NORTH WALES COAST
RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
13 April 2026
Next Update:
27 April
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
April 2026
Thursday 9 April Statesman Rail "Royal Windsor Statesman", Chester, Wrexham General, Ruabon, Chirk to Windsor & Eton Riverside. LSL 47 or 57s.
April 11 April: UK Railtours. "The Not Holyhead" tour. Derby to North Wales with rare track etc.
Hanson and Hall's loco 50 008 'Thunderer' was one of two class 50's due to haul on this tour but it failed on an earlier tour . It is not known whether the tour will continue.
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
Monday 4 May Intercity/LSL "The Positioning Move". Crewe to Holyhead (and return). 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman'
Monday 4 May Intercity/LSL "The Baywatch Merrymaker" Holyhead to Scarborough (and return). 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman'
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
390 119 on 1A90 11:15 Manchester Piccadilly to Euston pauses at Stockport as a brief window of sunshine appears against a dark grey sky on 3 April. Picture by Stuart Broome.
Wandering Flirts
TfW have a wheel-lathe on their premises at Crewe, but it is out of action and a new one has not apparently arrived, so their units with worn wheels has to go to the recently constructed at Holyhead. the one at Canton Depot where the units are based is life expired; In 2025 they were
The result is that there will be a lot of work for 37 800 Cassiopiea which is fitted with the correct coupling.
On 2 April 37 800 hauled 756 105 and 231 009 from Cardiff Canton Sidings to Holyhead for Wheel Turning, through Colwyn Bay.
The next day 37 800 with repaired 231 006 through Llandudno Junction heading back to Cardiff Canton. (Greg Mape)
Variety at Craven Arms - by Richard Putley
I drove over to Craven Arms this on the morning of 3 April in time to see 66 653 hauling
towards Dee Marsh to Margam Steel empties.
About half an hour later 67 025 propelled the 10:30 Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff Central.
After lunch I returned in time to see another 67 propel the 12:30 Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff Central.
But the piece de resistance was 37 800 hauling 231 006 from Holyhead to Cardiff - see above.
Freight notes
The slate waste from Llandudno Junction to the Earles Sidings for Hope Cement factory is often difficult to photograph in our area as it passed in the night, However, on this occasion. the empty 4D02 wagons on 2 April from Earles to Llandudno Junction wagons ran in the dark, the loaded back to Earles ran in daytime, as 6H67 06:31 from Llandudno Junction. At Chester will wate to allow another train past at 08:00.
This was the last working of this flow since 6 January; loco was 70 002. Look out for the next!
We wrote a few weeks ago, that the flow has been replaced for the time being by fly-ash from Ratcliffe power station, which closed on 30 September 2024, marking the end of coal-powered electricity generation in the United Kingdom. The fly-ash is loaded on the site of Maltby colliery. But it now emerges that there will be a flow from the 'lagoons' of Fiddlers Ferry power station, which closed down in 2020 and is being dismantled - There's a interesting Youtube film of the cooling towers being brought down.
'A company called TITAN sat they will will extract and process fly ash ... from existing lagoons at Fiddler’s Ferry as part of the restoration of the site. The facility will be able to process 300,000 tons of wet fly ash annually starting from 2027, with the potential to double this capacity,'
Now we hear that processed material from Fiddlers are being by lorry to Manisty Wharf, Ellesmere Port, where there are sidings which has not used for some time. There it will be transferred to rail wagons for the journey to Guide Bridge and on to Earles. Unfortunately the sidings at the power station itself are not available to use - said to be because 'a signal has been stolen'. Alternatively, 'loading at Fiddlers Ferry is very expensive and it is full of stored coal-hopper wagons'. There are to be five more proving runs. Reportedly Class 70 locos can't be used because the curve leading to the siding is too tight so only 66s can manage.
A note about fly-ash; 'This material has for many years, as a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, is a widely used 'supplementary cementitious material (SCM)' in concrete that improves durability, workability, and strength while reducing costs and environmental impact. A blend of 50% slate waste 'tailings', 20% fly ash, and 30% cement has been found to produce high-strength and durable eco-friendly bricks.'
Tree trouble at Crewe - report by Paul Hajdasz
I paid a visit to Crewe on Wednesday 25 March, travelling from Stafford where there was major disruption due to high winds. A tree had fallen across the line the previous evening.
Firstly, I saw 66 061 arrive on platform 6 with 0Z71 light-engine from Toton North Yard to Arpley sidings.
