... and here at the rear of the train is scruffy-looking 56 108, chosen as a rare locomotive for the line and the reason for the delay. As we heard it, no suitable Class 56 was available at Warrington, so one had to be sent from Bescot (Birmingham.) This sort of late running is a tragedy for trains on to the Conwy Valley branch, which is a single line with passing places and block posts only at North Llanrwst (11 miles) and Blaenau Ffestiniog (27 miles). On this day, the 13.37 stopping train to Blaenau had left on time, the 'Lament' had to wait at The Junction until it arrived at North Llanrwst at 14.00 before it could head up the valley.

At this point I indulged in a very rare activity for me: I joined the others in Rod's car to follow the train up the valley, more than doubling my total car mileage for the whole of 1998! This roadside viewpoint near Tal-y-Cafn was chosen to give us a view of both locomotives - the train was 'topped-and-tailed' mainly because there is no run-round at Trawsfynydd, but it's a boon for photographers as one gets two pictures for the price of one. This line is without doubt one of the most scenically attractive in the whole of Britain; the lower section follows the estuary of the Conwy river, giving some excellent opportunities for ornithology as well as a view down to Conwy Castle.

And from the same spot, the rear of the train with 47 785 set against a stormy backdrop of the mountains of Snowdonia. It was not raining at this stage, but it it didn't last! The train comprised 13 coaches of privately-owned charter stock, all very pleasingly painted in the old British Railways Southern Region green livery.

We moved on to the old goods yard at North Llanrwst (formerly Llanrwst and Trefriw) station as the train arrived in the passing loop alongside the only signalbox on the branch, a vintage London and North Western Railway structure. Another wait followed until 14.37 when the service train arrived safely at Blaenau Ffestiniog and its crew returned the 'electric key token' into its cabinet, thus allowing the North Llanrwst signaller to release a token to give to the driver of the special, authorising him to proceed. On the left is the unit used by the line's maintenance staff: it has a built-in turntable to lower itself on to the running line.

Amid friendly banter between ourselves and the passengers and kitchen car staff ("three teas please") the train gets under way again and passes through North Llanrwst station with some steep climbs ahead on sharp curves and wet rail which should not tax the combined 5800 horsepower of the two locomotives, although an attempt to haul 6 coaches with a Class 4 steam tank loco earlier in the year turned out to be ill-advised.

We managed to get ahead of the train again at this superb viewpoint on the access road to Roman Bridge station, the last station before the two-mile tunnel leading to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The station, kept in lovely condition by its private residents, can be seen in the picture (above.) The time by now is 15.10, and the stopping train (a Class 153 single railcar) is stranded in Blaenau Ffestiniog waiting to start its return journey, meant to start at 15.07.

At this stage, with the rain really heavy, I decided to leave the car travellers and wait at Roman Bridge for the stopping train back to Llandudno Junction, where I was joined in the shelter by a group of very cold and wet walkers who had crossed the mountains from Beddgelert. Much later, the local arrived and I just managed to catch the 16.41 from Llandudno Junction back to Crewe - a Class 101 with the advertised refreshments sadly missing .

Dave and the others headed over the Crimea Pass to Blaenau to try to get pictures of the train on the section of line between there and Trawsfynydd which will perhaps never be used again, although a guarantee has been given that the track will remain for three years. This portion of the ex-Great Western line to Bala Junction was retained from the 1960s to serve the Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station, which has now ceased operation.

What happened next is problematical: on previous occasions such as the 'Slate and Narrow' special in September 1997 on which I was a passenger, the authorities have insisted that the train returns in the only path available in the afternoon, leaving Blaenau at 16.05. However, this would not allow time to reach Trawsfynydd which is 7 miles each way with a 15 mph restriction, and I am sure everyone concerned was determined that the last train would run to its advertised destination, so, as Dave reports:

"When we arrived at Blaenau, the 153 railcar was in the loop and the special in the (only) platform: by the time the special had been locked into the branch and the 153 was in the platform, half an hour had been lost. Despite a spirited run (comparatively!) to Trawsfynydd and back, the special arrived at Manod Viaduct outside Blaenau station at approx 16.50, by that time the next stopping service was already in section from Llanrwst so it was trapped. Because of the timetable the special was well and truly stuck and could not have left before 19.30. We Called it a day at 5.15 and came home, it was still raining and the Conwy was rising rapidly."