NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
28 April 2025
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
April 2025
May 2025
Thursday 1 May Northern Belle "Conwy Castle & Bodnant Gardens" charter from Coventry It includes other off-train options.
Saturday 3 May Vintage Trains The North Wales Coast Express. Birmingham New Street to Llandudno for the Victorian Extravaganza. Diesel and steam top and tail (steam likely to be 5043 or 7209).
Sunday 4 May Inter-City Yr Wyl Fictoriadd (The Victorian Festival) Birmingham International - Llandudno. Traction: two Class 20s
Saturday 16 May Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast' Express from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli
Saturday 24 May UK Railtours 'The Soul Exchanger' from London Euston to Aberystwyth. Various off-train options including the Vale of Rheidol Railway.
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.
Saturday 5 July Pathfinder Tours 'The Ffestiniog Slater' from Swindon to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Various off-train options including the Ffestiniog Railway.
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.
Saturday 21 July Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
August 2025
4 August Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
11 August Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Lake District & Wales
25 August Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
22 August Belmond Britannic Six day tour of Cornwall & Wales,
September 2025
Thursday 4 September Clwyd Railway Circle 'The Steelworks Railways at Home and Abroad' Adrian Bodlander
Saturday 5 September Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from Cardiff Central to Pwllheli
11 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Lake District & Wales
Saturday 12 September Pathfinder Tours '.Cambrian Coast Express' from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli
15 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Cornwall & Wales,
26 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Lake District & Wales
29 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
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
Thursday 2 October Clwyd Railway Circle 'Memories of railway operations at Llangollen from my childhood days growing up in the town during the BR era of the 1950’s and mid 60s.' Gareth Jones
20 October, Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
17 October Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Cornwall & Wales,
10 November; Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
November 2005
Thursday 4 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.
December 2005
Thursday 4 December Clwyd Railway Circle 'Railways & Tramways of the Isle of Man' Geoff Morris.
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
On 14 April 197 051 heading for Llandudno Junction from the Conwy Valley branch negotiates the sharp curve at Ffordd Maelgwyn crossing. Picture by Greg Mape.
New flow starts
Possibly the last driver training run before the DC Rail stone service from Penmaenmawr. DC Rail 56 103 ran a light engine trip from Chaddesden sidings to Penmaenmawr and return on 22 April. Above, Garry Stroud captured its return run passing Conwy station.
On 25 April, 60 046 William Wilberforce 6M22 14.51 Penmaenmawr Quarry is loading for the long trip to 'London Wembley Receptions 1-7' on 25 April (Garry Stroud).
The northbound empty train started at 00:39 from the DC Rail sidings in Willesden, and after a reversal and a call at Wembley took the simple route by the West Coast Main line (via Northampton) then Crewe and Chester arriving at Penmaenmawr at 07:38. After loading, departure was at 16:51, by the same route, arriving at Wembley at 21:25.
Conwy Station (Geraint Williams). DCRail has four Class 60s, bought from DB Cargo: 60 022, 60 046, 60 029 and 60 055. They have a number of others in store for possible use. DCRail - Devon and Cornwall Railways - its short history is convoluted in the extreme - we suggest visiting Wikipedia - sufficient to say here is that it is now owned by Cappagh, a company specialising with the transport of aggregates.
Approaching Prestatyn ...
... and a close-up of the headboard (Ivor Bufton). This is a one-off test journey, we must wait to see if it continues.
In other news
Also on 25 April: 37 405 on 6Z37 Carlisle New Yard - Coton Hill which comprised just two empty timber wagons (Geoff Morris)
The Midland Pullman passing Sutton Bridge Junction on 25 April with 5Z34, the 15:23 from Goodrington sidings returning to Crewe after an excursion the day before from Paignton to Scarborough, led by 43 049 with 43 058 Loch Eil on the rear. (Graham Breakwell)
Following the collapse of a drainage culvert between Church Stretton and Craven Arms the Marches line was closed on Friday 25 April and was likely to remain that way until next Tuesday. Train services between Shrewsbury and Llandrindod Wells and between Hereford and Shrewsbury are replaced by buses, with only two non-passenger ECS trains and the empty Midland Pullman running as scheduled.
