47 770 at Crewe, 2 May. Picture by Ian Bowland
47 770 Reserved was on the 10.20 Birmingham-Holyhead
and
arrived at Crewe to a rather large crowd (in the background in the
heading
picture) waiting to board. Minutes later the 9.20 Holyhead-London
(above)
arrived in the form of 43 102 leading 43 098 and was
announced
as "reported to be full and standing". It later left in
torrential
rain and was indeed full apart from First Class which was
virtually empty. - 3 May
Days at the races?
After a bit of 'nudging' from Chester staff, an extra train will run
down the Coast on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 6 - 8 May to coincide
with the races, and what's more it will be loco and stock! The train
will
be 1D81 18:18 Crewe - Chester loco hauled service (which normally runs
empty to Holyhead later in the evening) extended to Holyhead for
that period: dep. 18:41, Prestatyn 19:07, Rhyl 19:13, Llandudno
Junction
19:31, Bangor (Gwynedd) 19:49, Holyhead arr. 20:27. This means three
consecutive
trains down the Coast all loco-hauled within 30 minutes too, there
being
the (departures from Chester) 1D45 18:29 Holyhead, 1D81 18:41
additional
to Holyhead and 1D82 18:58 Holyhead! And we are in 2003, aren't we?
And with the RMT strikes called off, hopefully most people will use
the train to get to the races. - 3 May
Stephen Parascandolo, operator of the excellent Croydon
Tramlink Unofficial website, writes: 'I made good use of the Railways
Illustrated offer on Monday 28 April. Staying in Stockport, I
travelled
Stockport - Birmingham - Cheltenham - Birmingham (Midland Metro -
Wolverhampton)
- Preston - Blackpool - Crewe - Manchester Pic (Metrolink - Salford
Quays
and back) - Stockport. I was suprised to see whilst waiting at
Stockport
for the 08:26 to Birmingham that 101 685 was on a train all the
way to Stoke! I attach
a photo of it calling at Stockport.' [Progress on the new platform
and booking office can be seen to the right.]
On the other hand, your compiler found himself in the big city on 30 April: here is the 17:25 for Holyhead waiting in Platform 7 at London Euston, with Coast regular 43 101 at the rear. - 3 May
Thanks to David White for sending along the times for the charter to Aberystwyth on 10 May which is to be bauled by two Class 37s: Manchester Picc depart 06:15, Stockport 06:27, stations via Northwich (07:19) to Chester 08:12, Wrexham 08:31), Shrewsbury 10:07, Machynlleth 12:06, Aberystwyth arr 12:35. Depart 16:20, Machynlleth 16:55, Shrewsbury 18:35, Wrexhman 19:30, Chester 19:52 ... Northwich 20:47 ... Stockport 21:40, Manchester Piccadilly arr 21:53. 'Highlights' of the day: 41 minutes in the loop south of Wrexham and 22 minutes at Welshpool both on the outward journey. - 3 May
Following up the 'welded rail train' shot published here the other week, here is a picture of where it all comes from. 37 503 at Castleton CWR plant at 07:40 on 29 April 2003, this is taken from the road bridge, Castleton station [north of Manchester Victoria on the Rochdale line] is behind the photographer.
The entrance, road and rail, to the welding plant is on the right on the left are the up sidings; the loco is bringing back a fully loaded rake of welded rail, the 'peg' is off to allow the train into the station, 503 will then propel the rake back into the works, in this case round the far side of the box into the yard. The rail is probably recovered from a track possession, as occasionally unused rail is returned; either way the rake has to be emptied at the loading dock, which is out of sight to the right. - 3 May
More about Curzon Street
Regarding our item in the last Notice Board about the Grand Junction line and Birmingham Curzon Street, Chris Morrison writes: In your photo, the modern building behind Curzon St, is Millennium Point, which now houses LMS pacific 46 235 City Of Birmingham, among other transport exhibits. It can be seen from the road immediately behind the redbrick pub in the left of the photo.'
Recent notes on the uk.railway newsgroup suggest that Royal College of Organists is just about to sign a lease for the station building, which includes its exterior restoration and an exhibition space inside for the purposes of historical interpretation.
