A Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our website visitors.

We hope to see you next year.

A late addition to the Gen / Timetable page...

HF Railtours Chester Christmas Shopper will call at Preston after travelling the Cumbrian Coast route from Carlisle. The train will be hauled by a WCRC diesel and will consist of Pullman-style stock.

The train runs next Saturday 17th December.

As usual at this time of year, we start to look ahead at the railtours and excursions which will be coming our way. For the steam-buffs, The Railway Touring Company is leading the way with its Cumbrian Mountain Express trains on five consecutive Saturdays from 28th Jan. Most of these are booked to feature electric traction (class 86) from London with steam taking over at Preston.

This year's Great Britain V tour is a mammoth 9-day marathon and will reach Preston on day 6 with 70013 Oliver Cromwell in charge. The following day, 6100 Royal Scot is booked to take the train to Bristol.

New Book - Out Now !

Bob Gregson's new book on the East and West Lancs parts of the Preston rail network is in the shops now - and deservedly flying off the shelves.

We don't take advertising on this website, other to recommend things which will be of interest to our readers. This book is a must for anyone with an interest in the history of Preston's railways. It's meticulously researched, superbly written and richly illustrated with over 250 images. The book is a large-format (A4) publication running to 180 pages, which makes the most of the detailed maps and drawings which supplement the many photographs.

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway around Preston  is in-stock at Waterstones and WH Smith in Preston  -or can be ordered on-line via Amazon, or directly from the publisher / author HERE

The Ribble Steam Railway in Preston begin their ever-popular Santa Specials this coming weekend. Full details are in the centre panel of this page - or at www.ribblesteam.org.uk

From time to time, we receive information which doesn't easily fit into the existing pages, but which is nonetheless worthy of inclusion. The new Document Archive page is a place for things like that - traffic logs, maps, magazine articles etc.

If you have anything which you think would be a useful addition to the Document Archive, please get in touch!

The new page can be found under INFORMATION on the left-hand links bar.

Following on from yesterday's Edinburgh Explorer II tour, Mike Norris has kindly provided some background information on the class 50's early days in the North West.

The fifty locomotives were on lease from English Electric to BR when new, this borne out by a small plate affixed to the body side witnessed. During this period they were maintained by the famous (infamous?) men in white overalls employed by EE at Crewe works. Their initial time with BR was spent principally to cover the non electrified part of the WCML. Reference to the book by OS Nock - Electric Euston to Glasgow ( Ian Allen circa 1974) reveals that their performance in pairs was two fold, one to obviate the serous delays along the WCML during the electrification process and secondly to give passengers North of Preston a taste of what was to come in terms of sustained high speed running.....[MORE]

In the early 70s, when Preston was the northern extent of electrification on the WCML, Class 50s were the traction which took over Anglo Scottish services from the AC electrics. Early reliability problems led to them often being used in pairs and resulted in the nick name "Fifty-fifties" - their supposed chance of arriving without breaking-down.

We've had visits from preserved class 50s in recent years, but this week will see a pair of the locos in use on Spitfire's Edinburgh Explorer II tour.

There is a light-engine move from Kidderminster to Carnforth on Friday, with a "silly-O'clock" departure for the tour on Saturday and a late return. The 50s are due to return south on Sunday.

The Lancashire Evening News are again reporting on plans for trams in Preston. With the death of the Tithebarn development, the focus on investment in the city has shifted, so just maybe, light-rail may now be seen as something worth investing in.

The LEP report also confirms what we had already guessed - that the proposed Tram Power demonstration line on the former Longridge line in Ribbleton, is now shelved. Information from elsewhere seems to suggest that Network Rail were unwilling to offer a lease on the trackbed, without which Tram Power could not justify the expense of resurrecting the stretch of line.

The focus now seems to have switched to the possibility of a full-blown tram system in Preston.

The Lancashire Evening News published a piece this week about the Ribble Steam Railway's expansion plans. In the short term, one of the existing three buildings will be greatly expanded, with the new space being shared between the RSR and the Furness Railway Trust, who are relocating most of their locomotives and stock there.

Longer term, the LEP article confirms the railway's intention to extend the line westwards to the Millenium Link on the Lancaster Canal.

"The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Around Preston" is due to hit the shelves at the beginning of December. You can be one of the first to get a copy of this superb book by pre-ordering at the link below.
PRE-ORDER

It is meticulously researched and packed with superb photos of Preston and the surrounding railways, plus the author's own hand-drawn plans of many of the ex-L&Y buildings which are no longer with us.

See the Ribble Steam Railway's panel to the left for full details.

Bob Gregson's long-awaited book on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in Preston, is at the printers and will be available to buy at the beginning of December...

Thanks to donations from users, our sister website www.railcam.org.uk now has a brand new high-res camera installed at Euxton. The new device provides better clarity, much improved colour and can be remotely controlled to point north or south depending on lighting and to best capture anything of interest which might be passing.

The camera is now set to automatically grab a still of everything that passes. The stills are available to view via the "watch" page.

The old camera is currently being installed at a new site, and should be available to view very soon.

If you haven't yet registered for www.railcam.org.uk - now would be a great time. We already have over 1,100 users there!

A new name has appeared on the departure boards at Preston, with the opening of a new station to serve the Buckshaw Village development on the former Chorley ROF site. The new station, between Euxton Junction and Chorley, opened on Monday.

Travellers in the 1980s and before may remember that there was a station on this site for workers at the ROF, which had been long disused and taken on a rather eerie, deserted quality.

S T O P  P R E S S...
Regular photo contributor to this website Martin Brown was the first to buy a ticket at Buckshaw Parkway... Euxton Webcam owner Alex Howarth managed to push Martin aside and be first on a train from the new station!

Chorley Guardian article HERE

Train of Hope
It's not too late to book on this charity train. Go on... spoil yourself... and support children's cancer charity too...
< MORE DETAILS under NOTICES

RSR Diesel Gala
It's the Diesel Gala down at the docks this weekend... 
< MORE DETAILS under NOTICES

Virgin's MkIII loco-hauled set will be venturing north during October and November, operating a series of trips between Euston and Glasgow.

The Friday Glasgow-Euston, Sunday Euston - Glasgow trips and associated ECS moves are now on the gen/timetable page.

The Train of Hope railtour is on 1st October. If you would like to travel on this unique train and support children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent, book now...! 

For an even better deal, you could take advantage of a last-minute offer... 

Book 4 tickets and get one free.

If you can't travel on the tour, you can still support the charity by buying one of the limited edition art prints...

<< See left for details 

For those that have left it until the last minute...

There will be a limited number of walk-up fares available for the Caledonian Tornado tour this coming Wednesday. The tour arrives at Preston at 08.43 and departs 09.10.

The tour is steam-hauled by 60163 Tornado, throughout.

Don't forget... this weekend is the Ribble Steam Railway's Steam Gala. Residents John Howe and Walkden will be joined by Pecket 0-4-0 Fulsotow No2 from the Licolnshire Wolds Railway.

The next meeting of the R.T.I.A.S. (Railway Transport and Industrial Archaeology Section), is at the Lightning Club, Mill Lane, Warton, on Monday September 19th at 7:30pm, where Ray Farrell will be covering Euxton to Preston.

Ray is the author of Wigan to Preston: The North Union Line Remembered.

As October comes into view on the horizon and the final Fellsman of the season approaches, we again near the end of the railtour season. In many ways, It's perhaps not been a vintage year , with diesel fans being starved of trains and certainly variety (no 40 or Western for a start). The expected flurry of class 31 tours didn't really materialise - certainly not in this neck-of-the-woods, and class 20s continue to be off the agenda.  With only one 33 available for use at WCRC, a "Crompton" tour has also been absent. On the plus side, this has been a very good year for Martin Walker who must be delighted with how 55022 has performed and with the work it has picked-up. Spitfire's double-headed class 50 tour from Preston to Edinburgh in November is very welcome indeed.

For steam fans, there has been a healthy number of tours, but unavailability of certain locos has seen a steady stream of "Black Fives", with the Carnforth 8F also being worked hard. However, there are plenty of main-line locos which never seem to make it into the North West. Are A4s banned from Lancashire? Tangmere? Even Tornado seems to have been avoiding us (until 21st Sept that is). Rumours that Galatea would emerge from Carnforth this year have proved false, so without Leander, we've even been without a "Jub" 

So what do we have to look forward to next year? 46233 Duchess of Sutherland will make a welcome return after a speedy major overhaul, this time in BR green. Perhaps an A4 well venture this side of the Pennines - perhaps even Flying Scotsman will make an appearance. It's been a while. 

For the diesel buff, we can hopefully look forward to a 40 and a Western back on the main line and with DRS overhauling ex-EWS 37s, there may be more "Tractors" available for railtour work. Anything else would be a bonus. Personally, I'd love to see a pair of class 25s on the main-line, but that seems as unlikely as ever.

The plans to transform the former site of the Lostock Hall Steam Shed, have been announced. The derelict site is to become a nature reserve with features incorporated to commemorate the days of steam.

LEP Article HERE

The Lancashire Evening Post ran a piece last week about calls for the re-opening of the PCD / RES platform (the old Platform 2).

The full article is HERE

The Cumbrian Coast Express to Ravenglass on 24th September is now cancelled. The tour was to have featured the troublesome Scot Scots Guardsman, but the loco can't now be turned for the return journey.

The withdrawal of turning facilities at Sellafield will also mean that other steam excursions to Ravenglass will be in doubt. Security concerns have been cited as the reason.

Five steam tours in six days...

Monday - Mersey Moorlander
Tuesday - Welsh Mountain Express
Wednesday - Fellsman
Thursday - Cathedrals Express
Friday - no steam today!
Saturday - Cumbrian Mountain Express

A general shortage of available steam locos means that the five tours are likely to be covered by just three locos 45305, 48151 and 70013 - unless WCRC can conjure up a Jubilee or something...

Northern "Sprinter" 156460 traversed the Dock Branch and into the Ribble Steam Railway yard this morning. The 2-car DMU set, suffering from wheel-flats,  was then removed on low-loaders by Heanors.

See here for photos  

A unique mixture of wine and railways - this Wednesday at the Ribble Steam Railway...

Places and more informationare priced at £20 and can be booked on-line at the Lancashire Wine School

St Ambrose Players production of The Titfield Thunderbolt starts this week, running from Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th August at St Ambrose Church Hall, Leyland.

70013 Oliver Cromwell is running today's Compass tour between Preston and Carlisle. The tour is due back at Preston at 18.37, where steam gives way to diesel for the return to Crewe.

Class 08 Shunter 08628 arrived at RSR on Friday 5th August. It has spent some time in store, latterly at Blackrod, but hopefully be returned to revenue earning service with Ribble Rail on the bitumen tanker trains in the near future. 

Filming recently took place at the RSR for a series of films to be shown as part of a new BBC series National Treasures Live, which begins tonight on BBC One at 7.30pm.

It appears that the Mark Honey Memorial Tour tour scheduled for tomorrow, which was to have been hauled by 87002 and 86101, has been cancelled tuo to rolling-stock problems.

I've moved things around a bit on this page to try to tidy things up. 

The main change, as you will see, is that the Photo of the Day is now on this side, over the news section. The vacated space on the left now shows the most recent addition to the Photo Archive. Other things which were buried a long way down the page are now more prominent.

From now until the end of August, in addition to the usual Saturdays and Sundays the Ribble Steam Railway will be operating every Wednesday too.

The Cumbrian Mountain Express on Saturday will be hauled by Black 5 45305.

Times for this and the other weekend tours are now on the Gen/Timetable page

HF Railtours' Caledonian Tornado tour is now confirmed for 21st September. The tour will be hauled by 60163 throughout, starting at Crewe and picking up at stations including Preston en-route to Glasgow.

Next month, the Ambrose Players in Leyland will be putting on their production of The Titfield Thunderbolt, which promises to be "full of nostalgia with the sound of steam". The story was made famous by the classic Ealing Comedy film of 1953.
The production runs from 17th - 20th August.
More details on the Ambrose Players website.

There are 9 new auctions going online on Wednesday 13th, including a day in the Virgin Pendolino simulator, with first class travel and hotel accommodation.

The latest group of Train of Hope charity auctions are now going on-line, and there are some interesting railway related items up for grabs.

