NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
20 July 2025
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
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,
20/21 September
This year's Bala Lane Railway Model Show 10.00 - 16.00 both days. Venue: Ysgol Godre'r Berwyn (Bala School). We will have approximately 25 layouts and 11 traders, and there will be special extra trains on the Bala Lake Railway that weekend too.
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 2025
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 2025
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 2025
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 9 July at Hampton Loade on the Severn Valley Railway 46115 Scots Guardsman - in its first ever visit to this line - runs around its train; an unusual movement due to the landslip which has prevented trains from travel the full length of the line. The full line between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth will reopen on Saturday 26 July. Picture by Jim Ikin
HST UTU on the Coast
Wednesday saw 3Q95 Ultrasonic test unit visit the Coast.
Starting at Derby it finally got to Chester then
Shrewsbury and Cotton Hill before returning to Chester and
then on to Bangor for an overnight stop. This HST
train should not be confused with the PLPR (Plain
Line Pattern Recognition) train. There are five
UTUs; most are loco hauled - use of HSTs seems to be a new
development, maybe readers can explain.
43 357 leading and 43 272 on the rear forming 3Q95 07:47 Derby RTC to Bangor C.S. is seen leaving Rhyl and about to pass Marine Lake Rhyl on 15 July.
Visiting Llandudno ...
,,, and back (Gary Thomas).
Stabled overnight at Bangor (Logan Humphreys).
Passing Green Lane crossing, Saltney on its return to Chester (Bob Greenhalgh)
Some Crewe sightings - by Richard Snook
On Wednesday 25 June new class 99 loco 99 001 was noted being towed by 66 313 Lucie from Carlisle to Leicester after a test run up the West Coast Main Line.
The entire class are to be based at Leicester at a purpose-built depot for GBRf.
On Wednesday 2 July I noticed Western Hydraulic D1015 Western Champion leaving platform 11 at 08:37 with a Vintage Trains charter from Tyseley to Carlisle.
In the afternoon of 2 July 66 307 Ipswich Town appeared and passed through Platform 5 with 4H21 Small Heath - Hindlow empty JNA box wagons.
On 8 July I went to Birmingham Moor Street to see Network Rail's new '200' exhibition train 'Inspiration'. This will tour the country for the next twelve months; GBRf ha repainted and de-named locos 66 710 and 66 719 to haul the train.
Platinum Weekend remembered - by Ian Pilkington
Six more images attached taken during the Ffestiniog Platinum Jubilee Weekend.
Merddin Emrys at Minffordd, Friday 20 June
James Spooner on the Cob, Friday 20 June
Linda and Blanche at Penrhyn, Saturday 21 June
Palmerston at Penrhyn, Saturday 21 June
WHR 134 and 130 approaching Rhyd Ddu, Saturday 21 June
Prince. the world's oldest working narrow gauge loco, at the head of a parade of 25 locos, 20 in steam, on a windswept Cob, Sunday 22 June.
Talyllyn Trip - by Paul Hajdasz
On Friday 11 July we paid a visit to the Talyllyn Heritage Railway, a narrow gauge railway just over seven miles in length, running from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol. We bought an Explorer Ticket, allowing us to make a return trip from Dolgoch, which took just over an hour each way. We travelled on steam loco No. 2, aptly named Dolgoch, which was built in 1866 by Fletcher, Jennings & Co (above).
Whilst waiting on a passing loop near Brynglas station we saw the other steam engine working a passenger service that day, No. 7 Tom Rolt. This was built in 1949 at Talyllyn’s .Pendre works
We also managed to see 2 of their diesel engines stabled, No. 11 Trecwn
and No. 12 St Cadfan, both built by Baguley Drewry in 1983.
Talyllyn Railway 75 Appeal Reaches Key Milestone
From a Press Release:
In March last year the Talyllyn Railway launched it’s 75 Appeal to raise match funding for its major ‘Preserving our Past, Building Our Future’ redevelopment project. The Appeal, named in recognition that 2026 will mark the 75th anniversary of the Talyllyn as The World’s First Preserved Railway, had an initial target of £500,000 to be raised over five years. Now the Railway is very pleased to announce that it has reached that target in donations and pledges in just over a year.
However, rising costs of the redevelopment, now estimated at some £5 Million, means that the appeal target has now been raised to £750,000. The redevelopment will provide additional volunteer accommodation, a new engineering works and carriage maintenance facilities, as well building links with the local community and other groups.
