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 Updated  
31 August

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14 September
   










Events Calendar

For details visit our Calendar page

September 2026

Thursday 3 September Clwyd Railway Circle  "Severn Valley Steam" Highlights of 2012 and 2013  Steam Galas - Glyn Jones

9 September Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group.  Chris Jones – The Ff&WHR Archives & Dave Russell – The CRhE/WHRS Archives.

19-20 September Bala Model Railway Show

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 'The view from a signal box window' Adrian Bodlander

Friday 9 October: Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Lee Stanford "The Norman Harrop Collection Part 1. A selection of photographs from the Manchester Locomotive Society archive of 1960s steam in the North West of England taken by Norman Harrop".

14 October. Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group.  Dave Kent – "Here's one you might recall...?" – (Early rebuilt WHR & South African steam.)

November 2026

Thursday 5 November Clwyd Railway Circle "40 years of Railway in the Chester area" - Geoff Morris

11  November Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group.  Dave Waldren – ‘My View of Reconstructing the WHR.’

Friday 13 November Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Tom Ingall "The Reunification of the Great Central Railway". The talk describes the plan to reunify the Great Central Railway  (North) and the Great Central Railway preserved lines by building a new link in the centre of Loughborough. Tom is a BBC presenter who has been a volunteer at the Great Central Railway since the age of 14.

December 2027

Thursday 3 December  Clwyd Railway Circle Ian Mainprize 'German Railway Development'

9 December Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group – Mike Blackburn – The Chester & Holyhead Railway.

January 2027
Friday 8 January Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Jeremy Nicholls "100 Years of Trains to Audlem" and "Nantwich and the Railway".  Contact Andrew Macfarlane, (0161) 928 9394)

February 2027

Friday 12 February Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Chris Davies "The AERPS and the Last Years of the 1500 volts dc Altrincham Electrics". Chris is a Vice-President of the Society and he has been involved since the early days in the early 1970s. Contact Andrew Macfarlane, (0161) 928 9394

March 2027

Friday 12 March Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Paul Shackcloth "People and Places 9". More images of the pre-1968 steam railway with at least one person visible. Contact Andrew Macfarlane, (0161) 928 9394 for confirmation)

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North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme 




Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, 13 August.  Picture Graham Breakwell
News Pictures



158 820 waiting departure from Crewe on the 11:47 to Birmingham on 17 August. This train was diverted from its normal route via Wrexham due to engineering works. (John Briggs)



Loco-hauled trains were a rare sight;  Here  17 August the 12:55 Cardiff to Manchester with 67 008 under the wreckage of Crewe's on canopies.



37 512 Thornaby Demon lives up to its name with plenty of 'thrash 'as it passes Llandudno Junction with units 756 004 & 756 115 on its way to Holyhead as the 5Q40 Cardiff Canton to Holyhead on 22 August. The smell of diesel lasted some considerable time !

Question Time: Yes, we have fun photographing these moves, and it's because Cardiff's new wheel lathe isn't yet working. But why do these new units need this attention? Who is paying?  Why do they need to be hauled?

Class 37/4 on passenger



The 'The Retro Cestrian Bard' excursion from Stalybridge to Stratford-upon-Avon via Chester on 22 August, the first loco-hauled train to  run on the Altrincham - Chester line.  The leading locomotive was 37 407 Blackpool Tower ...



 ... and the rear 37 423 Perseus. Greg Mape photographed the train pictured between Hale and Ashley, The organiser of this train was John Marland, founder who died in 2015. The mark 3 coaches are hired to a company called Nemesis Rail based in Burton-on-Trent.

It seems that the train might not run, bookings were slow, despite hand-pumped real ale, some 'rare track' and various attractions in Stratford.  (The train cannot start from Huddersfield because of the TransPennine Route Upgrade works.  A bus was organised for the Yorkshire which may have helped).  For an extra £25 passengers could ride in the train on its 'position move' from Derby in the morning (04:45) and return in the evening.

Chester & North Wales 'English Electric Day'  - recounted by Ivor Bufton

22 August 2026 was an excellent day for followers of English Electric diesel engines.
The day started early (09:00) at Chester with ’The Retro Cestrian Bard’, this was a tour form Stalybridge to Stratford upon Avon Via Reddish South, Stockport, Altrincham, Chester where it reversed, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street.
Locos were 37407 ‘Blackpool Tower’ leading to Chester and 37423 ‘Perseus’ leading from Chester in ‘Top & Tail ‘ formation) See picture above.



50 050 on the 'Thistle and Dragon' approaches Prestatyn leading 1Z25 06:10 Kirkcaldy to Llandudno on 22nd August (D213 on the rear)



37 512 approaches Rhyl in charge of 5Q40 10:20 Cardiff Canton Sidings to Holyhead.



D213 applies the power after a signal check as it passes Rhyl with 1Z26 16:00 Llandudno to Kirkcaldy (50 050 out of sight was on the rear)

More Pictures



40 013 brings up the rear with 50 050 leading, as they enter Llandudno Junction on the outward run (Garry Stroud).