Already online are:
A day in the TPE simulator for 10 people
Rugby WCML Signalling Centre visit for 6

Also being auctioned in the next couple of days:
Guided Tour Round RAF Odiham 
Longsight Depot Tour 
Some Of The Models From BAE Systems
Cuneo Print 
Virgin Limobike Vouchers 
VIRGIN TRAINS VOYAGER 220 / 221 UNIQUE NOSE SHIELD

46115 Scots Guardsman is now booked to haul the Cumbrian Mountain Express on Saturday.  71000 Britannia was to have taken the place of unavailable 6100 Royal Scot, but its class-mate will now step into the breach instead.

The steam portion of the tour also starts and ends at Preston, rather than Crewe as previously stated.

This Sunday sees the Annual Father's Day special at the Ribble Steam Railway on Preston's Docklands. It is a great day for dads in Lancashire and across the Fylde as the railway plays host to visiting Classic Cars and Motor Bikes from across the region. As well as the visiting vehicles, several of which are travelling quite a distance from the other end of the country, there are the usual steam train rides giving a 3 mile round trip across the dock and alongside the River Ribble. This is one of several events organised by the volunteer run railway throughout the year and more details can be found at www.ribblesteam.org.uk

The Train of Hope Ebay auctions have now ended, but you can still help support the Clic Sargent children's cancer care charity by buying one of their superb railway prints, signed by the artist. The prints can also be signed by Pete Waterman and Richard Branson.

Details are in the NOTICES section on this page. 

New auctions in aid of the Train of Hope / CLIC Sargent charity are now on-line.

Up for grabs are:

- One week in an Algarve Villa. 
- Northern Rail travel vouchers.

Details here 

The Cathedrals Express which was to have featured 86259 Les Ross and 46115 Scots Guardsman, has been postponed until the autumn. UKSteam.info states "pathing issues", but it seems that 86259 might also be unavailable.

The tour is now booked to run on Thurs 25th August.

The Three Peaks Challenge this year is on 23rd - 25th June and will presumably pass Preston on Friday 24th and either late Saturday 25th or early Sunday. The train will be routed via Shap to get to Ravenglass because of the Ardside Viaduct closure.

For more detail, or if you would like to donate to the Railway Children Charity, please visit the website :

www.railwaychildren.org.uk

We can exclusively reveal that as part of the 2012 Preston Guild celebrations:

The Ribble Steam Railway have confirmed that 'Tornado' is booked to visit the railway for the Spring Bank Holiday 2012. This is the first of several special events to celebrate the City of Preston's 2012 Guild Year. The locomotive will be in action on the railways services for 4 days - Saturday to Tuesday inclusive.

Who knows, maybe they can get Tornado to haul the bitumen tanks...!

Preston Station Remodelling
A look at the electrification and station remodelling which took place in the early 1970s.
by Mike Norris

Click Here

"Grimsargh, change here for Whittingham"
A Short History of the Preston & Longridge Railway 
by David Hindle
Click Here

Sadly, Preston North End have today been relegated from the Championship. Coincidentally, the following photo was kindly sent to me today by Ian Billington (thanks Ian). It shows happier times for PNE, and a real rarity for Preston.

A Blue Pullman set stands at Preston waiting to take PNE fans to Wembly for the 1964 FA Cup Final...

A large selection of updates have been added to the to the Gen / Timetable page.

Highlights include a weekly Steam Circular which runs each Monday through August. Also due to return for 2011 are the Wednesday "Fellsman" and the midweek "Welsh Mountaineer" which this year runs mainly on a Tuesday, so it's destined to be a very steamy August!!

Various updates to the Gen / Timetable page have been added...

The Train of Hope tour will run on the 1st October From Crewe to Carlisle with 46115 Scots Guardsman, and will call at Preston. More information here:
www.trainofhope.co.uk

In the run-up to the train, there will be a series of eBay auctions which will raise money for the same children's charities. The following will be up for grabs :

• A day on the Virgin Trains Class 390 simulator at Crewe Training School

• A day with cab ride on the First Capital Connect services followed by an afternoon on their 319/365 simulator

• A day on the Tranns Pennine Express simulator at Ardwick

• 8x Northern rail day Rovers

• Bachmann OO Gauge Somerset and Dorset 7F 53806

• 6 Bachmann OO Gauge Mark One coaches in various steam era liveries.

• A stay of 2 nights for 12 people or 1 week for 2 people at High Mill Self Catering in Pickering

• A framed print by Terence Cuneo of the Rocket drawn in 1948

There are now seven RailPic.net users up-and running :

Andy Parkinson
Kevin Delaney
Railways of Huddersfield
Martyn Hilbert's Railway Photography
Stephen Sumners
James Hillman - Railway and Aviation Photography
RailNorth
British Railways Past & Present - Deltic 21 Photo Site

The Fotopic website, as many of you will know, seems to have disappeared, taking with it numerous rail photography sites. Are you one of those left high and dry?

We're considering offering visitors to this website something similar to Fotopic, along the lines of our Preston Station Photo Archive and Photo of the Day galleries. 

We won't be able to offer free / advert-supported accounts, but we believe that prices will be considerably lower than Fotopic's Premium accounts.

Subject to finalisation, we think we can offer accounts starting at :

£18 / year with 500MB included
Additional 500MB blocks would be £8 / year.

If you are interested, please contact me ASAP via the Feedback page.

www.railpic.net

Various updates to the Gen / Timetable page have been added...

K4 no. 61994 The Great Marquess is due to pause at Preston during its Crewe - Thornton move on Wednesday.

A BRIEF ENCOUNTER on the Sun 8th May -  Two events in the space of 1/2 mile of each other the events are :

CARNFORTH Station (mainly railwayana), where we are holding our first of 2 events of the year, to raise funds for the upkeep of the station. Railwayana, books, signs, badges and models. Starts at 9am till 2pm and is £1 for adults (children free) in the building and under the station canopy. Plenty of parking and a great atmosphere - we will have a number of experts on hand to give valuations and also to buy anything you may no longer want--so please bring your items with.

The other is at CRAG BANK Village Hall, 1/2 mile south of the station. This is the bi monthly event is always packed with model trains and other toy related items £1.50 adults, children 75 p

This is a one off, double feature--a chance to visit around 80 stalls full of railway related items at this famous location-- -

Want a stall? stalls are almost booked up, please don't leave it too late.

Contact the organisers via out Feedback page and We will forward your message.

There appear to be two steam moves next week, passing through Preston. On Wednesday, 44932 is booked on a Southall - Carnforth move, with 34067 Tangmere due to make it's much-delayed trip south to Southall on Friday.

*UPDATE*
Times now available on the Gen / Timetable page.

Thanks to JA for the heads-up

The Ribble Steam Railway are to feature a new exhibition for the 2011 season entitled 'Mail by Rail' featuring Stamps and Postcards.

The exhibition is to be launched Sunday 3rd April, as part of the 2011 season attractions.

More details are available on the RSR website.

The Network Rail website is reporting that good progress has been made on preparation for the North West electrification schemes. So far, work has been concentrated on the Manchester - Liverpool route, which is due to be completed in 2013. Huyton to Wigan should be completed in 2014

Closer to home, the Blackpool - Preston section is due to be finished in 2015, with the Euxton Jct - Manchester Victoria line electrified by 2016.

The suggestion in Railways Illustrated last month, that a class 37 and 08 were on their way to the Ribble Steam Railway, turns out to be completely untrue.

A local group of enthusiasts were looking to purchase former Preston Station pilot 08925, but it doesn't look like their bid was successful.

Today's supposed move to Southall is now off.

Rumour has it that Tangmere will be out on a third test next week, hopefully followed by a move south...

Now that the railtour drought has ended, there have been a large number of updates to the Gen / Timetable page. Further updates are on the way for tours further into the year...

Reports suggest that Tangmere suffered a cylinder leak during its second test run yesterday, and didn't therefore run to Southall as planned. The loco was not in steam this morning at Carnforth, so will presumably now remain there until at least Monday.

Today's planned run south for Tangmere has been postponed. A second test-run is in the offing today, presumably in the same times as Tuesday.

I made an error on the Gen/TT update yesterday. Tangmere's move south is on Thursday 10th, not today.

Black 5 44871 is due to move from the ELR to Keighley, via Carnforth today. 

Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Tangmere has been out and about today on test from Carnforth. If all goes well, the loco should be heading south on Thursday, in advance of a number main-line duties.

Black 5 44871 is due to move from the ELR to Keighley, via Carnforth tomorrow, around mid-day. 

Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

News has been rather thin on the ground of late, but there have been a few recent additions & amendments to the Gen / Timetable page.

If you have any information or photos for this page, please send 'em in. Our photo-of-the-day is now a month old!
Thanks to Lee Woods for compiling railtour info.

If you fancy a pint and a chance to buy a copy of David Hindles Longridge Branch book, feel free to drop in to the Plough in Grimsargh on Tuesday night.

Even though it's been available since just before Christmas, David Hindle's excellent book on the Longridge Branch sees its official public launch on Tuesday 25th January. If you would like to get your copy signed by the author, feel free to bring it along. For those that haven't got a copy yet, they will be available on the night.

The launch will be at 7.30 on Tues 25th January, at the Plough Hotel in Grimsargh.

If you plan to attend, it would be helpful if you could let me know so that David can gauge number. 
Feedback Page

The latest issue of Railways Illustrated reports that 37042 and 08401 might be heading to the Ribble Steam Railway.

The two locos were part of a big clear-out by DB Schenker, who issued a competitive tender list of 103 locos in October.

PLEASE NOTE : 
This turns out to be a complete fantasy on the part of Railways Illustrated. 
See 28th Feb 2011 for more info

We would like to wish all our visitors a very happy and prosperous 2011.

Also, a big thank you to all those who have contributed to this website throughout 2010. We're always on the lookout for photos of Preston Station - old or recent, so please keep them coming. If you have any suggestions about how to improve the site, please get in touch.

We now have a full review of David Hindle's newly published book "All Stations to Longridge", on our sister website www.LostockHallMPD.org.uk. 

The review can be found here

Today's Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express tour sees Black 5 44871 paired with 5890 Leander rather than the double-headed Black 5s which were booked for the tour.

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas and that none of you were amongst the crowds in the plumbing sections of the DIY shops today, as the big thaw reveals burst pipes aplenty.

The regular 1P05 loco-hauled diagram may now have passed over to Virgin units, but the Thursday before Christmas saw the set in use as an extra relief service. The set will again be in Preston on Wednesday 29th in between legs of a London (Arsenal) - Wigan foot-ex.

The last tour of the season, as far as Preston is concerned, is the The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express, featuring a pair of Black 5s. After that, it's time to scour the operators' websites to start to fill-out the 2011 tour timetable. 

The LEP reported last week that Lancashire County Council have put up for sale the "white elephant" Park & Ride at Bluebell Way (M6 J31a). Tram Power's plans for a pilot tram scheme were due to serve the rarely used park and ride, so there may have to be a re-think. 

Latest reports from Tram Power suggest that things are still progressing well, though negotiations with Network Rail and other land-owners have been more protracted than expected. It is still the intention to re-open part of the former Deepdale / Longridge line for tram use.

Tonight's 1P05 friday-only from Euston to Preston will be the final one using the "Pretendalino" loco-hauled set. From next week, the service will be allocated to a Pendolino or Voyager set.

86101 was due to haul Rail Blue Charters' Royal Scot tour to Glasgow on Saturday, but the tour has been postponed due to the weather conditions.

The tour will now be re-scheduled for February/March next year.

The weather has taken its toll on the coming weekend's programme of rail-tours. Compass's Lincoln Christmas Express has been cancelled because the Christmas Fair itself has been called-off. The Edinburgh Christmas Statesman has also been cancelled due to the weather.

Spitfire still plan to have 55022 battle the elements with their Edinburgh Explorer.

It's coming to that time of year again. If you're looking for something to buy a rail-enthusiast relative, or if you need to give someone a nudge in the right direction, there are a number of Preston-related DVDs available out there.

1990s Cab-Ride DVDs including Preston

This Is Preston - Preston in the 1980s & 1990s

Last Days of Steam - including Preston footage

70000 Britannia was due a loaded-test round the usual Carnforth circuit tomorrow, but for whatever reason, it is again cancelled. The loco will run light (+support) back to Crewe tomorrow evening.

The government has today confirmed that the  the Manchester - Chorley - Preston - Blackpool route will be electrified. The original announcement had been made by the previous Labour administration and was subject to review following the election.

It has been reported that electric stock will be cascaded from Thameslink.

It seems likely that electrification of the line to Blackpool will see the end of semaphore signalling, which still survives beyond the reach of Preston PSB.