In addition, the Railway’s board has now formally decided to proceed with the full application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for around £3.5 Million to fund the bulk of the project, the balance coming from other grants and trusts as well as the Appeal. The NLHF have already part funded the development of the project from a grant of £110,000 awarded in 2022.
Currently the Appeal has nearly £300,000 in the bank with further pledges of over £200,000. The latter have come mainly through the establishment of ‘The 75 Club’ of over 330 regular donors, contributing a minimum of £5 a month to the project. Further details of the Appeal and the redevelopment can be found on the
From Dave Sallery's archive
31 292 leaves Rhyl on a down train, 31 August 1989
37 515 passes Bagillt with the empty acetic acid tanks from Mostyn to Hull Saltend.
47 302 passes through Kensington Olympia with a down lines, 20 May 1998
Colas 66 846 with logs from Carlisle passes through Chester, 19 April 2012.
Looking back: Steam in 1968 Part 1 by David Pool
The Sunday morning 09:50 from Liverpool Exchange to Preston was one of the few regular steam workings, and on 18 February 1968 a Black 5 44800 was emerging from the gloom with a spirited departure.
On 2 March 1968 I visited the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway at Haworth, which had been acquiring an assortment of steam locomotives and railbuses while it was making preparations to run a passenger service. The branch had been closed by British Railways in 1962, but the rail connection at Keighley had fortunately been retained. One of the requirements for the passenger service was that any steam locomotive must not be in BR livery, so Ivatt tank 41241 (which had come from Skipton on withdrawal) was about to be repainted in a maroon livery. It was still carrying the pre 1956 “Lion on Wheel “emblem, and I would guess that the red backed smokebox number had been painted while still a BR locomotive.
I had not expected to see 69023 at Haworth. This was the sole surviving J72 locomotive, built in 1951 at Darlington and eventually becoming Departmental 59 in 1964. It was sold in 1966 to R Ainsworth, who arranged for it to be repainted at the KWVR in North Eastern Railway green and named Joem in memory of his father. Various web pages state that 69023 went to the KWVR in 1969, but this was the date it entered passenger service – my photograph was taken on 2 March 1968.
A view of the station yard at Haworth shows work in progress on the USA tank 30072, which would work the first services with 41241 in 1969, and the two Waggon & Maschinenbau Railbuses E79962 and M79964. The latter had acquired an AEC engine in place of the original Bussing, and an M prefix when on trial in the London Midland Region at Buxton.
Two surprising locomotives at Haworth were the half cab 1708 (built by the Midland Railway in 1880) and the Royal Scot 46115 Scots Guardsman. 1708 had been purchased by the Midland Railway Locomotive Fund, having worked near Barrow Hill, where it resides today. On withdrawal from Carlisle Kingmoor 46115 had been sold and moved to the KWVR. Its weight was not appropriate for work on the branch, and it subsequently moved to Dinting for further restoration. It has seen service on other preserved lines and is currently one of the West Coast Railway’s steam locomotives at Carnforth.
There was one locomotive in steam on 2 March, namely the ex Manchester Ship Canal No.31, Hudswell Clarke 679 (1903), which was on Engineering Train duties at Haworth. This had arrived in 1967, and been fitted for vacuum braking and steam heating in order to work passenger trains, but the KWVR needed more powerful locomotives and it was for many years a museum exhibit. In 1972 it regained its original name Hamburg, the name having been removed at the time of the First World War.
I visited the Lytham Motive Power Museum on 9 March 1968. At that stage the exhibits were being assembled, and the Museum had not been formally opened. All the locomotives had come from industrial service - North British 18386 being built in 1908 for the Bairds and Scottish Steel Company, near Coatbridge, becoming Gartsherrie No.20.
Two other 0-4-0ST locomotives at Lytham were Hudswell Clarke 1361 (1936) (Ribble Cement No.3), and Hawthorn Leslie 3799 (1935), which had worked at a Paper Mill at Valleyfield, near Penicuik in Midlothian, and is currently awaiting restoration at the Aln Valley Railway. The Lytham Motive Power Museum closed in 1991, but several of the steam locomotives remained at Lytham in a museum at the Helical Springs works. This does not appear to be open to the public, but clarification of the situation would be appreciated.
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