South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership is pleased to announce a new Food, Drink and Rail History blog, researched and written by Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield. Hosted as a dedicated tab on the website, the blog will be a dedicated place to explore a people’s food culture – a communal history of food and drink, and how it has impacted, as well as been influenced by, rail.
[Read more…] about New Food, Drink and Rail History Blog LaunchedWelcome to the Food, Drink and Rail History Blog!
We all have to eat and drink… it’s a subject that involves everyone. It also says a great deal about who and where we are, and in this brand-new blog, Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield is intent on exploring food history, how it has shaped us, and how it too has been shaped by transport (especially rail!) and trade.
England – and indeed the north of England where this Community Rail Partnership is based – has a rich, varied and multi-layered food heritage that is often under-celebrated. This blog will examine food history and how it links to regional identity, as well how train travel has changed the food we eat… both on and off trains! Dining cars now seem to be a heritage rather than everyday feature of the rails, but once were big business, and will be the subject of later blog posts.
[Read more…] about Welcome to the Food, Drink and Rail History Blog!Visiting the Railway 200 Inspiration train at Blackpool North
On Thursday 14 May Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield travelled to Blackpool North to shadow Dave Savage (Community Rail Officer at Community Rail Lancashire) showing school groups around the Railway 200 Inspiration train.
[Read more…] about Visiting the Railway 200 Inspiration train at Blackpool NorthCrossCountry Community Rail Conference 2026
On Thursday 26 March Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield attended the CrossCountry Community Rail Conference 2026, hosted at the National Railway Museum in York.
[Read more…] about CrossCountry Community Rail Conference 2026A visit to York Chocolate Story – with Try The Train
On Tuesday 24 March 2026 Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield shadowed Try The Train Lead Catherine Kingdom (Community Rail Lancashire) in accompanying a group of young adults on a Try The Train trip from Bradford Interchange Station to York.
[Read more…] about A visit to York Chocolate Story – with Try The TrainFood and Rail Heritage Talk at Kents Bank Station Library
On Wednesday 18 February 2026 South East Lancashire CRP’s Community Rail Officer Emily Oldfield gave a talk at Kents Bank Station Library, focusing on northern English food history and how it has been shaped by travel (particularly rail) and trade.
Emily was accompanied by SELCRP Chair Julie Levy, and both brought a range of food samples for the audience to try – including Lancashire cheese, Eccles cakes, brawn and pies. A number of items were sourced from Bolton Market, following on from connections made during the August 2025 edition of Emily’s talk at Bolton Station (news item also on this website).
[Read more…] about Food and Rail Heritage Talk at Kents Bank Station Library