were removed, the Longridge line making an ordinary southwards junction, which the P&WR already had made. Fleetwood dock traffic Fleetwood Dock was authorised at the outset, but work only started in 1869 and was soon stopped. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway took over construction and it opened in 1878. The short branch to Wyre Dock was L&YR property. The L&YR and the LNWR had powers to operate steamer services to Belfast, Londonderry and the Isle of Man and operated through boat trains. On 15 July 1883 a new station opened on the quay at Fleetwood for transfer from boat trains to the steamers, and traffic developed greatly. The old station was closed as the new station better served the promenade for passengers not transferring to the steamers. Some fishing vessels used Fleetwood from 1860, but in 1892 a trawler fishing fleet was established by a Grimsby firm and the town became the largest fishing port on the west coast and the third largest in Britain, with heavy fish traffic sent by rail. Passenger trains In 1895 the first Club Carriage was run between Blackpool Central and Manchester, membership of the club was restricted to first-class season ticket holders who also paid a membership fee. Elaborately furnished carriages were built and for many years returned from Manchester to Blackpool each evening by the 5.10 pm and 5.55 pm residential expresses. At one time they conveyed slip portions that were detached at Kirkham. A lesser-known L&YR residential train for East Lancashire business men ran non-stop from Lytham to Rose Grove, slipping the three rear coaches at Blackburn. On 1 May 1901 the first L&YR corridor and dining car express was introduced between Fleetwood and Leeds via Manchester, connecting with the Belfast steamer. Belfast steamer sailings from Fleetwood continued until the improvement of the Heysham service in 1928. The summer service to Douglas, Isle of Man lasted until 1961, when heavy repairs were required to the quay and the expense could not be justified. Fleetwood terminus and the line from Wyre Dock were closed on 18 April 1966. The former Wyre Dock station was renamed Fleetwood, but the passenger service between here and Poulton ceased on 1 June 1970. Infrastructure improvements The rapid and huge development of Blackpool as a holiday and trippers' destination continued in the latter decades of the nineteenth century, and the line between Preston and Kirkham was quadrupled, opening