FLEETWOOD BACK
Will the line to Fleetwood be Britain’s newest preserved railway?
The line between Poulton-le-Fylde and Fleetwood became one of the world’s first holiday resort railways when it opened in 1840.
For 130 years it carried both holidaymakers and Irish Sea ferry passengers into Fleetwood, as well as the port’s once massive fish trade to the junction for the national network at Poulton-le-Fylde.
Right up to summer 1968, Rose Grove shed was turning out locomotives to take coal trains from the Lancashire pits to Wyre Dock for Fleetwood power station, among the last steam-hauled freight services in Britain; the line carried its last passengers just two years later, apart from the occasional enthusiasts’ excursion. Singled in 1973, it was kept open for freight to the port’s nowdemolished power station, Fleetwood coal concentration depot (until 1983) and the ICI Hillhouse complex. The last traffic comprised tankers between ICI and Barry Docks in 1999.
But now, with major advances on several fronts, trains could be running on this half-forgotten line by 2022.
A petition to Parliament has been compiled to support the reinstatement of the Fleetwood line. Negotiations are taking place between current owner Network Rail and Wyre Borough Council for the purchase and subsequent agreement with the Poulton & Wyre Railway Operating Company Ltd for an operating lease to run trains on part of the line on Lancashire’s Fylde Coast.
Poulton & Wyre Railway Society (PWRS) hopes to be operating a service on a short section of track in the Thornton area in four years – more than 50 years after the station there closed. The society’s ultimate objective is to run steam.
The project has been given a further boost by the announcement of plans for the multimillion-pound Fleetwood Quays regeneration scheme. Associated British Ports, which owns the docks, says the project ‘is likely to benefit substantively’ from a reopening of the railway to Wyre Dock. The scheme includes homes, leisure facilities and a hotel. The Campaign for Better Transport has also identified the route as one of the most viable candidates to be reopened.
PWRS Chairman and Secretary Brian Crawford (who took over from stalwart Jeff Banks, who died suddenly in 2017) said: “Fund-raising is a continual issue, as is preparing the mountain of paperwork to ensure the society can progress steadily to achieve its objectives.
“Current ‘office’ work involves registering the PWRS as a charity and establishing the new railway operating company, together with compiling the various safeguarding and operational policies and procedures.”
The society is initially planning to run brake van rides using its Fowler 0-4-0 diesel shunter, and later its under-restoration Class 108 diesel multiple unit, but it also hopes to acquire steam traction, preferably former LMS motive power.
TOUR NO MORE
Perhaps the most contentious item of debate both within and outside the PWRS was the future of the double-track junction linking the Fleetwood line with the main route to Blackpool North.
In 2007, Network Rail spent £2 million replacing the diamond crossing and points, but it was little used.
A decade later, NR put an end to the debate by removing the junction near the now-demolished Poulton No. 3 signal box, ending any hope of the PWRS welcoming trains from the national network.
Critics claim the removal has jeopardised the railway’s chances of attracting lucrative charter business when it reopens. However, most see it as a necessary compromise if they are to obtain NR permission to run trains on the new line.
NR removed the junction as part of its electrification of the Blackpool North to Preston route, completed this spring, meaning that original plans to reconnect to Poulton station will not materialise.
However, President Eddie Fisher added: “While some will be disappointed that the junction has been removed, NR has offered to help us set up two steering groups.
“One will look to develop a new step-free interchange between the Fleetwood branch and Poulton station, while another will look to develop a decent car park.”
And yet, there is ‘passive provision’ for reinstating the junction, and the masts for the catenary have been positioned to ensure that a full reconnection would be straightforward, albeit costly.
PLANS IN DETAIL
The parliamentary petition, submitted by Fleetwood town councillor Mary Stirzaker, and backed by local MP Cat Smith and more than 2,000 signatories, says: “There is a need in Fleetwood for decent transport links on the grounds of deprivation and the poor economy.
“People have to travel for an hour at peak times to get to the nearest station, five miles away.
“This is a beautiful town with an amazing coastline which we cannot share properly due to poor transport links. Fleetwood has great potential.”
For more than a decade, the PWRS has been working to reopen the link to Fleetwood.
The long-term hope remains to run a weekday peak-hour community commuter service to connect with main line trains at Poulton. But for the present, after talks with NR and Wyre Council,
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL TOWN WITH AN AMAZING COASTLINE WHICH WE CANNOT SHARE PROPERLY DUE TO POOR TRANSPORT LINKS. FLEETWOOD HAS GREAT POTENTIAL