For more reading about this and related subjects, Virgin Trains have loaded a history of all the lines which now form the West Coast Main Line, written for them by well-known railway author John Gough, on to the Student Resources section of their Media Room website. Very interesting it is too - well done. - 3 May
Progress, what progress? - by Dave Plimmer
To match the recent series of 'three Class 47s at Holyhead' pictures, here's one taken exactly 25 years ago, on Saturday 22 April 1978, of two class 47s running round their train at Holyhead. The rearmost one is 47 100, but the number of the 47/4 has been lost in the mists of time. Another pic of 47 100 on this day is on my "25 years ago" page at www.2d53.co.uk. Also new to the website is a selection of working timetables, including the one for 1977-78, so you can try to work out which train this was! - 2 May
More Bank Holiday engineering - by Bevan Price
More engineering work on the Bank Holiday means no Manchester to North Wales services via Warrington after 18:00 on Saturday, and all day Sunday & Monday 4/5 May. The loco-hauled 'club train' 06:33 Bangor - Manchester and 17:19 Manchester - Holyhead will not run east of Chester on Monday 5 May. Any bets as to how long this job will over-run? - 3 May
Kate and I travelled on "The Green Express" to Edinburgh on Saturday
26th April last. Apart from a couple of deaf-mutes sitting opposite,
the
journey was only memorable for its late start.
After getting up at 04:30 and getting to Llandudno Junction station
for 06:00 departure, we were informed by assembled gathering and a
public
announcement that deafened everyone, that the departure was "delayed".
Informed sources with mobile phones then found out that the train had
been
delayed en-route from Carnforth. Eventually it arrived behind two
Fragonset
Class 31s and after running round, we departed about 08:20. Almost
everyone
was definately p***ed off. Stewards informed us that the delay had been
caused by a freight train dividing on the West Coast Main Line,
somewhere
near Wigan, and which delayed everything behind it.
The run was very good if not spectacular, and time was made up, so
much so that we arrived in Edinburgh about 30 minutes late. Return
departure
was also late, but only by ten minutes and we proceeded to make up time
as far as Warrington, where an absentee driver lost us half an hour. We
got to Chester, picking up ten minutes or so, and after discharging
passengers
there, stood in the platform for a short while, whilst the Virgin for
Holyhead
pulled into platform 3. Despite this, we pulled out of the station only
to stand on the curve (on the Up line) for another ten minutes
whilst
the Holyhead train overtook us and proceded to delay us all the way to
The Junction. - 3 May
The Western Mail reports:
One of Wales's most experienced rail managers has been called in to try to secure the future of a rural branch line. John Davies was British Rail's manager for Wales in the 1980s - when he more than doubled passenger journeys on the Valley Lines - but became a transport consultant when the railways were privatised in the early 1990s. Now he has been recruited to try to entice as many tourists as possible onto the Conwy Valley line this summer.We wish Mr Davies good luck with his endeavours: one problem might be that some trains on the line are already very full as it is, and being packed into a 153 is not likely to lead to a return visit from anyone tempted out of their car. The centre car for 101 685 is still in store at Blackpool, of course...The route from Llandudno, Wales's biggest resort, to Blaenau Ffestiniog via Betws-y-Coed, is in an area that attracts crowds of holiday-makers every year.But potential passengers may be deterred by the infrequent service. The line has only six trains each day, and none on Sundays in spring. The Strategic Rail Authority in London recently rejected a request for funding so twice as many trains could be run. With even the Rail Regulator now suggesting line closures as a way of coping with the rail industry's grave financial problems, there are fears the Conwy Valley route could be one of the first to come under scrutiny.
Conwy and Gwynedd councils, along with other bodies funding Mr Davies's post, may avert such a move if they succeed in making the route a central feature of Snowdonia's transport system. Mr Davies, who is now the route's acting rail officer, said, "The Conwy Valley line is a scenic gem but, like many rural railways, it is heavily subsidised. I am planning for major growth in passenger numbers to expand its role. With congestion in the Snowdonia National Park a key and growing issue, this line has a tremendous future as part of a high-quality public transport network serving the park."
