Kirkham & Wesham Station & Signal Box, The Way It Was

A short film showing Kirkham & Wesham station, signal box and surroundings before and after Network Rail's electrification, re-signalling and upgrade of the line between Preston & Blackpool North (and associated work on the line to Blackpool south) in the winter of 2017/18. Footage includes: Views of the station and running lines in September 2012; Views of 1903-built Lancashire and Yorkshire railway Kirkham North Junction signal box, 6 days before closure of the line in November 2017 for engineering work to take place (~2 months for Preston-Blackpool South, ~4 months for Kirkham Junction-Blackpool North); Comparative views from 2019 and 2020, including 45690 Leander on a Railway Touring Company railtour to Blackpool North, 21 September 2019; Also featured are shots from Weeton (or Great Plumpton) foot crossing, to the west of Kirkham, and Spen Lane (between Treales and Salwick), to the east, before and after electrification. This includes a number of archive shots of the following steam loco's and special workings: 76079 BR Standard 4 and 45407 LMS Black 5, Blackpool North-Buxton, 20/10/07; 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, Blackpool-Derby, 05/06/10; 46233 Duchess of Sutherland, Crewe-Blackpool-Derby, 16/06/12; 5690 Leander, Blackpool North-Nuneaton, 29/08/05. Thanks also to Peter Ainsworth for the archive photographs of 6233 at Weeton foot crossing (08/04/06) and 4936 Kinlet Hall at Spen Lane (17/07/04). The audio which accompanies these shots is from video taken at the same time, but wasn't deemed to be of a high enough quality to include in its own right. This is part of a series of videos showing the various signal boxes and surroundings before and after their demolition. The other boxes featured in the series were those at Blackpool North, Poulton-le-Fylde, Carleton Crossing and Salwick. Sadly, none of them were preserved.