50 050 again brings up the rear with 40 013 leading, as they pass Deganwy on the return to Kirkcaldy. (Garry Stroud)

And two from Garry Stoud's archive:





Transfered to Laira three months previous, 50 050 then un-amed, stands at Plymouth station awaiting the right away with an afternoon Paddington departure. 25 July 1976.


40 013 passes Chester station en route to Manchester with an unidentified service from North Wales, 23 April 1983. (Possibly the return from Bangor on a private charter)
Cambrian problems - recorded by Graham Breakwell

Thursday 13 August proved to be a very unlucky day for passengers on the Cambrian line with all services to Shrewsbury and Birmingham cancelled, said to be due to 158 units not be usable in the extreme heat with the Air Conditioning not coping,

However, 197 testing went ahead, with a four car set including 197 035 on 3C11, the 10:40 from Machynlleth Carriage Sidings to Shrewsbury and 3C12, the 12:26 return. 



Seen approaching Meole Brace foot crossing – note the solar panel for powering the lights and warning sound.



The foot crossing. The notice  'No Light - Stop Look Listen'.  (Graham Breakwell)

Miscellany



In the last issue we asked for a picture with a TfW train and a tram together. This image from 17 August shows Metrolink Tram 3068, and TfW 197 116 arriving from Holyhead to form the 10:25  return. Well done Greg Mape!



An unusual seen by Greg on the same day: 350 017 shuttling empty for driving between the Airport and Crewe.  We understand that is for a planned new service from Birmingham to Manchester Airport . 



On my way to Leeds on 19 August the Midland Pullman HST set pulled in at Chester with a charter service from Wrexham to Paignton at 07:06 running 36 min. 67 008 can be seen on "Gerald" to the right. The loco left leading towards Crewe due to engineering work diversions. John Murray).

On 8 August Greg Mape visited the site of the Dolgarrog Railway Society ...



... and its loco Taurus. We understand that they are open to visitors on most Saturdays.

'The Slate Miner'  15 August. Notes by Ivor Bufton



'The Slate Miner'  was one of the recently offered ‘Dieselday’ Railtours offered by the Railway Touring Company. The train set out from Oxford hauled by 47 848, 56 049 was added at Wolverhampton to haul the train via Crewe to Blaenau Ffestiniog, returning to Oxford with the Class 56 being detached in Oxley sidings from where 47 848 returned the train to Oxford.



56 049 could be regarded as a survivor, Withdrawn by EWS during 2004, it was selected as one of the Class 56’s to work in France between 2005 and 2006, on its return it was again withdrawn before being sold to European Metal Recycling (EMR) at Kingsbury during 2012, eventually being resold to Colas Railfreight. 56 049 now carries the name Robin of Templecombe 1938–2013 (Previously carried by 47 739) Robin Gould was a driver who worked on the network for 55 years.



47 848 on the rear of 1Z29 16:05 Blaenau Ffestiniog to Oxford.



At 12:50 56 049 briefly rests at Chester before continuing her journey from Coton Hill sidings Shrewsbury journey to Carlisle New Yard. (0Z57). Picture Morgan Krább.

150 210 and 150 218 is in Chester Platform 6  preparing to work 2H34 12:59 to Manchester Piccadilly; Recently Northern has swapped a number of the 150/1 series with no front connection away to Yorkshire, they say it will allow the conductor in the Manchester services area to allow to walk through the train if it is two units.  On the Chester service however, one coach of a four will be locked-out due to  short platforms. Meanwhile In platform 5 is 158 138 working 1F94 12:49 to Liverpool Lime Street via Frodsham. (Editor's notes)

English Electric in Portugal

Contributor Gary Thomas writes:  I was wondering if I could plug my first book, "Douro Valley Sunset" which is now available for pre-order and will be released later this month. It's a celebration of the Douro Valley line in northern Portugal and the fantastic English Electric CP 1400 diesel locomotives which despite being almost 60 years old are providing front line services, day in day out. But this will change shortly as new Stadler "FLIRT" units start to be used. Progress? I think not!   

Order from the publisher

Comments and Queries

Editor howler: Rhyl carriage shed:  The site has more than the Matalan store: indeed it is still in use the pair of Engineers Sidings.

Comments on David Pool's last items:

BR diesel locomotive seen on David Pool's picture was not a common sight at a Wirral Electric Depot, but 1841 (later 47 191) was at Birkenhead Central. Mark Hambly comments: 'Probably in connection with some engineering work, as there appear to be a Weltrol and a Grampus wagon behind the loco.'

Kevin Driscoll writes: Sorry to be pedantic, but the item about the Class 50s repeats the myth that Deltic was DP1. This has only been circulating in recent years, and has appeared so many times in print that people are starting to believe it. I am old enough to recall that the loco was only ever referred to as Deltic, by EE, BR, and the enthusiasts. Somewhere along the way, the emergence of DP2 led people to back-calculate a presumed number for Deltic.