For anyone planning to be at Preston on Saturday for the Christmas Fellsman, it's worth noting that the Police are planning for possible violent clashes as two opposing demonstrations are planned. 

As many as 1,200 people are expected to descend on the city for marches organised by the English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism. It's perhaps not entirely unconnected that Preston will be entertaining Millwall at Deepdale.

All pubs and bars will be closed on Saturday and temporary fencing is being erected to try to keep the two groups apart.

All Police leave has been cancelled,  so a heavy presence can be expected. 

LEP article HERE

Open-access operator, Grand Central, started their aspirations in 2004 with a proposal to run HSTs between Preston and Newcastle. That idea never came to fruition, but after becoming established on the ECML, Preston may yet see the company's distinctive black and orange livery.

An application has been made to run  direct services between Blackpool North and London Euston starting in 2013. The current anti-competition agreement with Virgin would enable that company to prevent such a scheme from going ahead, but the agreement and Virgin's Franchise expire in 2012, clearing the way for open-access agreements on the WCML.

GC's service would employ 5 Mk 3s with a DVT and class 67 loco and would call at Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton. If electrification of the line to Blackpool takes place, the service would switch to electric traction, with longer term plans to procure new trains for the route.

Un-answered questions about the proposal include platform sizes at Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde, and a shortage of available Mk3s.

Today's planned loaded-test round the Carnforth - Carnforth circuit has been cancelled.

Rumours abound on the various forums, about the reason, but it seems that there was an overheating problem on one of the cylinders, which may or may not be due to a crack somewhere... Certainly, the time taken to get from Preston to Carnforth indicates that all was not well.

There's something to please any rail fan this coming weekend, with no less than three railtours passing through Preston - pretty good for November.

On Saturday, we have Spitfire's Lowland Growler II, featuring a pair of WCRC "tractors", plus another visit by Martin Walker's 55022 on Pathfinder's West Lothian Pioneer. The two "Black Fives" look like they will arrive at Preston on Saturday evening ahead of RTC's Tin Bath Extra tour on Sunday.

The HF Railtours website advises that their Caledonian Tornado tour has been postponed to next year.

On the plus side, Sunday 7th November sees a re-run of last year's Tin Bath Extra tour featuring double-headed "black 5s". The tour starts from Preston, and the stock arrives the night before. Will the Black 5s spend the night at Preston as they did last year?

The much-vaunted replacement for the aging HST fleet is again being re-thought... With plans to electrify lines in the UK still on the table, despite heavy cuts to tackle the deficit, the original plans are having to be revisited. 

A proposal to refurbish existing coaching stock to be used with new electric locomotives, is being considered, as a cheaper alternative to new EMUs.

Times for today's light-engine move and tomorrow's tour featuring "Castle" 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe are now on the Timetable / Gen page

Confirmed times for the BLS tour down the docks on Sunday are now on the Gen / Timetable page. Also added is the other BLS tour, on Saturday, which picks up at Preston and features a pair of DBS calss 66s.

5690 Leander will be at the head of the The Severn Valley Limited to Blackpool on Saturday. The Jubilee will haul the train one way along the Fylde line, with a class 47 bringing the train back.

Leander will return from Blackpool light-engine. Times ARE on the Gen page .

HF Railtours are again using the popular Peppercorn A1 on their latest tour, The Caledonian Tornado. The new-build pacific will again break new ground, this time tackling Beattock as well as Shap as part of the trip from Crewe to Glasgow. The tour picks-up and sets down at Preston. 

The Euxton webcam has been in the news this week. The LEP published an article about it on Monday, which seems to have come to the attention of other newspapers, radio stations and even Granada TV.

The WCMLCam was mentioned in The Sun on Wednseday and interviews are planned for next week by BBC Radio Lancashire and Granada TV.

Greg Fox, proprietor of Foxline Books has passed away after a long illness.

There can hardly be a railway enthusiast out there who doesn't have at least one Foxline book sat on their shelves.

A full obituary can be found here.

Two books which have been in the pipeline for quite some time, are set to be published before Christmas.

David Hindle, a respected author of local history books, will publish his detailed, illustrated history of the Preston Longridge Branch. The book covers all the associated branches and includes over 200 photos.

Also on the way before the festive period, is Robert Gregson's long-awaited reference work covering the L&Y / East Lancs half of the Railways of Preston. He is now turning his attention to a companion volume which will cover the LNWR in Preston.

Both books will be featured on these pages when they become available.

The BLS Ribble & Lune railtour will now feature 55022 Royal Scots Grey following the recent failure of 40145, which will now be out of action for the rest of the year. Martin Walker's Deltic will also cover for the whistler on Pathfinder's 6th November Crewe - Edinburgh trip.

The former Park Hotel - latterly the offices of Lancashire County Council, is to be vacated next year. Once LCC has moved out, the concrete office block, built in the 1960s, will be demolished and the original building put up for sale.

Access to the former hotel building is over Vicars bridge, which once straddled the lines of the East Lancs extension. This also will be removed in the coming months.

FULL DETAILS HERE

Anbrico's excellent Preston DVD This Is Preston is now available as part of a West Coast Mainline (North) box-set. It includes companion DVDs of Glasgow Central, Carlisle and Warrington in addition to the Preston disc and features footage from 1981 to the present day.

Also recently released, is This is Manchester Victoria, covering what was once an essential destination for spotters and photographers and again featuring 1980s footage..

The lack of news in this column recently doesn't mean that I'm not updating the site - there just doesn't seem to have been much to report recently. 

If you see anything that you think should be reported here, please get in touch...

55022 will be wearing-out the rails between Crewe, Preston and Carnforth tomorrow, on a number driver-training runs. 
Booked details are on the timetable page, but there is every chance that these will run as and when a path becomes free.

It seems that the Welsh Mountaineer won't run this week.

If you fancy a short-notice trip on the Fellsman this week, there are a couple of discounted tickets available. They are advertised on the small ads board in Boothes (Lane Ends), priced at £100 for the pair, with the following number :
Preston 780667 ask for Joanne
(I hope I remembered that right !)

To those of a "certain age", mention of a glass bridge at Preston will bring back memories of the (formerly covered) footbridge from the Park Hotel to the then platform 6 at the south of the station.

It seems that the plans for upgrading Preston Station *did* include a new glass walkway between all platforms, but spending cuts have put paid to that idea.

Following serious problems with D1015, Compass have now secured the use of 55022 for their Western and Eastern Coastal Express tour on 30th August.

PC Rail Simulations, publishers of the modern Preston Signalling Simulator, are considering producing a 1960s version, covering the pre-Power-Box era at Preston.

Can you help? 
Firstly, Martin Cookson at PCRS would like to gauge whether there is likely to be any interest. Please let us know if you would be interested in such a product.
Secondly, do you have any signalling information which might help in producing an accurate representation of the complex system which was in use at Preston prior to 1972?

The CFPS's 40145 will haul a Branch Line Society tour on 10th October, which will see the whistler traversing the Dock Branch to the RSR. It will be the first time in over 25 years that a class 40 has tackled the steeply graded branch and crossed Strand Road.

Unlike last year, the Fellsman and Welsh Mountaineer are not booked to be in Preston simultaneously this week. Still, with the unpredictability of railtour pathing, anything could happen!

It was announced last year that Preston Station would receive a major upgrade as part of a scheme to transform some of the "worst" stations in Britain. The recent budget cuts, introduced to reduce the UK's spiralling budget deficit, were assumed to have put the whole scheme on-hold.

A report in The Railway Herald reveals that the planned changes may yet go ahead, especially if a longer franchise is awarded for the WCML operator.

The full story is available in the current (free) issue of Railway Herald.

The Freight Timetable for Preston has now been updated.
Thanks to Mick for putting that together.

HF Railtours advise us that they have been forced to cancel the Heart of England Explorer on Turs 15th July.

HF Railtours have informed us that there are still seats available on tomorrow's tour (Standard Class only). 

Walk-up fares are available on the day and you can still get the £20 discount by mentioning this website or PrestonRailGen. 
See a steward for details.

HF Railtours' 15th July Heart of England Explorer tour will now be steam hauled all the way from Preston to Bristol. The Duke was originally planned to take over at Crewe, but travellers can now enjoy an extra 40 or so miles of steam haulage!

See Special £30 discount Offer on this page

Heritage diesel tours might be a bit thin on the ground this year, but steam fans have much to look forward to. Following the two HF Railtours trips with 71000 Duke of Gloucester this month (see Special Offer on this page!), both picking up at Preston, there's an outing for the popular Cotton Mill Express, featuring 46113 Scots Guardsman.

After that, the regular summer steam season gets underway with weekly Fellsman trips every Wednesday. Last year, two of those coincided with the RTC's Welsh Mountaineer, resulting in a (so far) unique double steam photo opportunity. This year, the Welsh Mountaineer will run on four Wednesdays, again offering the prospect of two steam tours in Preston at once.

As if that wasn't enough, RTC are running no less than SIX Cumbrian Mountain Express trains, three from Liverpool and three from Crewe taking the Shap route to Carlisle northbound and returning via the S&C. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, 6201 Princess Elizabeth and 60019 Bittern are all in the frame for use on these trips.

Let's hope that the hosepipe ban doesn't include the watering of steam locomotives!

Fancy a trip behind 71000 Duke of Gloucester?

HF Railtours have agreed to offer a special discount for readers of this website and members of the PrestonRailGen group.

£20 off any ticket for the 
Cumbrian Coast Explorer 
on 3rd July

£30 off any ticket for the
Heart of England Explorer 
on 15th July

The offer is for passengers joining at any station. Please mention Preston Station Website and PrestonRailGen when booking to qualify.

This year's train for the Three Peaks Challenge by Rail is hauled by 87002 and 67012. On Friday, the northbound leg will be diesel-hauled, with the 87 moving light-engine to Motherwell. Saturday's return to Euston will be in the hands of 87002.

the Three Peaks Challenge By Rail raises funds for the Railway Children charity. If you would like to support one of our local teams, please visit the following website :
http://www.justgiving.com/ratty3peaksteam2010

It seems that Google haven't caught-up with our server move yet and has been pointing back at an outdated copy of the site - giving the impression that the website hadn't been updated for 2 weeks... not so.

Also, the Feedback Page appears to be broken. I'll try to get that fixed very soon, but in the meantime, please use the email link on the Feedback page.

The prospect of seeing trams on the streets of Preston has come a big step closer, with the news that work is to begin in a matter of days, on a section of the former Deepdale / Longridge Branch. Initial work will be concentrated on clearance of vegetation and rubbish, along with remedial work on the track itself between Westview and Miley Tunnel. Installation of overhead wiring is expected to take place shortly after, with the demonstration vehicle taking to the rails in a matter of weeks.

Since the article on this website was written, the focus has shifted slightly to providing a tram service between the Bluebell Way Park & Ride at J31a on the M6, to the Deepdale Retail Park, as the first public service on the line. The existing vehicle, which is already in Preston, is not suitable for use in tunnels, so extending the initial service through Miley Tunnel to UCLAN will have to wait for the new production vehicles, constructed in Ribbleton, and expected towards the end of this year.

After our recent difficulties, I have taken the decision to move the website onto "proper" paid-for web space. The result should be a faster, more reliable website, which also gives me twice the space that I had before. I should now be able to start adding some new pages and lots more pictures...

The gen / timetable page has been substantially updated, with tours, ECS moves and times added.

Some people will have been experiencing problems accessing this website over the past few days. Unfortunately, while I've been away on holiday, my ISP's webspace was "compromised" resulting in a warning being displayed by Google.  The problem was corrected very quickly but it took Google a few days to accept that all was well.

I am now looking into moving the website to a new "home", which will increase what it costs to run the website, but should help to prevent this sort of thing happening again. 

It seems that the planned upgrades to Preston Station have fallen foul of the attempts to reduce the government deficit. 

The new webcam page, with chat option is now live. Please be aware that if you post sightings to the PrestonRailGen group, you must state that it is from the camera. Other groups may have different policies regarding "camera-gen". Please check before posting.

Our very own web-cam, the WCMCam, sited at Euxton, seems to be behaving itself. Now with sound, we have seen over 50 people watching the camera at once this week!

If you manage to grab a shot of something interesting on the camera (Print Screen button, then paste into your favourite graphics/photo application), please send them to us and we will put together a gallery of some of them.

