THE PIONEER LINE: A solution from 95 years ago?
The Lancaster -- Morecambe -- Heysham Electrics
The Signal Box, Leicester, 2002, 75 minutes, £18.95

Lancaster area's transport problems
Inadequate public transport, conflicting proposed strategies, unreliable rail service, slow buses, congested roads and the rest -- we are all seriously concerned getting around. But how many people realise that nearly 100 years ago, one of the most up-to-date rapid transport systems in the country was actually introduced here in Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham? - and that it worked?

This excellent video describes that innovative project from its nineteenth-century roots, and focuses particularly on its latter years before its untimely closure in 1966. It makes a fascinating and useful contribution to the debate about possible solutions to the gridlock that plagues our community.

Early developments
After some appallingly inappropriate opening music, the video traces the growth of the railway. A line was launched to link Lancaster and Morecambe with the prosperous West Riding of Yorkshire in the 1840s and the first stretch, between Lancaster and Morecambe, opened in 1846. This was before through running on what is now the West Coast Main Line from London and Preston, through Lancaster, to Carlisle.

An efficient solution to local transport problems -- 95 years ago!

Some 50 years later, around 1900, a small number of other British railway companies were experimenting with electrifying short stretches of their busily-used lines. The ever-expansionist Midland Railway, who now owned the line, decided to exploit both the potential of moving holidaymakers between Morecambe, Heysham and Lancaster, as well as ensuring workers at the then state-of-the-art new port of 1905 could get to work quickly and easily.

The Midland's experiment in electric traction was successful, and the three towns were soon linked by one of the fastest suburban rail networks in the world, even outperforming what became the London Underground. Opened in 1908, an intensive service was provided, much better than today's, and it operated for the next half century.

Coronation innovation
Tthere was a short break in 1951 when steam haulage took over as the trains and equipment became life-expired. However, in 1953, the recently-nationalised British Railways (BR) refurbished the small network as an updated test bed for further, bigger-scale electrification projects. The video clearly explains all this, and with a minimum of technical jargon. The lessons learned on this line at that time formed a significant input into the work which would eventually result in the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, which reached Lancaster in the 1970s.

Improvements over time?
The much-debated Beeching Axe swung and the passenger service was, incomprehensibly, condemned and closed from January 3, 1966. Train journeys at this time between Lancaster and Morecambe are, in fact, actually slower than they were in 1922! One timetabled service did Lancaster to Heysham in 15 minutes. In the summer the journey between Lancaster (Green Ayre) and Morecambe (Promenade) took seven -- yes, seven! -- minutes.

By 1964, two years before closure, that journey took eight minutes on most trains -- including the stop at Scale Hall station, which was only opened in 1957 as suburbia expanded.

Nowadays, most trains between Lancaster and Morecambe take 10 minutes, and some are timetabled for up to 13 minutes. It takes nearly half an hour to get to Heysham from Lancaster -- on the niggardly two trains a day at the least useful times for those who work there.

And people call this progress?

The present day …
For many, the most interesting aspects of the video will be the 'then and now' shots. I showed the video to a young ticket clerk at Lancaster station who, as well as thinking it "well researched", said it was "fascinating [to see] how it used to be -- especially the cab's eye view".

Indeed there are excellent shots of the whole line. It was aligned along what are now the cycle tracks between the present Lancaster (formerly Castle) station down to Sainsbury's (near the former Green Ayre Station), and then over the converted Greyhound Bridge, past Scale Hall, and those ridiculous traffic lights. The footage of the line to Heysham also contains some interesting comparisons, particularly at the port itself.

…and the future?
This video is not just nostalgia -- it is inspiring and educational. Watching it, and thinking of the current deadlock, for me the answer screams out as a network of supertram connections, similar to those introduced in Manchester and elsewhere. And extend it south to Bailrigg, just near the main line, whilst you're at it.

I do hope that all our City and County councillors will watch this video, and think about the implications that it has for a solution to our present problems very, very seriously. The University could also well discuss the potential for regeneration.

"The Pioneer Line" is available from the publishers Signal Box (e-mail: ) and online retailers such as TransportDiversions (direct link).
It is also stocked by Lancaster City Models, Chapel Street (e-mail: ), and in Morecambe at The Train Shop, Pedder Street and the Tourist Information Centre - which is now, ironically, part of the former Promenade station…

Review copyright © 2003