North Wales Coast Railway Notice Board 03 February 2025

NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd


03 February 2025














Forthcoming events

See our Calendar Page for operator details.

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 5 May - The Victorian Festival (Intercity). Birmingham International to Llandudno and return with a pair of LSL class 20s.

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

Wednesday 10 September - Snowdonia Statesman. Cardiff Central to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

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

Wednesday 8 October - Snowdonia Statesman. Durham to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

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 


On 27 January at Flint, 197 104 on 1H91 15:42 Llandudno to Manchester Airport meets  153 311 2Q20 13:00 Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail) to Chester Middle Yard via Tamworth, Crewe and Llandudno. The 153 now is owned by Network Rail as 'VIU 1' - (Video Inspection Unit 1).  We understand its role is to inspect pointwork and track that can be missed by the New Measurement Train, although it has also been used for driver training.


Scenes from here and there



CrossCountry's new look. 220 005 stands in the sun at Stockport on 1O20 13:25 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth which will arrive in the resort at 18:16 (in fact it arrived only two minutes late. (Stuart Broome).



A busy moment at Skelton Junction on Sunday 2 February at 14: 24 66 786 Cambridge University Railway Club takes the curve with another load of Biomass wood pellets...



... 14:24:12 Trains passing...



14:25:33 and 66 741 Swanage Railway with 67 313 proceed with empties, taking the Sundays only routing via Doncaster Decoy to Liverpool. Beyond the curve, freight and passenger trains have to be threaded though a single-line section including Navigation Road station, the other line being now used by Metrolink.  Two level crossings add to the work of the signallers.

A look at Flint - by Stephen Dennett



70 815 approaches Flint with 6K33, Penmaenmawr Quarry to Bradwell Up Sidings stone. Taken at Flint on 27 January (Stephen Dennett).



Some photos from Flint Station, which is still undergoing improvements. The new footbridge/lifts are not yet in use, with a temporary entrance/exit to Platform 1, as the main building/ticket office is still not open. There is a ticket machine on Platform 2. The train is 197 103 with 1D39, the Manchester Airport to Llandudno service.



Anyone travelling on 27 January  from Birmingham past Chester must have had an interesting journey on 1D14, which had 158 876 and 158 818 in charge from Birmingham to Shrewsbury, 197 045 (above) and 197 016 from Shrewsbury to Chester, and just 197 045 from Chester onwards!  The Manchester Airport trains are usually  3 car 197/1s, as they need to be.



The Avanti Everos now well established on the Euston run. 



A closer look at 37 405's new clothes: passing through Shrewsbury station on 3 February nearing journey’s end at Coleham LMD as  0Z37, the 09:05 from Norwich Goods Yard. The circuitous route was down the East Anglian mainline to Stratford, across North London to Willesden to join the WCML, then on to Crewe via Northampton (Graham Breakwell)



37 510 Orion near Shrewsbury with an unidentified Class 175 in the middle of two barrier coaches and 37 901 “Mirlees Pioneer” on the rear. With GWR taking on some redundant 175’s, this move, 7Q46, left Swansea’s Landore TMD at 06:04 heading to Ely MLF Papworth Sidings to join the masses of HST power cars, DMUs, EMus and coaches in store awaiting their fate (Graham Breakwell).

From Dave Sallery's archive



37 422 and 37 710 are amongst five 37s stabled at Warrington on 25 May 2007. There wasn’t much work left for them with EWS by this time.  Also in view are an 08, four 66s and a 67.



47 642, with Scotrail branding and 47445 near Prestatyn in February 1986. The lead loco was on test.



47 805 leaves Rhyl with a Holyhead train in March 2007.



60 011 meanders through Liverpool docks in August 2003 on its way to collect an empty steel train.


Looking back: Yorkshire steam and diesel 1962 - by David Pool



The service between Morecambe and Leeds in 1962 was very different from the two or three car multiple units (and a change at Lancaster) provided today.  On 1 July 1962 the 1230 Morecambe to Leeds (City) comprised a rake of mostly Stanier corridor coaches hauled by a main line “Peak” class diesel D53 Royal Tank Regiment, and was photographed at Skipton.  The second coach is possibly a corridor composite, but the four doors are unusual.  Can anyone identify it, please?  The locomotive has been preserved as 45 041, and is now based at the Nene Valley Railway. 



