The Old Tram Road
 
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Epilogue
 
The canal company never did find the capital to finance the construction of a canal to cross the Ribble Valley. The tram road ran successfully for over seventy years before the all-pervasive steam locomotive operated railway superseded it.

All traces of the tram road at the Preston terminus have been obliterated by development. The tunnel beneath Fishergate now serves as the entrance to the Fishergate Centre car park. The Avenham Incline slope remains and the section from the Tram Bridge to Todd Lane North is recognisable and open to the public. The tall lime trees which now flank its banks were planted by the Victorians.

All traces of the engine house and its associated reservoirs have long since disappeared from the landscape. The remains of the engine house were used in the formation of Avenham Park. According to the Preston Guardian published on 31st May 1873, "All the massive stone bed of the engine house has been worked into steps, of which in various directions there are some half dozen new flights".

The most substantial monument to the tram road is provided by a stone bridge abutment constructed to support the timber decking that carried the dual track across Garden Street.

 
Stone Bridge Abutment in Garden Street The 'Stone Bridge Abutment' in Garden Street 2001. One of the few remaining relics. The stonework supported a timber bridge that carried the tram road across Garden Street at this point. [Editors Note: The 'Stone Bridge Abutment' was restored in April 2004 following damage sustained in a car accident.]
 
In the 1960’s the “temporary” timber trestle bridge that had stood for over one hundred and sixty years was replaced by a new bridge built of precast concrete sections to the same pattern as the original timber structure.
 
The concrete Tram Road Bridge, constructed in the 1960's The Tram Road Bridge 2001. Fortunately, the sound principles of the original structure were incorporated in the new and the present bridge provides a good representation of the scene in 1802.
 
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