Bangor on 10 November, pictured by Alan Crawshaw. The 05:25 from Birmingham disappearing into Belmont tunnel, half an hour late and featuring 37 426 at the other end. 37 421 is on the 07:49 from Holyhead.

Regular Contributors: Dave Sallery , Alan Crawshaw, Rowan Crawshaw, Dave Skipsey, John Lewis,  John Murray,  Tony Flusk,  John Dawson , Derick Norman, Tony Miles, Ian Bowland, Tim Rogers, Ivor Bufton, Alastair Graham, Mike Stone, Chris Pelling, Tim Proudman, 'Concrete Bob'  and Steve Vaughan.

LAST UPDATE: 10 November 2000

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37 421 reflects on its future, Platform 12, Crewe 9 November. (Charlie Hulme)

Rugby specials 11 November - the full squad

1H98 0719 Crewe - Manchester Picadilly
1V77 0833 Manchester Pic - Cardiff
1Z51 1915 Cardiff  - Crewe

1Z50 0757 Crewe - Cardiff
2B33 1945 Cardiff - Crewe

2V42 1028 Crewe - Cardiff
1M98 2045 Cardiff - Crewe

Locos should be 47 705,  a 37/4  and DRS loco 37 609 but are subject to availability and change at short notice. Cardiff to Rhymney line will also be offering an hourly service all day with 37 haulage, basic service interval is xx.50 from Cardiff to Rhymney and xx. 15 back from Rhymney to Cardiff. Thanks to everyone who sent information. - 10 November

37 401 1T50, 1G79, assd Bxam 22-17/11/00;
37 412 6L31 Carlisle-Crewe, to work 1028 Crewe-Cardiff re Rugby at Cardiff tomorrow;
37 413 CF Axam;
37 418 CF 2R42;
37 421 5T13 Crewe - Holyhead, assd Bxam 22-14/11/00;
37 426 1K73, then Bxam? (Assd Bxam tonight at 2200);
37 427 CF 2R38;
37 428 CD A/420 ok 22-12/11/00;
37 429 Bescot.

A wet journey - 9 November by Charlie Hulme

Click the picture for a 30-second .asf video with sound (250 KB)

Taking the chance for a ride aboard 1T50 15:30 Crewe - Holyhead on 9 November in the aftermath of the storms and floods which have been gripping the country, the most noticeable thing was the small number of people travelling: I believe most of the Irish ferries have been cancelled, hardly any trains running between Crewe and London, and not even any railfans aboard so for once I enjoyed a ride in the first bat of the front coach.

Despite the fact that only a few days ago the Crewe - Chester route had been blocked by impenetrable flood waters, the train left Crewe on time and arrived Chester on time after a totally uneventful ride, with even a few minutes of sunshine casting a shadow of the familiar 37 nose across the fields and even producing a rainbow for entertainment. (short .asf video clip)

Here's a little treat for modellers: a close-up of what distinguishes a 37/4 from other 37s, the orange electric supply plug and socket mounted on the cab front.

The wet scene at Chester station as darkness dsecends and the 15:17 Manchester - Llandudno calls in platform 4. I met a number-collecting enthusiast who arrived just too late to catch the number of 37 421 and left just too soon to catch the number of 60 004 which ran through the centre road at 16:10 with the Penmaenmawr to Crewe ballast train and rushed back just too late. Happy to help! - 9 November

Even more exotic: on 3 December the Branch Line Society are hiring a First North Western Class 153 railcar for a trip from Chester to Holyhead taking in some of the rare track along the line: the EWS Wagon Works at Chester, Glan Conwy (Llandudno Junction) Freight Depot, Bangor signal box and station down sidings, Valley triangle, and Llandudno Junction up loop. The fare's £80, but we believe it's already sold out ... if anyone has any timings we'd be glad to receive them. - 9 November

Pages updated on our site and the Class 175 page, which has gained a seating plan of the three kinds of car, following some interest in this topic, and the Class 37/4 locomotives page which has been given an expert makeover by John Dawson to bring it up to date and add some useful links.

We should also mention the updated and now domain-named Dreadful site (http://www.dreadful.org.uk) by Gary Carter, dedicated to the great days of 'bashing.' And Dave Barlow writes with such glowing praise of our site that we just have to put in a plug for http://www.embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk although I wouldn't care to try typing that URL on one of those BT touch screen kiosks ... seriously though, a very nice site, created by Tim Warner, and they have some interesting little locos. - 9 November

175 110 noted on test , disappeared towards Stoke, but may have crept back unobserved. 05:50 Bournemouth - Glasgow diverted via Crewe was hauled by 47 738, 86 430 worked the 07:58 Euston Liverpool and 86 430 the 09:33 Euston - Preston  (starting at Crewe) , thus three consecutive northbound services had Res liveried locomotives.

