Morecambe man on track to visit all Lancashire train stations in a day

David Chandler (right) and Mike Stevens on their first train of the day from Colne as they attempt to visit all 62 railway stations in Lancashire in one day.

David Chandler is taking part in the Lancashire Challenge to raise funds for Lancaster’s St John’s Hospice.

The 46-year-old Morecambe Football Club admin officer got up at 4.40am this morning to catch his first train from Colne.

But Mr Chandler, who also works for Lancaster Canal Boats and is a volunteer presenter with new community station Beyond Radio, suffered an early setback.

David Chandler and Mike Stevens (centre) meet up with Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster, and Richard Rollins from Lancaster and Skipton Rail Users Group as they stop at Wennington station.

The train that was heading from Colne at 6.20am was cancelled, meaning he had to catch a different service which doesn’t stop at Salwick – leaving him at risk of missing a station.

But after catching an earlier train from Colne, he was able to connect with the service to Salwick at Preston putting him back on track.

On arriving at Blackpool South, David and his companion, Radio Lancashire’s Mike Stevens, walked along the promenade to Blackpool North to catch their next train.

At Wennington station, David and Mike were met by Cat Smith, MP for Lancaster.

They then reached Bare Lane (station 35 of 62) at around 12.50pm on Friday.

During the journey David was surprised by his friend Jack Gordon, who came all the way from London to join his quest.

After making it to Heysham Port, David, Mike and Jack travelled from Lancaster to Preston and barely made a tight connection to Wigan North Western at 14.37.

Speaking before he set off on the challenge, David said: “I like a challenge and this has not been done before.

“I have got a friend who works on the railways, he is also a mathematician, he worked out the route for me and we think it is just about doable.

“I am not really a train buff, I know it appears that way but I am interested more in the people. I like the idea of travelling around all these places in one day.”

Last year David completed a similar challenge, when he visited all 270 London Underground stations in 20 hours, eight minutes.

He said: “We must visit each station on a scheduled passenger service. We can also travel between stations on foot or by public transport – but not by car, taxi or bicycle.”

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