 Few of these original buildings are left but examples still standing are the Stafford Warehouse on the main canal, which has now been converted into apartments, and Stitt's Warehouse on the Runcorn arm which is now a commercial building.The business activities in Preston Brook were encouraged by the opening in 1837 of the railway with a passenger station and a goods yard to allow materials to be transhipped to and from the canal.It was not until the third quarter of the 19th Century that canal traffic declined as the railway network spread throughout the country.