NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
31 May 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, and meetings, may be subject to cancellation or postponement. See our Calendar Page for Club and Society details.
May 2022
June 2022
10-11 June Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways ‘Cwrw ar y Cledrau’ returns in 2022 with a vibrant mix of Real Ales, Steam Trains, and Live Music. Regular steam-hauled trains will also be running throughout the weekend. Updates will be posted on www.rail-ale.com.
July 2022
2 -3 July Llangollen Railway Classic Transport Weekend
Sunday 17 July 2022 Railway Touring Company. Steam The North Wales Coast Express Liverpool -Holyhead and return.
Tuesday 19 July Railway Touring Company. The Welsh Mountaineer Steam Preston Blaenau Ffestiniog and return.
30-31 July : Welsh Highland Railway Centenary and Celebrations:
A weekend of heritage trains operating between Dinas and Rhyd Ddu (as South Snowdon is now known) to celebrate the reopening of this section of line.
August 2022
Friday 12 August Pathfinder Tours Cambrian Coast Express Cardiff - Pwllheli
September 2022
Friday 2 September Clwyd Railway Circle: “The Greatest Railway Builder in the World” A 60 Minute Talk on the Life and Times of Thomas Brassey by Peter Bolt
3-4 September Llangollen Railway Diesel Weekend
Saturday 3 September The Cheshireman steam (6233) Norwich - Chester and return (diesel Peterborough - Norwich)
Friday 9 September Pathfinder Tours Cambrian Coast Express. Oxford - Pwllheli
24 September Trailffest Half Marathon : An Event Train will be provided to take the competitors from the event centre at Porthmadog to the start of the race in Tanygrisiau, the cost of which is included in the entry fee.
Friday 7 October “Fond Memories” A look back over 70 years of Railway interest by Larry Davies
7-9 October: Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways: Vintage weekend.
8-9 October Llangollen Railway DMU railcar weekend
November 2022
Friday 4 November Clwyd Railway Circle: “A trip by Norwegian Railways to Hell (and back).” Geoff Morris
Saturday 5 November Llangollen Railway Ride the Rocket Firework Train
December 2022
Friday 2 December Clwyd Railway Circle: “Members Selections & Christmas Celebrations” Members are invited to give a 15-minute presentation of their choice (Any format). Contact David Jones 01244 537440 to book a slot.
(see our Calendar page for meeting venues)
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
D345 (40 145) passes Irwell Vale on the East Lancashire Railway, showing a North Wales destination headcode. Picture by Gary Thomas.
Don't miss our 27 May extra issue
From the hills, 28 May - pictures by Greg Mape
A picture from the hills above Llanddulas with 158 833 on a Holyhead - Birmingham International service crossing Llanddulas Viaduct.
175 107 heading for Manchester Airport from Llandudno, approaching Abergele.
Approaching Abergele station. Pictures taken from Lady Emily's Tower, a high point on the Gwrych estate, built for Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh, for his wife Lady Emily.
Pictures taken with a 100-400mm Camera lens with 1.4 times adaptor giving up to 560mm. View a larger version of this scene.
Llangollen Brush - by Ken Robinson
I went to the Llangollen Railway on 28 May as the class 47, 1566, was in action. Volunteers had spent days preparing the engine and it looked very smart and clean. Above, 1566 entering Carrog with the first train of the day - the 11:00 from Llangollen.
After arrival at Llangollen.
1566 running round its train at Llangollen. On the left, Inspection Saloon 80975 can be seen. This was built at the Great Western Railway workshop at Swindon in 1948. Withdrawn from main line service in 1993, 80975 passed into preservation, and was based at several sites before being privately purchased in 2009. 80975 came to be based at The Llangollen Railway, and is yet to be fully restored, but is being used to complement the existing coaching stock, and, for a small extra charge, passengers may travel in the saloon - a wonderful experience indeed!
Freight notes
Jim Scott writes, regarding the first of the Aberystwyth log train trials, trains from the Shrewsbury direction cannot reverse at Wrexham as we suggested in the last issue, as the loop line is on the opposite side of the main line, and there is no crossover to allow a run-round movement. It's likely that like the trains from Baglan Bay, it continued to Chester to reverse.
Also, Jim confirms that the Margam to Dee Marsh steel flow has definitely transferred from DB cargo to GBRf.
Two Memories of 2006 - by Barrie Hughes
57 305 John Tracy Departs from Bangor with the on the 10:03 Manchester - Holyhead departing Bangor at 12:18 on 30 May 2006, seen from Bangor station car park. The loco had previously been named Alan Tracy for a few years until the name was changed on 28 February 2003 (why?). The loco works today for Rail Operations Group and carries the name Northern Princess since 13 October 2014.
