NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
2 March 2026
Next Update:
16 March
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
March 2026
Thursday 5 March Clwyd Railway Circle Peter Hanahoe 'North Wales Railways in the 1980s'
April 2026
Thursday 2 April Clwyd Railway Circle David Parry 'Swiss Rack Railways'
Thursday 9 April Statesman Rail "Royal Windsor Statesman", Chester, Wrexham General, Ruabon, Chirk to Windsor & Eton Riverside. LSL 47 or 57s.
Friday 17 April Vintage Trains "The Cambrian Coast Express", Widney Manor to Pwllheli. Diesel hauled by 37240 to/from Shrewsbury, then double headed with a Network Rail 97/3 to Pwllheli.
May 2026
Saturday 2 May 125 Group London Euston to Llandudno, with mini tour around North Wales TBC. 125 Group TBC.
Saturday 2 May Vintage Trains "The North Wales Coast Express", Birmingham New Street to Llandudno. Diesel hauled Chester to Llandudno, steam back from Llandudno to Nuneaton. Vintage Trains pool.
June 2026
Saturday 6 June
Railway Touring Company London Euston to Aberystwyth. WCRC 47/57 to Shrewsbury, two * Network Rail 97s or one 97 and one * WCRC 37 to Aberystwyth.
Saturday 13 June North West Rail and Transport Collectors Fair
July 2026
Saltburn Railtours
3-6 July tour Saltburn to Llandudno, Three days' hotel accommodation with breakfast.
August 2026
Saturday 15 August
Railway Touring Company Oxford to Blaenau Ffestiniog, WCRC diesels TBC
Wednesday 19 August Midland Pullman "Torbay Riviera Pullman", Chester, Wrexham General, Ruabon, Chirk to Torquay and Paignton. LSL Midland Pullman HST.
29-31 August 2026 Bala Lake Railway Steam Gala
September 2026
19-20 September Bala Model Railway Show
Thursday 3 September Clwyd Railway Circle To be announced
Saturday 19 September Northern Belle "Settle & Carlisle Steam Special", Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle. WCRC steam locomotive over the Settle & Carlisle line. Diesel hauled otherwise.
October 2026
Thursday 1 October Clwyd Railway Circle To be announced
November 2026
Thursday 5 November Clwyd Railway Circle To be announced
December 2026
Thursday 3 December Clwyd Railway Circle Ian Mainprize 'German Railway Development'
Belmond have advertised their 2026 three-day Britannic Explorer trips to the sidings in Barmouth, start dates are: 30 March, 13 April, 4/11/25 May, 1/8/15/22/29 June, 6/20/27 July, 3/17/21/24 August, 14/28 September, 19 October and finally 9 November.
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
'Scottish' loco on the stone train. See below. Picture by Ivor Bufton.
Freight news
66 746 enters Llandudno Junction, with the 4P46 06:52 Small Heath to Penmaenmawr empty stone train. 23 February. The maroon livery is that of the Royal Scotsman luxury train.
On the rear, 66 310 Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway on the rear, looking rather unkempt (Garry Stroud) Two locos are needed because the train reverses at Tyseley.
There are now two flows out of Penmaenmawr at present: one to a terminal at Small Heath Caledonia sidings where material for HS2 is collected, plus one to Bradwell Sidings, Longport. In addition, there is the service from Llandudno Junction to Hope with slate waste which is difficult to photograph.
VIU , TCMU and TRU
On 24 February, the Network Rail Class 150 Sprinter (TRU)
visited North Wales, working 2Q08 10.41 Chester to Bangor
via Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno (seen above at Rhyl),
returning on the 25th as 2K08 18:00 Bangor to Longsight
depot (Picture by Ivor Bufton)
Russell Withington writes: 'The item about VIUs on the recent issue is incorrect. There are indeed four numbered VIUs which are units: 153 311; 153 376; 153 385; & 153 383. 153 379 is actually number one of two Track Condition Monitoring Units, the other being 153 384, as illustrated by the attached photograph taken last summer.'
Interestingly TCMU1 (153 379) came our way , having spent its night at Coleham. It's due down the Coast late afternoon, before spending the night in Chester and then setting off towards Scotland.
