A TREASURED memorial stone that commemorates Horwich’s railway heritage has been restored and unveiled by the community.

Bolton-based training provider Alliance Learning opened its gates to Horwich Heritage and as part of a tour of the former Loco Works, they hosted a visit from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society.

And as part of the event, which included 40 guests, the group held an unveiling of the inscription stone from the former Railway Mechanics Institute (RMI), which has recently been renovated by volunteer Roy Davies.

Andrew Waldron, who is a member of Horwich Heritage, said: “On behalf of Horwich Heritage, I would like thank the team at Alliance Learning for looking after this stone and for allowing the restoration of this important piece of Horwich’s railway history to take place.”

During the unveiling, the chairman of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society Graham Smith, along with Stuart Whittle, chairman of Horwich Heritage, gave a talk on the significance of the stone.

The memorial commemorates the gift of the building extensions by Samuel Fielden, a director of the railway society, in 1893 and it is the only remaining part of the RMI to have survived.

The last train at the Loco Works departed in September, 1965.

Chloe Ramsden, marketing manager at Alliance Learning, said: “We are grateful that Horwich Heritage have restored the memorial stone on our site, it was fantastic to be part of the unveiling for this big part of Horwich history.”

Kelly Perkin, acting chief executive added: “Alliance Learning was delighted to support such a great project and we will continue to proudly display this remaining artefact of old Horwich. The work the team have done to restore the stonework is amazing and we will be proud to display this piece of history for many years to come.”