NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
11 November 2024
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Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
November 2024
Wednesday 13 November Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group Humph Davies ‘An historical look at the route of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, 1898-1935.’
Monday 18 November Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Bromborough: Ted Buckley “Navigation Road and all that”
Saturday 23 November Deganwy Railway Modellers - Model Railway Exhibition. Craig Y Don Community Centre, Queens Road, Llandudno, Conwy LL30 1TE. Opening times 10am - 4pm
Adults £5.00 Children £2.50
Saturday 30 November Pathfinder. Change of traction: now two WCRC 37s from Dorridge to Chester via Wrexham General
December 2024
Wednesday 4 December Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Liverpool Brian Roberts “Merseyside Area Connections in the 1970s”
Tuesday 10 December Midland Pullman from Holyhead to Edinburgh Waverley - Edinburgh Christmas Pullman
Wednesday 11 December Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group Fred Howes - “From Train Spotter to Civil Engineering Manager”.
Saturday 14 December Intercity Y Cracyr Nadolig” (The Christmas Cracker) Wolverhampton to Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog with class 40 and class 45 locos.
14-15 December Manchester Model Railway Society - The Christmas Model Railway Show. The Sugden Centre, Sidney Street, Manchester
January 2025
Thursday 9 January Clwyd Railway Circle David Jones “Landscapes of Steam, Chester and the Welsh Borders”. Note: Change of venue and date : Hawarden Institute, 31 Glynne Way, Hawarden, Flintshire, CH5 3NS
Friday 10 January. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Engine Sheds" by Noel Coates of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society.
Monday 20 January Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Bromborough: AGM followed by: Jon Penn “A Miscellany of Railways” (Non M,C&NW members and Non-RCTS members will not be able to take an active part in the AGM)
February 2025
Wednesday 5 February Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Liverpool: Chris Poole “Czech Railways”
Thursday 6 February Clwyd Railway Circle David Jones and Dave Southern “Annual General Meeting” followed by “Rails to Bala”
Friday 14 February. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Macclesfield Area Railways in the 1950s and 60s" by Martin Welch.
March 2025
Saturday 1 March - Railway Touring Company - 'The Mancunian' from Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno and Holyhead via Altrincham. Steam hauled.
Thursday 6 March Clwyd Railway Circle Jeff Nicholls “A Baptism of Fire and Water-My First Wolsztyn Experience” Part One
Friday 14 March. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Navigation Road and All That" by Ted Buckley. Local rail scenes, mainly of steam, from the 1960s in the Altrincham and Dunham Massey areas and elsewhere taken by Ted's father Bill Buckley.
Monday 17 March Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch: Charles Roberts “On Line Transport Archive (OTA) Images”
April 2025
Wednesday 2 April Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Liverpool: Paul Shackcloth “L & Y Engines at Work, Part 3” Speaker and Subject TBC
Saturday 5 April Saphos Lakelander from Llandudno Junction to Carlisle. Diesel to Lancaster and return, steam from Lancaster, return via Cumbrian Coast line.
Saturday 5 April UK Railtours - The Snowdonian. No further information available at present.
Saturday 11 April Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from Swindon to Pwllheli
Friday 11 April. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Steam, Diesel and Electric in the Northern Fells" by Ian Pilkington. A joint meeting with the Irish Railway Record Society Manchester Branch.
Saturday 12 April Midland Pullman Torbay Riviera Pullman from Chester, Wrexham General and Ruabon to Paignton.
Saturday 19 April Northern Belle - Settle and Carlisle Steam Special. Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle via the S&C. Diesel to/from Carnforth, steam for remainder.
May 2025
Thursday 1 May Northern Belle "Conwy Castle & Bodnant Gardens" charter from Coventry It includes other off-train options.
Saturday 9 May Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from East Midlands Parkway to Pwllheli
Saturday 10 May UK Railtours Llandudno and Chester. London Euston to Llandudno Junction and Penmaenmawr freight yards.
