Bob Gregson’s well detailed book covers the history, development and decline of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company’s system in and around Preston. The work begins with an account of the early railways and then focuses on specific locations, all of which have either long since disappeared or have been whittled down beyond recognition.

 

There are nostalgic reflections on such places as Butler Street station and goods yard; the stables at East Cliff; the jointly-owned Park Hotel; the triangle of junctions at Whitehouse; Todd Lane Junction and station; the complex at Lostock Hall, with a large section given over to the famous engine shed.

 

The work terminates with a chapter on Bamber Bridge, Gregson Lane and Hoghton. There is also a chapter on the former West Lancashire section from Fishergate Hill to Southport, and another on the gas works at Lostock Hall, which was served by the railway and had an engine of its own.

 

The text is well illustrated with many evocative and remarkable photographs, drawings and ephemera, most of which has never been published before. The author has included the human element wherever possible, in the form of personal accounts from men and women who worked in the Preston and Lostock Hall areas in the unforgettable days of steam, all painstakingly recorded and compiled over a period of 15 years.

 

We believe this is certainly the

most informative work of its kind

to be written on the former East

and West Lancashire Railway

sections in the Preston area, and

as so much intense and meticulous

research has gone into its creation, it will prove to be a valuable reference book for the railway enthusiast, modeller and historian alike.

 

Softback, A4, 180 pages with

254 images. Printed black

throughout.

 

ISBN 978-0-9565184-5-3