The Foot-ex which was to be run by Fishwicks will not now run, due to problems getting access to Wembley station.
Thanks to John or the information

Blackpool's trip toe Wembley this weekend has resulted in a couple of specials for fans. These and a steam move on Thursday (5972 Olton Hall - probably) are now on the Gen / Timetable page.

The WCMLCam is back on-line...

Better still, while it was away, our little techno-pixies have installed a microphone, so you can now listen to whatever is passing...

Hopefully, the gremlins are now well and truly out of the system and over the next few days, the WebCam page will be upgraded with more features...

The Preston Station Fotopic site has been resurrected. Why? To show a set of photos from the Swanage Diesel Gala last Friday !

prestonrailpics.fotopic.net

Tram Power were kind enough to let us have a look at their plans to bring trams to the streets of Preston.
For the full low-down, you can read the  news-extra page on this website now.

H.F.Railtours are now promoting two tours featuring 71000 Duke of Gloucester The first, The Cumbrian Coast Explorer on 3rd July will see the loco taking the same route as the successful Cumbrian Coast Tornado last month. on the 15th July, the Heart of England Explorer will take passengers from Preston to Bristol, picking up at Chorley, Horwich, Bolton and other local stations before heading to Crewe and Bristol.

Coming in the next few days... A full report on the plans to bring trams back to Preston. Trampower, the company behind the scheme were kind enough to let me see their plans...

I see that someone today clocked up our 123,456^th hit...!

Sadly, thanks to our friends at British Telecom, the Webcam is off-line again. We're sorry to report that it is likely to remain so for a couple of weeks (BT never move quickly).

The only good news is that when it does return, we are hoping that there will be one or two enhancements.

Like last year, 2010 didn't look like a vintage year for classic diesel railtours, but things are beginning to look better for the second half of the year. With tours involving 55022 and 40145 already on the books, Compass have now added a trip with D1015 Western Champion to their books. The Wizzo will take passengers from Crewe, round the Cumbrian Coast, along the Tyne Valley route, then to Durham before returning via Darlington, Skipton and Carnforth.

It's been announced today that Total are putting the Lindsey site up for sale as part of their plans to scale-back their UK operation. It's not known yet whether this will affect the Lindsey - Preston Dock tar traffic.

The Green Express tour planned for 8th April was postponed due to possible strike action, and will now run on Thurs 15th July. Full times for the tour are on the gen/timetable page, along with  ECS timings for this Saturday's Spondon - Edinburgh tour.
Thanks to Nick Harvey for the information

The WCMLCam is now back on-line after an extended absence.

The planned test run this week of 46115 Scots Guardsman didn't take place, so it looks like the Scot won't be hauling the Great Britain III north from Preston tomorrow. Timings appeared on the net last week showing 5690 Leander on an ECS move to Preston on Friday, so it seems likely that Guardsman has been ruled-out for a while, with the Jubilee taking its place. 

On the other hand, a planned move of two black 5s and 70013 from Carnforth to Scotland, has now had 70013 removed from the convoy (uksteam.info)...

With HF Railtours' Cumbrian Coast Tornado having booked up very quickly, the local operator is now planning a second run round the same circuit. 
On 3rd July, 71000 Duke of Gloucester will haul the Cumbrian Coast Explorer. Pathfinder are again acting as booking agents. 

Spitfire's The Prisoner will use two DRS class 37s from Preston to Shrewsbury, with a pair of NR class 97/3s taking over for a trip round the Welsh coast to Pwllheli.

It appears that the repairs to 46115 Scots Guardsman weren't completed in time, so freshly overhauled (and painted) 8F 48151 has taken its place on the Help for Heroes tour.

Tonight's LEP has a piece about the proposed Tram system, which would utilise the former Longridge line track-bed. In addition to the news reported here last week, the LEP says that a deal with Network Rail could be just a month away.

The article also fills in a few more details about the proposed demonstrator line, which would apparently run from the eastern portal of the Miley Tunnel, for 1.25km to West View Leisure Centre. If the demonstrator line is a success, the ambitious plans would see a network linking the park & rides at Portway, Bluebell Way and Walton-le-Dale, as soon as 2012.

Just released : Preston Power Box simulation

For all the wannabe signalmen out there, here's your chance to control (or create havoc on) the railway system round Preston...

Coming soon...
... an archive of  Preston Station photos, covering the 1950s through to the 1990s. The archive currently stands at over 1,100 photos and it's growing!

As a taster of what to expect, I've added the Random Archive Photo pane on this page. It should load a different photo every time you visit the website!

It was reported last year, that a demonstration tram line could be built on the former Preston - Longridge trackbed, in the Westview Leisure Centre area. At the time, it was envisaged that such a project could be up and running by Easter 2010, with extensions to the Station and to the Bluebell Way park & ride planned for the future.

It's perhaps not surprising that the ambitious Easter target was not met, but the project isn't dead. Negotiations between Network Rail and Tram Power Ltd are still on-going and the company estimate that the demonstration track could be ready within 3 months of signing a lease.

There have been numerous traction changes announced for steam tours over the next month or so. Chief amongst these is a complete re-hash of the Great Britain III, which will now feature 70013 in place of 6201 (and before that, 6100) on the Day 2 Bristol - Preston leg. 

46113 is still booked for the day 3 Preston  - Glasgow leg, with no stand-in loco yet identified to cover, should the Scot not be fit in time.

The final day of the Great Britain III was to have seen 46113 Scots Guardsman hand over to A4 no. 60019 at Preston, but this will now take place over on the ECML at York. 6201 will cover for 46113, if required.

On the previous weekend, The Waverley tour will now feature 6201 Princess Elizabeth instead of 70013 Oliver Cromwell.

Phew.... I hope I've got all this right...!

The Green Express tour schedule seems to be concentrated to the north and East of Preston this year, with only their 8th April trip from Carnforth to Brighouse will passing our way.

Details are on their website www.greenexpressrailtours.co.uk

The proposed route for the "HS2" north-south high speed rail line, has been announced. The notion of a new station for Preston, has now been dropped along with anything north of Manchester and Leeds. Under the proposal, the high-speed trains from Scotland would run over existing rails as far as Manchester before joining the new high-speed line. Quite how that squares with the can happen when the northern part of the WCML is already considered to be congested, is anybody's guess. Capacity issues must also arise for any route between the WCML and Manchester.

Phase one would see an expanded Euston linked to a new station in Birmingham, with separate lines to Leeds and Manchester coming in the second phase.

Pathfinder's Yorkshire Dalesman tour on 17th April is now booked to be hauled by a Freightliner "Ugly Betty" class 70. The tour passes through Preston in both directions.

2010 looks like being another sparse year for classic diesel railtours, through Preston particularly. It's good therefore to see that Spifire's Capital Deltic, which takes Martin Walker's 55022 from Preston to Kings Cross via Doncaster and the ECML, is now taking bookings.

By June, Royal Scots Grey will be back running on two Napier power units after receiving D9016's good engine, which is currently being overhauled.

There doesn't seem to have been much to report for the last couple of weeks... 

News on 46115 is that it is still on-course for a return on 27th.

Various ECS moves have been added to the Timetable / Gen page. Thanks to the PrestonRailGen group for the information.

Good news for anyone wondering if / when the WCML-Cam might be back in action... The camera has been returned in working order from the manufacturer and is currently on-test. It should be back in-situ in the next few days...

The latest news on 46115 is that the damage to the inside motion, whilst costly to repair, won't keep the loco out of action for too long. It is currently hoped that the loco will be fit and well in time for the Help For Heroes special on 27th March.

It seems that Scots Guardsman has suffered a serious failure involving the inside motion and cylinder. The tour was dragged to Manchester Victoria by a WCRC class 47, where passengers had to make their way home on service trains.

46115 has since returned to Carnforth, taking the scenic route via Hellifield.
Thanks to John Duckworth

One report on the PrestonRailGen group suggests that The Cotton Mill Express may have failed again, this time somewhere south of Eccles. The report timed 9.48 says that the train is awaiting a tow back to Preston.

Engineering work north of Preston means that  the loco and stock can't return to Carnforth until Sunday evening. As always though, be aware that ECS timings can be "flexible" and it's quite likely that it could leave early if engineering is completed ahead of schedule.

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

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.

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

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

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

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

See NOTICES (left) for details

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.

Also, I would like to thank all the people who have contributed to the site - there are too many to mention. If the emails I receive are anything to go by, it's certainly appreciated.

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Adrian

The loco will run in LMS lined black livery for 2010, a livery it carried for a short period from 1947. 

The plan is to start with a small stretch along the former Longridge route, behind Westview Leisure Center. If all goes well, that line would be extended northwards to Red Scar and south to the Railway Station. Ultimately, the line would serve the "park & rides" at Bluebell Way and Walton le Dale.

Oh yes... and the trams could be powered by a wind-turbine!

Full story on the LEP site

Don't forget, 6201 Princess Elizabeth is due in Preston on Saturday night at about 20.42, leaving again on the back of an ECS to Liverpool Lime St at 08.56 on Sunday morning.

We have experienced a few teething problems with the WCMLCam, but hopefully they all sorted now.

New on the website today... A webcam!
The camera is "trained" (pun intended) on the WCML at Euxton!  It should be operational 24 hours a day, but you'll have trouble making out very much after dark. 

Stock and WCRC diesel will come from Carnforth, with "Lizzie" arriving from Crewe shortly afterwards. Presumably 6201 will be added to the north end of the train, with the diesel at the south ready to haul the ECS in the morning.

Times are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Thanks to Darren and the PrestonRailGen group for the gen.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.

The list does include some fairly dismal stations, but is Preston really that bad? I wouldn't have thought so, but I suppose some investment would be nice, as long as long as improvements are made in a sympathetic way.

No doubt Network Rail and Virgin will now formulate plans to turn Preston Station into a shopping arcade.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8364380.stm

The tour is being operated by Spitfire Railtours - full details are available here...

It seems that a combination of a troublesome TDM connection and an out-of-hours driver resulted in the 87 being left at Preston.

Update : Royal Sovereign is still at Preston as of Tuesday evening. There's currently no news of when it will leave.

However, if anyone fancies offering their services to update this website for me during the odd weeks that I am away on holiday, I'd like to hear from you.

Perhaps these two events helped attract a few more visitors to this website.... the result being over 1,000 hits in the space of a week. Those hits came from 376 people - 80 more than the previous record!

If you are one of the new visors to this site, I'd like to hear from you....how did you find us? what do you think of the site? is there anything else you would like to see added ?

Thanks to everyone for visiting! 

Thanks to Darren on the PrestonRailGen group for the times.

Preston features days 3,4 and 9 of the tour with the train arriving from Bristol on 8th April with 6100 Royal Scot in charge. The following day, a more familiar classmate, in the shape of 46115 Scots Guardsman takes over, hauling the tour north to Glasgow via Dumfries.On 14th April, Guardsman kicks-off  the final day, bringing the train from Edinburgh, giving way at Preston to A4 60019 Bittern for a run along the WCML to London.
Full details here

Thanks to Alastair Smith for the hads-up

More details here

The Blackpool Illuminator, which was due to be hauled to Preston by "Castle" 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, is now reportedly cancelled.

Just one of the proposed routes involves Preston, with trains between Euston and Carlisle, via the Cumbrian Coast.

The plans are likely to be controversial for several reasons. Mr Yeowart left Grand Central under something of a cloud, having been involved in their development of new routes - some of which allegedly coincide with the GNER plans. Also, the current franchise agreement with Virgin for the WCML precludes the granting of Open Access licenses over the route. Any GNWR service would therefore have to wait until 2014.

more : 
The Railway Herald
Modern Railways

UPDATE : Black 5 45231 Sherwood Forester was the loco in charge of the final Fellsman of 2009

The Ribble Steam Railway Photo Competition is open until the end of the month... get your entries in!

Photos of the event can be found here...

Tomorow's excursion will now be hauled by 46115 Scots Guardsman

The tour is still booked to return to Preston behind the Black Five, which still appears to be spending the night at Preston.

Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Details HERE

Amongst the clips are shots of 60009 UoSA at Preston on Monday and Leander leaving Bamber Bridge on Wednesday. Others include 87002, 60026, 56312 and 6233 DoS.

Visitors Video Page

The idea of producing a DVD of Preston footage is still not dead... Again, if you are interested, please let me know. Any profit from a release would be donated to a selected charity. 

Buried in amongst the detail is an interesting diagram (page 24), labelled "Station layout where non stop trains pass e.g. Preston" which shows four lines between two island platforms allowing non-stop trains to pass at speed...

Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Steem enthusiasts will have to head over to the S&C on 10th October for their only chance to see the new-build A1 in the north west this year.

There have been various other updates to the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to various members of the PrestonRailGen group.

All we need now is for Virgin to ditch the 90 in favour of one of those nice new ETL 86/7s, which are coincidentally in matching colours to the stock...

Details and link to the Budgie site are on the Gen/Timetable page.

However, the announcement also identified three more routes to be considered : The Midland Main Line, Manchester - Preston and Liverpool - Preston. On closer inspection, the latter refers to the line between Liverpool and the WCML at Wigan, rather than an extension of the Merseyrail system to Preston, which many people have suggested in the past.

More here.

The word is that the Cargo-D set + DBS class 90 will be used on the Friday-only relief to Preston tomorrow night. Whether that will be the case in the coming weeks, is anybody's guess. The WB64 set may become available, or a Voyager could be substituted.

Times for the FO relief are still available on the Gen/Timetable page, along with various other bits & bobs added recently.

6233 has been a regular performer on railtours over the past few years, but is approaching the end of its main-line certification, so this will be one of the last chances to see the loco in full-flight for quite some time.

On Thursday, 5972 Olton Hall, in its Harry Potter Hogwarts Express guise, will be running from Carnforth to Southall, probably in connection with the launch of the latest film.
Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Full details of tours running on Friday and Saturday are also on the Gen/Timetable page.

Such a move would also allow the aging fleet operated by Northern to be replaced by EMUs when they come up for renewal. 

If all this sounds a bit like Groundhog Day, you are right. This is far from being the first time that such a scheme has been considered, having come close to actuality in the 1980s. As recently as January this year, Preston Council published a report on the subject All aboard electronic trains for Preston.

If classic diesel traction is your thing, check out the Preston-related DVD titles on our DVD Listing Page, which includes a selection of Cab Rides through Preston.

Confirmed times are now available for all of these, in the usual place.

Thanks as always to Darren and the PrestonRailGen group

This will be a blow to the rail-tour market, in general and particularly in the steam sector. PTR is responsible for the popular and (apparently) successful monthly Cotton Mill Express trains, as well as many other steam tours over several years. With the Kingfisher also having run into difficulties in the last few months, it seems that the rail-tour market is finding that times are tough. If an established operator like Past Time Rail can struggle, it seems likely that other companies, particularly smaller and less well-established ones, may follow.

There are also a couple of stock moves through Preston today. These are following last weekend's event at Eastleigh.

PRESTON PASS 16:21
and
PRESTON PASS 16:13

Thanks to Darren and the PrestonRailGen group for the info.

www.northerncharters.org.uk

The DVD can be bought directly from the Anbrico website or via Ebay. The DVD is also included on our new DVD listing pages.

SPECIAL OFFER :
All cheque orders placed via the Anbrico website will qualify for a 10% discount. This applies to their North West Class 101-116 DMU title as well as This is Preston.
Please quote the following code when ordering : PREWEB

SPECIAL OFFER :
All cheque orders placed via the Anbrico website will qualify for a 10% discount. 
This applies to their North West Class 101-116 DMU title as well as This is Preston.
Please quote the following code when ordering : PREWEB

Some details are on their website and all three tours are now listed on the Gen / Timetable page.

There are some places still available on the tour,  which picks-up at Preston, available via the Northern Charters website.

The all-day event will take place on Thursday 6th August with ‘John Howe’ dirtied up for the occasion and the possibility of a period road vehicle or two on the swing bridge. 

The cost of £35 per person covers the opening of the railway specifically for the event, with RSR staff needed at the Control tower. Places are limited to 15 people.

Andy Fowler writes : "We are looking at 6 – 10 wagons possibly in 2 formations, including NCB-liveried hoppers. The idea is to recreate a traditional Docklands theme. There is also the possibility of a line-up of a couple of other locos, either in ‘light steam’ or a simulation thereof (rags in the smokebox!), including the L&Y ‘pug’; the latter has been discussed with the RSR and agreed in principle. I’m aiming for a lineup of ‘pugs’ under the steelwork in the evening." 

For more information, please use the Feedback page, and we will pass-on your messages

Details in the usual place.
Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the times.

Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the bad news!

46113 Scots Guardsman is still booked to take the train north on Thursday morning.

Details in the usual place.

Details in the usual place.

According to www.uksteam.info , Saturday's Cumbrian Mountain Express featuring 6233 Duchess of Sutherland will now be steam hauled south through Preston.

The tour was originally booked for a loco change at Preston, which was then changed to Lancaster. The change will now happen at Crewe, which means that the tour will now pass Preston steam-hauled. 

Details in the usual place.

We're back on-line now... sorry for the break in transmission!

See NOTICES for an explanation of what's been going on...

Carnforth 1994 - 2000
Carnforth 1998 - 2008
West Highland Railway
Railways Around Lancaster

* A special discount is available for readers of this website! *

Full details are available here.

There are a couple of Green Express tours next month, which are now listed on the Gen / Timetable page. Generally, despite the lack of anything very much in the last few (and next couple) of weekends, the rail tour schedule is looking quite healthy for 2009. It will be interesting to see if Statesman Rail's weekly steam tour up and down the S&C (from July) can attract enough paying customers - especially in the light of this weekend's Cotton Mill Express cancellation.

The Freight timetable is still available on the Gen / Timetable page, but it's worth noting that a full working timetable is now available for Preston on the UK-Railways.com website. You can view it here.

Aparrently, there's a tour booked for Wednesday 18th from London Euston to Carlisle via the WCML outward and back via the Cumbrian coast. Class 90 haulage appears to be booked on the Westmoreland Hill & Cumbian Coast  except for the coastal run, which will be class 67-hauled.

Details on the Gen / Timetable page.
Thanks to PurfleetSteve on the PrestonRail group for the info.

"From Monday February 16th a further 16 daily Virgin services will be added to almost 100 services that were introduced in December.  London Midland will introduce an extra six services to add to their 52 extra services added in December. Southern will see the extension to Milton Keynes of its 32 trains between Watford and south and west London..."

This will presumably mean that the loco-hauled Friday relief will commence on Friday 20th.

The new trains will be a mix of electric, diesel and bi-mode configurations, with the diesel and bi-mode versions incorporating hybrid technology, as trialled on the NMT HST set. 

It seems likely that Sunday's ECS return to Carnforth will not feature any DRS locos, with the 57 being utilised instead.

Thanks to Alan Taylor for the info.

On 6th June, two AC Locomotive Group locos will top & tail a trip from Crewe, Warrington, Wigan and Preston to Glasgow, with an optional excursion to Ayr and back as an alternative to exploring Glasgow. Blue/grey Mk2 stock from Rail Blue Charters / Cargo-D will enhance the 1970s / 80s look of this tour.

Details are now on the Timetable / Gen page. Further details and booking information can be found on this webpage.

Today's FO relief from Euston, as predicted, is booked to be handled by a Voyager set. This is likely to be the case for at least another month, until the VHF timetable can be implemented in full.

46115 is running a private charter from Hellifield to Carlisle and back, on Thursday (5th). There are ECS moves before and after the excursion, both of which involve a short stop at Preston.

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page as always.
Thanks to Ian on the PrestonRail goup for the info.

It's beginning to look like the Friday-only relief from Euston may not be loco-hauled this week as planned. It seems that the full implementation of the high-frequency timetable is to be put back - to a date as yet unspecified. This will presumably mean that a Voyager will continue to be available for the Friday relief so the EWS 90 and Cargo-D stock won't be required for the time being.

Often cited as a potential "infill" electrification scheme, the route between Preston, Bolton and Manchester is currently under consideration as part of a national study into electrifying more lines. Last night, Preston Council threw their weight behind the proposal, highlighting the many benefits that such a scheme would bring.

The Preston - Bolton - Manchester line has always been one of the more obvious candidates to be electrified, partly because it is often used as a diversionary route when the WCML is closed south of Preston. Proposals for such a scheme have been made several times over the years, including the mid-1980s. The recent removal of the listed "flying arches" at Chorley effectively removed one of the obstacles to electrification.

The amusingly named "All aboard electronic trains for Preston" is available to view on the Preston City Council website.

Ian Birch writes with news that  it seems that there will be two of these trains this year, which are usually class 67-hauled through Preston.  The trains are run by the Railway Children charity for teams of intrepid walkers to climb the highest peaks of England Scotland and Wales in just 3 days.

The trains will run in June and September, but if you would like to support the charity, you can do so by visiting the link below. Ian is involved with the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, from which a team of people will be taking part in this gruelling event. Their website is here...

Ian's Fotopic site is dedicated to "The Ratty" is ...here...

Compass Tours have announced a number of railtours which involve Preston. The list for the first half of 2009 includes classes 37,40, 47 and 50, with destinations such as Carlisle, York, and Devon. 

Details of the tours which stop at, or pass Preston are on the Gen / Timetable page now.

As always, please get in touch if you think you find anything wrong or missing...

Also added on the Gen / Timetable page, are three Vintage Trains tours which have been recently announced. 9th May sees 86259 Les Ross bringing a tour to Preston where 46115 Scots Guardsman takes over for a trip both ways over Shap to Carlisle. 86259 will again be involved on 30th May taking a tour as far as Carnforth where an 8F will take over to Ravenglass and back. Lastly, 20th June sees a GWR "Castle" making a similar excursion to that involving 46115, except on this occasion, the change to steam will happen at Crewe.

The diagram is a one-way trip, with the stock returning ECS. Since there are only a few Virgin drivers who sign the class 90s, the set will stand in the station for an hour while the driver takes a break. It will then move north to the PSB, before leaving for Wembley 15 mins later as 5A05. Times are on the Timetable/Gen page now.

Thanks to Mark for the info.

Also, there seems to be some confusion over the start date for Virgin's loco-hauled Fridays-only service from Euston to Preston. Unless someone has any different information, the situation seems to be as follows :

• The new service will begin this Friday (9th Jan), but will be covered initially by a Voyager set.
• Friday 30th January should be the first loco-hauled service, arriving at Preston at 21.55. There is no return service and there's no word yet on the time of the ECS.
• For those wishing to hitch a ride on the loco + Mk3 set, booked stops include Warrington and Wigan, but these are set-down only. This is presumably to help it keep pace with other WCML traffic by minimising station stop times. It may be possible to hop-on un-noticed, but  it's certainly not strictly allowed.

I hope those hang-overs are beginning to fade... 

Have a great New Year.

Adrian

Well, it's that time of year where website-owners are supposed to issue a Christmas Message to their readers. I'm glad to say that the number of people visiting our little corner of the Inter-Web has increased by 35% over the year, so I guess we are doing something right... I say "we", because although I run the website myself, It wouldn't be much good without all the help I get from a whole list of people too numerous to mention here - you know who you are! A special thanks must go to Darren at the Preston Rail Yahoo! group for all the information he shares with us all, plus regular photo contributors Martin Brown and Mike Thomas.

2009 should see some big changes to the website. There is a large backlog of material to add to the historical parts of the site, including more from the camera of Tony Gillett. For the fan of modern traction (and I include anything after about 1972 in that!), there should be a big expansion of the Rail-Blue page, which will be joined by pages covering the 1990s, both pre and post-privatisation.

As always, if you have anything you would like to contribute to the website, or if you have any suggestions about improvements or additions, please get in touch. 

For Preston Station, 2009 should be a year of changes, with the new multi-story car park being completed, plus several changes designed to make Preston a station fit for the 21st century.  Sadly, that will mean an end to some familiar features such as the main footbridge, but time marches on...

My New Year Resolution is to change the photo at the top of the page more regularly - daily would be nice, so please send in those photos!

So, have a cracking Christmas and New Year. Perhaps I'll see one or two of you on the 29th for the class 56 tour...

Adrian

As previously reported, the new timetable comes into force today and brings with it a number of changes for Preston. With the upgrade to the WCML (almost) complete, Virgin have introduced their new high-frequency timetable, although the new weekly loco-hauled diagram to Preston on Friday evening won't start until January. The changes will also mean that Pendolinos will no longer be stabled in the station  overnight, although a 57 will continue to be stationed at Preston during the day, travelling back to Longsight in the evening.

Changes on the Blackpool North - Chorley - Bolton - Manchester route mean that the "new" class 180s will now arrive at Manchester Victoria, removing the option to leave the train at Oxford Road or Deensgate as well as Piccadilly.

