Replacement of Wellfield Road/Ashton Street Railway Bridge

Replacement of Wellfield Road/Ashton Street Railway Bridge, a set on Flickr.

Network Rail are currently working on electrifying the railway line between Preston and Blackpool North. As it stands, the electrics stop a few hundred yards from the bridge where Wellfield Road and Ashton Street meet each other in Preston.

The bridge was built as an arch and, as such, there wasn't enough room to get the cables underneath. The same is true for a number of bridges along the line. So, Network Rail are currently working on replacing them with unarched bridges that cables can pass under.

These photos show the progress of the work on the Wellfield Road/Ashton Street Bridge, starting just before work commenced. For those of us who have lived round here for a number of years it's fascinating to see the old bridge ripped out and the new structure taking place.