Preston Station - The Longridge Line

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THE EAST LANCS LINE

When the Blackburn & Preston line was built, trains used the North Union station, accessing the main line via a junction at Farington, but this only remained the case for a very short time. Just months after opening, it was taken over by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, who also acquired the yet-to-be-built Ormskirk & Preston Railway. When that railway was completed, it crossed the main line and joined the East Lancs line at Lostock Hall. Trains for Preston had to reverse at Lostock Hall to get to Preston - clearly an unsatisfactory situation. The Preston Extension solved that problem providing independent access to Preston via a new line and a new Ribble crossing. At Preston, several new platforms were added to the east of the existing ones, along with a separate L&YR booking hall on Butler St. On the other side of Butler St, the L&Y Goods station was also built, all of which more or less doubled the size of the station.

In many ways, the L&YR and the L&NWR were separate stations, with their own facilities - including booking halls and buffets, although the platforms were numbered in one sequence, with easy access between them.

This photo was taken in 1983 and shows the Butler Street entrance to the former L&YR station. This was also the booking hall, but by the time this photograph was taken, the East Lancs platforms had been gone for almost 10 years. In front of the building are is a nice selection of British Leyland's finest!

Photo by Martin Brown

The East Lancs side of the station is sadly no longer with us, having been closed as part of the resignaling when Preston "Power Box" was introduced in 1972. The photos below show how it once looked, along with the same scene today.

	Spot the difference! [LEFT] The East Lancs platforms and yard as it was in the early 1960s. Black 5 45109 pilots class 4 no.75061 on a Liverpool train. Photo by Stan Withers [RIGHT] The modern scene from the same vantage point. Both photos were taken from Vicar's Bridge, which can be seen in this aerial photo
	Just beyond the station, the East Lancs Line passed over the Ribble. That bridge is still in place. [LEFT] LMS tank no.42154 crosses the East Lancs bridge with a service for Coln in the early 1960s Photo by Stan Withers [RIGHT] The bridge today, still in use as a footpath. This aerial photo shows the bridge from the East, with the North Union (West Coast Main Line) bridge in the background.
	The following five photos of the ELR Goods Station, by Keith Till, were were taken in 1974 when the East Lancs platforms had already been demolished and the goods station was disused with tracks lifted. (c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	"Black 5" no 44734 from 9D Buxton Shed passes through Whitehouse South Jn. towards Todd Lane Jn. on the East Lancs line. Photo by Stan Withers
	(c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	(c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	(c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	(c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	The buildings were eventually demolished to make way for the Fishergate Shopping Centre. The following three photos show this in progress. (c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	(c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/
	(c) Keith Till http://worldsteampictures.photos.gb.com/

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