The Former Steamport Southport Museum Has Been Based on the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston for a While Now

Steam railways

Left: The Furness Railway Trust’s Hunslet 0-6-0ST Cumbria has not operated on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway since the eviction was announced. In August it made its first ever visit to another railway when it made the 60-mile trip to the Ribble Steam Railway. The loco, set to appear at the line’s September 12/13 steam gala, undergoes a steam test at Haverthwaite in preparation. Tim Owen.

On the waterfront The former Steamport Southport museum has been based on the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston for a while now – and as Andrew Fowler discovers, there’s a lot going on at this fascinating railway.

ith so many lengthy heritage lines intending to develop Preston into a much larger were struggling to cope with the constant heavy in Britain, it would be easy to port. The river was diverted, the old alignment repairs needed to the structure. The running overlook the Ribble Steam Railway being used to construct the Albert Edward Dock, line at the site was short, and the town centre W(RSR). After all, it’s only 1½ miles which opened in 1892. At the time of construction, location meant that there was no possibility of long, is tucked away on an industrial estate it was the largest single basin dock in the world, expansion. in Preston and runs to nowhere in particular. and in the busiest period immediately after The group entered into discussions with However, this does it a real disservice as it packs World War II there were 28 miles of railway to Preston Borough Council, and the move finally a hefty punch in a very short space. serve the 1½ miles of quays. However, the entire happened in 1999, with Steamport Southport For starters, it’s got to be the only preserved line 16 miles of the river between the dock and the becoming the Ribble Steam Railway. A modern, that has to cross a fully operational swing bridge, open sea suffered from silting due to the tidal airy steel-framed workshop and museum leading to the timetable being governed by the approach, and the cost of dredging the channel were soon constructed on the derelict site, and tide rather than the trains. There is also a large far outweighed the profits made by the dock passenger operations commenced in 2005. museum housing an impressive collection of rates. The dock finally closed in 1979, but sections The railway has a collection of 44 industrial industrial locomotives, and a workshop so well of the railway lingered on to serve oil depots and locomotives with around a third of these on equipped it would be the envy of many larger a tar distillery. display in the museum and the remainder in the lines. There are plenty of good photography The dock site was thoroughly redeveloped in workshops and diesel shed. locations too, despite the limited length of the run the 1980s, and little remains of the once extensive Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that regular (as shown by the success of the line’s first photo warehousing. The original railway formation bitumen traffic returned to the line after nine years. charter in August). And there’s an interesting serving the tar and oil refineries was to be used Environmental grants designed to take freight off range of motive power, from an Andrew Barclay for a new road: to keep traffic flowing the railway roads encouraged Total, by now the owner of the 0-4-0ST and a Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST to a was completely rebuilt on a new alignment more bitumen distillery, and EWS to approach the RSR Class 14, Hunslet Class 05 and a brace of Class or less following the river and crossing the dock with a view to restoring freight. 03s all well worth making a trip to see. entrance on the aforementioned swing bridge. This was surprisingly easy, as RSR chairman With more rolling stock available than ever The oil depots closed in the late-1980s, but the line Dave Watkins recounts: “We knew that two of before, and now an experienced curator remained open to serve the Lanfina tar distillery. the three Sentinel locos originally bought in 1968 appointed to care for the museum exhibits, the In 1995, damage occurred to an overbridge to work these trains were still around on another Ribble Steam Railway is really coming of age: not crossing the railway during roadworks. Due to part of the dock site. We bought them, and the bad for a four-year-old! the age of the structure, repairs took some months rest is history. and during the intervening period the tar traffic “We created a separate company, Ribble Rail, Origins was lost to the roads and the line closed. which employs staff to work these trains, which The first line to reach the site of Preston Dock was currently run three days a week.” opened by the North Union Railway (later jointly Rebirth and growth The trains, comprised of up to 15 TEA bogie operated by the LYR and the LNWR) in 1846, and For four years the line lay dormant, but the tanks, work from Lindsey oil refinery via Copy served Victoria Quay on the River Ribble. In 1882, group of enthusiasts then running Steamport Pit, before descending the 1-in-29 grade between Preston Corporation acquired the navigation, museum in the former L&YR shed at Southport Preston station and Strand Road, passing

