The 17:19 Manchester - Holyhead arrived at Bangor, 6 February, behind 47 744 Royal Mail Cheltenham. (Alan Crawshaw)
Trainspotting on TV
A television series aimed at railway enthusiasts is a rare thing
indeed,
so it's congratulations to the Discovery Home and Leisure channel for
commissioning
such a series, namely the dodgily-named 'Trainspotting' which is now
being
shown on Saturday evenings at 21:00.
The first episodes on 1 February included excellent items about the
Cambrian Coast line, Fairlie locos and the Llangollen Railway. Very
well
done: see the
programme's
website for more details. - 7 February
175 101 starts work
Ian Bowland's picture from 6 February shows 'first and last' 175 101 in service at Crewe on the 08.52 Holyhead-Birmingham service. It is seen here passing EWS Inspection Saloon DB999504 which was attached to 47 635 and carried a notice in the front window advising that it was on a route learning trip Crewe - Alsager - Kidsgrove - Crewe. The pair later left on the Stoke line.
175 101 finally worked its first service train on 4 Febuary, but not before failing again! It was ready to take over from 150 224 on 1G97 11:28 Bangor-Birmingham at Chester but it failed with door problems and the 150 continued again some 30 minutes late. A second chance was given to 175 101 on 1H53 Llandudno-Manchester which started Chester due to 175 111 failing earlier in the day. This time all went to plan and off it went! It was later swopped into 1G79 18;25 Holyhead-Birmingahm at Chester and finished its day at Holyhead ready for service the next day. - 6 February
Two more pictures by John Murray of 5 February's Class 47-hauled workings, featuring 47 744 Royal Mail Cheltenham. Above, the 06:33 Bangor - Manchester calls at Chester ....
... arrives at wintry Manchester Piccadilly The driver looks back to check that all the passengers have alighted and all the doors and closed, while your compiler has just scuttled out of the picture. Below, the evening return working, also at Chester. - 6 February
The eastbound working of the flask train on Wednesday 5 February passed RAF Valley around 13:05 with two locos, then was next seen at Chester at 16:00 with 37 610, 20 309 and a dead 20 311 which had been left at Llandudno Junction a few days earlier, as reported here. 20 311 had a chap riding in the cab; at Chester, driver and mate checked on the bloke in the rear and then off to the buffet for their break leaving one behind in the cold! Left Chester at around 17: 00. Pictures, anyone? - 6 February
Mixed-up confusion
The smorning train from London to Holyhead arriving at Crewe on 4
February
behind 90 007 Keith Harper. This picture by our
Crewe-watcher
Ian Bowland who notes: 'At the moment these sets are every which way
due,
presumably, to the weekend drags. This causes some confusion at
Crewe
with the announcements regarding the location of first class (or
whatever
it is
called this week). Crewe are usually non-committal and say that
first class accommodation can be found "towards" the rear (or front) of
this train.' Note the 'wrong-way-round' driving van trailer, in
addition
to the one at the other end.
Power from Crewe to Holyhead and back was provided by 47 818Strathclyde pictured dropping down from Llandulas in a hailstorm with the up train. Not as wet getting pebbledashed, writes photographer Larry Goddard! The train was top and tailed by DVTs; (Apologies for the errors in the first version of this caption...) - 6 February
Here follow the timings for the Folly Forester railtour on Saturday 8 February. Tickets have been received by the participants, although a question mark hangs over the operation of this train due to the EWS weekend drivers' strikes. If we hear more, we'll let you know. Thanks to everyone who helped with this information.
1Z27 Bristol - Buxton
0717/21 Birmingham New Street; 0729 Aston; 0803/5 Stafford; 0813 Norton Bridge; 0822 Madeley; 0833/0903 Crewe (change locos to two DRS Class 20s); 0919 Beeston Castle; 0932/1001 Chester up and down goods; 1020/32 Hooton (reverse);1055 Helsby;1119 Halton Jn; 1122 Runcorn; 1137/50 Folly Lane ICI siding (reverse); 1205 Runcorn; 1213 Weaver Jn; 1223/39 Winsford Dn & Up Pass loop(reverse) 1248/55 Weaver Jn; 1309 Warrington BQ; 1318 Earlestown; 1336 Eccles; 1350/52 Manchester Victoria (Crew Change); 1413 Ashburys; 1418 Guide Bridge; 1432 Romiley; 1443 New Mills Central; 1505 Chinley N Jn; 1520 Chinley S Jn; 1531 Peak Forest South; 1537 Great Rocks Jn; 1555 Buxton Holding Sidings [note: not booked to enter Buxton station.]
