NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd

24 November 2025

Forthcoming events

See our Calendar Page for operator details.

November 2025

Saturday 22 November Pathfinder Railtours The Chester Christmas Explorer Oxford Parkway, Golden Valley and Marches line to Chester

December 2025

Monday 1 December Midland Pullman Edinburgh Christmas Pullman from Bangor to Edinburgh

Thursday 4 December Clwyd Railway Circle 'Railways & Tramways of the Isle of Man' Geoff Morris.

January 2026

Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Friday 9 January John Hooley "A Midlands Miscellany".

February 2026

Friday 13 February Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Paul Shackcloth "People and Places 8".

Other useful sites:

For up-to-date North Wales information
join the North Wales Trains News group

North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme

A long-exposure scene of the 'Inspiration' train at Llandudno prior to its departure to the West Somerset Railway. Picture by Logan Humphreys. After Christmas for two days 23-24 January at the East Lancashire Railway: information here.

Deltic in Chester - report by Geoff Morris

Deltic D9000 Royal Scots Grey did a couple of round trips (presumably test runs) between the LSL depot at Crewe and Chester on 19 November. I managed to get out for the afternoon round trip. The loco arrived in the Parcels platform (adjacent to bay platform 1) but was unable to run to the buffers as 197 020 was parked there adjacent to training school presumably for on-hands experience.

Unfortunately the low afternoon sun nowadays meant that only part of the Deltic was in sunshine after it stopped but I took the opportunity to photograph it together with Avanti Evero 805 012 which followed the Deltic from Crewe with the midday service from Euston.

The loco was booked to stand for about an hour before returning to Crewe and so I decided to go to the Hoole Lane bridge to photograph its departure in the hope that the loco would be opened up by then and , with the cold temperatures, there would be a characteristic white exhaust. I wasn't disappointed ! There was so much exhaust the going-away view was totally obscured but I was very happy with what I'd got.

An eventful trip to Tenby - by Paul Hajdasz

My first part of the journey on Wednesday 19 November was to board TFW 1D11 07:08 Birmingham International to Holyhead at Telford with 158 819 / 158 838 (above).

I got off at Shrewsbury and whilst awaiting for my next train I saw GBRf 4M77 Southampton Docks to Donnington pass through platform 7 with 66 731 Captain Tom Moore.

Then TfW 1V33 06:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff pulled into platform 4 with 67 022 leading. This was 35 minutes late arriving due to being caught up in a queue as there was a tree down on the line between Hereford and Newport.

My next train arrived on time TfW 1V35 Manchester Piccadilly to Milford Haven with 2 car 197 043 but again, we were held for about 25 minutes.

Whilst travelling down the line I noticed there was some significant snow on the hills at Church Stretton. By the time we got to Cardiff Central we were just over a hour late and the service terminated here.

As I had missed my connection to Tenby I took the opportunity to photograph a few other classes of train. The first was 756 004 on 2K26 Penarth to Caerphilly.

I also saw relatively old 150 245 which was on 2L26 Ebbw Vale Town to Maesteg.

I caught the final service of my long journey from platform 0, where 2B65 was going to Pembroke Dock with 197 010.

Abandoned?

In Platform 3A at Stockport on 19 November apparently abandoned, unit 197 111, having been there from a few days. I believe it was taken away to Chester depot overnight on Saturday; can anyone does anyone know more about this?

Almost the End of an Era

On 22 November 44 871 passing Chester Locks with 'The Christmas Cheshireman' , Bristol Temple Meads. This was the penultimate the Pathfinder company's before the owners after 52 years service. Their (fully booked) last tour will be on 20 December from Salisbury to Manchester Victoria with an add-on tour around Lancashire. Picture by Logan Humphreys.

Flint's Lifts (slightly old news)

The new lifts at Flint station were ceremonially opened on 2 October. The solid sides to the bridge seem to prevent photography, but does it all hide nefarious activities?

