Preston Station - Waiting Room

NEWS

Tue 9th February 2010

Michael Lancaster

Michael - I got your name and part of an address from the feedback page, but no message or email address to reply to...
Please give it another go, or use the email link at the bottom of the feedback page.

Fri 5th February 2010

RSR Winter Steam Gala

Don't forget... the Ribble Steam Railwat Winter Steam Gala is this weekend....

Fri 5th February 2010

Cotton Mill Changes

The re-arranged Cotton Mill Express will now take a different route to the one booked for the aborted attempt on 30th January.

The new itinerary sees the tour taking two circuits from Manchester to Huddersfield and back, the first returning via Copy Pit and Blackpool, the second via Rochdale.

The train will also terminate at Preston - hopefully at the end of the tour this time!
Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

Wed 3rd February 2010

Cotton Mill Re-Run

The aborted Cotton Mill Express from Sat 30th January will now be re-run on Sat 13th February. The same route and times apply.
Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

Mon 1st February 2010

Tornado from Preston on Thurs 4th

UK Steam.info is reporting that 60163 Tornado will head up an excursion from Preston to Manchester (Museum of Science and Industry) this coming Thursday. Due to the nature of this train, details are likely to be sketchy and it might not be possible to provide accurate times...

Sat 30th January 2010

Cotton Mill Express - update

More information :
Firstly, it seems that 46115 appeared to be in good health between Lancaster and Preston, with the delay being due to problems with the stock necessitating a hasty re-marshalling of the rake.
Also of interest is the fact that Dan Cruickshank was to be seen at Preston this morning. He was supposed to be involved in filming for the National Geographic TV channel, with the loco kitted out for filming.

Sat 30th January 2010

Caped Guardsman

The Cotton Mill Express appears to be cancelled. It limped into Preston already an hour down and has gone no further. Roports on-board the tour suggest a fault with the brakes on 46115 Scots Guardsman which fitters have been unable to rectify.

Fri 29th January 2010

Steam Changes

Please note that Saturday's Cotton Mill Express tour has been amended, resulting in slightly different times at Preston.

Also, the Help for Heroes tour in March has been re-routed.

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

Wed 27th January 2010

Goodbye old friends

They had become part of the fixtures and fittings at Preston, but after many, many years, the two Mk2s and BG van were finally removed last night.

The original plan seems to have been to take them down to the docks for dismantling by the RSR, but for reasons unknown, that never took place. Between 21.00 and midnight, a fork-lift was use to deposit the three vehicles onto low-loaders. They appear to have been moved to storage at Crewe.

Thanks to Mike Norris for the photos

Fri 23rd January 2010

Preston Coaches - Latest

The latest information on the three long-term Preston residents (see 3rd Jan), is that they are to be removed to Crewe by road, for further storage. A loco will be sent on Wednesday 27th to assist with moving and loading.

The vehicles can't be moved by rail due to general poor state of repair, added to which, only the BG has working brakes.

Fri 15th January 2010

Tornado from Preston

HF Railtours have announced a tour for April, featuring new-build A1 Tornado, taking a circular tour round the Cumbrian Coast and Settle - Carlisle line. The tour begins at Crewe and picks-up at Preston.

See NOTICES (left) for details

Web-cam problems

Unfortunately, our Euxton web-cam doesn't seem to have survived the cold-snap. We are working to get it fixed, but a battle with the manufacturer might take some time.

Sun 10th January 2010

Big Changes Planned for Preston

Following an editorial questioning Preston's status as "6th Worst Station", The Railway Magazine has published a letter from Professor Sir Peter Hall, co-author of the report. In it, he points out that the "worst stations" label was not used in the report, with the stations listed being those most in need of investment. More importantly, the letter includes some detail on what is planned for Preston.

The full letter is available HERE, but these are the main points:

Preston's "fine listed structures" to be respected.
New footbridge to span entire station from the car park.
Buses along former rail routes to M6?
Widening of the platform 5/6 island by losing platform 7 (!)
Later re-building of west-side to widen platform 1/2 and bring the REs platform back into use.
Bay to provide "tram train" service to Blackpool South.

Clearly some of these are longer-term aspirations, but the plan is to turn Preston into a "model Sub-Regional Super-Hub station".

Further details and comments on the proposals are HERE. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on this.

TV Alert - Preston Station on TV

Monday on BBC1 at 6.30 :
Great British Railway Journeys
6/20. Preston to Morecambe: Travel documentary. Michael Portillo explores the temperance movement's origins in Preston, visits Blackpool and meets Morecambe's Keeper of the Sands

Wed 6th January 2010

Model Railway Exhibition CANCELLED

The annual model railway exhibition, organised by the Preston MRC, has been cancelled this year due to adverse weather conditions. The exhibition was to have been held at Preston College this coming weekend. There's no news yet on whether an alternative date is being sought.

Tue 5th January 2010

New Freight Timetable

Now on-line and available via the "Timetable" page, or directly here.
Thanks to Mick S for the updated info.

Sun 3rd January 2010

59 down the docks?

The three coaches that were shunted to the south bay of the PCD a couple of weeks back, were meant to be taken down the Dock Branch by the class 67, but for some reason, that didn't happen. It has been suggested that a class 59 is to be sent to Preston to take the coaches to the Ribble Steam Railway for scrapping. With 59204 at Arpley, that perhaps isn't as unlikely as it might sound.