The expected large reduction in freight through the station doesn't seem to have materialised just yet, although it seems likely that there will be more use of the Settle & Carlisle route in the coming months following its upgrade to provide an alternative to the WCML, especially at peak times. 

The new Freight Timetable, courtesy of Darren and the PrestonRail Yahoo Group, is available now on the Gen/Timetable Page.

This is perhaps one to be filed under "Wishful Thinking", but a couple of weeks ago there was a whisper that DRS had sourced 6 class 56s for use in favour of 66s. The story goes that the fuel economy of the 66s is poor compared to the Doncaster & Romanian-built veterans. Does the fact that 7 of the class have now been moved to Crewe lend any credence to this? According to The End of the Line  the seven Crewe locos have now been moved inside the DMD at Crewe, with an eighth loco currently at Warrington . The numbers also seem to add up, with 6 machines rumoured to be heading to DRS - perhaps that's six plus one or two as spares donors?

In the wake of DRS's decision to take -on 55016, and with their track-record keeping 37s and 20s on the rails, perhaps class 56s wouldn't be such  a ridiculous move. Various people have suggested that their fleet of 20s might be getting to the point where they are no longer economical to maintain.

Of course this may all turn out to be complete rubbish... Watch this space.

Spitfire have announced two tours for the first part of 2009. In February, 2 DRS class 20s will be in charge of a tour from Birmingham to Carlisle, with an outward trip via the S&C and a return over Shap. One month later, the Celtic Growler will start from Preston with a pair of WCRC 37s taking a jaunt via Manchester, Leeds and York to Edinburgh.

Details of both tours are on the Timetable / Gen page. More information can be found on the Spitfire website.

A new timetable for Freights through Preston Station is available on the Gen / Timetable page.

A big "thanks" goes to Darren at the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for this information.

The details are for the new timetable which begins on 15th December. Hopefully we will be able to add more information in the coming weeks and also include times for Lostock Hall, where freights are routed via the S&C.

The good news for the time being is that the number of freights using the northern part of the WCML doesn't seem to have decreased as expected.

Carnforth
A new DVD covering a wide variety of subjects at Carnforth between 1994 and 2000 is now available :

"This DVD filmed from 1994 onwards shows the many passenger and
freight workings in and around the Carnforth area. There is vast
variety of steam and diesel locomotives on this DVD

The DVD starts in 1994with 31439 'North Yorkshire Moors Railway ' in
regional railways livery on a Barrow- in- Furness to Manchester
Victoria passenger service also featured on this service is BR blue
31427 ."

Contact me via the Feedback page if you would like further details.

Preston
Although it's been mentioned here before, if you would like to see footage of Preston, there is another DVD available at Peter Cooper's www.railwayDVDs.org.uk website. "Roaming the North West Rails - The Very Best Of Preston" is a 2-volume set filed between 2000 and 2004 and featuring no fewer than 14 different classes of locomotive plus a sprinkling of steam.

The End of the Line is reporting that the log trains currently hauled by Virgin 57/3s may be in the hands of Colas 47s in the near future. It's possible that these will be amongst the services which will travel via the S&C and therefore avoid Preston.

Hopefully, we will be able to provide a comprehensive freight timetable for both Preston Station and Farington / Lostock Hall, when all the changes have come into force. 

A second, similar tour will run on 25th April next year featuring two Network Rail class 37s - now 97/3s.

Details are available at the Pathfinder site and on the Gen / Timetable page.

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

The LEP reported on this plan a couple of weeks ago, and the article is now available here.
You can read the excellent Railway Herald here. The article is on page 10

Times from the PrestonRail Yahoo! Group

For those that haven't seen it. There is a new page on the website, which is a home for photos of interesting and unusual diesels at Preston. In the transition years, BR ordered a huge number of new diesel types. Some never made it beyond prototype, whilst others entered service, but were out-lived by some of the steam locos they were meant to replace...
  Early Modernisation Plan Diesels & Prototypes at Preston. 

Gen courtesy of Darren on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group

For those that aren't familiar with these DMUs, they were specified as a 125mph HST replacement for line from Paddington to the Westcountry. Unfortunately, the result of poor reliability and the re-engined HSTs have left them unwanted by First Great Western and placed in store. It now seems that various operators including Northern and Hull Trains are interested in using them.

Until recently, the popular theory was that Virgin would be taking on two class 180 Adelante sets, which would enable the existing loco-hauled set to be handed back to Porterbrook. The set is due for major overhaul, which Virgin seemed to want to avoid. That seems to have changed, with their option on the 185 sets dropped and an overhaul of the MK3 set booked for early next year.

It seems that as an interim measure, a Cargo-D set may be hired-in when Virgin start their Voyager service to Chester. It may yet be that Virgin will operate two loco-hauled sets once the high frequency timetable kicks in...

Acknowledgement to various sources on WNXX and Northern forums.

Thanks to Mike Birtles for the nod - Details in the usual place...

This year, the we have had visitors from over 30 different countries and the statistics show that a healthy number of people check back on  a regular basis. This is all good news and means that I need to keep the updates coming regularly, which I try to do.

I'd like to say a big "thank you" to everyone who visits the site, and especially to all those who contribute (you know who you are). 

If you have anything you would like to contribute, or have any suggestions to improve the site, please don't hesitate to get in-touch.

Adrian

Thanks to Dave and Darren for the info.

With the real thing being scarce, you could always while-away a couple of hours or so with DVDs from www.RailwayDVDs.org.uk , including some shot entirely at Preston. Roaming the North West Rails - The Very Best Of Preston!  is a 2-DVD set shot between 2000 and 2004, featuring classes 20, 31, 37, 40, 43, 47, 50, 56, 57, 67, 86, 87, 90 and 92....

With a run of successful tours under their belt, and a loco and stock from well-respected sources, Spitfire must have been pretty confident about the Electric Scot ... Sadly,it all went rather pear-shaped half-way through the tour, after the passengers had been successfully delivered to Glasgow. The loco, 87002, then develeoped a fault which meant that the rather incongruous 57 on the back of an otherwise 1980s retro train, had to take charge of the return trip.

Reports of a fire on the 87 were thankfully exagerated, and the loco was hauled dead-in-tow on the back of the train. The AC Loco Group have an excellent reputation, and it seems likely that the fault was just unfortunate, and "one of those things.

Hopefully it will be "third time lucky" for whoever decides to run the next class 87 tour...

As always, the details are on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil Dimmer for the heads-up.

It should be pointed out that stock movements are notoriously unreliable, and quite likely to run ahead or behind time, or even not at all...

The times for the above, and various others over the next two weeks have been added to the Gen/Timetable page, including confirmed times for next week's Electric Scot featuring 87002 and ECS moves featuring a pair of class 50s.

Thanks to UKSteam.info and various people on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for the info...

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Dave Hoyle and WNXX / Snapper for the info.

Preston times are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Does anyone know more? Drop me a line via the Feedback page ...

Photos : D Hunt.

Confirmation of this is on the Royal Scots Grey website

Thanks to whoever pointed this out to me via the Feedback page

Next weekend there's the Deltic Settler, which is due through Preston on its homeward leg, although possibly a bit late in the day for a good photograph.
Correction - Next week's Deltic Settler has been cancelled. 
See above.

Timetable / Gen Page

As always, if you spot an error or omission, please get in touch via the Feedback page.

Timetable / Gen Page

• Ormskirk - hourly service recommended
• Southport - mention is made of the suggestion of resuming train services between Preston and Southport which would require the re-opening of one or more of the Burscough curves. This could happen between 2014 and 2019, subject to a favourable demand  study.
• Bay Platform - "conversion of the existing engine siding into a bay platform" - currently under consideration... not sure which siding they mean.
• Changes to platform 1 & 2 will involve removal of the existing buffet and crew accommodation in favour of new provision, clearing the busiest area for passengers.

There may be other things in there that I haven't spotted. Let me know if you find an interesting nugget of info...

Note : this move did take place, more or less on time. I heard it pass Cadley Causeway bridge with a blast on the whistle at 05.13.

Most recently, a new group has been started to post old photos of Preston - particularly from the 1980s and 1990s. There are already some photos posted, with more promised...

PrestonRail Yahoo Group for general chat and gen
PrestonRail80s-90sPhotos for 1980s/90s photos

The Parry People Mover trams are being considered, which use a flywheel system to store energy to propel the vehicle, with a regenerative breaking system feeding back to the flywheel.

Interestingly, the piece closes with a statement from council chief executive Jim Carr saying that "a light railway running from the docklands - which is operated as a twice-weekly freight line and  by local steam ralway enthusiasts  - would be connected to the city's railway station by the time the Tithebarn opens in Spring 2014. 

Exactly what is meant by that is anyone's guess!

Anyone nervous about booking on this tour after the last-minute failure in 2007, shouldn't worry. The AC Locomotive Group and the Cargo-D stock had a flawless record when they were operating regular services for Hull Trains earlier this year.

Details are on the Gen Page

Details are on the Gen Page

Details on the Gen page.
Thanks to pnemicky for the heads-up and UKSteam.info, as always.

It's all a bit of a let-down for those who were hoping for a faithful repeat of the original "15 Guinea Special", but at least there's the chance of photographing 1T57 over the S&C as per the original.

The good news for Preston steam buffs is that there are two light-engine movements heading through Preston today, ahead of tomorrow's tour.

Lostock Hall timings are on the Gen Page
Full timings on UKSteam.info

Times are on the Gen page

Times are on the Gen page

8F 48151will kick-off the tour in the place of unavailable Black Five 45305, while sister locos 45231 and 45407 locos will be used on other legs. 

ECS times are on the Gen page - main tour timings still to follow...

Times for Lostock Hall are on the Gen page

The Dalesman ran today with 48151 in charge. 
Thanks to Darren clearing that up.

There's also a correction to the Dalesman ECS, which now correctly shows it as running this Saturday evening, not Sunday as previously stated. 

The "Crompton" is due to pass Preston at 12.16 on Friday.

Details courtesy of the U-K-Rail yahoo! group.

Details courtesy of the PrestonRail yahoo! group.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk/next.html

See the Gen / Timetable page for details

See the Gen / Timetable page for the return times and tomorrow's ECS.

67020 is in charge of the Three Peaks after 67021 was taken off the rear over night (personally I was hoping for a 44, 25 and a 46 triple-heading!)

The good news is that the loco and srock will be stabled at Preston over night, heading off to Crewe in the early afternoon on Sunday.

Full times are on the Gen/Timetable page Info from the PrestonRail Yahoo! group.

The City of Glasgow Explorer run by Vintage Trains, appears to have been cancelled. More information as it comes...
Thanks again to Darren on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for the info.

Thanks to Darren on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for keeping us up-to date.

 I've added a permanent link from this site (menu-bar bottom-left).

Roaming the Rails - The Very Best of Preston - Volumes 1 & 2 are available post free for £9.95 each, or £15.95. The two volumes cover 2000-2002 and 2002-2004 respectively, bringing us the last 4 years of regular loco-hauled trains at Preston. There are lots of Virgin 47s, 86s, 87s, 90s and HSTs, interspersed with various freights and railtours - ideal to remind us what things were like before the great plastic revolution!

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/1015peterc
If you prefer not to use Ebay, I can put you in touch with the seller directly.

The usual disclaimer - I have no connection with the producer of this DVD, but I HAVE bought a copy and can recommend it on that basis.

Jim Markland, railwayman and author passed away on Friday. Jim was known to north west railway enthusiasts as the author of the highly entertaining "Bolton Engineman" trilogy of books, which chronicle his experiences on the footplate as a Fireman working out of Bolton Shed. 

Sadly, the reunion for Bolton Shed, which Jim was instrumental in arranging, will take place this evening at the Ribble Steam Railway without him.

The Settle & Carlisle Explorer on 5th July has been postponed by Pathfinder due to the unavailability of Network Rail 37s (97/3s).

Spitfire's Fellsman Chopper on 2nd August is also postponed due to pathing dificulties due to upgrade work on the WCML.

Details on the Gen / Timetable page

Just added to the Gen page is Fishwick's Mid Wales Borderer Blackpool - Cardiff tour for 19th July. Pathfinder's Snowdonian tour runs on the 12th from Preston to Porthmadog.

Also added - The Green Express tour on 23rd August taking a pair of WCRC machines from Lancaster, Preston and Blackburn via the ECML to Edinburgh.

Details on the Gen / Timetable page
Thanks to Neil Dimmer, Dave Hoyle & Keith Sergeant for various nuggets of information.

