37 420 The Scottish Hosteller, Manchester Oxford Road, 19 June 17:25. Picture Charlie Hulme

Compiled by Charlie Hulme.  Regular Contributors:  Dave Sallery , Alan & Rowan Crawshaw, Dave Skipsey, John Lewis, Nick Gurney,  John Murray, John Humphries, Tony Flusk,  John Dawson , Derick Norman, Tony Miles, Tony Johnson, Ian Bowland Tim Rogers and Alastair Graham.  Items for inclusion are welcome at charlie@dweb.u-net.com.

LAST UPDATE:  19 June 2000: later news on a new page

To the North Wales Coast main page : To The June 1-9 Noticeboard

37 420 The Scottish Hosteller, Manchester Oxford Road, 19 June 17:25. Picture Charlie Hulme

If any contributors and supporters of this page would like to join in,  I hope to be aboard the 17.19 Manchester - Llandudno from Oxford Road as far as Llandudno  and its return working on the evening of Wednesday 21 June.  - Charlie

We've received a helpful and  interesting note from a Coast Line loco driver regarding our comment below about the Class 47 diesel locomotive from 1A46 09:19 Holyhead - Euston being 'unusually' stabled in Platform 10 at Crewe. In fact this loco is booked to stable in Platform 10, but in practice the Longsight-based driver for its next move (0O16 light engine to Preston to take over a train to the South via Manchester)  often arrives in time to take over immediately, thus making the wait in Platform 10 unnecessary.  - 19 June

Sunday evening 18 June - report and pictures by Rob York

 The 1G81 18:22 Holyhead to New Street was a single engine 37 426 (see Nick Gurney's article below.. It arrived at Chester late due to there not being a platform available.The 19:30 Chester to Manchester Picadilly, 142 063 arrived on platform 4 at 19:50 and seemed to fail, forcing everyone to get off and block platform 4, so the train was due to arrive on platform 7. However, the departure screen then changed to show platform 3 . Platform 3a was blocked by a train consisting of 153 310+153 359+142 043, When these departed. the 19:57 arrived on platform 3 for Crewe.

47 741 Resilient arrived on platform 4 with the 16:48 Euston to Holyhead at 20:38. (It was due at 19:46.)

The 20:28 1D68 Crewe - Chester was formed by 37 412 Driver John Elliott which arrived on platform 3a, and after negotiating the triangle headed back to Crewe Carriage Sidings.

Also Network SouthEast liveried Class 101  L840 was stabled with 101 676. -19 June

Sunday Single-Header - report and picture for 18 June by Nick Gurney

37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol  failed on the morning of 18 June with sticking brakes and defective headlight again, and was replaced by 37 412 Driver John Elliott. I travelled to Holyhead on 1D62 15:53 Crewe - Holyhead  with 37 426 in charge passing 175 005 + 175 003 between Prestatyn and Rhyl on a training run Holyhead - Birmingham. However Gen over the mobile phones told us all was not well and the 175's had limped into Chester running on one engine! On arrival at Holyhead 37 420 The Scottish Hosteller was sitting on 4 coaches in the yard. Then the bad news, due to the late running of the HSS only 37 426 and four coaches would run on 1G81 18:22 Holyhead - Birmingham New Street. The information from platform staff at Holyhead was that 37 420 and train would stay there overnight. - 18 June

Diversionary tactics

Sunday 18th June : Engineering work continues at Dunham on the Hill (between Mickle Trafford and Helsby jct), the Manchester - Chester North Wales service again diverted (with earlier departures from Manchester) via  Hooton, as well as 6E36 Holyhead - Humber which last Sunday produced 37 899. [late news - it is believed 6E36 is cancelled.]

From 4 -7 July, the 23:48 overnight train from Birmingham to Holyhead will be diverted by Middlewich, for those who enjoy nocturnal track-bashing. Thanks to Tony Flusk and Tim Rogers for information. - 17 June

Saturday 17 June, the hottest day of 2000 so far, began badly on the Coast line. At Chester at 06:30, 37 415 was in the centre road ready to take the 07:06 stopping service. However, there appeared to be a fault.  After a conversation between the driver and station staff and a telephone conversation with the signalman, the locomotive was removed via the central crossover and ran back to the yard, leaving the coaches in the centre road.  Anyone know what was wrong? (Picture above and below by John Murray)

37 415 at Chester, early morning 17 June - see story below. Picture John Murray.