46 Railways Illustrated October 2009 Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0 Walkden crosses the swing bridge at the dock entrance with a passenger train. The photo was taken from the walkway on top of the tidal basin lock gates, which is not accessible to the public. Andrew Fowler. through the 145-yard Fishergate Hill tunnel en workshop, with underground services being two operational steam locomotives. route. Strand Road is a busy four-lane road, diverted clear of the proposed foundations. While it is likely to be several months until the and is crossed on the level by the railway, just As if to highlight the strength of the relationship FRT’s workshop and museum start taking shape, as it was when first opened. The RSR has had between the two groups, the FRT’s Hunslet 0-6- the November 30 deadline for the removal of to upgrade the crossing to modern standards – 0ST Cumbria visited the RSR for a two weeks stock from Haverthwaite is looming ever closer. barriers and lights do the job that was done by a during August. This was the loco’s first ever Some stock has already moved to other sites, but man with a red flag just 15 years ago! Business foray to another heritage line, having been the such is the camaraderie between the two groups is booming for all, backed up by a new fleet of mainstay of services at Haverthwaite for more that Mr Watkins has indicated that space will be tankers being manufactured for this service. than 30 years. Special arrangements were made created, both indoors and out, for anything the to bring the locomotive, which was otherwise FRT needs to find storage space for. The Furness connection on its way to another railway, on loan. On November 22 2008, another preservation If all goes to plan, the FRT’s move to Preston Next steps group in the North West, the Furness Railway will be a great boon to the RSR. While the With the addition of the FRT, you might think the Trust (FRT), was given notice to quit the Trust’s locomotives are likely to remain on RSR would be content to become a museum and Haverthwaite site on which it had been based loan elsewhere for most of the time (thereby workshop site, as the Steamport museum site for 35 years. generating much-needed revenue) they will was for 26 years. Nothing could be further from With just a year in which to move a large still appear at the RSR periodically. I asked Alan the truth. collection of rolling stock and exhibits, a new Middleton, one of the Trustees of the FRT, and The railway is currently investigating the home had to be found quickly. One port of call Chairman of the Lakeside Railway Society, feasibility of extending the line by a further was the Ribble Steam Railway, which was keen about the possibility of a visit by FR 20, the mile-and-a-half to reach Savick Brook, where to help. This was very fortunate for the FRT, as oldest working steam locomotive in Britain. the Millennium Ribble Link section of the despite the RSR not being on the former Furness Mr Middleton says the locomotive is expected Lancaster Canal meets the Ribble itself. More route, it is the next closest standard-gauge to be at Shildon until October, when it has been immediate plans centre around the construction heritage line to the Lakeside branch that was its requested to visit the National Railway Museum. of a platform at the present eastern terminus home for so long. However, with a broad grin spreading across his of the line at Strand Road. This would give the The FRT, with the Lakeside Railway Society, face, he adds: “It would be daft if we didn’t – the railway a station much more in the public view, has a Preston branch and a lot of its members line is ideal to run FR 20 on, as it isn’t as steeply- and much more accessible, than the main site at live in Lancashire. The move will actually make graded as the Lakeside branch, and is only half Chain Caul Road. things easier for the FRT’s volunteer workforce, the length.” You heard it here first. Unlike some other sites that seem to forever who presently have to travel to locations such as The FRT will also bring a considerable boost moot ideas that never come to fruition, things Appleby, Llangollen and Shildon to care for the to the volunteer workforce at Preston: presently move quickly at the RSR. Expect to see big locomotives currently on loan or in store. the RSR occasionally finds itself short-staffed, changes there over the next couple of years – and Nothing is finalised yet, but significant and the many locomotives under restoration enjoy the ‘small railway’ atmosphere while you progress is being made on the site identified could do with a boost to increase the completion can as the Ribble Steam Railway looks set to grow as being suitable for the FRT’s museum and rate, especially as the RSR currently only has very quickly indeed. n