There’s been a buzz of activity across Lancashire Train Stations to celebrate Community Rail Week.
Community Rail week, which was organised by Community Rail Network and ran from 23rd-29th May, encouraged people to ‘give the train a try’. Community Rail Lancashire marked the week with a series of events across the county, from video premieres to bike rides and so much more in between.
Train Stations – Dressed to Impress
Across the week stations were also decorated ready for the upcoming Jubilee celebrations. St Anne’s station was yarn bombed by local knitting group, Knit Together, with an array of knitted sea creatures, appropriate for a town on the sea!
These decorations were then joined by handmade crowns which were created by the Friends of St Anne’s station and members of the Senior Moments Hub, which is based nearby. These beautiful decorations are on display now so why not pop along to see them this bank holiday weekend!
Lytham Station was also dressed to impress, with volunteers decorating the station with bunting, flags and a collage of images of the Queen and when King George visited Lytham Station.
Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth Video Premiere
To kick the week off the first event was a premiere of a short-animated film about the life of Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth, which took place at Padiham Green CE Primary School on Monday 23rd May. The film, which is now available for everyone to watch, tells the inspirational story of Burnley woman, Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth encouraging everyone to travel by train to Rose Grove Station and then walk to Gawthorpe Hall to visit the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection which she established.
Celebrating the South Fylde Line
On Wednesday 25th May it was over to the Fylde coast, where three separate events took place celebrating the South Fylde Line. Firstly, at St Anne’s station, a new leaflet designed to encourage people to discover the hidden gems along the South Fylde Line was launched by The Worshipful Mayor of Fylde Councillor Ben Aitken and Mayoress Ms Bernadette Nolan.
Later in the afternoon the Ansdell heritage trail was unveiled at Ansdell station with a printed guide map showing visitors all the wonderful sights along the way. The day ended at Ansdell Station with a presentation to local railway historian Peter Fitton, whose knowledge and passion has been applied to an informative series of posters that are proudly displayed at stations across the South Fylde Line.
Burscough Junction Volunteer Day
Also on Wednesday morning staff from Network Rail, on volunteer days, joined school children from St. John’s Catholic Primary School on the disused platform at Burscough Junction station for a tidy up. The school has adopted the disused platform under a licence from Network Rail and along with staff from Community Rail Lancashire keep the platform looking spick & span.
Brierfield Bike Ride
The final Community Rail Week celebration took place on Friday 27th May with Connecting East Lancashire and Community Rail Lancashire co-hosting the Brierfield Bike Ride, a guided ride from, and back to, Brierfield station. This event saw riders take on the scenic ride through Brierfield and the surrounding areas, which also included part of the famous Stephen Burke Cycle Track in Barrowford.
Richard Watts, Chair of Community Rail Lancashire & Secretary to the four Lancashire Community Rail Projects, said: “It’s been an excellent Community Rail Week across Lancashire, with a great array of events across multiple stations. It has been fantastic to see so many people getting involved across the county, from the pupils at Padiham School, the Mayor of Fylde, County Councillor Charles Edwards, Andrew Stephenson MP and all the amazing volunteers.
Even though Community Rail Week is over for another year, there are still many ways for everyone to explore your local station, the hidden gems in your local community and get involved in Community Rail Lancashire. So why not, come and join us at one of our events, volunteer for your local friends group or share our stories. There is a wealth of information on our website: communityraillancashire.co.uk/ .”
All of the events that were held over the Community Rail Lancashire area can seen by clicking on the links below:
Monday 23rd May 2022 – East Meets West
Monday 23rd May 2022 – Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth Film Premiere
Tuesday 24th May 2022 – Chartered Institute of Transport & Logistics Visit
Wednesday 25th May 2022 – Burscough Junction Volunteer Day
Wednesday 25th May 2022 – Stations of Welcome Embroidery Morning
Wednesday 25th May 2022 – Discover The South Fylde Line Leaflet Launch
Thursday 26th May 2022 – Brierfield Deen Centre Visit to Raza Mosque
Thursday 26th May 2022 – Joint Working with the Settle Carlisle Railway CRP
Friday 27th May 2022 – Garswood Station Artwork
Friday 27th May 2022 – Brierfield by Bike for Community Rail Week