An illustrated talk regarding the Preston and Wyre Railway that arrived at Fleetwood in 1840, bringing the world’s first railway line to the seaside.
The talk will concentrate on the huge importance that Fleetwood held in those earliest days, by being the only way to reach Scotland as until 1856, no locomotive was powerful enough to conquer the gradient of Shap in the Lake District.
It fell back in importance when Shap was conquered, but had become a busy port in it’s own right by then and so it continued to prosper.
However, despite the protestations of Dr Beeching that ALL dock lines should remain open, passenger traffic ended in 1970 and freight in 1999.
However, a local group, The Poulton and Wyre Railway Society has since taken up the challenge of championing the line’s reopening as either a heritage line, or as a Tram-Train project, tied into the rail network.
So come along and hear this fascinating and historic story that firmly put Fleetwood on the country’s railway map and hopefully will be again soon.