1Z44 return:
1613 Buxton Sdgs; 1630 Great Rocks Jn; 1642 Chinley N Jn; 1655 Hazel
Grove; 1705 Northenden Jn; 1712 Deansgate Jn
1721 Mobberley; 1738 Northwich; 1755 Middlewich; 1810 Sandbach; 1824
Crewe Sydney Bridge Jn [does not pass through Crewe station] 1836/8
Basford
Hall Sorting Sidingsg N Jn (Crew Change) .... 1908/14 Stafford... 2215
Bristol.
Pictures welcome. Note that with 29 minutes wait booked at Chester, and 16 minutes recovery time added between Frodsham Junction and Halton Junction, some early running on the outbound working may be expected. - 6 February
Franchise future ... and the last 175
People have asked how the Class 175 fleet will be sub-divided when Wales and Borders Trains take over the operation of the North Wales Coast services from the start of the Autumn 2003 timetable. Well, our information is that the lease of the fleet transfers in its entirety to Wales and Borders Trains. W & B will then hire units to whatever companies operate the Blackpool, Barrow and Windermere trains, initially First North Western and later the Northern and TransPennine franchises. There is also a good chance that a second locomotive diagram will appear on the Coast in the Autumn, as the Class 175s are put through a programme of modifications.
175 101, the first unit to be built, became the last to enter the First North Western fleet when it was officially handed over on 31 January after a period of service as a test unit. (The first of the 27 units to enter First North Western stock was two car set 175 003, which was delivered to Chester Depot on 23 December 1999.) 175 101, which has been running as a two-car set but is now restored to three-car form, was allocated to work the 16:37 Crewe - Holyhead forward from Chester on its first day, but is rumoured to have failed before coming off the depot. (We may hear from someone about this!) Pictures of 101 in service very welcome. - 4 February
The driver of 37 167 hands over the single line token to the signalman at Mouldsworth on 29 May 1991. The train of empty coal hoppers had come from Birkenhead North and the token is for the section from West Cheshire Junction. This once busy freight line was to close for good a few months later due to a fire at West Cheshire Junction signal box. Firefighting was not helped by the fact that West Cheshire box had no water supply, containers of drinking water being supplied by passing DMUss on the Helsby - Hooton service. - 4 February
37 042 was noted at Porthmadog at 22:00 on 2 February on its way to Afonwen with rails - the first Class 37 loco north of Barmouth Bridge since around 1991, but more (37's) due later in Febnruary for work between Porthmadog and Pwllheli, during a line blockade Mondays to Fridays.
The 6K15/6F17 Sandbach acid train, favourite of photographers at Crewe station, is currently running on Tuesdays and Fridays only. The traffic flow is at present only Nitric Acid from Albion Chemicals. The Hydrochloric Acid traffic is suspended pending valve modifications to the loading/dischrarge valves of the wagons.
Thanks to Ken R and Paul Richman for these items. - 4 February
To add a bit more to the CC Crump story, their last shunter was indeed a Yorkshire Engine loco, YE 2732 of 1959, similar in appearance to the Mostyn Docks shunters and the old BR Class 02s. It arrived at Crumps from Rea Bulk Handling Ltd, Bidston Dock, Birkenhead on 26 April 1990 and left about 1995 - certainly by 11 August 1995 - to RMS Locotec (dates from The Industrial Locomotives of North Wales by V J Bradley, published by the Industrial Raiway Society). At Bidston Dock until about 1981 it was mainly involved in shunting the iron ore trains for the Bidston - Shotton Steelworks trains. If you look due east of the Crumps site, Shotton Steelworks is about 500 metres away on the other side of the Dee! - 4 February
Stalybridge Saga continues
The 14:56 train to Stalybridge (FO) from Stockport did run on 1 February as predicted, for the first time since the beginning of the Winter timetable, and was worked by a Class 142. There were 18 aboard 142 007 including our contributor Alan Farmer and someone from the BBC making a documentary for Radio 4. Alan have asked them to send us transmission details, which we'll pass on as received. Nobody got on/off at Reddish South or Denton but the train did stop at each.