On the same day Welsh Highland Railway Garratt No.138 waits to depart Caernarfon with the short lived apple green livery sponsored by Edison and the Millennium nameplate. (The Garratts no longer carry nameplates). Also in this view the short lived ex-SAR B wagon converted to bicycle wagon which could also carry suitcases, pushchairs etc. They were little used and have now been converted to coal/pw wagons.
The train is the 13:50 to Rhyd Ddu, the limit of operations at the time.
So many things have changed on the WHR since this view with short trains with heritage coaches like the original No. 23 WHR coach and the experiment with ex SAR B wagons .
The WHR today
All trains are named for the convenience of booking. The 'Gelert Explorer' runs once a day (except Saturdays) from Caernarfon/Waunfawr and meets the 'Glaslyn Venturer' which runs once a day (or twice a day according to demand) at Beddgelert. Both trains allow over 90 minutes to explore Beddgelert before returning.
On Saturdays both trains run through, with the 'Snowdonia Star' running from Caernarfon / Waunfawr to Porthmadog and The Harbourmaster running from Porthmadog / Beddgelert / Meillionen to Caernarfon giving at least 2 hours at the destinations. The through trains also run some Fridays in the peak periods.
Society members can use the intermediate halts subject to room being available.
Assortment
66 594 at Kemps Eye, Shrewsbury on 23 May with the 12:30 from Port Talbot Grange Sidings, a lengthy train of aggregate heading for Crewe Basford Hall via Shrewsbury’s Abbey Foregate triangle and Stafford (Graham Breakwell).
A full house at Coleham depot on 24 May. All three active 97/3s stabled, while 175 112 approaches with 1V44 the 13:31 from Manchester Piccadilly to Tenby ...
... plus 57 313 and 37 706.
John Oates writes: 'At Hereford, 67 008 arrived light engine as 0T08 from Cardiff Canton heading to Crewe CS. The relief train crew, all four of them were waiting on the platform as it entered the middle road. It appears to have had a repaint (except for its roof).
'Great Western 800 019 left first at 13:18 from platform 3 on 1P04 to Paddington; I’d arrived on this from Worcestershire Parkway. Those “ironing board” seats are awful – I take a cushion with me. Internally the seat reservation system wasn’t working and an engineer was travelling with us using his laptop to diagnose the problem.'
Amid the Greenery, 67 014 departs Llandudno Junction with the 16:36 Holyhead - Cardiff on 30 May.
From Dave Sallery's archive
37 238 in Llandudno Junction yard, 13 February 1992. The loco was on test from Crewe Works.
47 199 on a down Freightliner passing Prestatyn on 7 August 1984.
37 885, in the then-new Railfreight returning to Crewe and passing Abergele on 14 October 1988. The loco is on test and the train is formed mainly of the under-used Mark 2C vehicles.
Looking back: Electrics and Diesels 2004 part 2 - by David Pool
In the late morning of 23 February 2004, 66 115 was leaving Chester on the Warrington line with a loaded log train. There used to be an empty log train from Chirk to Arpley in the afternoons, but I can’t work out why there should be loaded logs going to Arpley, unless of course there had been a problem at Chirk. Does anyone have an explanation?
On 26 February 2004 Merseyrail 507 021 is approaching Chester at Chester North Junction, with Bache station in the background. Bache station was the replacement for Upton by Chester station, a little further up the line, which closed in 1984.
The following day I was back to my favourite footbridge at Hoole Lane, where 47 776 Respected was on Northern Rail train 1H44 06:38 Bangor to Manchester Picacdilly. This locomotive still exists, being apparently stored out of use for West Coast Railways at Carnforth.
The 10:57 from Chester to Manchester Piccadilly followed soon after. This was 156 420, still in First North Western branding after North Wales services had been transferred to the Wales and Borders franchise, operating as Arriva Trains Wales, from December 2003.
I was at Winwick on 4 April 2004, and could not resist a shot of DR 73103, which I discovered was a Plasser & Theurer 09-32 CSM Tamper. I was not aware of the ingenious method by which the machine could move forward steadily as sleepers were tamped by the vibrating tines. Apparently the tamping tines were on a sub frame which moved forwards or backwards relative to the machine, so the tines could stay over a sleeper as the machine moved forward, then reset over the next sleeper.
The Class 57/3s had arrived by 2004, although they had not yet been fitted with Dellner couplings, so could drag a set of Mk3 coaches with a Driving Van Trailer, but not couple directly to a Pendolino. The 11:20 Preston to Euston was headed by 57 307 Lady Penelope, with the distinctive pink nameplates, plus DVT 82139.
The Class 153 single units were working the Wrexham to Bidston line trains in 2004, and on 15 March the Arriva-branded 153 362 Dylan Thomas 1914-1953 was working the 13:32 Bidston to Wrexham, approaching Neston station.
I returned to Heswall later that afternoon, since there was to be a movement of a Class 507 to Eastleigh, where it would be refurbished. 67 004 duly appeared with 507 011, the barrier coaches being 975974 and 975978.
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