158 750 arrived on the diverted 0627 Edinburgh - Liverpool, which terminated and formed the 10:31 Birmimgham International to Edinburgh starting at Crewe (according to the orginal plan for this week the train would have run through to Portsmouth - surely a record for long distance dmu working) 158 748/749 later worked north empty. 66 240 paused  for a crew change at 1248 with what was presumed to be a diverted Wolverhampton - Lackenby steel train.

The 12:07 Birmingham - Holyhead had a loco change 37 401 Mary Queen of Scots off and 37 426 forward while the 1530 Crewe Holyhead was worked by 37 421. The 09:19 Holyhead - Euston was worked by 43 099/101 instead of hauled stock, but terminated at Crewe and went empty  to Longsight. - 9 November

Just to confirm the caption of Ian Bowland's picture of 60 003, the line from Shrewsbury to Chester was indeed flooded (near Gobowen) but was cleared by 8 November pending more storms! Ironically services in this area suffered more  disruption on 8 November due to an bridge strike between Wellington and Shrewsbury leading to suspension of all services between the two points.  The all clear was given around 16:00, no doubt to the great relief of commuters. - 9 November

8 November events

37 421 stands at Chester with the 08:47 Holyhead - Birmingham on 8 November. (Rowan Crawshaw)

Rowan Crawshaw writes: 'We caught the 08:26 from Bangor to Chester behind 37 401 Mary Queen of Scots on 8  November. The 09:19 Virgin from Holyhead had been cancelled  again. We saw no freight. The lunchtime Virgin run only as far as Crewe. We returned on the 15:30 Crewe to Holyhead shown as
15:54 from Chester on the monitor, which departed at 16:17 due to late arrival of the train from Birmingham. We were surprised to see 37 426.'

37 401 Mary Queen of Scots departs Chester with the 07:49 Holyhead - Crewe.

Thunderbird 37 038 at Chester.

175 104 departs Chester with the 08:07 Birmingham - Holyhead

From Ian Bowland at Crewe: 37 401 Mary Queen of Scots was on 1K57 the 7.49 Holyhead-Crewe.  The train was shown on screen as due into platform 9 (bay) at 09.58 but flagged to arrive at 10.10.  On screen at platform 12 it was shown as the 09.53 for Stafford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham! It terminated at Crewe and sat in platform 12 for about 20 minutes before taking its stock to the carriage sidings and then returning to Crewe Diesel Depot to join 37 426 which was looking spare.  Stock on 1K57 was 5386, 35516, 4880 and 4849.

The Virgin 08.38 Euston-Holyhead HST, scheduled to leave Crewe at 10.45, was running about 10 minutes late with 43 101 leading 43 099.  It left with about 20 people on board.

A growl from the direction of Crewe Heritage Centre indicated that 1G96 the 8.53 Holyhead-Birmingham had been held for the HST and 37421 duly arrived virtually on time and well loaded. - 9 November

The 'What happens next?' round

Tim Brawn writes to confirm that the last double-header has now run, although the good news is that the two locos and sets of coaches may well run as separate trains, the 17:30 and 20:12 Crewe - Holyhead, although weekday 'Diagram 2' which requires two locos to be at Holyhead on Monday Morning may not survive for long depending on the 175 situation. 175 106 and 175 110 are promised for early delivery, the first additions to the fleet for some weeks.

Crew training at Barrow-in-Furness is proceeding well, and in addition more 175s will appear soon on Manchester - Llandudno workings. Also to go '175' soon will be the 07:18 Chester - Salford Crescent, the first scheduled 175 over the Winsor Link and also the first taste of luxury for Heaton Chapel and Levenshulme commuters.

It does seem likely now that Class 37/4 Diagram 1 will survive until the end of the year; it would be welcomed by many if some 37 haulage was available between Christmas and New Year, so let's keep our fingers crossed. - 8 November

Save a 37/4

Matt Kitchin (matt@class37.free-online.co.uk) writes: 'I would like to announce the formal launch of the Class 37/4 Preservation Project website.  There is much work still to be done to the website, not least to the locomotive logs; the photo gallery will be uploaded soon and any help or contributions in terms of recorded workings, photos, etc. are most welcome.

