The main artery through which industry, commerce, and people travel in and out of Preston, the city’s historic railway station boasts not only a storied and long past, but an ever-changing face as well.
From its early days when it was far more basic and dealing with but a mere handful of services each day, to the modern iteration which we see today and which caters for over four million passengers a year, the station has evolved hugely.
With that in mind, take a look at some of our best archive pictures to demonstrate the developing nature of Preston’s Railway Station over the decades.
69. Rev Ron reverent reflections January 22 Avenham Park, Preston Railway Station, cotton mill postcard, Humber Hawk car advert, cleveley's cub scouts, telephone box and big ben Nicola Jaques
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70. Maybe this picture will evoke memories of travelling by steam train in the 1960s? The image was taken in 1966 and shows a steam train (Ivatt 2-6-0 No. 75050) standing at platform 6 (now renumbered 4) of Preston Railway station with a train to the south. Picture courtesy of Preston Digital Archive.
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71. North Union Railway Station Preston c. 1860 The station is seen here in a perilous state shortly before demolition. The station was built in a piecemeal fashion with bits added on over the years. The roof collapsed on more than one occasion. As can be seen, the lines at the north end of the station converged into a narrow throat which originally entered into a short tunnel running under Fishergate. It is interesting to note that over 560,000 travellers used this decrepit facility during the guild week of 1862. Their were no footbridges or subways. Passengers had to haul both themselves and their luggage across timber walkways, one of which is seen in the foreground.
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72. Johnny Sullivan - The 'Pride of Preston' Preston Railway Station 1954. The following comment is from John Sullivan, Johnny's Son: My father first went to America in 1952 when he was just 19 years old to further his boxing education and was based in New York where he trained in the famous Stillman's Gym. He had 5 fights, losing the first but winning the next four before returning to England. He then returned to America in 1956 and fought many of the top 10 boxers in the world, including Joey Giambra (twice), Jackie Labua and Rocky Castellani; the Castellani fight was top of the bill at Madison Square Gardens, New York. This was the first time a British born fighter had topped the bill at this famous boxing arena. I have the radio commentary and video footage of these fights and others. At this time my father was living in New Jersey. My parents eventually settled in Oakland, California where they lived for 8 years before returning to Preston in 1965. I was conceived in the USA but born at Preston Royal Hospital on Christmas Day 1965. Being the first Christmas Day baby the Preston & District Hospitals Welfare Society, presented me with a solid silver spoon, which I still have today. My father died on the 4th February 2003 in Chorley Hospital after suffering a stroke. My mother June Sullivan lives in Chorley as do my two sisters Leslie and Lorraine. Image and caption courtesy of John Sullivan. Copyright John Sullivan ©
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