A Class 156 was found to take over the working, seen above arriving at Bangor, pictured above by Alan Crawshaw from aboard the 07.49 Holyhead to Crewe train hauled by 37 426.

At Chester, 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedaethol had been found to replace the errant 415, and waits in the centre road facing east to pick up the diagram by taking over the 09.45 Holyhead - Crewe which departs Chester at 11.38. (Picture Alan Crawshaw)

Back at Bangor, 37 426 has returned with the 10.19 from Crewe which terminates here. (Picture Nick Gurney.)

Meanwhile,  over at Virgin Trains,  RES-liveried Class 47s hired from EWS worked the coast line sections of all London  trains on 17 June starting with 05:42 Holyhead - Euston with 47 725 The Railway Mission in charge. Then 1A46 09:19 Holyhead - Euston had 47 747 Res Publica, followed by 47 635 on 07:53 Euston - Holyhead. Alan Crawshaw's picture above shows 635 on its return journey, arriving at Crewe with the 13.35 Holyhead - Euston....

... and waiting to take over for the run to London was a hired Res-livery electric loco, 86 430 Saint Edmund. (Picture by Alan Crawshaw.) There were serious delays to West Coast Main Line services, due we believe to problems at Stafford. The 15:27 departure to Holyhead, which starts from Birmingham, was caught up in it and didn't leave until 16:42, by which time the  passengers had departed on the 16:19. The 'Sussex Scot' to Edinburgh, due to depart at 14:32, left at 17:00!

As the evening wore on, things returned to something like normal. Patterns of light and shade are apparent at 18:50 as 37 420 The Scottish Hosteller leads the 17.34 Birmingham - Holyhead into Platform 12 at Crewe just 15 minutes late. (Picture Charlie Hulme.) Crowds on Platform 1 in the background are watching Deltic 55 019 being changed for a Fragonset 47 on a charter train returning from Workington. Your compiler  had a strange experience here: at the top of the stairs to Platform 12 I met an elderly lady with continental accent standing with a large shopping trolley full of possessions. Trying to be helpful I showed her the lift down to the platform, but then she kept saying "... Manchester ... Platform 5..." Try as I might I could not convince her that this was not Platform 5 and definitely not right for the train to Manchester. Despite my increasingly strident protests, she insisted on going down to Platform 12 and sitting on a bench. She did not catch the Holyhead train, remaining sat on a bench as 37 426 approached with an up Coast line train to Birmingham. What  could I do?

Compiled from reports by John Murray, Nick Gurney, Alan Crawshaw and Tim Rogers. - 17 June

175 here we go ... maybe!

First North Western are very keen to get a pair of 175/0 units in to traffic on Monday 19 June if they can, but such are the ways of modern finance that they have to wait until the bank opens! There's a possibility that 175 003/005 might be turned out in place of a locomotive from Crewe to Holyhead on Monday afternoon .... but failing that, the original plan of substituting for a 158 on the 06.24 Chester - Birmingham etc. will be put in to action on Tuesday ... or maybe it won't ... - 16 June

37 426 running round 1K71 stock to form 1D78 at Crewe, 16 June. Picture Ian Bowland

Friday 16 June - an eventful day

From Nick Gurney : 20302 + 20305 on Carlisle - Valley Nuclear flasks, returned through Rhyl at 11.30am with just two barrier wagons arrived at Chester at 12.00 and stabled in the holding sidings. (Picture John Humprhies.)

60 038 now holds the record for working the Penmaenmawr ballast 5 days on the run. This followed the 20's through Rhyl and is pictured at Chester.

50 017 + 47 703 left Manchester heading for Llandudno Jnc on the 'Northern Belle' , however
after leaving Manchester 50 017 failed and was pushed by the 47 to Warrington BQ where 50 017 was detached and dumped in the loop.

