PRESTON will be stepping back in time next year as two societies team up to bring the past to life.

Ribble Steam Railway, who are building a museum on the city's docks, are joining forces with the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust for two days.

The preservation society will be operating some of their restored Ribble buses to and from the University of Central Lancashire to the railway museum in Chain Caul Road, Riversway, for two open days in January.

Passengers will be ferried through the city on 1950s buses before getting the chance to visit the museum full of restored trains.

Museum curator Tony Kuivala said: "The open days are to give the public access to what is going on here. People don't realise that we've got 38 locomotives. We've a net value here, excluding the value of the collection, of £2 million."

The museum is due to open on its three acre site, about the size of three football pitches, in two years time.

The workshop area of the centre, where trains are restored and repaired, is already finished and the museum is linked to the rest of Preston by a railway line running along the docks.

The line is believed to be unique, as it runs over the swingbridge at the marina, so once up and running the train timetable will be controlled by the tide.

On January 10 and 11 next year, the museum will be running an open day to attract volunteers, with the restored Ribble Motor Services Ltd buses.

Bill Robinson, secretary of the Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust, based in Freckleton, near Preston, said: "We must have 40 vehicles of which about seven or eight are fully restored with MOT and tax.

"We don't have the resources to run a museum so we can't invite people out to see the vehicles, but we do have the resources to restore and run them, and we get our enjoyment through taking them out and showing them off."