Saturday 16 May Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast' Express from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli
Saturday 31 May Northern Belle Conwy Castle & Bodnant Gardens from Cardiff
June 2025
Friday 20 June Northern Belle Spirit of Travel Lunch. Circular tour picking up at Chester and Wrexham General. Diesel hauled.
Friday 20 June Northern Belle Champagne Afternoon Tea. Circular tour picking up at Chester and Wrexham General. Diesel hauled.
Saturday 21 June North West Rail and Transport Collectors Fair Crewe Alexandra Football Club 10:00 - 16:00
Thursday 26 June The Railway Industry's "Three Peaks by Rail" will be down the Coast on the evening of 26 June and heading onwards in the early hours of 27 June.
July 2025
Saturday 5 July Railway Touring Company "North Wales Coast Express" from London Euston to Llandudno. Electric to Crewe, with steam along the Coast.
Sunday 13 July Railway Touring Company charter from Liverpool to Holyhead on with steam throughout.
Tuesday 15 July Midland Pullman Yorkshire Coast Pullman from Ruabon, Wrexham General and Chester.
August 2025
September 2025
Friday 5 September Clwyd Railway Circle To be announced
Saturday 5 September Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from Cardiff Central to Pwllheli
Saturday 12 September Pathfinder Tours '.Cambrian Coast Express' from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli
Wednesday 17 September Midland Pullman Settle and Carlisle Pullman. From Ruabon, Wrexham General and Chester.
Saturday 20 September Northern Belle Settle and Carlisle Steam Special. Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle via the S&C. Diesel to/from Carnforth, steam for remainder.
October 2005
Friday 3 October Clwyd Railway Circle To be Announced
November 2005
Friday 7 November Clwyd Railway Circle Jeff Nicholls “A Baptism of Fire and Water-My First Wolsztyn Experience” Part Two
Saturday 8 November Northern Belle Settle and Carlisle Steam Special. Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle via the S&C. Diesel to/from Carnforth, steam for remainder.
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme Hulme
On 8 November, 67 012 calls at Wilmslow with the 12:30 Manchester - Cardiff.
Out and about
70 802 powers away from Rhyl station with 6K33 13:56 Penmaenmawr Quarry to Bradwell Up Sidings (Longport) with another load of slate waste on 11 November (Ivor Bufton)
We're (understandably) receiving very few pictures from the North Wales line at present, so here's a selection including other locations from the inbox. Above, On 11 November, Empty Stock working 5Z12, 07:24 from Crewe C.S to Cardiff Canton Sidings with 82 216 leading...
... and 67 012 providing the power (Graham Breakwell).
66 652 at Buckley station with 6V75, Dee Marsh to Margam TC steel on 7 November ...
... 66 777 Annette passes Buckley with a light engine move running as 0M16, Penyffordd Cement to Bardon Hill (Stephen Dennett).
The 125 Group HST on the East Lancashire Railway visited the East Lancashire Railway as part of the DMU gala...
...Here it is on on a non-stop run from Bury to Rawtenstall passing Burrs Country Park (Greg Mape).
Diggle on 8 November, preserved 45 118 The Royal Artilleryman working the 'Pennine Peak' charter, 09:36 Liverpool to Newcastle brings back memories of the days when 'Peaks' ran this way and on to the North Wales Coast ...
... on the other end of the train, push-pull fitted 47 712 Lady Diana Spencer (Greg Mape).
RHTTs through Chester - report by Bob Greenhalgh
Chester sees three daily Railhead Treatment Trains diagrams. We all know the loco-hauled one but there are two 'MPV' (Multi-Purpose vehicle) diagrams both originating at their depot at Wigan. One runs round the Wirral lines and visits the little-used Ellesmere Port to Helsby line before running from Hooton to Chester and home to Wigan. The second diagram visits the Cheshire lines, Chester and the line to Wrexham, probably to clean Gresford Bank.
The picture above shows DR 98901/951 (the first prototype unit, built in 1998) at Bache station as it heads for Chester on 28 October.
Working the other diagram, DR 93401/951 at Green Lane crossing on 29 October as it heads for Wrexham.
