Lancaster & Preston Junction Railway Police
Est c1840On Saturday night, 3 September 1858, an accident resulting in the almost instant death of Richard Thompson, Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway Police Constable at Lancaster station, occurred at the Galgate station, 3 kilometres from Lancaster. It appears that on the night named he was assisting the guard of the train in the collection of passengers' tickets at Galgate, and it is supposed that in getting upon the train while it was in motion he slipped and fell beneath the carriages upon the line, the wheels of which ran over one of his arms, nearly amputating it, and seriously bruised his head. He was soon afterwards picked up and conveyed to the station-house, where he died. A verdict of "Accidentally killed" was returned at the inquest.
The Galgate Railway Station was the first station outside of Lancaster on the course of the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway (L&PJR) to Preston. The railway connected the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway by Scotforth at Lancaster with the North Union Railway in Dock Street, Preston, running for a very direct 32 km. The line was opened to the public on 26 June 1840. The Galgate railway station closed 1 May 1939. 
Sources
- Submitted by British Transport Police, Lancashire
Galgate Railway Station (Historic Images - Lancashire)
Galgate Railway Station (Historic Images - Lancashire)
Galgate Railway Station (Historic Images - Lancashire)
Sources
- Francis Whishaw, "The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland", 1842
- Historic Images - Lancashire
flickr.com/photos/historic-images-uk
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