A visit to North Wales - By Russell Withington
Spotting a path with headcode 2Q08 on Real time trains last Tuesday, 24 February, was too good to ignore, especially as the weather forecast was fairly decent, and so I headed off to Bagillt to see what was working it - my hope being that it would be one of the newer VIUs or the TCMU that I’ve not see here previously. What turned up was the ‘old’ Class 950 Track Recording Unit (TRU) that I thought was being retired (being replaced by the various visual inspection units) so I decided to take the opportunity to go and see it further westwards. The Satnav said that I could get there in a little over an hour, so it was off to North Llanwrst to see it rather closer up than usual.
The TRU arrived at about the time it was due, and as the first photograph shows handed the token for the line from Llandudno Junction to the signaller, before sitting there waiting for the service train which was returning from Blaenau Ffestiniog to arrive.
The service train turned up the odd minute late, and after setting off it stopped by the signal box to hand the token that it was carrying to the signaller, in exchange for the one to the Junction. And then nothing happened; the TRU didn’t move, well that is not until it was 37 minutes late, which meant that it couldn’t do the return trip to Blaenau without delaying the next service train heading that way.
Then with the token handed to the driver, and a clear signal it headed off into the drizzle. I saw it again at Betws-y-Coed not too many minutes late heading back to North Llanwrst, which rather confused the would be passengers on the platform at Betws-y-Coed as they were expecting a TfW train heading in the opposite direction. Somehow I expect this to be the last time that I'll see it, but does anybody know when this unit will finally be being removed from service?”
Late news: On 2 March TCMU1 / 153 379 operated 2Q25 - some journey today, started at Coleham, and after running all around the Chester/Ellesmere Port/Helsby/Frodsham/Hooton area it is currently running out to Blaenau Ffestiniog and back before heading for the night in Chester Middle Yard (Russell Withington)
'One we photographed earlier'
Locomotive 60532 Blue Peter is extremely photogenic, as these pictures taken at at Crewe on 12 February by Richard Snook show.
Waiting at Crewe to take over the train ...
... Backing-on. ...
... departing ...
... and away, The livery is the scheme chosen the top-link express locomotives by British Railways after the 1948 nationalisation. A few were given this blue, but it soon was abandoned in favour dark green of other lesser passenger locos. It was said that the blue paint was not robust enough (or something).
New book
The Industrial Railway Society (IRS) is pleased to announce a major new publication covering Cheshire in their Second Edition series of UK industrial railway handbooks. The 484 page hardback book illustrated with many photographs and maps lists every known locomotive-worked industrial location in the county and many of the more significant sites without locomotives which made use of horse, human or cable haulage. The monumental task of compilation was begun by the late Paul Teather but sadly he did not live long enough to see the book into print so it has been completed by Robin Waywell and other IRS members. The book is priced at £45 and can be ordered through the IRS Shop.
From Dave Sallery's archive
47 033 with a test train returning to Crewe on 24 June 1985. The DMU trailer was a fixture in the test train set for several months.
Weary-looking 37 004 stabled in the old Manchester Victoria, 14 November 1991, possibly on banking duty assisting trains up the steep gradient faced by eastbound trains The symbols indicate allocation the Railfreight sector, but it has lost the plaques indicating the depot allocation. One of the oldest class 37s, it was scapped in 1996.
65925 on a permanent way train off the Leven branch at Thornton Junction in August 1966. The Leven branch, closed to passengers in 1969, has just been reopened by Scotrail.
97 303 stabled in the bay platform at Bangor, 9 September 2015. There seems to be a problem with one of the coaches.
47 840 North Star (earlier numbers D1661, 47 077, 47 613) passes Abergele, 6 September 2004 working 1A77 13:23 Holyhead as far as Crewe where it will be replaced by an electric loco for the run to London. Class 47s were often seen on the coast line, as they could also be seen on Manchester - Holyhead workings; on that day it was 47 832 Tamar in green GWR livery.
A brief life of 37 414 - pictures from pre-digital
times
This essay is by no means comprehensive., but may be interest.- Charlie
Locomotive 37 414, built by English Electric, started life in 1965 as D6987, later 37 287, working freight trains in South Wales area. in 1985 it was taken in to Crewe Works, emerging as a passenger loco, initially for work in the Scottish highlands, and wearing the new 'large logo blue' livery. By the early 1990s diesel units began to take over the duties, and 414 went to England for an assorted duties, including a stretch in the livery of Railfreight Construction and working the limestone in the Buxton area, and another in Cornwall.