More on the Visitors Page

In the meantime... 
I can recommend the following for anyone with an interest in "heritage" DMUs. :
The North West Class 101-116 DMU DVD
The DVD is available via their Ebay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Anbrico-Felixjaz and includes a short(ish) section filmed at Preston in 1987 along with plenty of 101s, 104s, 110s etc at Manchester Victoria and other North West locations.

Standard Disclaimer...I have no connection with Anbrico other than being a satisfied customer!

A new Yahoo! Group has been set-up to cater for Preston rail enthusiasts. Group owner Darren has already posted some useful times and other information.

For those not familiar with Yahoo! Groups, they can be accessed either by the web, or like a mailing list, where messages arrive in your e-mail in-box, and you reply in the same way as an ordinary email.

The group can be found here:
 http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/prestonrail/

The Black Five used on The Cotton Mill Express will pass through Preston  before the tour:

Saturday : 05.29 (Preston pass Carnforth - Man Vic)

Although the tour itself doesn't reach Preston, it does pass south of the city via Farington Curve. On this second "circuit", the tour will have "whistler" 40145 in charge:
Saturday : 19.26 (Farington Jn)

The following day, a WCRC diesel will collect the coaching stock and return it to Carnforth via Blackburn :
Sunday : 12.55 (Preston pass Man Vic - Carnforth)

Black Five no.45231 is due to pass Preston at 12.05 today. 

Sorry for the short notice, and thanks to Neil Dimmer for the pointer to GoingLoco for the times

Confirmed times for the Ynys Mon Express are now available. This will be hauled by a WCRC locomotive (47 / 57) in bolth directions through Preston. 

Full times on UKSteam.info. Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the nudge.

It's a quiet weekend this time around, so perhaps the KWVR Diesel Weekend would be make a change...

Thankfully,  Saturday 14th has a little more to offer, with 37s, 47s and 67s on railtour duties. The Ramsden Renegade is still showing on some websites, but Pathfinder appear to have replaced the already-postponed class 31 tour with a 37-hauled tour with similar itinerary.

There have been varios other changes and updates to the times, but there are plenty of gaps to fill and times to confirm yet...

Thanks to Martin Brown for noting varios changes.

Sorry for the short notice, but 34067 Tangmere is due to pass through Preston at 11.08 this morning, en route to Southall from Carnforth.

Details on UKSteam.info

Thanks to Mike Birtles for heads-up (which was sent in plenty of time).

I've made various additions, corrections and updates to the Gen/Timetable page. There are more to come though, because there seem to have been several changes since I last did a sweep of the various tour operator sites.

If you spot anything wrong or missing from the list, please get in touch.

Passing times for Saturday's PMR tour featuring 6233 Duchess of Sutherland are now on the Timetable/Gen page. 

Preston times are on the Gen Page.
See UKSteam.info for times elsewhere 

The Pathfinder Cumbrian Mountain Explorer, featuring 6201 Princess Elizabeth is now showing as cancelled on the UKSteam.info website. The associated tour on 31st May is not yet shown as cancelled, but 6201 was to have remained at Carlisle between the two tours. This leaves Pathfinder with the choice of cancelling the second tour, running 6201 light to Carlisle, or operating the tour steam both ways... 

Kingfisher have announced a regular Dalesman service from Hellifield to Carlisle via the S&C on Sundays beginning on 27th July and finishing on 7th September.

Although the tour itself doesn't involve Preston, the steam loco will move from Carlisle to Hellifield on the Saturday evening, pausing at Preston for 50 minutes.

Locomotives for the service will be taken from the Carnforth pool, which include 48151and 70013 Oliver Cromwell.

Thanks to UKSteam.info and Neil Dimmer for the info
Details in the usual place : Gen/timetable page.

Thanks to those who contacted me to say that the tangmere move did go ahead on Thursday, passing quietly through Preston at about 22.07 - about 2 minutes after I left! 

34067 Tangmere doesn't appear to have made the expected move to Carnforth - at least not at the expected time. Does anyone know if the move happened early, late or not at all?

Thomas Cook have a foot-ex bringing Rangers fans down to Manchester today. The train will be top & tailed with class 67s and is due through to arrive for a short stop at Preston at 12.52 (dep 12.54).

34067 Tangmere is due to move from Southall to Carnforth on Thursday evening. UKSteam.info has full times. Preston times are in the usual place...

Gen/timetable page.

Now on-line : four video clips of recent tours, including D1015, 40145 and 6233 on Saturday.

See the Visitors page...

This months Traction Magazine includes an article featuring loco hauled trains on the Preston to Ormskirk line. Entitled, "via Midge Hall", the article is illustrated with photos of classes 08, 31,37,47 and a 56!

PLEASE NOTE - the times published at UKSteam.info contain an error, which means the Preston times given here are incorrect for the outgoing trip.

This makes the Preston time 11.02, not 10.37 as previously stated. The other times should still be correct. 

Apologies for the error, and thanks to Mike Birtles for pointing out the mistake. Gen/timetable page.

The Duchess of Sutherland will pass through Preston no less than four times on Saturday, thanks to the need to turn the loco after arrival at Blackpool. Full times in the usual place...
Gen/timetable page.

Former footplateman Bob Jackson, known to local rail enthusiasts as the author of the hugely enjoyable book Steaming Ambitions – The Footplate Recollections of a Preston Engineman, passed away suddenly but peacefully at his home in Chorley earlier today.

His footplate career started as a cleaner at Preston shed in October 1960 and with promotion to passed cleaner, he moved to Newton Heath in September 1961, only to return to Preston the following March. Eventually moving into the Top Link at Preston as a fireman, his work often took him to Glasgow and London and his final job with a steam loco took place in June 1966. Bob took his driver’s examination in March 1969 and from which time he worked on most diesel and electric classes along the West Coast Main Line until ill health caused his premature retirement in August 1996.

Day one of this tour is due to call at Preston on Friday.
gen/timetable page.

The passing time at Preston is now on the gen/timetable page.

The usual bank holiday class 90 hauled diagram is expected to run again today. The 13.43 departure from Euston should be extended to Preston, arriving 16.24 with a 17.02 return South.

Times are now available for most of the weekend tours. Still missing though are times for the Kingfisher trip with a pair of 37s. 
Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

Those of us who waited in vain for the Electric Scot Farewell tour at the end of last year, will be pleased to hear that 87002 will not now be exported to Bulgaria with the rest of the class, and has been claimed by the AC Locomotive Group.

The loco is already well on the way to appearing back on the main line, with OTMR already fitted and a repaint underway.

Details on the AC Locomotive Group website.

Confirmed times for the Bank Holiday Weekend tours are beginning to filter through. If you have confirmed times for 86259 on Vintage Trains' Cumbrian Explorer or the 37s on Kingfisher's The Settle & Carlisle Experience, please let us know.

Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

Compass Tours have been regular users of class 47 haulage on their tours, but the coming Bank Holiday sees them making use of the CFPS's 40145.

The CFPS have now announced that the same loco will be used on another Compass tour, The Whistling Fellsman, on 2nd August. That tour will pass through Preston on the outward trip, with a return via the Settle  & Carlisle line.

Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

I've added a few more diesel tours to the list. If you spot anything I've missed, please drop me a line. 

Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

Confirmed timings have been added on the Timetable / Gen page for three Compass tours on the 5th, 17th and 31st May. 

Carl Hughes writes with news of a new DVD:
"I have recently released a DVD featuring classes 20-56 on our heritage lines doing what they do best, making plenty of noise. There are also a few clips on the mainline including 37416 blasting up Preston dock incline on a tour in 2005."
Visit www.hellfireheritage.co.uk for further information or to order a copy.

After a week away, there are one or two things to report...

One or two people have reported problems viewing the website over the past week or so. All appears well at the moment, but my ISP has recently been taken-over, so that might explain any hic-ups. 

Please let me know if the problems continue.

Sir Nigel Gresley arrived 15 mins early on Wednesday, then departed after just 10 mins, 5 before it should have arrived. 

Photos of 60007 and the black 5 45407, by our Dave Martin

Updated on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil Dimmer

If you fancy turning out to see the move, be warned, it's an early get-up...

Preston times are on the Gen/Timetable page.
Full times on UKSteam.info.
Thanks to Jack Prentice

The jaunt which will include a 47 for insurance and will take the loco from Carnforth, via Hellifield, Blackburn, Cherry Tree, Farington Curve, Preston and back to Carnforth via the WCML. 

The timings include a 1hr 17min wait in Preston.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil Dimmer

That's three tours this year featuring the Deltic, With Fishwick's Post Centenery Special, also in July and Spitfire's Capital Deltic in November.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Paul Whiteside for spotting this

Elaine Speight chose the Miley Tunnel as the subject of her MA in Fine Arts Studies. The result is a website which examines various aspects of the tunnel, from its history to the plants which now grow there. There's plenty to click on and explore, and it 

The website can be found here.

At the moment, this service is booked for a class 90 and Mk3s, arriving at 16.19 as 1T63 and leaving at 17.00 as 1T05.

It should be noted that some of the Mk3s in the set are high mileage and Virgin are trying to limit their use to avoid a major overhaul before they are returned to Porterbrook. For that reason, it would be no surprise if Alstom/Virgin manage to conjure a Pendolino set instead.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.

Spitfire Railtours have announced the Capital Deltic tour for November, starting from Preston and travelling via Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Leeds, Doncaster and the ECML to Kings Cross.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.

See news item from 10th March for details.

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil for the pointer.

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Andrew for pointing out the ones that got away.

Make the most of this and the steam tour, because unless I've missed something  (quite likely), we have a 6 week gap before the next railtour at Preston!

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Martin for pointing out the omission.

The main tour loco is BR Standard 76079, but on arrival at Preston, 6201 Princess Elizabeth will be added to the train for the journey via Chorley and Bolton to Manchester Victoria.

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil

Title is '40th anniversary of the end of steam on BR' by Robin Lush. Robin will be showing the period from August 1967 to August 1968 and his search of the last steam workings on BR during this period, which I am told will include the North East in Autumn 1967, the areas of shap and Settle - Carlisle line before Carlisle Kingmoor closed in December 1967 and the run down of the last remaining depots and steam services
in the North West during 1968.

Admission is £3.00 including raffle and tea on arrival. pie and peas supper at half time iis an extra £2.00.. The show will start at 7.30pm.

Updated times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Dave and Martin for the nudge!

Also, he information in Saturday's bulletin was incorrect. The containers were lost over Shap, not Beatock, and there was no derailment. Apologies for the duff information!

The line is closed, and expected to remain so for several days.

As a result of the incident, the Caledonian Sleeper was terminated at Preston, providing an unusual sight in daylight hours.

Thanks to Martin Brown for highlighting this.
See the Gen/Timetable page.

The train will have a 50+ minute stop at Preston for water.

Thanks to Neil Dimmer for pointing this out.
See the Gen/Timetable page.

The Deltic went back to Castleton earlier than planned, passing Preston about 14.15.

Thanks to Rob for the heads-up

See the Gen/Timetable page for times

It can be found HERE 

Updates to the Gen / Timetable page :

4 loco and stock moves for Deltic 55022 Royal Scots Grey for Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th Feb.

Also, added BLS 66-hauled tour on 1st March.

The Steam Locomotives and Railwaymen of Rose Grove Loco Shed
A slide show will be held at Greenbrook Methodist Church in Lowerhouse, Burnley on Friday 22nd February. It will be presented by Barry Atkinson as part of the 40th Anniversary of the end of steam.

More details here.

I've added various contributions sent to me by Trevor Machell over the past few months. His detailed log of traffic from August 1961 has been added, accessible via the Regulars page. There are also three interesting photos from Trevor, which are on the Platform 4a, Platform 4&5 and South End pages.

There have been some new additions to the Gen / Timetable page too...

Meanwhile, we are fast approaching the 10,000 hits mark for the site - a figure I would have expected to take years, not just six months. In hitting that figure, the site has had visitors from as far afield as Hong Kong, USA, Denmark, Czech republic,  New Zealand, Japan - in total, 16 countries in the last two months alone!

Hopefully everything is back and working as it should, but if you find any broken links or other nonsense, please let me know - via the Feedback page, if it works.

Adrian

71000 will be removed at Preston on the return trip.

Full times on the Timetable/Gen page.

Timetable/Gen page.

With nothing much happening at Preston today, I paid a visit to the East Lancs Railway. In addition to taking a ride on the line, I managed a little wander into Castlecroft yard.

