Thanks for the Subterranea link Steve. I've got the Peter Laurie book! Typing Secret Underground Manchester now goes to the Manchester Evening News site which reveals more about the Telephone Exchange System and back up plus the long history underground, including the area along the river. It also mentions the "long forgotten" [not by me] scheme to have an Underground of a different kind ie a Tube System similar to "that London". I wrote to the MEN in 1972 pointing out that, in a war time situation, the Army could lay half a mile of track through the then derelict Castlefield Area if a link between Piccadilly and Victoria Stations was urgently needed.
That's been done recently to provide a direct rail link between North and South as well but it's overcrowded already
On the theme of secrecy re the Microwave Tower chain, the Post Office Exchanges and more generally, I knew and wasn't surprised that the Tube for Manchester idea was rejected in terms of cost and practicality. I'd no idea at all that they actually made a start in Piccadilly Gardens though
I was working there then in the Sunley Buildings Tower Block across from the BBC Manchester [pre Oxford Road] building. Quickly abandoned the project was intended to be constructed between 1973 and 1977. Optomistic at best I'd say. There are two books by Keith Warrender on Underground Manchester [mentioned on the MEN site] I'd recommend. He used to give guided tours!
Dave W
I once helped a widow dispose of a very big lattice type mast that had supported a Triple Short Wave Array and other items. Not Emley Moor size but massive all the same [he owned a piece of land at the
side of his house so the structure and guys etc could be accommodated. I remembered seeing it as a school boy [hard to miss really]. Taking it all down was along the lines of getting one of those dangerous springs in tension out of a wind up Gramophone without serious injury to all and sundry.
They got it on a low loader, used a welding torch to remove the base mounts and drove away. Apparently the chap's wife took one look and said "Not with your heart condition" so it went elsewhere after all that!