In 1993 it became one of the 37/4s operated by Regional Railways, working on the North Wales line, along with some passenger duties on the loco-hauled commuter trains around Manchester and Liverpool. 'Regional Railways' livery was applied. In 1998 it was transferred for passenger duties in the West and Wales area, returning briefly in 1999 to North Wales, The picture above shows the loco early in its passenger career, the coach has yet to receive the full livery.
The loco never had a name until 1993, when it was named Cathays C & W 1846-1993 to mark the closure of the Cathays Carriage and Wagon works in Cardiff, close to Cathays station, which was built by the Taff Vale Railway in 1846. The pictures by Huw Williams show the loco after painting in the works. The cab-side numbers were given a larger as usual - later changed to standard, and the background of the nameplates changed from blue to black.
Today the works site has been replaced by a Lidl store and some University buildings.
This view at Bangor on an unusually long train shows the cement terminal in the background,
After a time on Cardiff commuter work, in 2000 it was withdrawn and stored. A preservation group based on the Weardale Railway purchased 414, but it was a poor condition, stripped for parts, and there were arguments with the owners preventing any work. It was eventually scrapped in 2000.
Looking Back: Travels in April 1971 - with David Pool
The through coaches between Southport and the Lime Street to Euston trains had ended with the demise of steam, but a connecting service was provided by a diesel unit travelling via the Bootle branch to the electrified line. On 17 April 1971 the 14:05 from Lime Street to Southport passing Edge Lane Junction was a Derby built Class 108. The AN153 denoted that it was from Allerton depot, but I did not get the unit numbers.
The Silverdale Colliery in North Staffordshire was an important source of coal in 1971, although there had been line closures in the district. The remaining line was from Silverdale to Madeley. The line beyond Madeley to Market Drayton had been closed in 1966, but a spur had been built in 1962 to connect to the West Coast Main Line. On 26 April 1971 a coal freight from Silverdale had arrived at Madeley Chord, hauled by 5030 (later 24 030). Silverdale Colliery was closed in 1998, but I believe part of the track still exists.
I headed South on holiday, and visited Sheffield Park at the Bluebell Railway on 23 May, where a train from Horsted Keynes was arriving behind LB&SCR Radial Tank E4 Class 473 Birch Grove and SE&CR P Class 27.
On the following day I was at Rye, where “Hampshire” diesel electric unit 1116 was arriving with the 09:37 Hastings to Ashford service and the single line tablet was being exchanged. The platforms are staggered at this station and several others on the line, which is now branded as Marshlink, taking the name from Romney Marsh. The attractive windmill at Rye is just visible on the left.
Moving on to New Romney, RH&DR No.5 Hercules was outside the shed. This was one of the 4-8-2 locomotives intended to work the extension from Hythe to Sandling Junction which was never built.
The station at Dungeness is not the best location for photography, being a single platform with a canopy which shades the coaches. RH&DR No.7 Typhoon will be departing at noon for Hythe, having arrived via the loop which avoids the need to turn the locomotive. The newest Dungeness Lighthouse is in the distance.
I was staying in Dover, and took the opportunity for a day trip to Calais on 25 May 1971. My shot of the Chapelon Pacific SNCF 231K82 at Calais was on the Notice Board of 27 November 2023. A Renault ABJ-2 Automoteur was photographed at Calais Ville with the 10:11 from Hazebrouck.
The Golden Arrow train in the UK was losing its image, with no umber and cream Pullman coaches for first class passengers, and the SNCF train was similarly affected. The Flèche d’Or had left Calais Maritime at 1416, and had 72030 as the motive power. This was one of SNCF’s most powerful diesels, with a maximum speed of 160kph. The cab front design was nicknamed “broken nose”, and gave good visibility with added protection. 1971 was the last year of operation of the two trains.
Back in Dover on 29 May1971, there was a good location for photography at the Junction for the Western Docks. One of the Doncaster built electrics, E5004, was heading for Folkestone Junction with two Transfesa vans. I have not been able to identify the destination from the 2D headcode.
The footbridge just before the Shakespeare cliff tunnels was the location for my shot of the Golden Arrow. E5009 had left Dover Marine at 18:50 for London Victoria. The assortment of blue/grey Pullman and Mk1 coaches and the absence of any headboard or flags was a sad indication of the forthcoming end of the service in 1972.
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