Following the ECTS testing on the Cambrian lime, Tornado returned to Carnforth on 24 April, as 5Z63, the 13:14 off Coleham LMD. Actual departure was at 13: 59 after coaling was completed...
... and passing through Shrewsbury station on the down main line. (Graham Breakwell).
Passing through Warrington Bank Quay, This is a tricky shot for timing, the camera on a tripod. At the train's "Planned for 60mph max" speed (RTT reference), the front of the locomotive passes from the right-frame margin to the left-frame margin in a little less than one second (Roger Smith).
Another Day Ranger - by Paul Hajdasz
On Thursday 24 April myself and my brother had a day out using a Cheshire Day Ranger which cost £20:75 with a Senior railcard. We travelled from Whitchurch with TfW 1W13 Swansea to Manchester Piccadilly service hauled by 67 013.
On arrival at Piccadilly platform 10 I got a shot of DVT 82200 .
Our next leg of the journey was from platform 11, 2B18 Northern service to Buxton with 150107. Northern unit 323 213, one of the units recently transferred from West Midlands was stabled in the adjacent platform
As usual Buxton was full of 150 & 156 units. After having a nice sausage roll and tea at the Pavilion tearooms we returned to Manchester Piccadilly on Northern 2B29 service with 150 109 which had attached to 150 107.
At Piccadilly we waited for 1V46 TfW to Cardiff with 67 016, a recent addition to the TfW fleet.
We alighted at Crewe and whilst waiting to catch another loco-hauled TfW service 6X81 Network Rail civil engineers train passed through with DR76923 Gavin Roberts
TfW 1W59 from Cardiff duly arrived, this time with 67 017 on which we undertook a return trip back to Manchester Piccadilly.
The final leg of our journey was TfW local service 2J66 to Whitchurch with 150 280.
On Your Bike - report by Graham Breakwell
TfW’s 153 531 has re-entered service, upgraded as one of six “Active Travel” units, number AT03, with more seating and space for bicycles, running paired to a standard 153. ,Seen here on platform 3 at Shrewsbury paired with 153 303 on 24 April forming 2V28, the 1354h from Shrewsbury to Swansea over the Central Wales line. The special livery celebrates landmarks along the route.
Departing on time, approaching the 'mini' upper semaphore.
The storage spaces for bikes. [ The two slots seem rather close together. - C.]
From Dave Sallery's archive
08 691, complete with adornments, is acting as station pilot at Sheffield, on April 20 1988.
37 408 Loch Rannoch with an Up service near Abergele, 31 May 1996.
37 413 Loch Eil, Outward Bound enters Colwyn Bay, 13 May 1996. A rare loco for the coast.
47 445 and 47 303 are heading Up light-engine as a Class 31 hauled passenger train waits to enter Rhyl, 28 July 1990.
Looking Back: Scotland 1965 part 2 - by David Pool
The 06:10 Inverness to Wick and Thurso was arriving at Brora on the morning of 1 September 1965. The driver of D5345 was exchanging the token, the next station being Helmsdale. As usual, there was a Post Office van awaiting mail, the Post Office being conveniently adjacent to the station.
I was heading South down the coast, and in 1965 it was necessary to go inland to Bonar Bridge in order to cross the Dornoch Firth. I found a suitable location for a photograph at Easter Fearn, where D5340 was heading the 10:30 Inverness to Wick and Thurso. Note the recess on the cab side for the token exchange system, and the Royal Mail coach. I would guess that the latter would be conveying mail which would have left Edinburgh in the early morning, maybe with overnight mail from England. The A9 now has a bridge over the Dornoch Firth, which was opened in 1991. There had been plans to have road and rail on the bridge, but the Scottish Office was unwilling to fund the extra cost, and trains still go via Bonar Bridge. D5340 (later 26 040) has been preserved, and is to be found at Whitrope, the base of the Waverley Route Heritage Association.