37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol set off on 1H42 13:31 Holyhead - Manchester Piccadilly. On arrival at Llandudno Junction  where a crew change takes place, the new driver refused to take 37 429 any further because of a non-working headlight ! As a result the train was cancelled much to the annoyance of the enthusiasts aboard. The train was reversed back out of the station and dumped in the yard. (Note progress on the 'multiplex cinema complex' in the background.)

37 429 and train was taken ECS from Llandudno Junction yard to Chester during the afternoon. The train then resumed its diagram 1D45 from Chester - Llandudno the headlight had not been repaired and a potable headlight was attached from Llandudno as the pictures show.
 

A new 175 on the block:  175 010 in Platform 1 at Chester undergoing catering trolley training ! Yes its true they were pushing and pulling a loaded catering trolley on and off it!

Additional notes by Tony Johnson: 66 071 worked 6E39 Mostyn - Healey Mills - Hull Saltend  passing Altrincham at 9.36 with steel flats followed by acid tanks. 6E39 as a daily weekday working has been very variable.  It does work most week days with a mixture of acid tanks and/or steel flats in most permutations with the occasional light loco.  Haulage although now usually a GM (66 180, 172, 115, 238, 003, 071) has produced at least two 37s and one 56 in the last couple of weeks.  It is worth noting that its booked time of 08.09 away from Mostyn is just that and its actual time past Altrincham has varied between 08.49 and 11.11 (09.15 -09.45 being usual).

175 010 worked  Chester -Longsight passing Altrincham at 13.59.  175 003 worked towards  Chester at 16.19.  - 16 June

On Sunday 11 June, I took my weekly journey from Chester to Dublin for work.  37 429 to Holyhead on the 16:11 which then joined with 420 to form the double header (see earlier notes on this site).

The 18:30 sailing of the HSS Stena Explorer from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire ran into problems shortly after departure.  As the craft approached the breakwater, passing the Rio Tinto jetty, there was a small bang and slight jolt then the craft started to vibrate, then came to a halt. The Captain announced that the craft had collided with some floating debris which had been ingested in the inboard starboard waterjet.  He attempted to dislodge it by reversing the craft, but this failed.  He said that the turbine blades may have been damaged in the impact.

The Captain stressed that the ship was not in danger, and said he had had to shut the affected engine down leaving us to proceed on only 3 out of 4 engines.  As a result arrival in Dun Laoghaire was one hour late and divers were called in to assess the damage.

On Tuesday 13 June, CEEFAX (p435) reported that "HSS sailings between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire are subject to delay for the rest of the week dues to technical problems".  Stena Line's "Ferrycheck" recorded information service reports "delays of up to one hour due to a waterjet problem, expected journey time is increased to 2 hours and 15 minutes".

On Thursday 15 June, the craft was still running on 3 engines, the 16:05 HSS sailing from Dun Laoghaire was delayed by 1 hour 45 minutes.  There was more vibration than normal despite.  When I called Stena Line's "Ferrycheck" (0990 755 755) number just before lunch time, no problems were reported and "the remaining High Speed sailings from Holyhead were scheduled to depart on-time at 13:45 and 18:30 hours".  (So don't rely on it)

All HSS sailings on Monday 19 June have been cancelled so engineers can rectify the problem.  Intending passengers will be transferred to Stena Line's conventional ferry "Stena Challenger" or Irish Ferries "Dublin Swift"
sailings and are advised to contact Stena Line, on 0990 70 70 70 (01 204 7799 in the Republic of Ireland). - 16 June

Northern Belle times for 16 June

As surmised by John Myers below, the Northern Belle dining train visits the Coast Line again on Friday 16 June. Timings (passing times unless stated): Train 1Z55. Manchester Victoria d. 11:36,  Astley pass 11:54, Warrington Bank Quay pass 12:22, Chester pass 12:55, Rhyl 13:22, Llandudno Junction arrive 13:40, depart 14:16. Rhyl pass 14:30, Chester arr. 15:01 dep. 15:03, Warrington BQ 15.24, Manchester Victoria arrive 16.00. Expected haulage is 50 017, possibly with 55 019 'inside' as insurance. Thanks to Tony Flusk and Tim Rogers for information.

