East Lancs Railway gets the Express service from Macrolux

BURY, U.K. - Dec. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- December 2 sees the launch of the new, restored and enhanced platform canopy
above platform two at Bolton Street Station, Bury on the East Lancashire
Railway.

The £100,000 restoration project has been completed by a team of volunteers and
supporters including members of the East Lancs Railway Preservation Society,
alongside the staff at the East Lancs Railway, itself run as a charity. But it
wasn't without its challenges along the way!

The history of the East Lancashire Railway is the story of a heroic struggle to
keep a dying part of Britain’s heritage alive, a struggle that still goes on
today. The latest challenge was the installation of the station canopy above
Platform 2 at the railway's Bury Bolton Street station.

While the team from the East Lancs Railway had between them prepared the glazing
bars and ordered new translucent panels for the Victorian canopy, their plans
were scuppered when the original supplier of the glazing suddenly went into
liquidation. To add upset to inconvenience, the railway team also discovered
there was practically no chance of reclaiming the substantial prepayment they
had already made.

Sean Hellewell, sales director of Macrolux UK, became aware of the charity's
plight and stepped in to supply the materials for the new roof on time and at a
reduced budget. The company's Compact polycarbonate sheet was supplied, pre-cut
to the exact sizes that would be required to fit into new glazing bars.

Importantly, the Victorian railway platform canopy needed to still retain a
traditional look, as the railway is regularly featured as a backdrop in
television and film productions. In recent years, programmes including Life on
Mars and Coronation Street have used the East Lancs Railway, as the backdrop to
part of their storyline.

The optical grade Macrolux sheet, which comes with a ten year warranty against
yellowing, loss of light transmission and weathering, was supplied in just two
weeks. The polycarbonate panels allow for greater transmission of daylight and
sunlight, while being resistant to ultraviolet light, the result is a much
brighter platform. The material is also much safer to handle, as in contrast
with glass, it will not break or shatter easily.

Richard Barnett of East Lancashire Railway explained: "Following the
disappointment by a previous supplier, the procurement of a large quantity of
polycarbonate for our station canopy roof was looking to be in serious jeopardy.
Thankfully, Sean Hellewell from Macrolux came forward with a very attractive
offer. From the initial meeting, we knew we were in safe hands from the first
contact through the project’s completion."

The railway continues to develop its services and expand, and with the
invaluable aid of its staff and volunteers, aims to continue to do so for many
years to come.