17 January 2022
Contributions to the Notice Board
are welcome, although they may not always be used, due to
time constraints, especially if they don't follow the file
name convention given on the Contributions
Page.
Forthcoming events
Charter trains may be subject to cancellation or
postponement.
Monday 17 January RCTS online Zoom
Professor Stuart Cole “Rail
Policy in Wales”
Thursday 27 January Shropshire Railway
Society A Celtic journey, North Wales coast to
Ireland - Rob Smout
February 2022
Thursday 10 February Shropshire
Railway Society Stevens' wanderings with a camera 1954
- 2004 Berwyn Stevens
Monday 21 February RCTS Chester
Martyn Hilbert “Network North West”
Thursday 24 February Shropshire
Railway Society My early years photographs - Ken
Hayward
March 2022
Wednesday 2 March RCTS Liverpool
Paul Shackcloth “L & Y Engines At Work, Part 1”
Monday 21 March RCTS
online Zoom Geoff Plumb “The Wrexham & Shropshire
Railway”
April 2022
Monday 25 April RCTS
Chester David Powell “Merseyrail Fleet Replacement”
(see our
Calendar page for venues)
North Wales Coast Railway website created and
compiled by Charlie
Hulme
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197 001 seems to be doing most of the training runs
for the new units. Gary Thomas photographed it near
Abergele station on sunny 13 January.
A short
epistle this week due to various other activities. Items
for next week welcome. - Charlie
News pictures
66 710 eases into Wrexham General in bright sunlight
with the Hanson sidings at Avonmouth to Penyffordd cement
tanks on 12 January ...
... and on thee same day, Tamper 73907 stabled in
Wrexham bay after arriving from Westerleigh ISU at 13:37.
Pictures by Martin Evans.
153 320 and 153 914 on 15 January's 10:31
Manchester Piccadilly to Milford Haven passing Severn
Bridge Junction, Shresbury - quite a test of endurance for
any long distance passengers.
Glan Conwy sidings - report by Chris Parker
Paul Marshall, a Llandudno-based fellow BLS member, viewed
the sidings to the former goods dept at Llandudno Junction
from overbridges and a public path on 7 January. All
vegetation on the south side together with several sidings
has been removed and a new track laid and ballasted.
This divides into two just before the concrete pad of
the former oil terminal; a year ago, three sidings were
still set in it.
The track work must have been done by road/rail equipment as
the main line connection west of the station is not
complete (the crossing is plain lined), so clearly
commencement of slate waste traffic is still not imminent.
With Paul's permission I've attached a couple of his
photos.
Above: taken from Queen Street bridge, looking west back
towards Llandudno Junction station. The tracks, from
the left, are: the new connection to the old oil
depot; the Down Main; the Up and Down Main; and the Up
Passenger Loop (Up and Down Passenger Loop beyond the
crossover). Avanti Super Voyager 221 106 is at
Platform 3, having arrived 2 minutes early on 1D83, the
10:49 Crewe - Holyhead.
Taken from 6G Road bridge, immediately west of Llandudno
Junction station, looking west, towards Conwy. The tracks
are, from the left: the overgrown Quay Siding; the
disconnected line from the old Sidings 1-7; the Down
Main; the Up and Down Main; and the Up and Down Passenger
Loop. The main
lines curve left, behind the vegetation, to Conwy and the
Llandudno Branch lines curve right beyond the signal
box.
Looking back: Diesels 2000 part 2 - by David Pool
On 4 May 2000 a Mainline Blue 37 219 was taking the
Ellesmere Port branch at Helsby with 6F11, the empty car
carriers from Garston to Ellesmere Port, where they would be
loaded with Opel cars from the Vauxhall plant. An
image of the returning loaded train at Frodsham appeared in
the Notice Board on 8 June 2020.
The 15:20 Stanlow to Humber tanks (6E05) were double headed
on 19 June 2000, with a LoadHaul 56 074 and an EWS
liveried 56 117. The train is on the Fast line at
Winwick, so I assume it would have gone via Farington
Junction and Hebden Bridge, rather than via Manchester and
Diggle.
The Warrington Mail Terminal had opened by 2000, and on the
same day as the Stanlow tanks 86 261, also in EWS
livery, was heading north just after 7pm with a mixed rake
of General Utility Vans in Rail Express Systems and Royal
Mail liveries. I assume the destination would be
Glasgow, but I have no confirmation of this.
Wylfa nuclear flask trains were regularly worked by a pair
of Class 20/3 locomotives, so when on 20 June 2000 the 1509
from Valley to Sellafield was worked by a pair of 20/9s, it
was a notable occasion. These locomotives had become
famous when in September 1999 20 901, 20 902 and 20 903
travelled to Kosovo with the “Train for Life”, spending six
months working trains in Kosovo and Macedonia. 20
901 and 20903 are passing Beeches Farm.
Before being acquired by DRS, the 20/9s were used by
Hunslet-Barclay on weed killing trains from 1989. At that
time there were two operators of these trains, Nomix/Chipman
and Schering (previously Fisons). Prior to 1989 the
trains had been formed with tank wagons and a variety of
coaches, but Mk1 coaches were generally used after the 20/9s
arrived. These trains were always difficult to
photograph, since very little information on their workings
was published in the railway press, and while on holiday in
Northumberland I was lucky to see the Nomix/Chipman train at
Alnmouth on 8 July 1993, top and tailed by 20 901 Nancy and
20 904 Janis, and comprising black water tanks and four grey
and white coaches.