He said the service could offer a real alternative to the car but without the road congestion and parking problems that affect Betws-y-Coed and other places in the summer. He aimed to "fill most of the trains" using a series of summer marketing initiatives. The ride past Dolwyddelan Castle to Blaenau Ffestiniog will be sold to tourists in Betws-y-Coed as an attraction in its own right.
On the subject of the Conwy Valley, remember that the FR Interactive 2 event is taking place at the Ffestiniog Railway, from 3 to 5 May, but as far as we can determine there is nothing special happening on the standard gauge line to coincide with the Llandudno Transport Festival. Lets hope FNW can at least manage a two-car train, but remember the line does not operate on Sundays at this time of year, although there is a bus service. - 3 May
The RMT guards' strikes planned for the post-bank hoilday periods have been called off. According to the BBC report 'the union and 12 train companies have agreed to accept the independent Rail Safety & Standards Board's recommendations, due in the next few weeks.' There's also an RMT news release to look at. Well, our thanks to Mr Crow & co for rescuing your compiler's Cambrian Coast break from the brink of disaster. - 1 May
47 847 to the rescue, aproaching Abergele with the 09:21 Holyhead - London, 28 April - see story below (Larry Goddard)
47 to the rescue, and other 28 April stories
On 28 April the 09:21 Holyhead-Euston HST failed at Valley. Reportedly DRS locos 20 307 and 20 314 (in the area to work the flask train) were summoned to assist, but the driver got his HST restarted and said he didn't require assistance. At Bangor the HST (43 160 and 43 080) failed again; 66 515 was taken off its ballast train in Penmaenmawr yard and dragged the failed train to Llandudno Junction where it was deposited in the yard. Further assistance arrived in the form of Large Logo blue 47 847Railway World Magazine, seen in the picture hauling the HST through Abergele at 15:15.
The 09:47 Llandudno to Manchester Piccadilly was running six minutes
late by Chester, and was "rather full" having picked up the Euston
passengers
who were advised to change at Warrington. The 11:21 Crewe Chester
shuttle
- a single car Class 153 - was also full with the vestibules crammed
with
passengers and luggage, probably made worse with people returning from
the Easter holidays.
1D87 (08:40 London - Holyhead) was also running 20 minutes late at Chester (43 084/153) . This was further delayed by a temporary speed restruction (?) at either side of Penmaenbach Tunnel which was causing trains to be some 5/7 mins slower for the Llandudno Junction - Bangor section in both directions.
Presumably this was the cause of the proliferation of late running freight which seemed to be stuck in loops and sidings all along the coast. 66 515 with the Ballast was at Penmaenmawr at 13:00 and still there over an hour later. Behind that, 20 307/314 with one flask in tow was on the up main at Bangor station at 13:30, again awaiting a path, which would not be available until after the 'lunch time rush!' Freight operators always seem to get the short straw if there is any sort of delay, usually caused by the failure of a passenger train. They are often held for many hours - made worse because the signal sections are so long and loops rare that Network Rail just do not chance letting them have a path. It is not really surprising companies are not willing to risk rail especially for anything which is 'time critical.' The empty steel flats were also caught up. The empties were at Holywell Junction at 11:50 with a 56 in Railfreight two-tone grey. By 15:30 it was at Mostyn and the empties were at Holywell. Was it there to collect some more empties? - 1 May
As mentioned in the previous item, the flask train on 28 April was held for some time on the 'main line' at Bangor, where Eryl Crump took these pictures.
Eryl writes: 'While I was taking the pics a burly, well dressed man, clearly waiting for one of the other trains, came up to me and asked if I had checked with the British Transport Police. On asking him why I should do so, he said "that train's nuclear" but gave no other reasons why pictures shouldn't be taken. In any event I could quite easily taken them at other points along the line without ever stepping onto a railway platform. I'll be checking with BTP to see if there are any restrictions - their van was parked at Bangor today but no coppers were in sight. Anybody else had any difficulties?'
