NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
10 July 2018
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July 2018
Sunday 22 July Steam on the Coast Railway Touring Company North Wales Coast Express
Liverpool - Chester - Llandudno Junction - Holyhead and return. 45690
Tuesday 24 July Steam on the Coast Railway Touring Company Welsh Mountaineer Preston - Blaenau Ffestiniog. 45699 or 48151: Preston - Chester - Llandudno Junction - Blaenau and return
August 2018
Wednesday 1 August: Steam at Chester. UK Railtours / A1 Locomotive Trust. Darlington - Chester with 60163 Tornado.
Saturday 4 August. Steam on the Coast. Saphos Trains. Bangor (07.00/22.15) Llandudno Jct (07.25/21.55) Colwyn Bay (07.35/21.45) Rhyl (07.50/21.30) Prestatyn (08.00/21.20) Flint (08.10/21.10) Chester (08.30/20.50) Crewe (09.30/20.00) Stafford to Stratford-on Avon. 46100, 34046 or 70000.
September 2018
Friday 7 September Clwyd Railway Circle “North Wales, the Future”. With Arriva's withdrawal from the next Wales and Borders franchise, what will this mean for passengers and staff? Our speaker will be able to bring us up to date with the latest news; Ben Davies - Arriva Trains Wales, Stakeholder Liaison Manager
Saturday 8 September Steam at Chester Railway Touring Company Norwich - Chester. 60009: Norwich -Peterborough - Nuneaton - Chester - Peterborough
29 September Llangollen Railway Diesel gala
October 2018
Friday 5 October Clwyd Railway Circle “Snowdon Mountain Railway”A presentation given by Mike Robertshaw Msc IEng MIED, Senior Engineering Manager of the railway. Mike Robertshaw
12-14 October Llangollen Railway Autumn Steam gala
Friday 19 October Steam on the Coast Golden Eagle Luxury Tour (Day 5 of 12) (Provisional) Chester - Blaenau Ffestiniog 46100: Llandudno Juncion - Blaenau Ffestiniog, Holyhead - Crewe
November 2018
Friday 2 November Clwyd Railway Circle “The Development of Railways in the UK”A look at rail development from Trevithick through to the 23,000 miles of railway in the UK by 1921. Mike Blackburn
December 2018
Friday 7 December Clwyd Railway Circle “Members Night & Christmas Celebrations”Members are invited to give a 15 minute presentation of their choice (any format). FREE tea/coffee & festive treats during the interval. Contact David Jones 01244 537440 to book a slot.
January 2019
Friday 4 January Clwyd Railway Circle “West Country Memories” An illustrated talk which includes all the branch lines of Devon and Cornwall. Dave Southern
February 2019
Friday 1 February Clwyd Railway Circle “The Glorious Steam Railways of India” The images were taken when it was a fully steam worked system, with a variety of steam across four different gauges. John Sloane
March 2019
Friday 1 March Clwyd Railway Circle “Annual General Meeting” followed by “Chairman’s Choice” A night of self indulgence from the retiring chairman, David Jones
April 2019
Friday 5 April Clwyd Railway Circle "Scotland in the 1960s" The talk covers the whole of Scotland - going up the west side to Wick and Thurso and returning down the east side from/to Carlisle.
John Cashen
67 022 meets 73 965, Chester, 2 July. Picture by Tim Rogers.
Royal Scotsman's Great British Tour
On day three of the Belmond Royal Scotsman's luxury 7-day Grand Tour of Britain, Sunday 8 July, the train left its more usual stamping ground in Scotland for a visit to England and Wales, with its dedicated GB Railfreight locos 66 743 and 66 746 top-and-tailing. We pick up the train at Frodsham heading for Chester for a walking tour and a visit to the Cathedral. Picture by Dave Jackson.
Leaving Chester at 17:45, with the sun at just the right angle (Steve Bratt).
Approaching Llandudno Junction (Garry Stroud). The passengers stayed in a hotel, whilst the train travelled to North Llanrwst for overnight stabling.
07:47 the next day at Llanrwst, and 150 279 working train 2D12, 07:26 Llandudno Junction - Blaenau Ffestiniog passes the stabled train (Garry Stroud).
66 746 at North Llanrwst (Garry Stroud)
66 743 at North Llanrwst (Garry Stroud)
Passing Cadnant cutting, Conwy on its way from Llanrwst North to Bangor (Garry Stroud).
Arrival at Bangor at 09:05 (Rowan Crawshaw).
68 002 and 68 005 on the Valley flasks pass by at Bangor (Rowan Crawshaw).
Later that day, the train left Bangor for its next destination, Bath, with both locos on the front (Rhodri Williams).
At Strathcarron on the Kyle of Lochalsh line, a week earlier (Rowan Crawshaw).