Should you wish to ride the evening Northern Belle trip on 30 June, The Manchester Metro News has a special reduced fare on offer, £79 per head including 4 course dinner with champagne and wine. Booking number is 0161 839 4444. - 15 June

Two items to note from the Bangor Mail. First an appeal from the police which you might well be able to help with:

Vandalism at Holyhead

THUGS who crashed a motorised cart onto a railway line at Holyhead station on Sunday night could have caused a train to come off the rails if it had not been spotted in time. British Transport Police say that had vandals dumped the one tonne vehicle off platform two any earlier it could have been laying on the track as a train from Crewe approached. And if station staff hadn't discovered the cart, which is used to haul catering trolleys was missing, it could have remained on the line until the early hours of the morning.

It had been driven towards the platform, with those responsible apparently jumping off before it crashed onto the railway line below. Sergeant Bill Rogerson told the Mail "I really can't understand the mentality of the people who did this. Had this happened earlier in the evening it could have caused a rail accident in the station."

The railway line entering platform two was closed as a result of the incident; a crane was brought in to remove the cart, which is now believed to be a write-off.

British Transport Police have now turned their attention to two youths aged between 18 and 20 years old who were spotted acting suspiciously. Sgt Rogerson said: "We're appealing for passengers who came into Holyhead Station on the train from Crewe to contact us if they saw any suspicious characters hanging around." A Railtrack spokesman called the incident "completely pointless" but added fortunately it hadn't caused any damage or delays to the train service. Anyone with any information regarding this incident can contact the British Transport Police on 0800 405040.
 

Super train stalls - by BARRY ELLAMS

PASSENGERS at Bangor station awaiting the £70m fleet of First North Western Coradia trains were disappointed to see an empty platform and an unfulfilled promise as the schedule was stalled indefinitely.

Now, Conwy constituency MP Betty Williams, who was given a personal guarantee on behalf of North Wales passengers that the trains would arrive on time by managing director David Franks, is to raise the issue with Transport Secretary John Prescott. "I have written several letters to Mr Franks demanding to know where and when these trains that were promised on May 28, are going to be in use," she said. "I myself was stuck on a 'boneshaker' from Crewe station to Llandudno on Thursday night and I feel for my constituents who commute on these old trains every day. I have tabled questions for next week to John Prescott asking him to look into this matter."

A train company spokesman confirmed the delays.  "Trains will be slotted into the new timetable over the next few weeks because of a few problems with the train timetable," he said.  "But a few of the new Coradia fleet will be in operation very soon." However, a leaked report to the Mail has revealed that manufacturing problems could lead to months of delay, with train crew not even trained.

"This is an appalling PR disaster" said a spokesman for the North Wales Rail Users' Association. "Instead of leaving North Wales passengers in the dark and admitting there are problems with the service, they have not been honest with passengers. I do feel that First North Western headquarters have scored a terrible own goal, which is a pity because these new trains when they run eventually will make a tremendous difference to North Wales. There isn't a single poster up on Bangor station or a leaflet apologising for this delay. If they kept commuters informed of what was going on then I am sure that they would be understanding as it isn't unreasonable that such a major project will face teething problems."

From Alan Crawshaw: I made the detour to Llanfair PG again this morning. In the picture above, the driver of  429 eases the 07:43 Holyhead - Crewe into the exact stopping position  at the undersized platform. Such a high level of interest is evident in the last weeks of loco haulage that I'm seldom alone when  photographing, but I was surprised to meet another cameraman at this small halt at 08:20! It transpired he was a SWT driver from Salisbury
- after getting his photos he boarded the 07:06 Chester - Holyhead, seen here by that famous sign. 37 420 The Scottish Hosteller was in charge.

