The South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership (SFLCRP) in association with Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) is asking local groups and station partnerships along the South Fylde Line to write a brief history about each of the stations along the line.
The aim is to produce a poster that can be displayed in the SFLCRP’s striking red poster panels that tell the story of your station. There are plenty more examples to look at by visiting https://www.communityraillancashire.co.uk/history-posters/.
So what do you need to do? Well the first thing is to research the history of your line and station. For example, when was the station opened? Has it changed since opening? Are there photos and plans showing key stages in the history of the station? All of this needs to be carefully edited so that it can fit into a double royal sized poster. If you have mountains of interesting facts, pictures and plans about your station that you want to share then the SFLCRP will place them in a special area on the CRL website.
Tony Ford, Chair of SFLCRP said; “I think it is important for people to know something about where they live and/or work and the history posters on our stations will act as a reminder about how things looked and were used in years gone by. Hopefully understanding the history of their locality will encourage people to appreciate what life was like in the past and inspire them to preserve and protect what we have today.”
Tony continued; “The posters will also provide an opportunity for those who know something about the history of a station to come forward and share their rail-related memories and stories.”
Caroline Holden, Community Rail Development officer with CRL said; “It’s fantastic to be working with such enthusiastic station groups to create posters that will ultimately share the rich history of the stations with users. It’s also something that can be produced even during these difficult times without compromising anyone’s safety. I know some groups are looking for past station photos, so if you have any you can share, please do. You will be acknowledge for any that are used.”
For more information on how to gather ideas and to start thinking about content have a look at this short video on YouTube below: