A STEAM train special which made a one-off trip through East Lancashire made history for all the wrong reasons after it broke down and stopped for five hours near Whalley.

Passengers from across East Lancashire were expecting to go on a nostalgic journey from Preston to Carlisle and back on a one-off tour. But they got more than they bargained for when The Dalesman broke down at Whalley Bank.

They were left stranded for around five hours and arrived in Preston at 1.30am - six and a half hours after they were supposed to - because of leaves on the track.

James Shuttleworth, operations manager at West Coast Railways, said the problem had been due to the weather conditions and leaves forming a paste on the line.

He said: "There were appalling conditions on the line between Whalley and Wilpshire and the train was just 100 yards short of the summit of the hill when it stopped.

"It was a special steam trip and the driver did the best he could. There was nothing wrong with the engine just the condition of the track. We had to get another train to give us assistance to get the locomotive back to Preston.

"The delay was because they were trying to see if they could get it going again because no-one wants to declare something a failure unless they have to. We kept the tour organisers informed of what was happening. We did as much as we possibly could to ameliorate the situation.

"When we got to Preston the majority of people who came and spoke to us said they thought we had done the best we could under difficult circumstances. We are disappointed and sorry for the passengers but we did do our best.

"There were a couple of passenger trains delayed from Clitheroe because the steam engine was blocking the line but it was arranged so that they could use the other line."

Passenger Ray Butcher used to be a fireman for British Railways and was invited along with former colleagues to travel on the engine, which was similar to the ones they used to work on.

Mr Butcher said: "The engine was struggling from Appleby and it was reversed on to the sidings to get the steam back up to pressure but the notorious Whalley Bank, which caught out many more experienced crews in the 1960s, was still to come. The train kept stopping and starting and they had to send to Preston for help. I think they should have requested help from Carnforth before they tackled Whalley Bank. We got into Blackburn at about 1am. I have no complaints with the tour operators though."

Another passenger, Yvonne Tyrer, 44, of Chatburn Park Estate, Brierfield, said: "We were supposed to arrive in Preston at 6.50pm. What upset a lot of people more than anything was that we never got an apology or explanation. If it hadn't been so serious it might have been funny.

"Things just seemed to keep breaking down and eventually the steam locomotive gave up. We were okay when we got to Preston because we had our car waiting for us but some people were going to Colne and Nelson and they had missed the last train."