NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
02 December 2024
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 advice and file name convention given on the Contributions Page.
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
November 2024
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 Bellee 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
The Rail Head Treatment train with unusual power passing Towyn's caravans on 27 November. Picture by Gary Thomas.
The next issue wil appear on the evening of Tuesday 10 December.
News pictures
RHTT Variety
Monday 25 November saw the usual Class 56 traction 56 090 and 56 113 , but 56 113 then disappeared for tyre turning and unusually we had a 66 : 66 846 for a couple of days, this was replaced by 56 105 on Thursday and Friday.
66 846 is seen passing Sandy Lane crossing, Prestatyn at the rear of RHTT 3S71 on 26 November.
By 28 November the usual has returned: 56 090 approaching Sandy Lane crossing with 56105 on the rear
New Measurement Train
The periodic (as in ‘once per [NR] period’) visit from the New Measurement Train took place last Thursday, and it was pretty much the same formation as 8 weeks ago, only with 43 272 leading as the train ran out to Holyhead. The consist is 43 272, 72612, 975091, 72 631, 6262, 43 357. The picture is from Bagillt: it's good to see that the shrubbery has now been felled (Russell Withington)
The train was 1Q30 10:54 Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail) to Crewe (via Holyhead) with 43 257 leading passing Sandy lane, Prestatyn on 28 November (Ivor Bufton). The redundant signalbox appears in good condition; is it used for anything?
Cambrian 197s
Cambrian-line bound 197s continue mileage accumulation runs along the coast with 197 028 being the latest, seen leaving Rhyl on 28 November (Ivor Bufton).
Conwy, with the return 3Q71 11:20 Holyhead to Crewe test working passing through Robert Stephenson's modification town walls. (Garry Stroud)
New Trains and a new bridge
191 115 on 1D33 08:25 Manchester Airport to Llandudno calls at Flint on 30 December (Tim Rogers). Works continue on the new accessible footbridge; efforts have been made to blend it into the style of the LNWR old bridge, which will be retained and is part of the conservation area, but some local residents are unhappy although the Council have approved. Sometimes heritage and accessibility can't be fully combined. The replica LNWR 'running-in board' - happily these are appearing on many ex-LNWR stations recently.
805 009 with 1A34 08:48 Holyhead to London Euston and the old LNWR-style bridge which is in good condition after some repairs in recent times.
Points
Contrary to a comment in the last issue, we are told that loco 70 815 has been on the Coast line several times, albeit on engineering works, as early as 21 June 2020. Not all the fleet have been here, though: 70 804 and 70 813 has yet to visit.
Another recent query relates to the diversion of the Cardiff - Manchester via the Styal line avoiding Stockport. TfW passenger trains trains do not normally use the Manchester Airport - Wilmslow section, and drivers need to have regular refreshers on any route to be allowed to use a line. However, the answer is simple: the 5V33 05:13 empty stock from Crewe to Manchester on Mondays only and the 5K23 20:24 empty stock from Manchester - Crewe most weekdays, run that way. There are also paths for three (occasional?) Sunday morning passenger workings which might provide a photo opportunity.
Thanks to Jack Bowley for help with these items.
Out and about
Stockport on 27 November: 390 001 with the "bee" love heart, on 1H65 10: 33 Euston to Manchester Piccadilly as 67013 waits in platform 2 with the 1v42 12:30 Manchester to Cardiff. The train had arrived Manchester 17 minutes late, but due quick work by the staff at PIccadilly, the train was just 5 minutes late at Stockport (Stuart Broome).
The 12:32 6E17 Liverpool - Drax double header with 60 026 and 60 056 approaching Ashley, 30 November (Greg Mape).
A unit from Network Rail
These people having enjoyed a trip to Llandudno on 19 November comprise the 'North Wales Railway' or 'Unit' which was launched in the town, with colleagues from the three organisations getting together across two days to work collaboratively on ways to improve the railway in North Wales.