From Nick Gurney: 56 059 worked 0E52 light engine to pick up the empty Petroleum coke wagons from Holyhead early on 15 June. It was noted through Rhyl at 07:20 on the 6E52 working back to Humberside. 60 038 worked the Penmaenmawr ballast for the 4th successive day, going down a lot earlier today about 08:20 through Rhyl.
The 09:08 Blaenau Ffestiniog - Llandudno failed  between Tal-y-Cafn and Glan Conwy it was being worked by 153 359. Passengers had to walk from the train to Glan Conway station where a Mini-bus went to collect them. The return 10:23 Llandudno - Blaenau Ffestiniog was worked by a mini-bus. 153 359 was still dumped in the yard at Llandudno Jnc at 20.00. A replacement unit in the shape of 153 310 was sent down attached to the  10:17 Manchester Picc - Llandudno and was detached at Llandudno Jnc. 47 822 Pride of Shrewsbury worked 1A46 09:19 Holyhead - London Euston.

37 415 worked the Llandudno 'club train' for the first time on 15 June, this becoming the seventh different loco to work this train in fourteen days!  - 15 June

Wednesday 14 June

Freight report, by Tony Flusk:

56 037 6M43 22:56 (Tues) Humber - Holyhead and return light engine to Arpley.
56 120 6M62 02:31 Healy Mills - Mostyn and return 6E39 0810 Mostyn - Healy Mills.
56 059 6F59 09:15 Arpley - Dee Marsh and return 6F62 1230 Dee Marsh - Arpley.
60 038 6P21 06:00 Basford Hall - Penmaenmawr and return 6P22 1100 Penmaenmawr - Basford Hall.
66 164 6F71 14:10 Chirk- Arpley.
66 047 09:35 Mossend - Chirk.
66 073 6Z83 09:30 Redcar - Penyffordd.

175 003 ran as 5H89 09:15 Chester Depot to Longsight Eurostar depot for storage, rumour has it that more space required at Chester depot as more units expected soon from Washwood Heath for commissioning.
 

The 17.19 'Llandudno Club Train' awaits departure at Manchester Piccadilly on 14 June with 37 426 in charge. Picture Charlie Hulme.

Nick Gurney writes: '1A46 09:19 Holyhead - London Euston was entrusted to 47 769 Resolve.  After giving way to a class 90 at Crewe, 47 769 was unusually stabled in platform 10. (Picture above.)

From Ian Bowland: 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol  arrived at Crewe on 1K7, 14 June, with a good crowd waiting to board, this generally a well patronised train out of Crewe. - 14 June

I had an iffy encounter with a 153 (not my first) on 12 June when one turned up Wrexham-bound at Shotton High Level, thus thwarting my plan of gaining some Class 101 mileage on the "solid" Bidston diagrams. The single unit needed restarting at Hope and shut down again at Caergwrle, where it was several minutes before emergency attention could be given to overcome the apparent lack of coolant.  Help and a watering can were to hand on arrival at Wrexham General where, already late, I baled out and thus couldn't stay to see what took place.

I'm told by a colleague that a disgraced unit spent most of the day in the disused bay platforms at General.  However, when I returned on the 17:33 from Central with 101 682, we passed a 153 on approach to Shotton High Level.  I certainly enjoyed the run back from there to Rhyl with the very vocal 37429 on a comparatively empty Manchester-Llandudno.  This was checked at Holywell Junction to allow the driver to be warned of pedestrians seen on the track between Mostyn and Talacre. - 14 June

Dave Sallery's Archive spot

In 1989, as part of a plan to encourage more visitors to Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station, it was decided to extend the Conwy Valley Sunday Shuttle services to a new platform at Maentwrog Road.  This was sited on
top of the disused explosives siding.  The platform was paid for by the CEGB and the service ran for 8 weeks in the summer with the morning and afternoon services extended to Maentwrog Road.  A bus connection to the
power station met prospective visitors.  The service allowed locals their first chance to travel on the line since closure to passengers in 1961.  The following year the power station option was dispensed with and trains ran to the end of the line at Trawsfynydd.  The DMU is seen complete with Sunday Shuttle headboard on the
final Sunday working of 1989, the 10th of September. - 14 June

As usual when we say this kind of thing, our suggestion that the recent working by 37 420 and 429 was the first all-RR-liveried double-headed boat train brought forth a correction. The following is from Mark Williams:

In answer to your question whether a Regional Railways liveried pair of 37's had worked the Sunday Boat Train prior to last Sunday, I have had a quick look through my records and can only recall 37 414 Cathays C & W Works + 37 420 The Scottish Hosteller on 22 November 1998.  I am pretty sure this is the only occasion (sure to be proved wrong though!), but there are one or two gaps when I wasn't out on Sundays. I have only included information about the Up Train, various pairs/single locos worked the down train to Holyhead.

