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ELR Baron Street Workshop – Project Survey

The East Lancashire Railway, Bury Council and Proffitts – Investing in Communities are working together on plans to protect and repair the historic Baron Street locomotive workshop at Buckley Wells in Bury.

Built in 1856 for the East Lancashire Railway Company, the Grade II Listed workshop has been part of Bury's railway story for 170 years and is one of the oldest surviving railway workshops in the country. Remarkably, it remains part of a working railway depot today, where the East Lancashire Railway continues the tradition of restoring, repairing and maintaining historic steam and diesel locomotives, carriages and other railway vehicles.

As well as keeping the building as a working railway workshop, we're exploring how it could become more accessible to visitors, giving more people the chance to discover its history and see the traditional railway engineering skills that continue there today.

We'd really like to know what you think. This short survey should only take a few minutes, and your answers will help us understand what people value about the workshop and help shape the plans as they develop.

You can find out more about the project and follow its progress here: ELR Baron Street Project

Thank you for taking the time to share your views.


ELR Baron Street Workshop
1.How important do you think it is to protect and repair Baron Street – the world's oldest surviving working railway workshop?
2.What do you think is important about the Baron Street workshop?
Please tick all that apply.
3.Do you support plans to protect and repair the Baron Street workshop, while keeping it as a working railway workshop?
4.As part of the developing plans, we're exploring how visitors might safely see inside the working workshop and watch some of the engineering work taking place. This could, for example, be from a viewing gantry or along a designated visitor route. If opportunities like this were available in the future, do you think you, your family or friends would visit?
5.If you visited the workshop, what would you be most interested in seeing or doing?
Please tick all that apply.
6.What does the East Lancashire Railway and/or Baron Street workshop mean to you?

You might want to tell us about a personal or family connection, a memory of the railway, your interest in its history, or why you think the workshop is important.
7.If you would like to be kept up to date with this project, then please leave your email address below. Your details and information will be stored securely and kept purely for the purposes of this project and will not be forwarded to any third parties.