The Class 37/4 Preservation Project has been set up with the sole aim of preserving one of the remaining 37/4's when they bow out of traffic over the next few months and years. It is hoped that an inaugural meeting will be held soon for the project to establish a committee and start working towards our goals. Any help that you can offer is most appreciated.' - 8 November

Ever fancied driving a Class 37/4 along the Coast? Or a Class 40, or even a 175? Unless you are one of the FNW drivers who read and kindly contribute to this site, the nearest you'll get for the moment is to get hold of Ashley Greenup's Cab View Driver - Route 12 CD-ROM.

A train driving simulator with full video is quite an achievement for someone without the whole Microsoft organisation behind him, and in your compiler's view these disks are well worth the £40-odd price for the understanding you get of what train driving is all about. The Crewe - Holyhead video is basically one of the Cab-ride tapes made by Jeremy English, ca. 1990, which is of considerable historical interest in itself: there's a lot more track and you pass such trains as the 'Speedlink' service going the other way.

In the screenshot above, I'm driving 1D20 Manchester - Llandudno, awaiting my 08:57 departure from Rhyl. The engine's growling away behind me and the home signal's 'off.' The control panel below the video shows power and brake sliders, and also the signals, mileposts and gradient posts appear on the control panel: a compromise it's true, but one I can live with until the next generation of home computers. At the bottom of the screen is a gradient profile (a track plan can be chosen as an alternative) with the timetable to the right and instructions, errors etc. to the left. The Whistle works, and failing to blow it when prompted loses points, as does overspeeding, bad time keeping, high amps, etc.

On this journey I managed to roll 37 422 and its four coaches into Llandudno Jc only 3 minutes late, scoring a pathetic 82% ... but then I did overshoot the platform at Flint! OK, it's only a small video and it's a bit jerky and erratic at times, but give it a try, you'll learn a lot. I've also got Euston - Crewe, which is equally fascinating: keeping time with a Class 321 on an all-stations train to Leighton Buzzard leaves little room for defensive driving! The one thing I'd add would be some random signal checks to keep you on your toes. Other routes are available, including some shorter ones at lower prices. Check out the Traingames website at http://www.traingames.com for catalogue and sales information. - 8 November

Readers might be interested in this press release, sent to us by Ivor Bufton:

 
Once again, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway will be organising a diesel traction only event between Christmas and the New Year, to give us all an excuse to get out of the house! This year's event takes place on Wednesday 27th December and will feature locomotives drawn from the GWR resident fleet, to include D8137, 24 081, 37 215, 37 324 & 47 105.

Departures will be hourly from Toddington starting at 10:00 with the final departure at 16:00. Trains will not be calling at Winchcombe. All the usual features will be available including Rover Tickets, On Train Catering, Gift Shop and Tea Rooms. Come and sample 47 105's steam heat boiler and also a repeat chance to drive 24 081 within the station area at Toddington between services for only £10

All services depart from Toddington, where free car parking is also provided. Toddington is 6 miles from Jct. 9 of the M5. For more details phone Toddington station booking office on: 01242 621405 or visit our website at: http://www.gwsr.plc.uk.

According to Virgin's 2nd edition temporary timetable, 1D90, the 21:23 Euston to Holyhead is cancelled. (This was a bus in the week beginning 27 October) It states that 'All trains to Holyhead will run between Crewe and Holyhead only'. This obviously does not mean 1D88/1A46! However, 1D87 and 1D89 do seem to be running starting and finishing at Crewe which is better than nothing. On Saturday 4 November  the service was operated by 43 099/101 which have been on the turn quite a lot recently. Despite only starting from Crewe it managed to run just 12 minutes late from Chester, arriving 12 late in Holyhead, what consistency...  On Sunday 5 November 1D87, booked off Crewe at 12:07 was retimed to depart at 12:38 as there were 50 passengers for Holyhead on the much delayed 08:00 Euston to Liverpool. In the event they did not bother waiting and 43 078/198 left at the amended time.

There was a good photographic opportunity on the Sunday lunchtime with a line up of five 'tractors' leaving Crewe for Warrington Arpley but travelling via Chester due to the closure of the WCML between Crewe and wherever. They stabled in the through goods loop at Chester as reversal was necessary before continuing via Helsby to Warrington. They were 37 895 (EWS livery), 702(Trransrail), 799(Trainsrail), 710(Load Haul) and 797(EWS).