The next Southbound train through Skipton was a Special, having come over the S&C from Scotland.  The “Jubilee” class locomotives did good work on this line, and 45677 Beatty looked to be going well.  Five months later it was withdrawn.



Approaching from the other direction, the Northbound “Waverley” was headed by another “Peak”, D30.  This later became 45 029, and after a brief period as 97 410 it was eventually withdrawn in 1988.  The “Waverley” in 1962 had started from St Pancras at 09:15, but called at many stations in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Cumbria and on the Waverley route from Carlisle, arriving at Edinburgh at 18:34.  With these timings, it could not compete with the six hour journey on the East Coast Main Line, and it ceased to run in 1968. 



The trains between Liverpool and Newcastle in 1962 often avoided York by taking the route North from Leeds via Wetherby, Harrogate and Ripon to Northallerton.  On 13 July 1962 the15:10 Newcastle to Lime Street was passing through Harrogate, the locomotive being D306, then based at Edge Hill.  This has been a survivor, becoming 40 106 and eventually withdrawn from BR service in 1983, after appearing in the Rainhill celebrations of 1980.  It was then bought for preservation, gaining the name Atlantic Conveyor in 1984, and was disguised as D326 for the film of the Great Train Robbery.  It has been used on many Railtours over the years, and on various preserved railways, being currently on hire to the Severn Valley Railway. 



I visited York on 14 July 1962, but the weather was rather dull, so colour photography required a full aperture and a slow speed.  An A1 Class 60154 Bon Accord arrived with the 09:04 Sunderland to Kings Cross, looking rather weatherbeaten.  The website of the A1 Locomotive Trust gives an interesting history of this locomotive, which was often used on Royal Trains in the 1950s and was finally withdrawn in 1965, after a season working over the Settle and Carlisle line. 



Moving on to Scarborough, the signal gantry by Falsgrave box on the approach to the station provided a nice feature for photographs.  There may be others, but few gantries will have had such a mixture of upper and lower quadrant signals.  The locomotive 61439 is a Class B16 rebuild with modified valve gear, and I think it is a B16/3.  It is backing out of the station towards the carriage sidings.



The locomotive spotters at York on 21 July 1962 were not showing much interest in diesels, and I had at first assumed that this was one of the Brush locomotives later designated Class 31, but I had not realised that D5376 was in fact a BRCW/Sulzer (later Class 27), the first 23 of which were in the Scottish Region.  The remaining locomotives of the Class were then allocated to Cricklewood, except for nine to Thornaby, one of which was D5376.  The 4B43 headcode indicates an express freight working in the York district, if I am correct.



The Southbound “Heart of Midlothian” arrived behind a Deltic, then I moved to the other end of the platform to see the Northbound train.  I was pleased to see that this was still being steam worked, and the “Streak” was 60019 Bittern.  I would not have believed that I would be photographing this locomotive 52 years later on the Settle and Carlisle line and in Chester! 



  THE 'ACCIDENTAL TRACTION FESTIVAL' NORTH WALES COAST LINE

MAY 1999 - PART 3

Compiled by Charlie Hulme.


Remarkably, the Coast line Class 37 fleet was still  out of action on Friday 28 May as engineers tries to discover the reason for a part detaching itself from the bogie of 37 421. What remained unclear to your compiler was why it was thought this fault would only occur on machines allocated to Crewe depot. Any comments on this would be welcome.

As can be seen from Alan Crawshaw's evocative picture above, by Friday railfans were beginning to outnumber the ordinary passengers!

Transrail-liveried 37 250 was performing on Friday, seen above calling at Rhyl (Nick Gurney picture.)


 

Another livery to be seen on Friday was the butch black and orange of another now-defunct company, Load Haul, worn by 37 517. Again our photographers were on hand: Alan Crawshaw's picture was taken at Bangor station.


Saturday 29 May, the Bank Holiday weekend, and the last day of the Winter timetable. Still no regular locomotives, and another selection of borrowed machines.