Martin Weeks writes: The strange device in the catenary at Crewe station seen in David Pools' photo of D220 is a section insulator or neutral section break - it physically connects two continuous lengths of contact wire by providing mechanical guidance for the train's pantograph but maintains a complete electrical isolation between different power feeds or phases.

One of the main advantages of such equipment is that a fault in one section does not cascade along the line tripping out a wider area. They are also used at the boundary between two grid supply points often with a neutral length of sufficient distance to allow a train with two pantographs not to bridge the gap - they have to coast through without power. Woe be any driver who stops an electric train in a neutral section!

Our Holiday - Part 1 - Charlie Hulme



A very annoying about Transport for Wales is the refusal to issue seat reservations, even to long journeys such as  Manchester - Cardiff (and much farther) and Manchester Airport to Holyhead. The assumption that 'there will be a seat' is not valid - many trains are packed, and the chance of a seat for two people sitting together is very small.

Our destination this summer was Porthmadog. To avoid the seat problem, we decided to go to Manchester Airport station (via Stockport and Wilmslow) and start from there as it is a terminus. We travelled TfW to Bangor where there is a bus service (every two hours from outside the station.) This worked well. It also avoid the chaos that's Manchester Piccadilly platform 13/14.

Our idea for the return journey was to go by bus to Bangor where we would an Avanti train with reservation ticket, and First Class! We would then catch another Avanti at Crewe. Come the day, and all Avanti North Wales services were cancelled! With some slick working on Joanna's part we did get seats on the following TfW train, partly because some passengers didn't realise what was happening.

Come on TfW, use the reservation systems included on the 197!
Looking Back: 1972 part 3 - with David Pool



In 1972 the heavier rail traffic at ICI’s Castner Kellner and Rocksavage Works would be handled by pairs of Yorkshire Engine 0-4-0 diesels. On 24 March 1972 CK3 (YE 2806, 1960) and CK5 (YE 2808, 1960) were photographed at Sandy Lane, Weston Point.



 For lighter trains, a single locomotive might be used, such as Ludwig Mond (YE 2611, 1956), seen at the same location on 6 April.



A sister locomotive was Brunel (YE 2613, 1956) photographed on 25 April 1972. Travelling to work at Weston Point had its advantages! (dp3402).



On 29 April 1972 I headed for the Severn Valley Railway, but called in at Stourbridge Junction on the way. The single unit W55012 was arriving on the shuttle from Stourbridge Town, and I was lucky to be able to include a lot of railway interest in the shot.



The Stanier 8F was in steam at Bridgnorth, but I was more interested in the WD Austerity 2-10-0 No.600 just acquired from the Longmoor Military Railway. A photograph taken five months later shows it repainted in the distinctive blue livery, so perhaps the grey livery was an undercoat. Can anyone confirm whether it operated in the grey livery on the LMR?



Bradford still operated Trolleybuses in 1972, but I certainly would not have expected to see a Belgian Trolleybus in Yorkshire! Liège No.425 was parked at Embsay station on 7 May 1972. It had been built by Fabrique Nationale in 1932, and is currently reputed to be the third oldest operational Trolleybus in the World, having moved to Sandtoft in 1973. The Estler trolleybase is a distinctive feature in which the trolley poles are one above the other to give maximum flexibility.



For the record, the oldest working Trolleybus is Copenhagen No.5, based at Carlton Colville in Suffolk and dating from 1926. I had photographed No.5 on 31 May 1970 alongside the collection of more modern vehicles. 



The Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway is today a thriving Preserved line. Trains from Skipton to Ilkley had ended in 1965, although freight traffic to Rylestone has continued to use the first part of the line from Skipton. The junction with the closed line to Embsay is illustrated in the Notice Board of 15 May 2023 and shots of the freight on the branch are in the subsequent issue. A lease was obtained for the use of Embsay Station in 1971, but passenger services did not start until 1979. At the time of my visit on 7 May 1972 two locomotives were in steam - Fred, Avonside 1908 (1925) and Pony, Hawthorn Leslie 2918 (1912).



Pony has had a surprising number of owners since its delivery to the Blyth Harbour Commission when new. The Preserved British Steam Locomotives website lists its movements since leaving Embsay, notably to Norfolk and then Chatham, Tyseley and finally the North Tyneside Steam Railway. Fred’'s life has been relatively straightforward. It was originally based at Tunstead Quarry, and after moving to Embsay eventually emigrated to Belgium, where it can be seen at the Maldegem Steam Centre. The preserved line to Eeklo passes over a canal at Balgerhoeke, where I photographed Fred on the famous Lift Bridge on 16 June 1996, double headed with No.1627, Atelier Tubize 1127 (1911).



The sun had appeared after I had left Embsay, and at Hellifield the Thames Clyde Express (10:20 Glasgow to St Pancras) was headed by “Peak” 25 (later becoming 45 021).

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