Preston to the Fylde Coast

The railways laid across the Fylde from the mid-19th century played an important role in the development of the peninsula, particularly the coastal towns, which to this day continue to attract tourists from far and wide. This volume highlights the radical changes to the railway system since the early 1960s: steam, diesel and electric traction all feature. The album also details some of the early preservation schemes.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a second book featuring the railways west of Preston, 'Preston to Blackpool including Fleetwood' being first published in 2018. The latter mainly concentrated on the changing scene up until 1990, since which time the railways across the Fylde have undergone some radical changes, both as regards infrastructure as well as the motive power. This new volume details the last years of steam workings in the 1960s, the period when diesel power monopolised the services, along with the current scene following electrification of the line to Blackpool North in 2018. Included also are a few private industrial railway sites, along with a look at some early railway preservation schemes.

Review:

'Locally-based author Tom Heavyside covers the last years of steam, takes through the now almost ended diesel era to the current scene that includes electrification to Blackpool North. On the way, he visits a few private industrial sites, and some early preservation schemes...
   There may be a good deal of modern traction in this book, but the immensely detailed historical captions make this emminently buyable.'
(Steam World, February 2024, Issue 440)

'This volume unravels the historical complexities and forgotten corners of the rail network serving the peninsula in which Blackpool is its centrepiece.'
(Heritage Railway, December 2023, Issue 314)