Here's our table of what went where:

37 058 1D57 0506 Birmingham - Holyhead Between Chester - Holyhead
       1G96 0836 Holyhead - Birmingham NS
       1D71 1203 Birmingham NS - Holyhead
37 250 1G76 0143 Holyhead - Birmingham NS
       1D57 0506 Birmingham - Holyhead Between Birmingham NS - Chester
       1D79 1717 Crewe-Bangor 
       2D72 2022 Bangor - Crewe
37 298 1K53 0739 Chester - Crewe
       1D60 0819 Crewe - Bangor
       1K61 1022 Bangor - Crewe
       1D69 1220 Crewe - Holyhead
37 413 1G91 0422 Holyhead - Birmingham NS
       1D62 0810 Birmingham NS - Bangor
       1G97 1116 Bangor - Birmingham NS
37 429 1G95 0640 Holyhead - Birmingham NS
       1D67 1007 Birmingham NS - Holyhead
       1G11 1354 Holyhead - Birmingham NS
       1D82 1721 Birmingham NS - Holyhead 

37377 on Standby all day at Chester
 


 Alan Crawshaw's view taken at 10.20 at Bangor, shows 37 371, returning  light after working the petroleum coke train to Holyhead, as it draws alongside 37 298, about to set off with the 10:22 to Crewe.

Yet another livery - the old British Rail 'Dutch' engineers' livery - and another rarity, 37 058, pictured by Nick Gurney calling at Rhyl. Regarding the cause of all this, Nick writes:

"I have heard from two sources now, that something called a "transition arm" which is similar to a shock absorber fell off  37 421 on the Britannia bridge. A permanant way worker walking the track picked up this piece of 37 421 and thinking it was rubbish tossed it off the bridge into the Menai Straits. Then on two occasions divers have been hired to try to recover the offending article from the water. The WKCD pool of 37/4s are parked up in a siding at Crewe apparently untouched."


At this point your compiler decided to pay a visit to study the festival at close quarters; the picture above shows the 14.23 Birmingham - Holyhead at Crewe, with 37 413 The Scottish Railway Preservation Society in charge.


Clearly 'anyone who was anyone' in the local railfan world was heading this way - who should appear in my field of view at Crewe but writer, photographer and uk.railway stalwart Tony Miles, who complained that he'd never been featured in these pages, so here you go!  Thanks are due to Tony for keeping us in touch with events at the heart of First North Western - ironically, he recently attempted (unsuccessfully) on our behalf to persuade the management to use some unusual locomotives to raise revenue from enthusiasts!



Anyway, back to locomotives and on to Chester with 37 413. The train was just four coaches and pretty crowded, although I did manage to get a seat among some bemused Japanese visitors who probably wondered by British travellers like to travel with their heads out of the windows. At Chester a large crowd of people were waiting for the train, which stayed in the station with the doors open for some time, perhaps as people tried to lever themselves aboard.  'Dutch' liveried 37 377 was stabled in the sidings which are currently acting as depot for Chester, presumably as a spare loco in case of any problems.
 


Normally, the loco runs round to haul the 17.17 back to Bangor, but this time 37 298 went off to Crewe diesel depot and was replaced, after an interval long enough to delay the departure by ten minutes, by 37 250.



All
the people you see on the platform in this scene are railfans, as the ordinary passengers have already boarded, along with more 'bashers' and some who didn't bother to get off.

I headed back home with mixed feelings; great fun of a sort, and and interesting article for the website on one hand, but on the other hand the last day before timetable cutbacks, and to be honest with you all I myself really prefer a train with one of the normal locos and rather fewer fellow travellers. It seems likely  I have now been deprived of a farewell ride behind some of the locos which have served us well, which does seem a shame. But who knows what will happen in the future? Make the best of Summer 1999, as it may be the last Summer of locomotive haulage on this line. 

My thanks to all the rail staff of the North Wales Coast, and to all who have helped with this report. - Charlie


Created Sunday 30 May 1999.  Contributors: John Dawson, Nick Gurney, Alan and Rowan Crawshaw. 


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