In reply to the assumption in our 13 June notes that after 47 807 failed on the Holyhead - Euston train the empty stock was worked to Euston is cast into doubt by this note from John Cowlishaw:

 47 807 & 47 349 were on the through road between platforms 11 & 12 at Crewe at 18:40 yesterday at the south end of a rake of coaches marked Holyhead to Euston - therefore they obviously did not get to London at all.  I am not sure what happened to the down 'Welsh Dragon'  in consequence.

After seeing Deltic 55 019 making its return working through Rhyl, heading the Northern Belle on 10 June,  I decided to check out the VSOE site for some clues.

http://www.orient-expresstrains.com/nbelle/train.html

I may be entirely wrong in my conjecture, but if one assumes that participants on the lunch or dinner specials out of Manchester are provided with a run to Llandudno Junction, then, respectively, it appears that we can maybe expect similar visits to North Wales in the afternoon of Friday June 16 and on the evening of Friday June 30.  Timings are likely to be similar to those experienced on May 26 and June 10 based on 11:45 and 18:30 hrs departures from Manchester, with returns due into Manchester at 15:45 and 22:30 respectively.  The appearance of the train doesn't necessarily mean the appearance of a Deltic, of course.  The Q&A section of the web site tells intending passengers that "At the moment all the trips will be hauled by an ordinary (!) diesel engine.  Steam-hauled trips may be introduced in the near future".  - 14 June

After the recent visit to the Coast by 37 428,  I've dug out an old photo taken on Sunday 15 May 1988 of the same loco (then David Lloyd George) passing Chester on the Up & Down main line with an ECS working from Crewe to Longsight (which also propelled via the angle at Chester), to continue forward via Northwich and Stockport.As it appeared off the Crewe line at roughly the same time as the morning London Euston - Holyhead service I did think for one moment that I was in for a run to Holyhead, but it was not to be. -  14 June

On 13 June at about 17:00 I noticed 142 023 resplendent (??) in FNW blue with gold stars livery on the Manchester - Chester run followed by the green heritage unit. I'm not convinced 142s suit the blue and stars livery :- too short a body for a somewhat vertical livery.

On Wednesday 14 June, a 175 was observed on running from Chester  in the Altrincham direction.  A bit of investigation revealed it was heading to Longsight.  What unit was it, and why Longsight?  Are they now cleared to run along the Chester - Altrincham - Stockport - Longsight route?  This was to my knowledge the first 175 on this line for some time. - 14 June

Tuesday 13 June...

Ian Bowland writes: 37 412 Driver John Elliott was on 1H42, the 13.21 Holyhead-Manchester on 13 June:  the shot is at Chester under the steelwork.  This loco is strangely photogenic despite its drab colours and deteriorating condition.

Tony Flusk writes: 47 807 failed at Holyhead before departure of 1A46 09:19 Holyhead - London Euston,the service therefore being cancelled, and as is the norm,a locomotive was sent light to Holyhead to take the formation to Crewe for onward movement to the capital. Unusually this time, Freightliner providing the power in the form of 47 349 (shame it wasn't a Class 57,or also referred to as a "bodysnatcher" by members of the class 47 fraternity !). - 13 June

Nick Gurney writes: 37 426 is back from its holidays in South Wales pictured at Rhyl on 1D75 15:27 Crewe - Holyhead. (above) On the freight scene 60 038 again worked the Penmaenmawr ballast and 20 313 + 20 314 worked the Valley - Carlisle Nuclear flask train pictured bwloe passing Rhyl's marine lake. - 13 June

37 412 waits to depart Llandudno with the 19.54 to Manchester. (Picture Nick Gurney.)

