Ribble Steam Railway
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge
preserved railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, in the United Kingdom. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2005, running along Preston Docks. The railway began by housing much of the collection from the previously closed Southport Railway Museum (Steamport), which was based in the old
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
engine shed at
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
(BR shed code 27C). The railway lines around Preston Dock largely fell into disuse after the closure of the docks. A preservation group that was operating in
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
relocated to Preston in 1999 and started operations as the Ribble Steam Railway in 2005. Its operations base is at but they run trains as far as Strand Road although there is no facility for locomotives to run round their train here. The Riverside station is quite a way from Preston city centre, but proposals have been made for a
platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...
to be constructed at Strand Road. This would be close to the Portway terminus of the Preston park and ride service, Guild Wheel walking trail and the
River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...
.


History

The project was first started in 1973, a preservation centre opened in
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
, on the former
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
steam shed at Derby Road, However, the shed was becoming a costly burden to handle for the museum, so a relocation scheme was started. Preston Docks was chosen as the new location for the museum. Preston Docks has a large railway network, that used to serve the vast docks and quays. But when the docks closed, the railway was not used. The project finally closed the Southport Railway Museum in 1999. The project's new site now could be re-developed with new large workshops, platforms and a museum. The first building to open was the workshop, in 2001. Locomotives could now go into the building, and more space could now be utilised. Next to the workshop, is the machine shop, built in 1978. At the other end of the workshop is the visitor centre, which contains the museum, cafe, shop and
railway platform A railway platform is an area alongside a railway track providing convenient access to trains. Almost all stations have some form of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms. The world's longest station platform is at Hubbali ...
. The museum was finally completed in 2004. The collection of locomotives (61, one on loan from the National Railway Museum, one from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust. 55 are currently on site.), is one of the largest collection of locomotives in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.


Operations

The museum also operates passenger services to Strand Road Crossing and back, from its own station –
Preston Riverside Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...
. The frequency of its trains is hourly, and are usually made up of two or more
Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts conta ...
coaches and a small steam engine or diesel engine. This service is only operational in the summer months. A separate company, Ribble Rail, handles the freight traffic that uses the dock lines. Ribble Rail takes over from the
Colas Rail Colas Rail is a railway infrastructure and rail freight company primarily active in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of the French industrial group Bouygues. Colas Rail was originally created as ''Seco Rail'', named after its then-paren ...
locomotive, and carries the load – Bitumen – down to the Total plant near the Preston Riverside station. A
Colas Rail Colas Rail is a railway infrastructure and rail freight company primarily active in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of the French industrial group Bouygues. Colas Rail was originally created as ''Seco Rail'', named after its then-paren ...
-operated train arrives at the riverside sidings near Strand Road Crossing with loaded oil tanks. The locomotive uncouples, runs round and takes the empty wagons. This process occurs very early in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. From here Ribble Rail shunts these wagons to the siding serving the nearby Total bitumen plant. After unloading, Ribble Rail returns the wagons to the riverside sidings for pick-up.


Future

The museum is currently located in an industrial estate, and is not well publicised. There were plans to build a station at the Strand Road Crossing, so that the railway could serve the busier side of the docks, in order that the line might be marketed as a passenger service in addition to pleasure rides. One of the more recent projects that is now planned to be underway in 2017 is the installation of a turntable at Riverside station, this will allow the operational running fleet to be turned in a bid to even out flangewear, it will also be ideal for when visiting locomotives visit the line. A
L&YR The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...
signal box was bought for the railway. It will be restored to its original condition, and put near the Preston Riverside station. Main foundation works are now complete, now awaiting a block construction wall to sit the box on to. There have also been plans to extend the railway to the
Ribble Link The Millennium Ribble Link is a linear park, linear water park and new navigation which links the once-isolated Lancaster Canal in Lancashire, England to the River Ribble. The Lancaster Canal was never connected to the rest of the English waterw ...
canal. The route would offer 1.5 miles extra to the line, although plans for this have not been finalised as major funding streams need to be found, in order to raise the huge amount of funds required for such a significant project.


Strand Road Crossing

Strand Road Crossing () is a level crossing in Preston, Lancashire. It is situated on a freight-only branch line from
Preston railway station Preston railway station in Preston, Lancashire, England, is an interchange railway station on the West Coast Main Line, half-way between London Euston and Glasgow Central (206 miles from London Euston, 194 miles from Glasgow Central). It is s ...
which is used by trains serving Preston Docks. The Ribble Steam Railway terminates adjacent to the level crossing and it is proposed that a station should be built on the site.


Freight traffic

The only regular freight traffic in 2015 is bitumen which is brought in 15 tank wagons from Lindsey Oil Refinery for Total three times each week. After crossing the road it is taken a short distance further to a group of three railway tracks. The main line locomotive switches to a train of empty wagons while a small diesel locomotive takes the full train on to the Lanfina Siding which is adjacent to Lockside Road near station.


Steam locomotives

The railway has a large collection of industrial steam engines and one main line locomotive. *FW = Facing Riverside *FE = Facing Strand Road


Operational steam locomotives


Steam locomotives undergoing overhaul or restoration


Locomotives in storage


Diesel locomotives

The railway has a large collection of diesel locomotives either for shunting or use on passenger trains.


Operational diesel locomotives


Diesel locomotives under restoration / repair


Diesel locomotives stored awaiting repair


Locos on display in the museum

Locomotives that are not currently planned to be overhauled or if there is not a space available in the workshop are displayed inside the museum until they're called into the workshop.


Steam locomotives


Diesel and electric locomotives


Operational locos elsewhere


Steam locomotives


Diesel locomotives

N/A


Former RSR Residents


Steam locomotives


Diesel locomotives


See also

*
Riversway Riversway was an electoral ward in Preston, Lancashire, England. The ward was named for its location close to the River Ribble, and the historical links to the former Port of Preston. The ward comprised three distinct areas; the former Dockl ...
*
Riversway railway station Preston Riverside railway station is the only station on the heritage Ribble Steam Railway, in Riversway, Preston, Lancashire, England. It was built and opened in 2005, adjacent to the museum and workshops, while providing a heritage service to ...
* Strand Road Crossing * Preston *
List of transport museums A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and coaches—but can a ...


References


External links

*
Information on the railway
Preston Docks


videos of the Ribble Steam Railway
YouTube
Strand Road Crossing
- YouTube clips of train crossing {{City of Preston culture Heritage railways in Lancashire Tourist attractions in Preston Railway lines opened in 1882 Railway lines opened in 2005 Museums in Preston Transport in Preston Railway museums in England