The photos, for a limited time only, are on the Gallery page

I recently came across a box of tickets from the early 80s (I keep everything!) which include some from/to Preston. Just as a bit of fun, I've scanned them and given them a page of their own.

More details here.

The Minster Day Out run by Kingfisher Railtours will now run a week earlier than planned on 1st March. Since that's (almost) Mothers Day, Kingfisher are letting mum go free with a familly of 4!

More details here.

A slide show will be held at Greenbrook Methodist Church in Lowerhouse, Burnley on Friday 22nd February. It will be presented by Barry Atkinson as part of the 40th Anniversary of the end of steam.

More details here.

I have added a few photos of the Preston Docker tour. They can be found on the Visitors page

It is reported that 67029 is heading the train. 37401 will be added to assist at Preston and Heysham, possibly being removed at Preston on the return trip.
Timetable/Gen page.

Times for the Preston Docker remain unchanged for tomorrow. I have no confirmation on the traction, but a 67 + 66 combination still looks most likely.
Timetable/Gen page.

Heartland's Cumbrian Cruiser is now cancelled. 

Various times have been added for tours including Spitfire's 37-powered excursion in March. 

The latest on the Preston Docker is that it will be either 2 x EWS 66s or EWS 67 as main loco with an 66 being added to the back at Warrington to assist in and out of Preston Docks and round Heysham. The tour is routed such that the train will be turned for its southward return, so a loco may be removed at Preston.
Timetable/Gen page.

Rumours have been circulating that the "Preston Docker" may be top & tailed by a DRS 37 and a pair of 20s. This may just be wishful thinking though as it now seems that EWS will be providing the motive power. That being the case, a pair of 66s look most likely, as with previous tours to the docks.

The "Turning Movement" tour (an offshoot of the "Les Ross Day Tripper") is being offered at the bargain price of £25, providing a run behind 47773 to Preston from Liverpool, then with 86259 leading to Crewe and finally 47773 again back to Liverpool. 
Timetable/Gen page.

Thanks to those who have flagged-up tours which were missing.

Timetable/Gen page.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

The Timetable /Gen page has been very popular and I'd like to thank everyone who emailed me to let me know about things I missed or got wrong (hopefully not too much was wrong) - again, please keep the information coming.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the site over the past few months.

Lastly, following the rather damp-squib that was the final class 87 outing, here is a photo from Keith Till of a class 87 in happier times (1978 to be precise).
Adrian

Perhaps this isn't the send-off for the class 87s that we were hoping for, and I'm sure that some Spitfire will be "spitting fire" themselves, since the blame for this shambles doesn't appear to lie with them.

The only hope of seeing an 87 on a passenger train again now would seem to lie with the AC Locomotive Group. Hopefully they will succeed in their aim of preserving an 87 (87002 ?) and bring it back to the main line as they have with 86101.

Times for the tour remain unchanged - see the Timetable/Gen page.

The gallery is HERE.

Just a reminder... the last 87-hauled mail train is due southbound through Preston tomorrow (Sunday) at 13.32. This of course isn't cast in stone, and could always turn out to be a 325 unit.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

LATE NEWS
I've just heard that the 90 and stock will NOT now operate the relief, with a Pendolino taking its place. I haven't been able to confirm this yet, but I suspect it's correct.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

One of the 87s is also expected to be on a final mail train on Sunday 23rd passing Preston @ 13.32

See the Timetable/Gen page.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

See the Timetable/Gen page.
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the information. 

See the Timetable/Gen page.
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the information. 

Tangmere is one of the mainstays of mainline steam, but operates mainly on its home territory, so this is a rare chance to see a Southern streamliner at Preston.

See the Timetable/Gen page for Preston times
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the nod - times from the excellent UKSteam.info

See the Timetable/Gen page for Preston times
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the nod - times from the excellent UKSteam.info

Of course it is possible that the AC Locomotive Group might acquire one and return it to the main line in the future, but that's by no means certain.

See the Timetable/Gen page for Preston times
Thanks to Gwot on various Yahoo! groups for sharing the details.

I'll post times if / when I get them.

55022 is booked to leave the East Lancashire Railway at 11 o’clock on Wednesday morning (5th Dec). The LE move is still via Carnforth, but won’t now include 26024 which wasn’t registered in time to make the journey.

Info from the Rail-gen-online Yahoo! group. 

Times are on the timetables/gen page

Thanks to Martin for letting me know about this one.
Times are on the timetables/gen page

Times are on the timetables/gen page

Full times are on UKSteam.info.

The DVD is available here.

Please note that I have no connection with Visions International, and haven't seen the DVD. I'm simply passing on information which may be of interest to some readers.

The tour runs on the 1st March 2008.

timetables/gen page

Thanks to Andrew for the "heads-up"

There's just the diesel section of the Welsh Marches Express to look forward to tomorrow, plus the usual 57/3 activity on Virgin "drags".

I don't know whether this is a change in name or whether it has been known as such for some time - perhaps someone can let me know...

If there is a name change involved here, does this involve a change in use for the yard?

Feedback Page

Of course, we are now in the quiet-season as far as railtours are concerned, so now we will be looking to see what the various operators announce for next year (see below for an early highlight).

On the plus side, I have added Pathfinder's Settled Settler to the gen/timetable page. That tour will feature a pair of Riviera 47s and will run on 29th Dec - the same day as the Spitfire 87 tour. Alsoe added is a Compass tour from Stockport to Sterling, Perth and Dundee.

Times for all up-coming tours are on the gen/timetable page.

The Fifteen Guinea Special, on 10th August, is a re-run of the final steam service on BR in 1968. An effort is being made to use the same route and locomotives, where possible. The Manchester - Carlisle leg (passing Preston)  is scheduled to be hauled by 70013 Oliver Cromwell. The BR Standard was one of the locomotives which featured in the original tour and has been undergoing restoration to mainline standards. The Carlsile - Manchester return leg should be in the hands of "Black Fives" 44871 (again, one of the locos used in 1968) and 45407 which will run as 44781 for the day. A third "Black Five", 45305 will be used on the Manchester - Liverpool sections. The tour is being run by the West Coast Railway Company.

Times for all up-coming tours are on the gen/timetable page.

Details of the tour can be found here. Provisional times are on the gen/timetable page.

If anyone has a photo of yesterday's specials, let me know and I'll add it to this page.

Drop me a line via the Feedback page if you have a photo or news to contribute...

57311 and 310 continued to Longsight for damage assessment, whilst 57303, the Preston standby, was coupled to the front of the logs and shut-down waiting to continue its journey in the usual path today.

Photo (above) courtesy of Mike Thomas.

Changes to the Derbyshire Dalesman tour mean that the steam section will finish at Manchester Victoria on the return section. Consequently, the two steam locomotives will only be seen at Preston on the outward trip.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

If you were booked on this tour, please confirm this information before altering your plans.

The Compass statement regarding the cancellation is here.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

In connection with the planned use of 86101 by Hull Trains whilst one of their 222 sets is out of action, the preserved AC electric will be doing a test-run from Crewe to Carlisle and back today. Stock will be 5 Mk3s + 1 Mk2 brake.

Times are a bit vague, but expect it through Preston after 10am. The return leg should pass at around 2pm. PLEASE NOTE These times are estimates and will be subject to change anyway.

Due to the vague nature of timings and short notice, I will not be adding this to the Gen/Timetable page.

There is a Northern Belle excursion picking up at Bolton and heading for Carlisle on Sunday. The Northern Belle website gives no clue as to whether the train will go via the WCML or by the S&C. If it turns out to be the former, we can expect the top & tail 67s through Preston at about 08:25.

 Again, since I can't be sure whether this train will pass Preston, I won't be adding it to the Gen/Timetable page.

The Vintage Trains tour to Ravenglass on Sat 20th is now to be in the hands of 8F 48151 rather than 6233 Dutchess of Sutherland, due to gauging problems.

The 8F will be visiting Ravenglass this weekend too (although not involving Preston). Times for the steam leg of that tour are now available, so we have a rough idea of when the 47-powered tour will pass Preston.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

47s are the order of the day (or rather -week) with three pairs passing through Preston on tours on Friday and Saturday. 
The railhead treatment trains now seem to be in full swing too, with the added bonus of 57-powered drags at the weekends.
See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

After the busyweekend last week, this saturday sees just one tour  through the station. Times for the Steamy Affairs Blue Pullman trip are on the Timetable / Gen page.

Times for the Compass Tours Cumbrian Coast Express on the 13th October, are now on the Timetable / Gen page.

The New Measurement Train passed through the station twice today on its way to/from Blackpool.

Photos are on the Visitors page.

Photos of todays visiting locos are now on the Visitors page.

Times for the Steamy Affairs Lakes Explorer are now on the Timetable / Gen page.

Previously missing from the Timetables/ Gen page, there are now times for this 47-powered excursion from Carlisle to Euston (Friday) and returning on Saturday. 
NOTE I have seen two versions of these timings. Since I don't know for certain which is correct, I will list both sets of times.

Times are now available for tomorrow's Cumbrian Coast Circular tour, which should be Victa Westlink / Riviera 47s. 

Times for the Pathfinder "Lakeland Express II" tour on Saturday, featuring a pair of EWS 37s,  are now available. 

The New Measurement Train (otherwise known as the Flying Banana) is due through Preston on Sunday. Times in the usual place.

All these are now on the Timtable / gen page.
Thanks to the usual sources! 

Thanks to Neil Dimmer for the info.

Thanks to Mike Thomas for the heads-up.

LINKS
There are already quite a few there, but if I have promised a link to your site, or if you can recommend any other useful addresses, please get in touch.

REGULARS
I'm looking for suggestions and contributions for this. The idea is to show typical traffic at Preston, rather than the specials and one-offs which are covered elsewhere.
Please have a look at the page for more on how you can help.

Both new pages have links towards the bottom of the button-bars.

As always, if anyone has anything more concrete, please let me know and I'll post it here.

UPDATE
A comprehensive list of this year's trains can be found here:
http://drs-rhtt-2007.blogspot.com/2007/09/guide.html

Details are on the Timetable / Timings pages.

Can anyone confirm this? Did it run yesterday?

Drags, it seems will start today. There were two 57s at the station yesterday.

Lastly, you will find photos of the Buxton Forrester tour on the Visitors page.

Of course if you just want to call me a "nerdy anorak" or something, you are welcome to remain anonymous.

For those who prefer to be tucked up in bed at that time of the night, the empty stock working will be tomorrow, passing Preston at a more civilised 14.03.

Full details are on the Timetable page. 

I had somehow managed to miss a Compass charter from the list. The tour runs from Crewe to Ayr next Saturday (22nd). Booked locos are 47839 + 47769, the latter receiving it's first passenger turn since 2001.
Full details are on the Timetable page. 

Messages posted on the Trans-Pennine-Gen group say that there will be regular Pendolino drags between Manchester and Preston (via Bolton and Chorley) on Saturdays and Sundays for the duration of the new timetable. 

There seems to be some doubt about this, so I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who can confirm / deny this.

Well, we've passed the 1000 hits mark in a fairly short space of time. That's not bad for a website covering a single location. In the last week, we've also had the odd hit from outside the UK including Canada, USA, Italy and South Africa too! 

47813 and 47828 were booked to do the ECS north today, so presumably the same to Cotswold locos will do the trip to Waterloo. 

Thanks to my usual sources for this information.
Times are on the Timetable page with the latest information I have. 

Starting on 29th March and ending on 17th May, Saturday and Sunday services on the WCML will terminate at Preston, with some extended via the Settle & Carlisle line to Glasgow. These will be a mixture of Voyager and Pendolinos dragged by class 57/3s.

This information is not guaranteed correct - it may be provisional or unfounded (if detailed) rumour.

Times are on the Timetable page, with full details about WCML closures on the Timings page.

The train is a charter, organised by The Famous Tartan Army Magazine, taking fans to the Scottish Euro 2008 qualifier. The service links with two chartered Eurostars at Waterloo and will reportedly be powered by a pair of Cotswold Rail 47s.

More on the Timetable page.

There are other planned outings for 55022, including Spitfire Railtours' first tour which is now cancelled after having been initially postponed until November.

Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the heads-up.
As always, the Timetable page has all the information I have received.

As always, the Timetable page has all the information I have received.

As always, the Timetable page has all the information I have received.

If you know of any tours or other special workings I have missed, please let me know via the Feedback page.

See the Timetable page for details.