Following recent comments on this page about apparently unsuitable rolling stock in service on the Coast, Tim Brawn of First North Western has kindly written with an explanation. Although Class 158 units are normally found on the Chester - Warrington - Manchester service, they cannot be used when these trains are diverted via Hooton due to Sunday engineering, as they are not allowed to work on this line for structure gauge reasons.

As for the unfortunate use of a single Class 153 on a busy Bangor to Crewe train on 11 June, this  was the result of an earlier train failure at Holyhead: the 153 was the only thing on hand to work the train, which otherwise would have had to be cancelled. - 13 June

Freight traffic notes for 13 June by Tony Flusk:

66 003 6M62 0101 Healy Mills - Mostyn Docks & return 6E39 0810 Mostyn Docks - Healy Mills  (at Chester 0655 to  0824 hrs)
60 038 6P21 0715 Guide Bridge - Penmaenmawr & return 6P22 1100 Penmaenmawr - Guide Bridge (ran very late).

66 111 6F59 0915 Arpley -Chester, presume picked up repaired wagons from the middle yard (picture avove by Nick Gurney) and continued forward to Dee Marsh as was later shown working 6F62 1230 Dee Marsh - Arpley. to The two wagons, an OTA timber wagon and a bogie steel carrier,  had  been left there after being removed from trains due to faults. The OTA wagon, whose load of timber had shifted, has actually been at Chester since 24 December 1999!

A Railtrack MPV (not to be confused with an SPV,which was Captain Scarlet's preferred mode of transport !),passed Chester at 15:36 working 7Z07 14:58 Crewe - Crewe,via Wrexham Central and Bidston, running in weedkilling mode.However due to high winds the trip was curtailed at Wrexham General and it returned to Crewe,passing Chester at 1648 Hrs. ( if wind is above a certain speed, spray is blown about and is not as effective as it should be). The picture above by Ian Bowland shows the beast stabled at Crewe on 14 June.
60 049 6M33 0928 Mossend yard - Chirk returned light to Arpley ?.
66 208 0930 Redcar - Penyffordd.

Picture above by Nick Gurney: The 17.19 Manchester - Llandudno stands at its destination on 12 June, with 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol in charge. On the freight front, 60 038 in Loadhaul livery on the Penmaenmawr ballast today, with the Sheerness steel wagon still in the formation. The train was noted passing northbound through Stockport station at 18.30. - 12 June

The all-blue double - Sunday 11 June

Sunday 11 June was, it has been said, the first time the double-headed Sunday boat train from Holyhead to Birmingham and back has been hauled by two Regional Railways liveried locomotives. (Can anyone conform this?)

John Murray's two pictures (above and below) show the 37 420The Scottish Hosteller and 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol during the shunting manoeuvres at Holyhead

The 18.22 from Holyhead to Birmingham stands in Platform 11 at Crewe. Locomotives are 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol and 37 420 The Scottish Hosteller. In platform 12 behind the wall is 1D68, 20.22 Crewe - Chester (see picture below). Pictures by Ian Bowland

37 412 Driver John Elliott stands at Crewe, 11 June, on 1D68, 20.22 (Sundays) to Chester  - 5 minutes before departure there was no driver in the cab and not one passenger on board! At the other extreme, we hear that earlier in the day the 14.50 Bangor -  Crewe was formed of  a single-car Class 153 with the resulting gross overcrowding.

Trains between Manchester and Chester were diverted on 11 June via Hooton (reverse) and Ellesmere Port because of engineering work: here 142 007 stands in the 'Merseyrail' platform at Chester as luxury transport for the 16.30 to Manchester. (Picture John Murray.) - 12 June

Two Website updates from our contributors to tell you about tonight: Alan and Rowan Crawshaw spent a pleasant day on 10 June riding trains and cycling between Crewe and Chester, producing a very intereting picture report A day in Cheshire.

Our West Midlands correspondent Derick Norman has updated his site with some evocative pictures from the Final Days - I guess most of us are thinking each time we take a ride now that it may be our last 37/4. - 11 June

Deltic ahoy!

