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Kirkham Town Council > What’s On > Railway 200 – Coming to Preston!

Railway 200 – Coming to Preston!

6th January 2026
10:00 am

- 4:00 pm

Ribble Valley Steam Railway

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A family-friendly exhibition train celebrating 200 years of the modern railway is heading to Preston!
More than 40,000 have already visited Inspiration on its 60-stop, year-long tour of Britain – and it has received rave reviews, with 9 in 10 saying they would recommend it to a friend.

Co-curated with the National Railway Museum, Inspiration reveals how railways transformed the UK – and ultimately the world. It includes a fascinating look at railway firsts, hands-on engineering challenges and a whistle-stop tour of interesting – and lesser-known – careers on our railways.

The train will be calling at Preston Riverside station at Ribble Steam Railway from Tuesday 6th  January 2026 until Friday 9th January 2026.

Admission to the Ribble Steam Railway Museum has been especially reduced for this occasion to a cost of £2 for adults and £1 for children.  Your ticket includes a specific timeslot to visit Inspiration to ensure the train is not overcrowded.  Once you have completed your tour of Inspiration, you are welcome to look around the Ribble Steam Railway museum, showcasing a selection of full size exhibits from the North West industrial railway’s heritage.

This reduced price includes access to the railway’s museum. Car parking is free and the shop and café will be open.

Inspiration has been described as “brilliant” and “fascinating”. One recent visitor said they “loved that it was interactive. I visited with people from age 18 to 85 and there was something for everyone”.
Another said: “I loved everything as soon as I got on board. The displays and history of the railways to the interactive stuff was all brilliant in my eyes, even my five-year-old daughter absolutely loved it.”

Inspiration is part of Railway 200, the national campaign marking two centuries of the modern railway. Thousands of events across the UK and the world have celebrated a British innovation that revolutionised travel, supercharged economies and enabled mass tourism, sports leagues and the standardisation of time.

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Born and raised Wesham, I attended Carr Hill school then spent over 30 years working at BAE Systems, mostly in HR. I have lived in both Kirkham and Wesham for most of my life and this love for my hometown is what made me want to join Kirkham Town Council.

Outside of the council, I love spending time with family and friends, and enjoy walking through Memorial Park and maybe popping into Footprints to look at a pair of boots, or Serendipity to get a little card or cute decoration.

I particularly like working with other councillors, our residents and neighbours because it’s clear how much everyone cares about our town.

I drink too many cups of tea, and unwind by watching a good crime drama.

I want to see Kirkham’s high street thrive so that more people stay and visit our local cafes, bars, and shops. I’ve seen some wonderful positive changes to Kirkham over the years, and I want to help our town build on this success in years to come, and this is what I will strive to do on the council.
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Diane Ireland
Small steps, big changes

Hi, my name is Diane Ireland and I’ve been on the council just over six months. I’m on two committees on the council, the land and open spaces and the drainage committee

I was born in Bolton, and at the age of 18 I went to university in Liverpool where I attained first class honours degree in Geology and Environmental Science.

I moved to Kirkham when I got married in 1993 and later moved to Newton with Scales.

I worked as project manager for United Utilities for 37 years and retired from the role last year. I covered the Preston area as well as the Lake District, Carlisle area and North Yorkshire for many years investigating sewage treatment works and the problems. I volunteered at a couple of local food banks and now I’ve started my own food bank two years ago to provide fresh food for our vulnerable working working families. This involves working with local farmers to provide the dairy and the meat and also local wholesaler for fruit and vegetables as I feel these items are important to help children grow and nourish families well.

Seeing the issues people have struggling to feed their families, provide a roof over their heads and heat the houses has made me aware of the difficulties a lot of our residents face in silence. I’ve joined the council in the hope that I can raise these issues so people realise just what vulnerable families are facing and maybe help those in need.

I also feel I can bring my knowledge of the sewer network to the role of counsellor and help with the flooding issues.

Outside of running the Food Bank and council business, I enjoy walking my dog Gina, reading, swimming when possible and I’m a long suffering Bolton Wanderers season ticket holder. One of my favourite spots to walk, the dog is down Thames Street in Newton, up Parrox Lane towards Kirkham, along Remembrance Way and back via New Hey Lane. One of my favourite places to eat is Scotts Bistro and my favourite takeaway has got to be Jononi Balti.