Although the delays to rail travel, especially on Sunday were appalling (eg the 10:05 Euston to Lime Street arrived at it's destination at 17:23 - a journey of over 7 hours) everyone just seemed resigned to the fact that they should just be grateful to get there at all.  Nevertheless the gaffes still occur giving the long suffering punters the run-around.  As there was no 19:37 Virgin service to Holyhead (nothing on the monitors and no announcements to that effect) there were a considerable number of people awaiting a service to Chester and beyond up the coast. The 19:38 arrival from Chester ran into platform 9 and the announcer very helpfully advised all passengers that the next service for Chester and the North Wales Coast would depart from Platform 9 at 20:12, so everyone troops out of the waiting rooms with their suitcases etc to platform 9 only to be told a few minutes later (with no apology of course) that that train was Not in Service and the next service for Chester and the Coast would be departing from Platform 11. The pair of 37s duly arrived at about 2000; unfortunately the rear four carriages were locked out of use so people were forced to stand (at least until Chester) due to overcrowding. No worries, it can only get worse! - 8 November

7 November - weather problems continue

The week continued with, as far as we can determine, just one Class 37/4 working on passenger trains, carrying out an approximation of Diagram 1 in our table. Remarkably, though, 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol and 37 426 double-headed the 6D21 Crewe - Penmaenmawr quarry and return ballast train. Picture someone, please! Late news, however, is that 1G79 18:25 Holyhead - Birmingham is loco-hauled with 37 401 Mary Queen of Scots in charge so this will presumably end up at Holyhead to run the 07.49 Wednesday morning.

Alan Crawshaw's picture above shows the 1D71 12:07 Birmingham to Holyhead at Bangor, 45 minutes late.  The 14:05 Holyhead to Birmingham was cancelled (rostering problems). Unfortunately, the First North Western real time running Website has been suffering problems, having taken to displaying every train everywhere as 'on time' - a most unlikely occurrence. Following some correspondence between contributors to this site and FNW headquarters, the link from the FNW home page has been removed, although the 'station board' program itself is still running, so bookmarks to station data and the links on our Traffic and Times page should be ignored.

The 14:23 Birmingham to Holyhead, due to arrive Bangor at 16:54, was expected 17:45. The 09:19 eastbound Virgin to London was cancelled yet again, but the midday service was shown as running to Crewe.

Ian Bowland reports from Crewe: Much activity on 7 November due to delays and diversions.  (Birmingham services were loosing up to an hour due to 5 mph restrictions at Norton Bridge and Penkridge.) I went to see 1D71 (heading picture - due out of Crewe at 13.19, arrived at 13.55) but saw much more during the one hour I spent on the platform.

As 175 003 left on a Holyhead-Birmingham, 175 101 appeared (picture above) at the far side of the station in 2-car guise.  One coach appeared to be equipped with instruments etc with several people inside.  The unit later went off along the Stoke line but then returned and ran North through platform 1, presumably onto the Manchester line.

60 003 (below) entered the centre road between platforms 11 and 12 with a steel train apparently diverted via Crewe because the Wrexham line was closed (any confirmation of this?).

For more pictures and notes, see full report on  http://www.rail37.co.uk

Locomotive news is that 37 425 Concrete Bob is now sadly 'on decision' at Cardiff Canton depot. It was due for wheel-turning last weekend, and we assume the wheels were to far gone to turn any more. 37 427 is now on hire from the Motherwell to Crewe  until 30 November, to partner again 37 413 on the Cardiff - Rhymney workings.

Reporting by Ian Bowland, Alan Crawshaw, Tim Proudman and Dave Sallery.- 7 November

Further to 'Concrete Bob's' earlier report: 1G76 02:09 Holyhead-Birmingham NS on Monday morning 6 Novermber was already 80+ minutes  late when it departed Crewe, due to flooding between Chester - Crewe, although 20 minutes of this was due to late running incoming staff at Holyhead. 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol got as far as milepost 150, just north of Madeley Signalbox, where it was held for the best part of 3 hours. No  other trains passed at all during this time. Although various ideas to drag the train back to Crewe were considered, it did not prove possible to get an assisting loco. Eventually, 1G76 proceeded as far as the signal box, and after more discussions was allowed to go forward to Stafford, arriving at 08:53! Only very minor flooding was observed in the Norton Bridge area. (Fortunately, 429 was in good health, and although there is never a buffet on this train, at least it was warm). 429 then ran round the stock, and ran as a passenger train to Crewe, where it was to go forward to Holyhead.

This travelled as far as Wardle Hall, and could go no farther, as flood water was over the maximum allowed level. it was later dragged back to Crewe by 37 426, and the stock berthed on the Carriage shed. .- 7 November

[Earlier stories are on the previous Notice Board]

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