North Wales Coast Railway Notice Board 19 May 2025

NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd

19 May 2025

Forthcoming events

See our Calendar Page for operator details.

May 2025

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

Looking back: in the Arriva era, 67 016 at Stockport on a train from Cardiff on 5 March 2018. Recently 67 016 has re-joined the TfW stud.

This is the 19 May issue running late due to problems with the signalling ... Next upload will be a day later than usual on 27 May - Charlie

A Beautiful Day on the Llangollen - with Gary Thomas

10 May was a 'timetable A' day with a single diesel - 47 449 - working all the Llangollen - Corwen services, three each way. Above: the 10:00 from Llangollen at Carrog.

The 11:05 Corwen to Llangollen near Corwen

A portrait of the loco, looking great in its BR blue colours. Built in 1964 as D1566, it worked on the mainline until 1993. 47449 was acquired for preservation by noted music producer and train enthusiast Pete Waterman, who used it for some years on Private Charters before selling it on to the Llangollen Diesel Group in 1996.

Nearing Glyndyfrdwy on the 11:05 to Llangollen. The railway's website say it was carried the name 'Orion' but this has been removed.

Near Glyndyfrdwy on the 12:20 to Llangollen. A 'suburban' coach is provided for those who wished to experience the type of coach used on the line in its BR days.

A Flying Visit to Fairbourne - by Richard Putley

Due to a last minute change of plans this weekend , I was able to visit my brother in Tywyn. On Sunday 11 May we took the 10:30 from Tywyn to Fairbourne and had a single journey on the Fairbourne Railway. The loco was "Yeo" based on the Lynton and Barnstaple 2-6-2Ts.

We then took the Ferry to Barmouth and returned on the 15:01 back to Tywyn. Whilst in Barmouth I photographed 158 820 crossing the Bridge on the 12:50 to Birmingham International Service.

After we got back to Tywyn I than drove over to Malvern, On the way I photographed a pair of 197s heading south at Onibury Crossing, between Craven Arms and Ludlow.

From Dave Sallery's Archive

101 681 at Gwersyllt working a Bidston - Wrexham service, 26 April 1997. This unit had been allocated to many parts of the country, but their final home was the North West. Records suggest it was based with other 101s Longsight Depot in Manchester, but they were often seen in North Wales.

47 466, Euston, 4 June 1988. We were delighted to find this loco on the front, it took us all the way back to North Wales.

57 306 nears Prestatyn with a class 390 Pendolino in tow in June 2007. Virgin were told by politicians that trains to North Wales at business time must continued to have full catering, which the new Voyagers could not provide, The 'Thunderbird' locos, which had not been built with this in mind, had to be modified with couplings to drag Pendolino sets from Crewe to Holyhead. This continued until December 2012, with various problems. It was said that the Voyagers were fitted with improved catering, and the dragging was quietly forgotten. See also our article on this.

67 026 and 67 029 leave the stabling sidings at Wrexham General ready to work a service to Marylebone for the Wrexham and Shropshire on 4 May 2008. In their early days, they didn't have enough ready, or had any Driving Trailers. This was rectified, and it became a popular, if slow, service, but not enough to lose money, On the side of 67 029 Royal Diamond was a large version of part of the EWS 'three beasties' logo, for use in the EWS Management Train'. Today, 67 026, after a long time stored, has recently bought by TfW, apparently for spare parts.

Looking back: Steam and Diesels 1966 - by David Pool

Ashchurch is the only station on the main line between Worcester and Cheltenham, but once it was also a junction for two branch lines. On 17 June 1966 the 12:15 Newcastle to Bristol was headed by D80 (later 45 113), the branch on the left to Tewkesbury and Upton-on-Severn having been closed in 1961. The station remained open until 1971, when the other branch to Redditch was closed, but was then rebuilt and reopened by Railtrack in 1997.

Steam had survived on the Swanage branch for the shuttle service to Wareham, and on 18 June 1966 Standard Class 4MT 80085 was leaving Swanage with the 14:28 to Wareham. The locomotive would have run round its train, and not used the turntable which was still available.

The diesels had taken over many of the through trains on the branch, and on 19 June 1966 D6533 was arriving at Swanage with the 09:50 from Eastleigh. This was a locomotive based at Eastleigh, which was later modified at Eastleigh Works for push/pull working on the then non-electrified line West of Bournemouth, becoming 33 115.

Weymouth was also now seeing more diesels, and on 22 June 1966 the 09:45 from Bristol was formed by two 3-car Class 113 Cross Country units, led by W51105.

A Hymek D7009 then appeared from the shed, running down towards the station.

I had returned home by 2 July 1966, and a visit to Speke Junction shed showed a new arrival from Buxton, 92022. This was one of the ten Standard Class 9F locomotives which had been fitted with the Franco-Crosti system comprising a preheater and boiler modifications in order to improve the boiler efficiency. The improvements were found to be only marginal, and other disadvantages led to the locomotives being converted back to the conventional arrangement. Smaller boilers which had been fitted to accommodate the preheater were retained, so the power output was reduced in comparison with the other Class 9F locomotives, and the ten locomotives were reclassified as 8F.

The line from the original Liverpool Central Station was still open on 16 August 1966, since this was before the birth of Merseyrail in 1977, when the network in Liverpool was extended by the building of the loop line and the connection to the Northern line. A Class 108 unit M56213 was heading the 18:40 Liverpool Central to Warrington Central as it arrived at St Michaels Station. The barren appearance of the platforms is typically that of the 1960s, with gas lighting, the roof canopy and an absence of the information boards and warning signs which are deemed to be necessary today.

The footbridge from Grafton Street was not far from St Michaels, and gave good views of the lines at Liverpool Brunswick. A freight train including Army vehicles on Lowmac wagons was leaving the Brunswick goods yard behind Black 5 45417 later that day. A Class 8F locomotive and an English Electric shunter are visible in the sidings.

Home page | Archive | Previous Notice Board