Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) is pleased to announce that the South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership (SFLCRP) has been successful in securing a grant from the Community Rail Network’s Community Rail Development Fund for project at St. Anne’s-on-the-Sea station.
This year is the 150th anniversary of the St Anne’s Station on the South Fylde Line and there are lots of celebrations planned to acknowledge the significance this station is to the town of today – “a gateway to St Anne’s” as stated by the town’s Deputy Mayoress recently. Not only that, but it was directly because of the station that the town grew up! It owes its popularity and prosperity to the introduction of the railway network and has certainly continued to bring people to seek out the loveliness of this area ever since – 150 years later this link continues to thrive!
The funding will be used to purchase the rights to use the photograph selected and have this designed, fabricated and installed on the cycle shelter at the station. In addition, a Double Royal poster will be created to feature the Lifeboats on the cycle shelter which will be printed to be displayed along the South Fylde Line stations, as the lifeboat supports much of the coastal area. There will be a Lifeboat focussed unveiling at which we intend for the local shanty singers (called Lytham St Anne’s Shanty Crew) to join the celebrations and in due course, if not on the unveiling day itself, also promote the use of the cycle shelter by having a short, local family cycle ride along the prom, starting from the station.
Tony Ford, Chair of SFLCRP said; “”This is great news. Not only will we be covering an uninspiring bicycle shed with something artistic but it will link the station with an important part of the town’s history. Linking a Lifeboat Station with a Railway station is certainly something very different.”
Caroline Holden, Community Rail Development Officer with CRL added; “I am delighted that we can improve the ambiance of the cycle shelter with such an iconic photograph of the lifeboat at St Anne’s-on-the-Sea. We look forward to working on a special event to combine a cycle ride from the station to the lifeboat station as part of the railway station’s 150th anniversary celebrations later on in the year.”
