherwise be sitting in drawers."

The photo gallery below consists of Michael’s images of Manchester's train stations. They show how Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Wigan North Western and