I arrived at Dingwall in time to see the 11:10 from Wick to Inverness, on which D5345 was returning. The coaches to and from Thurso would have been handled by another locomotive, probably attaching and detaching at Georgemas Junction. The Post Office vehicle on the platform this time was a Land Rover!
On the following day I was in Inverness, which has an interesting track layout comprising distinct platforms for the Far North and Highland lines, with a connection between the two lines bypassing the station and forming a triangle of lines. The 06:00 from Wick was arriving at the junction of the triangle behind D5130, and would later reverse into the station. D5310 became 24 130 and was withdrawn in 1976. [The second-man is ready to hand in the single-line tablet to the signalman.]
The Observation Car on the train to Kyle of Lochalsh mentioned in last week’s Notice Board was one of two originally rebuilt in 1947 by the Pullman Car Company for the newly introduced Devon Belle and numbered 13 and 14. These were transferred to the London Midland Region in 1954 for use in North Wales, where No.13 was used on the Cambrian Railway Cruise, as described in the NWCR News of 21 June 2010. There are web images of a Devon Belle Observation Car at Minffordd on the occasion of a Special Train for the Press on 22 May 1963, which ran from Chester via Afon Wen to Porthmadog and the Ffestiniog Railway. The images indicate that the train may have returned to Chester via Barmouth junction, since the Observation Car had not been turned. The two Cars were transferred to the Scottish Region in the early 1960s, where they were used on trains from Inverness to Oban or Kyle of Lochalsh. On 2 September 1965 Car Sc280M (previously Car 13) was on 'The Hebridean' at Inverness.
Withdrawn in 1967 as steam workings were ending, Car 14 went to the USA, while Car 13 was obtained by the Dart Valley Railway, where I photographed it on 14 September 1971. Car 14 was repatriated in 2007 and is now on the Swanage Railway, while Car 13 has moved to the Dartmouth Steam Railway.
The line from Aviemore to Boat of Garten is today well known as the Speyside Railway. In 1965 there was a junction at Boat of Garten, with one line running North East towards Craigellachie and another North to Forres. The Speyside Railway hopes to reach Grantown on Spey eventually, but at present Broomhill is the Northern terminus. The Craigellachie line also served Grantown, but the station was further from the town centre than Grantown on Spey West station on the Forres line. In 1965 the Craigellachie service was being operated by a Park Royal Railbus, and on 2 September the 12:14 Aviemore to Elgin was arriving at Grantown on Spey East, where the single line tablet was being exchanged. The Railbus M79973 had been built in 1958 for the London Midland Region, then transferred to Scotland, but retained the M prefix. [When the Speyside line closed at the end of 1965 it was sent back to the London Midland, along with M79972, to Buxton for use on the Millers Dale branch where they lasted about six months before being withdrawn].
All five of the Park Royal Railbuses were withdrawn by 1968, but the extent of asbestos in their bodies made disposal difficult and preservation unrealistic.
The branch from Aberdeen to Ballater had provided a convenient means of transport to the nearby Balmoral Castle, and its Royal patronage was indicated by the layout and platform length at Ballater. The decline of passenger traffic meant that closure was inevitable in the Beeching era, and eventually occurred in 1966. The 1733 departure to Aberdeen on 2 September 1965 was provided by a Cravens 2-car Class 105 DMU Sc56467 / Sc51478. The branch had been used from 1958 to evaluate a battery electric 2-car unit which had been converted from a Derby Lightweight twin, but this was out of use with battery problems at the time of my visit in 1965.
After the branch closed, the battery unit was transferred to the RTC at Derby, becoming Test Train “Gemini” until 1984, when it was withdrawn and went into preservation as a museum exhibit. It was loaned to the East Lancashire Railway for occasional operation in the 1990s, then was purchased by the Royal Deeside Railway in 2001, with the intention of running it on a short section of the Ballater branch at Milton of Crathes. The prohibitive cost of battery replacement and maintenance has resulted in it being used today as locomotive hauled coaching stock.
Presflo
Thanks to the people who identified the Presflo wagons in the Highland freight in David Pool's image in the last issue. I'll have make a larger item about this next time.
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