Some extremely interesting news about this train is that from the start of the Summer 2003 timetable the 'Stalybridge Flyer' will make its weekly run on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday, which will be welcomed both by enthusiasts and by those wishing to sample the ales at Stalybridge station buffet! - 4 February
Branch line idyll at Tal-y-Cafn, 1 February. 153 363 in attendance (Deiniol Williams)
It's that Conish Pastie Special again! 158 841 leads the Sundays-only 10:35 Holyhead-Cardiff on 2 February 2003, and Larry Goddard gets wet once more.
Railtour situation - by David White
Confirmed timings for the 8 February 'Folly Forester' railtour to Folly Lane and Buxton are now on the Pathfinder Tours website. All departure times, except for Crewe return: Birmingham New Street 07.21 Stafford 08.05 Crewe 09.03. Return to Crewe Stafford 19:08. Anyone have any more times? The trip is still shown as running despite the EWS drivers' industrial action, although according to an e-mail on the rail-gen mailing list the Pathfinder tour on return from Penzance on 1 February came to a halt at Bristol at about 21:30 and passengers had to return east to stations to Slough by normal services. - 2 February
Alan Farmer writes: 'I also went on the 20 mph "high speed run" from Wilmslow to Manchester on the first Pendolino. (see last Notice Board) We actually waited at the south junction Manchester airport points whilst they let the all-stations stopping train out of the airport branch. The points failure at Wilmslow were those just south of the station and not north as stated. They were locked in the left turn-out position. This was why the pendolino had to go via Styal. The adjacent south bound point was OK and "up" trains were passing over them at speed as required.'
Also, various correspondents agree that the weekly public run will be every Thursday until end of March, and possibly into April. As for the early running, apparently the following train into Eutson, the 06:22 Manchester - London via Birmingham, arrived in Etson 13 minutes early, without any special dispensations .... for those interested in a short Thursday trial run, the 16:20 from London to Manchester is booked to call at Wilmslow 18:41 and Stockport 18:50. Manchester Piccadilly (6 miles from Stockport) advertised arrival time is 19:06, so no high-speed running needed on this last stretch! - 2 February
It was DRS's turn to have sick engines on 31 January when 20 311 + 20 313 running 0D41 Crewe to Valley failed near Abergele. The following 6D21 Crewe to Pennmaenmawr stone with 66 510 on assisted the pair to Llandudno Junction before continuing on its way to Pen to drop off the wagons for the weekend, returning light to Crewe.
DRS meanwhile sent 37 029 from Crewe to pick up the 20s and go to Valley for the flasks. Is this the first time a DRS loco has used these sidings? When seen passing through Chester at 11:30 it didn't sound well at all, a hint of 37/9 about it! Apparently it has a blown exhaust. It made it to the 20s but further problems led to 20 311 being dumped in the yard at Llandudno Junction, 20 313 + 37 029 running to Valley. Further engine problems saw 37 029 being assisted by the 20 on 6K40 15:15 Valley-Crewe flasks which didnt get away till 17:30.
Thanks to Dave Bramley for assistance with this item. - 2 February
As expected, 47 799 Prince Henry returned with the 06:33 Bangor - Manchester on 31 January, seen at Manchester Oxford Road with new buildings going up in the background on the site of the old Hacienda club. The same loco returned on the westbound train the same evening, although it was back to platform 1 at Oxford Road.
The last few Class 101s soldier on on Manchester - Marple trains: blue 101 692 is seen here in Piccadilly with an evening peak Rose Hill service on 31 January. On the subject of Manchester, you might be interested in your compiler's 1 February picture report on a tram ride to Salford Quays. - 2 February