Mumps. There was also an intermediate station at Oldham Central. The line and the two new stations opened on 1 November 1847. There was a further extension of the line from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale East Junction on 1 November 1863. This line included stations at Milnrow, New Hey and Shaw & Crompton. A branch off this line to Royton was opened on 21 March 1864, followed on 1 July 1864 by Royton Junction railway station. The operational problems of the Werneth Incline had led to the consideration of a more direct route from Oldham Werneth to Manchester to bypass it as early as 1848, but it was not until August 1876 that construction of the line began. It took nearly four years to complete, opening on 17 May 1880 along with the stations at Hollinwood and Dean Lane. Failsworth station opened slightly later on 26 April 1881. With the construction of this section of line the whole route from Rochdale East Junction to Thorpes Bridge Junction, Newton Heath was complete and it became known as the Oldham Loop Line. Closures The Royton to Royton Junction line was listed for closure by the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. Royton closed to goods services on 2 November 1964 and passenger services on 18 April 1966. Although not mentioned by Beeching, a further closure in the 1960s was Oldham Central which also closed on 18 April 1966. Royton Junction station, renamed as Royton, stayed open but by the 1980s a replacement for it was being considered. Derker opened on 30 August 1985. For a short period trains stopped at either Derker or Royton, but eventually Royton (formerly Royton Junction) railway station was closed on 8 May 1987. This was the last station closure before the whole of the Oldham Loop Line was closed for conversion to Metrolink. Passenger train services The pattern of passenger services over the line was always that all trains from Manchester ran to Oldham Mumps, but fewer continued on to terminate in a bay platform at Rochdale. It was not usual for trains to terminate at Oldham Mumps and instead they ran on to Royton (until its closure in 1966), and subsequently to Shaw & Crompton. While the Middleton Junction to Oldham Werneth line was open there were a few services over that route to Oldham Mumps, Royton or Rochdale. By 1950 this had reduced to a handful