The text says (visit the NR website for the full story):
'The new local railway unit broadly covers the area served by the North Wales Coast and Conwy Valley Lines – and will draw on the experience and ideas of those already working in the area, notably the frontline staff who work on the track, trains, and stations in North Wales.
'The primary aim is to regularly bring together local teams – from across organisational boundaries – and give them the tools and support they need to deliver benefits for the local area, with passengers and staff alike ultimately benefiting from the collaboration.'
Looking from outside, one wonders why should this should not have been doing as a matter of course, Anyway, good luck to them. Perhaps they could include one of two representatives of the passengers?
Aberystwyth to Carmarthen: book review by Barrie Hughes
This new 306-page
book (price £40) by Geraint Roberts, published by Lightmoor
Press is a well illustrated account of this long lost
rural branch line that connected North to Mid- and South
Wales as an offshoot of the Cambrian Coast Line. The TRAWS
campaign is trying to reopen the line. The book also covers the Newcastle Emlyn and Aberaeron Branches and might make an ideal present for someone interested in Welsh railway history. Born from the aborted Manchester and Milford Railway Llanidloes-Carmarthen route via Llangurig. The Aberystwyth to Strata Florida section was an afterthought after the mountain section was abandoned by the engineer David Davies as being too expensive with its long tunnel under the Cambrian range and high viaducts over the Ystwyth and other gorges.
Before amalgamation with the GWR the railway was in Chancery for much of its life as it was saddled with the debt of a share of Llanidloes station costs on the never completed mountain section.
The railway operated from the short bay platform on the south side of
Aberystwyth station but was closed after flooding cut the line in the
Ystwyth Valley near Llanilar in December 1964. The bay was used by the Vale of Rheidol from 1970 after demolition of the line was completed in the late 1960s. The passenger service south of the temporary railhead at Strata Florida was closed in February 1965 and lifted after milk traffic to Pont Llanio ceased in 1970.
The book has extensive text with newspaper extracts featuring contemporary reports and over 1000 illustrations, mostly photographs, with the majority black and white. There are signalling diagrams and map extracts to show station layouts. A variety of trains are shown including freight, passenger, milk trains and excursions. The popular Manor steam locos are well covered as are the Hymeks, Class 37s and DMUs from the later diesel years.
The book could have benefited from an index. One area that could have been better covered is the never-completed route cross the mountains, between Llanidloes, Llangurig and Strata Florida including the mile long Myherin Tunnel, the approach cuttings for which were actually started. Nevertheless there is a short three-page chapter on the Llangurig Branch which carried one revenue earning stone train so that the Mid-Wales railway could bill the M&MR for their share of Llanidloes station! The book incorrectly states there are no earthworks west of Llangurig. In fact the route crosses the A44 just west of Pont Aber Bidno and the embankments are present to this day that would have provided a skew bridge like Gethin's Bridge on the Conwy Valley.
From Dave Sallery's archive
Mainline liveried 37 077 heads for Penmaenmawr with ballast empties near Mostyn, 15 May 1998.
On the horizon is the TSS Duke of Lancaster a former British Railways vessel that operated from 1956 to 1979, and was then beached at Llannerch-y-Mor Wharf near Mostyn. It's still there in 2024, after many attempts to restore what it was at first, an entertainment ship , but at present no-one appears to have has succeeded.
37 220, substituting for a Class 37/4 Bangor - Crewe service for just one day, passes Shotton, 22 May 1998. Stored out of use in 2000, 37 220 was finally cut up at EMR Kingsbury on 10 September 2007.
508 128 passes the long demolished Leasowe signalbox on a Liverpool to West Kirby train, 27 February 1993. All class 508s have now been withdrawn, and at the time of writing (2 December) it appears that the last handful of the sister class 507s are being taken out of service.
The eight-lever signalbox is in the style of the London Midland and Scottish Railway who took over the Wirral Railway at the 1923 'Grouping'. It was de-commissioned in 1994, when the level crossing changed to automatic barrier operation.
56 018 rumbles down the gradient to Shotton with a train from South Wales of steel coil for coating, 1 May 1997. At this date the material travelled in open wagons, more recently given covered protection, at the request of the steel company.