47 593 Galloway Princess was stabled just outside Crewe LSL
I then made my way to platform 3, where 1Q27 the New Measurement Train was waiting departure with 43 062 John Armit ...
... and 43 013 Mark Carne OBE.
I also observed 67 015 Arriving on platform 6 light engine from Crewe ETMD.
805 013 was stabled in bay platform 7, I presume because of the disruption further down the line. According to 'Real Time Trains' it proceeded to Chester where it was attached to 805 006 to form the 14:48 to London.
More on Dyserth - by Chris Scott
I have enjoyed reading the observations of Mark Hambly and Trefor Thompson re the route taken by the limestone from Dyserth to Shotton steel works.
As a youngster I lived in a road in Prestatyn with the railway line at the end of the road. It was taken as granted in those days that one could go down to the crossing gates and watch as the porter cycled up, unlocked the gates and set the signal to clear which could be seen from lower down the line.
The train would appear being propelled by normally one of Rhyl sheds 4Fs possibly 44367 or 43981 or even one of the ex L and Y 0-6-0 tender locos 52119, 52438 and one other I cannot recall. On very rare occasions a footplate or brake van ride to Dyserth was taken .
As regards the route taken I agree with Mark that this involved a number of reversals.
A close look at Rail maps on line Connahs Quay does clearly show that there was a direct end on connection between the W M and C Q railway (Buckley Railway) and the G C line which came off the Shotton HL line. But again to make use of this connection would have meant a reversal. I do recall whilst off to Chester for a days spotting seeing an 0-6-0 ex LNER tank loco shunting in the dock yard.
The line that came off the North Wales Coast line also ran into the docks but eventually was cut back and ended in the yard of C C Crump and Co.
I have attached a photo of the boundary post (in left column) which I dug up in their yard (with permission ) I also liberated a couple of W M and C Q chairs.
Those were the days ...
Charlie writes: Before the advent of the digital camera and the website I made a small collection of prints on many visits to North Wales, including a number of Class 37/4s. They are not brilliant pictures and I didn't take notes, but I propose to let you see them anyway. I'll include one in each issue. This time we follow, 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol.
It was favourite of many, After its conversion to a 37/4 in 1985-6 it was in 'large loco blue' livery, it worked various long-distance passenger trains in or into Wales, and for a while the 'club trains' from Manchester to Southport. Like some two others it briefly gained Railfreight Construction their grey colours (pictures of this are hard to find). In 1993 when transferred to Regional Railways who soon gave it their excellent (in my opinion) livery which it retained until scrapped in 2008,
At Llandudno Junction, after yet another run over the footbridge. Class 153 on the local service.
Arrival at Manchester Piccadilly. The name which I had to type so many times Eisteddfod Genedlaethol (National Eisteddfod) was applied at Porthmadog on August 1987, named by the Bard of the 1987 Eisteddfod. It was removed in April 1993, and replaced soon after, then kept until the loco was taken out of service.
The naming ceremony.
One nameplate is in the National Museum, who whose staff have repaired the damage to the paintwork on the plate. See the Museum for more about this.
It's recorded in one source that 429 worked the final train from Trawsfynydd power station to Sellafield - does anyone have pictures?
One event which sticks in my mind. It was said the end of the year 2000 was to see the last run of the class 37/4 services on the Coast, replaced by the new-fangled but troublesome Class 175 units. I decided to get near to the end on 31 December; but I could not get away for work. I calculated that I could get as far as Prestatyn, and catch the train there. When I got there to wait the train I found one other enthusiast who I knew and we had a couple of beers in the nearby pub. The train came - in darkness, of course - and I travelled to Crewe and went home feeling sad. The loco was 37 429,
It turned our to be a false alarm - the 37s carried on for a while. 37 429's last passenger run was on 20 January 2000 . It was put in store as 'Sold Awaiting Collection' but in the end the only customers were the EMR Kingsbury Scrap Yard in 2008.
To end, an extract from the excellent Rails Revisited website:
37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol was an enthusiasts’ favourite, and was specifically requested as the loco for the very last official First North Western diagram. Not that there was too much need to request it. It was a veritable slogger which appeared on the services virtually every day and probably would have worked the train even if everything had been left to chance. Known colloquially as “The Beast”, ’429 had kicked off the regime of 'Tractor'-hauled services which were now coming to an end, when they first began in 1993. It worked both the first and the last official runs, over seven and a half years apart.
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