Todays wander takes us down to one of preston little treasures , the ribble steam railway , which can be found at the bottom of chain caul road , which is past the dock basin , on your right after the marina , there as always been railway activity down on preston docks with the linfina oil refinery based down there but of course the docks had more than its fair share of railway lines while it served as a busy port , but the ribble steam railway , began life else where , The project was first started in 1973, a preservation centre opened in Southport, on the Derby Road, in a refurbished Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway steam shed. However, the shed was becoming a costly burden to handle for the museum, so a relocation scheme was started. Preston Docks was chosen as the new location for the museum. Preston Docks has a large railway network, that used to serve the vast docks and quays. But when the docks closed, the railway was not used. The project finally closed the Southport Railway Museum in 1999. The projects new site now could be re-developed with new large workshops, platforms and a museum. The first building to open was the Workshop, in 2001. Locomotives could now go into the building, and more space could now be utilised. Next to the workshop, is the machine shop, built in 1978. At the other end of the workshop is the visitor centre, which contains the museum, cafe, shop and railway platform. The museum was finally completed in 2004. The collection of locomotives , is one of the largest collection of locomotives in the United Kingdom. The museum also operates passenger services to Strand Road Crossing and back, from its own station – Preston Riverside. The frequency of its trains are every hour, and are usually made up of two or more Mark 1 coaches and a small steam engine or diesel engine. This service is only operational in the summer months. Although during school holidays they do run on a Wednesday afternoon too ... A separate company, Ribble Rail, handles the freight traffic that uses the dock lines. Ribble Rail takes over from the DB Schenker locomotive, and carries the load – Bitumen – down to the Total plant near the Preston Riverside station. A DB Schenker-operated train arrives at the riverside sidings near Strand Road Crossing with loaded oil tanks. The locomotive uncouples, runs round and takes the empty wagons. This process occurs very early in the morning s And i can vouch for the noise they makes while passing royal mail offices each morning ..... Ribble Rail shunts the wagons to the siding serving the nearby Total bitumen plant. After unloading, Ribble Rail returns the wagons to the riverside sidings for pick-up. The museum is currently located in Chain caul road There are currently plans to build a station at the Strand Road Crossing, so that the railway can utilise the more popular end of the docks. Then, instead of just a ride on the train, it can be used as a service. A L&YR signal box has recently been bought for the railway. It will be restored to its original condition, and put near the Preston Riverside station. There are also plans to extend the railway to the Ribble Link canal. The route would offer 1.5 miles extra to the line, although plans for this have not been finalised. but it would connect with the ribble link so that people can make a complete journey along the railway ,and then maybe a barge up to the canal , just a thought but you never know ......the ribble steam railway as its own facebook page , which I ll be adding a link to , also its own web page , and so this busy little steam railway as brought a proper working railway back to preston docks , I can highly recommend it for a family visit and you, ll also get a decent brew at a decent price in the café .....the kids will love it and the big kids like me will love it even more than the kids , so if your at a loose end this summer holiday , or any sunday , check it out , god I sound like judith chalmers.... without the tan of course ....... ribblesteam.org.uk/
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:54:52 +0000
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