On the other side of the pond, the Americans were also industrializing and started to take a good chunk of the textile business. After World War II, manufacturing continued to decline and the docks closed for good in 1982.
There's still a lot of grand Victorian architecture around the city centre, contrasted nicely by new glassy skyscrapers. The city centre is fairly compact and attractions are walkable to each other. The only time I took public transport was to Salford Quays to see their regeneration work on the former docks.