One of the most unusual animal cargoes to arrive at Liverpool Road Station in Manchester were those destined for the ‘Manchester Zoological Gardens’ which opened in 1838, on fifteen-acre site between Broom Lane and Northumberland Street in Salford. The Manchester Courier reported the arrival of a female Indian Elephant and her mahoot, as well as

“Two fine leopards, a panther, two Antilles monkeys, a common monkey, two Indian sheep, a boa constrictor, a specimen of the cobra di capello, or hooded snake. All were safely delivered to the Zoological Gardens.”

The elephant was transported from Liverpool in a ‘horse lurry’ [horse box] attached ‘to the seven o’clock train from Liverpool’ which was ‘broken to pieces’ by the frightened animal. Her arrival caused quite a stir amongst the townsfolk of Manchester. It was the first time than anyone had ever seen an elephant or any of the exotic animals. She was probably the largest living being that anyone in Manchester had seen before! According to one newspaper, she was

‘Marched from the Railway Station, through the streets of Salford, on her way to the Gardens; her young keeper bestrode her, with is pike, directing and guiding the huge animal … Of course, so novel a spectacle soon attracted a crowd, which increased to great extent … her pace was a quick walk ….’

The Zoological gardens in 1842, due to competition from its near-by rival at Belle Vue, where many of the animals went after closure. The Zoo and pleasure grounds at Belle Vue opened in 1836 and had their own railway station – the aptly-named Belle Vue – and were a major attraction in Manchester until it closed in the 1970s. Over 2 million people visited each year, almost all of them brought by train.