I want to serve this community of Kirkham, because I feel the people of Kirkham deserve the best, whether it be representation or just a swimming facility. The community spirit within Kirkham is fantastic as I found out when asked to raise £200,000 for a young girl with cancer. The entire community came together to support the events I led and enough money was raised to send the child to America to receive groundbreaking treatment, and put her in remission and well again.

I’ve been involved with the development of a new play area near the close and this should come to fruition in April this year and the play area will be all inclusive and hopefully a happy place for the children to be.

‘ alone we can do so little, together we can do so much’ and I am a great believer in those words of Helen Keller, together we are stronger.

Diane Ireland B.Sc.(Hons), MIWEM, APMp
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Neil Byers
Hello everybody, my name is Neil Byers, and I’m a Kirkham Town Councillor and Chair of the Finance & Events committee.

I am a Kirkham Lad born and bred, having lived all my life in the town and with a family history that goes back generations. I attended Kirkham & Wesham County Primary and Carr Hill High Schools before entering the world of work and have worked for many years as a Learning & Development Co-ordinator for a local charity.

I want to make Kirkham the absolute best it can be, a flagship for other market towns across Lancashire and beyond. I want to bring some amazing events into Kirkham that we have never seen before!

I always love going to the Cenotaph, as my Grandad took me every year on Remembrance Sunday for as long as I could remember, and I always feel very close to him there.

I want to bring some new and exciting events to Kirkham for the community to share in, such as an inclusive Kirkham Pride event, our town’s very own Comedy Fringe, and a spectacular Last Night of the Proms so that we can celebrate the best of British!

I love all things Art Deco, be it our fabulous Library in Kirkham, or anything from the 1920’s, and am a HUGE Eurovision Fan, (although we never do very well, I’m ever the optimist!)
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Tony Wellings
I am a Conservative Member of Kirkham Town Council (KTC). I joined the Town Council after the June elections and was co-opted following an interview with the remaining Town Council members. This has given me a completely new perspective as to some of the issues that we as residents and businesses in Kirkham face.

I am originally from Shrewsbury in Shropshire and first came to Kirkham in 2001 when I was posted to Weeton Barracks with the British Army. I not only fell in love with the area but also with my now wife, Heather. We first lived in Wesham and now live in Kirkham. I work as a Property Manager for BUPA UK looking after a portfolio of properties in the Northwest and North Wales.

My primary role on the Kirkham Town Council is to voice the opinions of the people of Kirkham and to serve them as best I possibly can. This is an honour and a role that I do not take lightly.

Cllr Tony Wellings

Chair Leisure, Parks and Open Spaces.

Chair Kirkham Flood Group.
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James Cameron
I have served you on Kirkham Town Council since being elected in 1983.

I retired from a long career with British Telecom in 2011 and have since dedicated my time to music, gardening and building my home computers and generally enjoying not having to go to work!
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Stewart Jones
I joined the council to try to make a difference to the people of Kirkham after the town had changed considerably and wanted to make the town go from declining to thriving by ensuring all stakeholders were working together and providing the services and retail space that would make Kirkham the centre of the Rural Fylde once again

I also wanted to stand to ensure everyone voice in Kirkham was heard and to give back to the community by serving it as a volunteer to the best of my ability
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Chris Hopkinson
My wife and I have had a business in Kirkham since 2016. I have been a Kirkham Town Councillor since 2018 and Mayor for 2023/24 and 2024/25. I am passionate about Kirkham and my objective is to do my very best to make Kirkham the best it can be.

I have worked in Financial Services all my working life and now run my own Consultancy business, as well as being a non-executive director for an education trust and sit on a panel for the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner.

It is the skills I have gained throughout my career that I want to bring to the Council to ensure we have Financial Discipline, strategic plans for the Town and to look after the residents and business of Kirkham.

I want to work collaboratively with Fylde Borough Council and Lancashire County Council to represent Kirkham and ensure we get the support and investment we need.

As Mayor, I have been able to set up a new Flooding sub-committee, as a reaction to the terrible flooding of the 12thJune 2023. We are now tackling long standing issues that should have been dealt with years ago to protect our residents and business, who shouldn’t have to suffer the devastating consequences this avoidable flooding can cause. In the committee we bring together Kirkham Town Council, Fylde Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and United Utilities. There are many issues to deal with, some of which will be large infrastructure projects, but this committee is permanent and will keep the focus on the issues we have throughout Kirkham.

I am proud to represent Kirkham and am available to help you when required. Please feel free to call me or email me on my Council phone or email address.