The Schering train was used in the North West and Midlands,
and on 19 July 1989 it was travelling South through
Lancaster with 20 903 Alison and 20 902 Lorna. I think
it had come from Hellifield, and had possibly worked on the
S & C. The first coach looks interesting, and it
appears to be the Spraying Coach, which had been converted
from a Gloucester Class 100 unit, but I would appreciate any
confirmation of the coaches seen in use on this train in
1989. .
Many Class 37/4 locomotives have worked on the North Wales
Coast, but 37 428 was one I had not often
seen. It had spent many years in Scotland and also
working to Cardiff via the Heart of Wales line. It had
been painted in a special maroon livery in 1998 to work the
Royal Scotsman charter train, and on 30 June 2000 I was
surprised to see it on the 15:27 Crewe to Holyhead
working. I decided to get a better photo than my first
attempt at Mold Junction, and taking advantage of the light
evenings I headed for Prestatyn, and got a nice shot as it
returned on the 1822 from Holyhead to Birmingham.
Looking at my photo records, I could find no shots of the
original D6981 or of the 37 281 it had become. After
the fitting of ETS equipment it was renumbered 37 428, and I
had photographed it when it was working “The Hebridean”
between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh on 25 August
1991. At that time it was in the Railfreight Petroleum
livery, carrying the name David Lloyd George. It has
just left Inverness station, the Motive Power Depot being
within the triangle of lines. It returned to work in
Scotland in 2001 and stayed until 2003, when it was stored,
but eventually in 2013 it was withdrawn and cut up.
From Dave Sallery's archive
This view of 47 108 leaving Prestatyn on a
Manchester service, on Saturday 1 September 1990 takes
us back to that interesting summer when Regional Railways
were short of the elderly diesel multiple units used on
Manchester local services. Some redundant loco-hauled
carriages were procured from Network South East, and put
into traffic on the 'Oldham Loop' service using
Regional Railways' Class 31/4s, and sometimes 'borrowed'
Class 47s. The 'loop' services would contine through
Manchester Victoria to towns and cities to the
west, and were occasionally used on other services such as
to North Wales.
47 108 was carrying the unofficial name Golden Eagle
at the time: a sign that it had been at one time based at
Tinsley depot, famous for their 'unofficial names. However
by 1990 it has been transferred to Bescot and then Crewe.
Normally used for freight, it had no way to heat the
coaches, but in the summer that didn't matter.
Its duty on this day was: 2D56 07:10 Wigan North
Western-Bangor, 09:50 Bangor - Manchester Victoria,
2D76 12: 44 Manchester Victoria - Llandudno
and 2F77 15:50 Llandudno - Liverpool Lime Street. Later that
year it was moved to the Western Region where it was used on
infrastructure work, eventually being scrapped in 1997.
(Thanks to class47.co.uk
and sulzerpower.com for the
information)
47 329 passing through Manchester Victoria with empty
newspaper vans for Red Bank sidings, 7 June 1986. Newspaper
trains ran overnight from Manchester to a wide variety of
destinations, returning the next day. Some of the trains
carried staff who parcelled up the papers for the individual
newsagents during the journey. By 1988 the whole operation
has ceased; most papers were no longer printed in the city
centre.
Since then, all the structures to the right of the picture
have disappeared, replaced by a much smaller facility and
the large arena which later saw a tragic terrorism
incident. As for 47 329, some years later it was
rebuilt with a new engine and generator and re-numbered 57
011, which still exists in the DRS fleet, although likely to
be sold off soon.
Vale of Rheidol - in detail
There seems to be a trend lately for the publication of
large books covering every possible aspect of a chosen line,
and published outside the normal book trade. Now
available, ony from the Vale
of Rheidol Railway's shop, is a new example, The
Vale of Rheidol Railway in Detail, which runs to 462
pages, weighs 2.3kg and costs £70. Below is the
author's descroption of the work:
"Many years have been spent researching the railway’s own
archives and archaeology dating back to the opening of the
line in 1902 to produce this sumptuous volume. With
the research coupled with detailed measured drawings, the
book presents an unrivalled description of the Railway’s
history, equipment and infrastructure.
"The production team could not have been better placed to
undertake this work. They comprise of Stephen Phillips
who undertook Design, Illustration and research. Llyr ap
Iolo, Robert Gambrill and Robert Bance (VoR Archivist).
"The highly detailed drawings include locomotives, passenger
carriages, goods stock, service vehicles, bridges,
signalling, trackwork, station buildings, lineside
equipment, water columns etc. Also featured are a
fascinating selection of photographs, documents and ephemera
from the railway’s own archives from opening to the present
day. Many of these illustrations are being reproduced
for the first time with many in colour.
Carefully prepared livery diagrams illustrate the myriad of
paint schemes used by the railway, including Brighton Ochre
and BR Rail Blue.
"In addition to providing a comprehensive record of
locomotives, carriages, wagons and buildings, some now long
disappeared, aided by primary source information and close
examination of surviving equipment, the work brings the
record up to date with extensive details of modern
developments and equipment. This includes a unique
behind-the scenes insight into the engineering and operation
of a modern preserved narrow gauge steam railway."
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