R.o.B Closed Lines
The Preston and Wyre Railway
Introduction: I am sure most people when they think of Blackpool or Fleetwood think of the tramway between those two towns. However at one time Blackpool had quite an extensive railway system connecting it to the WCML and therefore to most parts of the country from there, allowing holiday makers to come to the seaside. Fleetwood however had a railway connection for an entirely different reason.
The History: The town of Fleetwood developed as a sea port at the mouth of the river Wyre as it formed a naturally sheltered inlet. Seeing this, Sir Peter Hesketh-fleetwood who gave his name to the town, engaged an architect to layout a fashionable seaside resort as it is today. At the time people believed that locomotives would not be able to climb the gradients of Shap and Beattock to approach Scotland. So Hesketh-Fleetwood had the idea of creating a hotel, the North Euston hotel and running packet steamers to the Isle of Man, Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District. From this start, a large dock complex was formed and a rail connection was provided, not only by main line railway but also to the Blackpool and Fleetwood tramway. To serve the developing resort of Fleetwood with its packet steamers a railway was built to Poulton le Fylde from Preston and on to Fleetwood in 1840. The line was well used for bringing people to the resort and port but in 1846 a line from Poulton Le Fylde to Blackpool was opened leaving Fleetwood at the end of a 5 mile branch. The Fleetwood line which used to terminate at Dock Street, a mile short of the steamer dock in Fleetwood, was extended right up to the quayside to better serve the hotel and steamers in 1883.
Train services grew with this modification to the route and trains would often arrive from and depart to London. In 1899 a spur was constructed at Poulton, to allow a local train service to develop running from Blackpool to Thornton, Burn haze, Wyre dock and Fleetwood thus competing with the sea front tram service. The Wyre dock however was a huge site. Its mainstay was a trawler fishing fleet established in 1892 making Fleetwood the biggest fishing port on the west coast. Two tracks completely circled the docks and to handle the freight brought in by the fishing fleet, there were multitudes of sidings. Much of the dock area is passed by the Tram as it approaches Fleetwood and I am sure an observer would be able to discern how big the site was and how extensive the railway would have to be to serve the site. At one point there was even a spur from the dock that connected the Blackpool and Fleetwood tramway with the dock railway system for the transference of coal to Thornton gate where there was a coal merchant. An 0-4-0 steeple cab electric locomotive was used to haul the wagons along the tramway. However by 1964 the docks and its railway had begun to decline. The passenger connecting services with the ferry to the Isle of Man lasted until 1961 and ended due to expensive repairs to the dock being necessary. In 1966 the Fleetwood terminus was closed. The line was cut back to a small platform not far from the original station at Dock Street and was named Wyre dock. The line from Poulton however closed in 1970.
Today: The trams still serve Fleetwood however and terminate outside the Hotel built for the steamer passengers. I have not been to Fleetwood for many years but when I was last there the site of the station which was quite large was a car park and a pub called "The old station" was on the site but this too has closed.