20.10 on Saturday 10 June and 55 019 Royal Highland Fusilier speeds through Rhyl with an evening 'VSOE' charter train from Manchester to Llandudno Junction and return. Picture by Nick Gurney

Sunday Engineering 11 June

The line between Helsby and Chester is closed again on 11 June for engineering work, so trains between Manchester and the North Wales coast will be diverted via Hooton (reverse) with earlier than usual departures from Manchester and later than usual arrivals there. Intending traveller sould be well advised to ring National Train Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 who may possibly be able to tell you the correct times if you are lucky. Thanks to Tim Rogers for pointing out that the weekly Holyhead - Humber petroleum coke freight train is also diverted via Hooton: a light engine runs out from Warrington about middday, and returns with the train mid- to late-afternoon.

Also, Nick Gurney writes: 'Following last weekend; s visit by 66 211 shuttling ballast wagons between Rhyl and Abergele last Sunday, I have been informed that work will continue at Abergele this Sunday 11 June  and a loco, possibly a 66,  should be on duty again. - 10 June

Disproving rumours of its transfer to Scotland, two pictures by Derick Norman of 37 412 Driver John Elliott on Coast line duties on 10 June, at Bimingham New Street (above) and Wolverhampton (below.) 37 412 was around 25 minutes  late at Wolverhampton due to it replacing 37 420 at Crewe.  Those already on  board didn't know why.
- 10 June

The Knightley built "Bagnall" 0-6-0 petrol hydraulic "William Gordon" which has served GPMR for the last 4 years has been sold to The Belfast and County Down Miniature Railway at Donaghadee, Northern Ireland.

It has been replaced by the Mardyke built Hymek B-B "D7031" to be named "William II", purchased from The Brookside Miniature Railway in Hazel Grove.  (Picture above by John Murray) It will shortly be joined by a class 47 from the same source.

An order has been placed, with Knightley Light Railway, for a sit-in style coach.  This will feature a removable centre section which will reveal anchor points for wheelchair access.  Delivery is expected in  mid-July.

The railway is in Grosvenor Park, Chester, just a few minutes from the station, and is open at weekends throughout the summer. See the GPMR Website for more information. - 10 June

Dublin to Chester Friday 9 June - by John Murray

A good run from Dublin on 9 June.  The 16:05 HSS from Dun Laoghaire on  time.  In recent weeks, the craft has been achieving its advertised 99 minute crossing time fairly consistently.  I am advised, by a reliable source, that the ship has been running on three out of four engines for some time which has now been fixed.

Traction from Holyhead (where picture above was taken) was behind 37 420 The Scottish Hosteller  A good run, on time and a particularly good  thrash in Bangor east tunnel.  Passed 37 428 "The Royal Welshman" with a
westbound train at Llanfairfechan and 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol with  the Llandudno service near Abergele. It is interesting to note that the class 37's still turn many heads of  passers by, many of whom are not rail enthusiasts! - 10 June

Penmaenmawr Ballast Train notes

The pattern of ballast train workings appears to have changed again. The picture above shows 66 041 at Chester on 8 June, having arrived on the up & down good line with the loaded train from Penmaenmawr at 16.00. The driver went off for a break, and was just returning as the passenger to Crewe due at 16.40 was arriving.

Nick Gurney's picture from 9 June shows the empty train taking the down main through Rhyl at 10.40. he construction site behind platform 2 is a new Morrison's supermarket on the site of the old Pioneer supermarket, due to open October 2000.

These ballast trains are very impressive workings: each of the 'JNA' bogie wagons, built new a couple of years ago and leased by CAIB to Railtrack, weighs about 24 tonnes and can carry 77 tonnes, so the standard rake of 20 wagons weighs over 2000 tonnes when loaded, and has a crew of just one person.

A curiosity noted in 8 June's train was PR3000, a bogie wagon built to carry scrap steel to the Sheerness Steel plant.  - 10 June

Thursday 8 June saw 'Royal Scotsman' loco 37 428 rostered for the 17.19 Manchester - Llandudno and 19.54 return, an event which generated considerable railfan interest, as Nick Gurney's pictures show.

Running over the release crossover between Platforms 1 and 2 to run round the train.

[Earlier stories are on the Notice Board for June 1-9  2000]

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Created by Charlie Hulme, Comments welcome to charlie@dweb.u-net.com