Here's the modeller's detail version. Incidentally, Eryl would like to enlarge on our (supposedly) light-hearted remark in a previous Notice Board that he is the Daily Post 'Llandudno Junction correspondent.' 'I am based in Llandudno Junction at the palatial new offices but I cover the Bangor and Caernarfon areas (as best I can)' he writes. - 1 May
Love them or hate them, after just over 31 years of public service, the last Leyland National bus left Chester on 29 April. Initially introduced by Crosville in March 1972, Nationals have served the travelling public of Chester continuously since then. Ironically the last National in service was Chester City Transport 318 LAG188V, which was the first production Mk2 vehicle, new to East Yorkshire as their 188 in 1980. It subsequently passed to East Midland and was acquired by Chester City Transport in October 1999. At that time Arriva Cymru's SNL49, originally Halton 33 passing via Devaway, had the honour of being the last Leyland National to be produced. SNL49 was withdrawn in the summer of 2000 and has since been preserved. Thus it was possible, for a short time, to see both the first and the last of the production National 2's on the streets of Chester although a photo of them both together evaded me.
CCT's Nationals were mainly acquired mainly for school duties. However, 318 and sister 320 were both often seen on Park & Ride and regular service duties.
The top picture shows 318 on 25 April with the 10:10 18 service to Cliveden Rd via Lache Lane complete with Guy Arab destination blind, (above) the same machine outside Chester station before its final run. It will be preserved in its original state as East Yorkshire 188 in NBC poppy red livery. Now the only Leyland National products to be seen in Chester are class 142 and 153 DMUs.
A final shot outside the depot opposite Chester station, where the narrow-gauge tramway tracks can still be seen. - 1 May
Saturday 26 April's excursion went well with on time departures behind 66 145 from Hooton through to Warrington. Arrived Carlisle 10.42 after one hour stationtime and stops in loops en route. The other charter that day 'Green Express' ran late, the empty stock having been very late arriving on the Coast line, and appeared in Carlisle with two 31s (31 459 and 31 468) twenty or so minutes behind us. On time arrival at Durham (picture above by Ian Richardson) allowed for time to visit Beamish Open Air Museum (copped J21 NER 876) ...
... whilst the train then went back to Newcastle for the stop over. The picture by Ian Richardson shows 66 145 posing in Newcastle station with a GNER service. We eparted Durham 17:11 for return via York, Castlefields, Mirfield, Calder Valley line and over Copy Pit to emerge on the West Coast Main Line at Farringdon 20:34 - 26 mins early - and gained Warrington Bank Quay 15 mins early and so through to Chester and Hooton after a great day out and a some splendid running with the 66. Well done the sponsors, the Ffestiniog Railway Dee and Mersey Group and the Chester Model Railway Club. Did anyone travel on the 'Green Express'? - 1 May
That Foster Yeoman tour
Not a lot of time for updating at present - loads of stuff on hand which will appear soon - but here's some times for the Monday May 5 Foster Yeoman / Pathfinder charter kindly sent along by our good friend 'Yellowcake UF6' :
1Z31 07:05 Castle Cary - Llandudno Jct: Shrewsbury pass 10:55, Crewe 11:35 to 11:37, Chester 12:03 to 12:06, Holywell Jct pass 12:24, Rhyl 12:37 to 12:40, Llan Jct arr 12:58.
5Z31 13:18 empty stock Llandudno Jct - Penmaenmawr, arrives 13:35 for loco to be fuelled from a road tanker (!) and stock to be watered).
5Z61 1541 Penmaenmawr - Llanduddno Junction arrives 16:00.
1Z61 16:18 Llan Jct - Castle Cary: Rhyl 16:34 to 16:37, Holywell Jct pass 16:51, Chester 17:11 to 17:40,Crewe 18:11 to 18:18, Nantwich pass 18:30 ...
We've been sent so much varying info about this working that one wonders if there is more than one train ... but the above seems to be the definitive version, and it does seem that the Western class diesel will work all the way - note there is no time for any loco change at Crewe or Chester