On the 'Parliamentary' - with George Jones
The Summer Saturdays-only 'Parliamentary' train on the Halton Curve has been maintained by Northern this season whilst we await bi-directional operation from the December timetable change,
On Saturday 7 July 150139, still in 'old Northern' colours, operated the 07:53 service, seen at Chester with an optimistic Liverpool destination displayed. Myself and two others were the total complement for the non stop run to Runcorn.
Runcorn was reached at 08:14 when the unit departed empty-stock to Allerton depot. The views of the actual Halton Curve from the train are limited, and beyond the M56 largely obscured by the dense lineside vegetation.
Continuing on via Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Earlestown I later reached Liverpool Lime Street by the historic Liverpool and Manchester Railway line. A limited service from Wigan North Western and Manchester Victoria is being maintained during the closure, until 12 July and trains remain busy. My train, 319 362 terminated in platform 1 (above) and shortly afterwards the Wigan train ran into platform 2.
The visit allowed some pictures of the work on platforms 3-6 which seems to have made good progress. Quite how platforms 1-6 are to become 1-5 doesn't seem obvious to me at present.
Returning on the Manchester train ...
... a couple of shots of the station throat workings were possible. Total closure may only allow a look at platforms 7-10 from the concourse.
There is a time-lapse by Network Rail available on Youtube.
Welsh Highland mishap (Press release)
On 5 July the 15:40 Welsh Highland Railway service from Porthmadog to Caernarfon was struck by a car on a crossing near Beddgelert yesterday afternoon. The driver of the vehicle, who appears to have paid no attention to the sign which requires drivers to stop, look and listen, drove straight on to the crossing when the train was present.
A railway spokesman commented that the driver was very lucky indeed to have got off so lightly. The 62 tonne steam locomotive appears to have suffered only cosmetic damage. The two carriages immediately behind the engine were damaged by the car causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch took control of the site briefly and the police also attended. The site was quickly released back to Welsh Highland Railway staff once the circumstances where understood and the recovery operation completed. There were no injuries. More than a hundred passengers on the train were inconvenienced and arrangements were made for them to complete their journey by road transport.
Class 47 invades Austria -report by Richard Boyd
About a year ago I reported on a railtour in Hungary hauled by former British Rail diesel 47 375, which has a tenuous connection with North Wales.
Over the weekend of 9-10 June, 47 375 hauled another continental tour, starting at Budapest Keleti at 07:50 and then travelling to Murzzschlag in Austria via Sopron and Wiener Neustadt. Murzzschlag is the home of the Sudbahn Museum and on Sunday 10th it hosted the International Heritage Railway Parade, which saw a number of specials hauled by steam, diesel and electric traction visit the town. 47 375 was on display at the museum until shortly before its scheduled departure time of 15:50.
On Saturday the more energetic tour customers, myself included, had the opportunity to walk up to the 'Twenty Schilling View', so called because it used to feature on the former Austrian 20 Schilling banknote.The tour organisers arranged for the train to make an outward and return run over this stretch of line to enable people to get photos.
Back at Budapest Keleti station on the Sunday evening.
From Dave Sallery's archive
Despite the mass introduction of diesel shunting locos, station pilot work remained in the hands of steam locos at some London Midland Region stations until the mid-1960s. 'Jinty' 47437 (built 1927) was photographed in action at Chester in autumn 1965, having been recently transferred there from Bescot depot. It was withdrawn in August 1966.
At Stockport Edgeley, 2-6-4T or 2-6-2T locos were traditionally used for shunting the carriage shed and goods yard as well as local freight trips. 41220 was one of four Ivatt 2-6-2Ts transferred from North Wales to Edgeley (9B) shed in 1965; they were replaced by diesels the following year.
45001, the doyen of the large 'Black 5' class of 4-6-0s brings a freight train through Wigan North Western station in late 1966. Behind the loco is a container-carrying wagon with what may be a special load of some sort. The shed plate on the smokebox reads (we think) 10A, which was Carnforth, a depot still thriving today under West Coast Railways ownership. Of interest are the early design colour-light signal and 'Air Raid Protection' signalbox, a wartime design with a concrete roof which it was hoped would resist falling bombs.
The view from the same platform-end location on 28 June 2018, as 66 610 passes with a train of stone-carrying box wagons from Hardendale Quarry to Tunstead.
Worth Valley celebration
Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T 41241 (a former Bangor, Croes Newydd and Llandudno Junction loco) makes a fine sight recreating the opening day special on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations on 29 June. It has been restored to the livery used in the early preservation days. Picture by Lee Andrew Davies.
Haworth, June 1968. Picture by Harold Bowtell, Manchester Locomotive Society collection.
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