Class 197 notes
Not Manhattan but Manchester Oxford Road: 197 010 arrives with the 12:25 Manchester Airport - Llandudno on 7 November. The two-car and 3-car seem to be interchangeable on these services.
197 119 is the latest to enter service, leaving only 197 123 and 197 126 (apart from the ones for the Cambrian line with its ECTS signalling). A report in The Railway Magazine suggests that it might have been released too early, as on 26 October while working the 11:42 Llandudno - Manchester Airport a passenger was unable to exit the toilet, and when that was sorted, the train doors wouldn't open and passengers for Prestatyn were unable to alight. Apparently that was fixed before the next stop.
From Dave Sallery's archive
31 142 on a short ballast from Penmaenmawr near Abergele, 24 June 1994.
37 420 The Scottish Hosteller nears Deganwy on a train to Llandudno, 28 May 2000. This was in the last year of regular class 37's and was a popular train with a certain type of enthusiast!
37 421 The Kingsman passes the former Rhyl No 2 signalbox on 30 December 2000. This was very near the end of class 37 haulage.
An up HST passes Llysfaen, 21 April 1994.
Looking back: Isle of Man part 7, 1976 - by David Pool
1976 was to be a significant year for Isle of Man transport. The IOM Railway, no longer under the control of the Marquess of Ailsa, was surviving on grants reluctantly provided by the IOM Government, and the buses of Douglas Corporation and the IOM Road Services often were old or secondhand vehicles. By far the majority of my photographs in that year were of buses. At Douglas on 24 June 1976, Horse Tram No.48 was relatively modern, built by Vulcan Engineering in Southport in 1935, but withdrawn later in 1976 and eventually scrapped. The Leyland Titan PD3/4 No.41 (MN41) started life with Stratford Blue buses in 1960 as No.17, later renumbered 28. Taken over by the Birmingham and Midland (Midland Red), it became No.2028, after which it was sold in 1972 to IOM Road Services.
The following day I was in Ramsey, where the Hibberd Planet locomotive No.2027 was on Queen’s Pier with a 15 seat bogie passenger coach, also built by Hibberd.
In 1975 the IOM Railway had operated only between Port Erin and Castletown, but in 1976 it had been extended to Ballasalla. Douglas station was closed and deserted, seemingly abandoned. A couple of steam locomotives were based at Port Erin, No.4 Loch being photographed there on 27 June.
Later that day I saw Loch at Castletown, working the 16:45 Ballasalla to Port Erin. The wisps of steam from the cylinders show that this was a full size locomotive and not a photographed model!
Douglas Bus Station on 28 June 1976 would have been fascinating for a bus enthusiast, as the Douglas Corporation had many elderly vehicles. DCT No.36 (230UMN), a Leyland Tiger Cub PSUC1, had been bought from Lancashire United Transport for use on one man operated services. Previously it had been LUT No.623 (954BTF), and had a Duple coach body.
On 29 June I was in Port Erin as the afternoon train from Ballasalla arrived behind No.11 Maitland. The County Donegal railcars were in the siding, and the connecting bus was an IOM Road Services Leyland Leopard PSU4 No.96 (696HMN).
No.96 had been delivered to IOM Road Services in 1967, then loaned to IOM (Tours) for a year in 1972. The changes following an IOM General Election in Autumn 1976 saw the Douglas Corporation and IOM Road Services buses becoming part of the IOM National Transport Company on 1 October 1976, together with the IOM Railway, the Manx Electric Railway, the Snaefell Mountain Railway and the Douglas Horse Tramway.
At Douglas Bus Station on 30 June 1976, I had been surprised to find a bus in regular service which had semaphore indicators. DCT No.30 (NMN201) was an AEC Regal IV, built in 1950 and used as a demonstrator for a year before coming to the IOM. The driver assured me that the indicators still worked, and gave me a demonstration, although as usual a slap on the bodywork helped the arm to come up the full extent! No.30 was taken into the IOM National Transport Company three months later, but was never used, and eventually sent for scrap in 1978.
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