 Fleetwood continued to grow without its principal investor, albeit slowly. As a port, it soon faced competition from Lytham and Preston. In 1847 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert travelled through Fleetwood on their way to London from Scotland, but that year saw the decline of the town's importance on the route to Scotland. More powerful locomotives were now able to travel over hilly terrain, and the railway was extended over Shap Fell all the way to Scotland; Fleetwood was no longer needed as a sea link.