Apology: an editor's error (not the only one) last issue mentioned 3-car Derby Lightweight units: of course such things didn't exist. The ones seen on the coast were 2-car.
Looking back: The Isle of Man in 1993 - by David Pool
The Isle of Man Railway has had diesel locomotives in service from time to time, but they have not been trouble free. In 1992 a Schöma diesel had been purchased as a replacement for the County Donegal Railcars Nos 19 and 20. No.17 Viking had been built in 1958, and had worked at an opencast mine in Germany. Photographed at Douglas on 3 May 1993, it was on station pilot duties, but subsequently it was not often to be seen in service, and is now in store at Douglas with no future plans. In October 2024 Schöma filed for bankruptcy, and if a buyer is not found it will be the end of one of the major suppliers of narrow gauge diesel locomotives.
There were more steam hauled trains on the MER on 3 May 1993, with No.4 Loch and the two MER trailers. The train is approaching the summit of the line at Bulgham Bay, 588 feet above sea level. The MER publicity points out that this is Higher than Blackpool Tower.
On 4 May 1993 I was in Ramsey, where a Wickham car was outside the carriage shed. I think this was one of the two Wickham vehicles from the Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway (Wickham No.8849 of 1961, IOMR No.23), since the other one was green and with a different body, but there were no markings on the one at Ramsey. I have seen a photo of a blue Wickham taken in 1993, said to be 8849, but it had yellow chevrons front and rear. Perhaps the chevrons were about to be applied at Ramsey.
The was a display of Horse Trams at Douglas on 4 May 1993. The Saloon 27 and 28 were regularly in use, but the double deck car No.18 was of particular interest. Initially there had been seven double deckers with a seating capacity of 32 to 36, but to cater for the growing traffic six 42 seaters were purchased from the South Shields Tramway in 1887, one of which was No.18, having been built in 1883. None of the smaller cars have survived, but one of the South Shields cars (No.14) is in the Manx Museum and No.18 is still in service.
Later that day I photographed on the Port Erin line. IOMR No.12 Hutchinson was now in blue, and approaching Ballabeg. This is a “stops by request” station with an exceedingly short platform. The station being some way from the village, the number of passengers boarding or alighting is likely to be minimal, but it is an attractive feature on the line to Colby.
Another station with few regular passengers is Santon, where the first afternoon train to Port Erin was double headed with No.12 Hutchinson and No.4 Loch. No.12 had been built in 1905, but had ben in service longer than any other locomotive in the fleet, its only withdrawal before 1993 being for three years in 1977. No.4 had just returned from its duties in the MER, and for some reason had not been turned to face Port Erin as was customary.
On 6 May 1993, my last day on the Island, I returned to the MER depot at Derby Castle, where there was some movement of displayed stock. MER open wagon No.8 and van No.4 were being propelled into the depot by Saloon car No.22. The van had been repainted in Royal Mail red to mark the fact that it would have been used for mail and parcels until the contract expired in 1975. In the 1990s it was advertising the issue of IOM Post Office special stamps featuring the MER. I have not been able to establish the reason for the EPCo Ltd branding – possibly a parcels contract?
The Douglas Head Marine Drive
Tramway was a standard gauge tramway opened in 1896 along a
newly built coastal road to Port Soderick. It ran
until the onset of war in 1939, by which time the passenger
traffic had declined significantly. Some rolling stock
was put in the Depot at Little Ness, and the track and
overhead equipment were dismantled after the war. In 1951 the Light Railway Transport League persuaded the IOM Government to donate car No.1 for preservation. A trailer was considered to be in such a bad condition the preservation was not feasible. After four years storage on the IOM, No.1 went to the Clapham Transport Museum and finally to Crich, where it has been fully restored.
A visit to Crich on 1 September 2018 found No.1 in the Museum, although not well positioned for photography. A hand held shot with a long exposure (above) was the best I could achieve. The Marine Drive was reopened by the 1950s, and I photographed a bus there in 1976 before landslides resulted in the closure of the road to vehicular traffic.
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