From Dave Sallery's archive

20 135 and 20 080 pass the derelict platforms at Talacre with the Llandudno - Derby service, 2 August 1989.

40 118 comes off the fuelling point at Birkenhead depot, 21 October 1983. Behind can be seen an oil rig in for attention at Cammell Laird.

45596 Bahamas leaves Rhyl with the North Wales Coast Express, 16 September 1991. At the time this train ran for five days a week.

57 316 makes its stop at Flint with the Cardiff - Holyhead 'Y Gerallt Cymru' service in July 2009.

Looking Back: Dover and Boulogne 1970 - by David Pool

My first visit to France had been in 1969 with an LCGB Railtour from Calais. On holiday in Kent in 1970, I decided to have a have a day in Boulogne on 3 June, taking advantage of the cheap day trip offers available from Dover. My outward journey was on the Maid of Kent, and I planned to return on a Hovercraft. Steam was rapidly disappearing in France by 1970, so I headed for Boulogne Motive Power Depot to see if any steam locomotives were around. The scene was rather depressing - a few 050TQ tanks looked abandoned, and several 141R locomotives did not appear to be in steam.

Returning to the town centre, I looked for somewhere to photograph trains on the passenger lines, and found a nice location at Tintelleries station, where a “Caravelle” two car unit XR4370 plus XRAB8355 was heading for the main station at Boulogne Ville.

Eventually I returned to the harbour area, and was surprised to see an approaching steam locomotive heading for the Maritime Station. The Chapelon Pacifics were no longer in regular service, and the reliable 141R locomotives were the preferred choice for any steam workings. I assume 141R1202, one of the coal fired versions, was due to haul a Boat Train, but I didn’t have time to wait for it to depart. I wasn’t too pleased with the cyclist who suddenly appeared in my shot, but I suppose it adds some interest.

The Hovercraft terminal was some way away from the Harbour at Le Portel beach, so an extension to one of the freight lines in the Harbour was being used for passenger services to the terminal. The next arrival was the 12:00 from Paris Nord, and I wondered what would be coming. I was not expecting another “Caravelle”, XRAB8362 being the rear car. The platform at Le Portel was hardly suited for a main line train from Paris, but I assume that Hovercraft passengers were usually in their own cars, and pedestrians were few and far between. I had an uneventful journey back to Dover on the SRN4 Princess Anne, with no photographic opportunities.

On the following day I went to Dover Marine station, where a Class 09 No.4110 was on shunting duties. The Motor Luggage Van was S68004.

The Admiralty Pier was a superb location for photographing the vessels entering or leaving the Inner Harbour. The Car Ferries use the Outer Harbour, and were best photographed from the overlooking cliffs. My interest was mainly the Sealink vessels which used Dover Marine Station on Admiralty Pier, such as the Invicta. This ship was ordered by the Southern Railway in 1939, and built at Dumbarton by William Denny and Brothers. On completion in 1940 it was immediately put in Wartime service, and participated in many of the English Channel operations. It was finally laid up in 1972, and eventually scrapped.

A more modern Sealink vessel was the Vortigern, built by Swan Hunter in 1969, which had the distinction of being the last British built Train Ferry. It was a Multi Purpose vessel, which could also operate as a Car Ferry. Apparently it was generally used as a Train Ferry in the Winter months between Dover and Dunkerque, and as a Car Ferry in the Summer between Dover and Boulogne. In 1988 it was sold to a shipping company in Greece, and after several further changes of ownership it was eventually sold for scrapping in India in 2005.

It was always a challenge to photograph a Boat Train from Dover, as there was a choice of routes to London, either via Ashford and Tonbridge or Canterbury and Chatham. I was expecting the “Golden Arrow” to come out of Dover Marine on the line to Folkestone, but I got it wrong and it headed for Dover Priory, so my shot of E5002 was not what I had planned, since I had not been able to see the headcode on the locomotive before it departed. The headcode 74 is appropriate for the route via Chatham, the Folkestone route would have been headcode 46.

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