On Thursday 24th November, a ceremony was held to commemorate and unveil a poster outlining the history of Squires Gate Station as part of the South Fylde’s Historical Community Stations project.
In attendance was the Mayor of St Annes, Councillor Karen Harrison, St Leonards Ward Councillor, Carol Lanyon, Tony Ford, Chair of South Fylde Line and volunteers from the Squires Gate station.
The poster which is now proudly displayed on the platform, at Squires Gate Station, for everyone to see highlights the history of the line which was opened in 1863 and covers its fantastic life up to the station buildings being demolished in 1997.
The history poster project has been funded by Community Rail Lancashire, with the images and text acquired from a number of local sources.
Mayor of St Annes, Councillor Karen Harrison said in her speech at the unveiling:
“I am delighted to be here today to unveil this amazing poster which depicts the history of Squires Gate Station. The project began life during COVID and is continuing. Not just here, but at other stations where there is an active community rail partnership.
In times gone by this station was much bigger and it is the only station where one could hire a camping coach on the line for your holidays. The coaches were converted from passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which sounds fantastic.
As ever, St Annes Town Council are proud and happy to support the work of the volunteers and I am as ever indebted to Tony Ford for his organisation and input. We wouldn’t be here today without everyone’s hard work.”
Barrie Russell, volunteer at Squires Gate station added:
“It’s great to welcome everyone here today at the farthest reach of St Anne’s at Squires Gate station, although it is a little bit cold and windy. The poster is fantastic and really depicts what has happened in this spot over the years and it is a great tool to share the rich history of this station.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed their time towards making this happen, to Community Rail Lancashire for the funding towards this project and to my fellow volunteers for making the station look so great.”
Cllr Carol Lanyon, St Leonard’s Ward Councillor said:
“It’s great to be here today with the volunteers of Squires Gate Station. Thank you to everyone who put so much effort into making this station look beautiful and pulling together the information for the history poster.
The work of the volunteers and the funding from Community Rail Lancashire make a significant difference to our local area and it is great to show the history of where we are today. So thank you again to everyone who has worked so hard on this project, the poster looks amazing on the platform.”
For more information about this press release contact: Alison Hughes on alison@icg.agency or 07891 818672