47 746 was failed at Holyhead on 19 May and was to be hauled by 47 757 in the following day's 06.38 Bangor-Manchester. However, that too failed. 47 739 went to the rescue, but suprisingly the triple-headed train returned with the 47s in an unexpected order. Larry Goddard's pictures show 47 746 The Bobby, which started it all, clearly hauling 47 739 Resourceful and 47 757 Capability Brown as they passed Abergele with four coaches at 16:19 on 20 May.
The 17:19 Manchester - Holyhead was cancelled that evening, but reappeared on 21 May with 47 793 Christopher Wren at the head. Picture by John Lewis. - 21 May
For those wondering what's happening off the coast near Prestatyn, what's under construction is the North Hoyle Wind Farm, which has a very interesting website. There are now nine of 67 metrre-high supports in position; eventually there will be 30 wind turbines, 7 km offshore, each with a 3-bladed rotor 80 metres in diameter - the length of a four-coach train! Total maxkumum power generated will be 60 megawatts.
The company are working with Greenpeace to create an arrangement where enviornimentally-concious people can effectivelt purchase their electricity from this station: details of the 'Juice' scheme are on the website. - 21 May
Mix and match
Not a lot to do with North Wales, but while I get used to London expresses passing through my local station, here are a few more pictures of the new Midland Mainline Manchester - London trains.
43 079 is seen above on 20 May at Manchester Piccadilly and looking rather battered and smoky as it waits to head south with Midland Mainline's 17:47 to London St Pancras. Full Virgin livery is still carried as much of this stock was not transferred from Virgin untul the evening before the service began on 18 May.
The next day, 21 May at Davenport, and the 17:47 rolls through in the rain, hard on the heels of the 17:43 Central Trains Nottingham service, with a locomotive in MML's new colours on the point.
Seconds later, a northbound working passes, formed of a loco with Virgin name removed, coaches original Midland Mainline in Virgin colours, coaches in Virgin red....
... some vehicles in the new MML coach livery and a loco in original MML Teal and Tangerine. The private rail companies are famous for their strange decisions, but one of the strangest must be the abandonment of the stylish colour scheme in which they have painted all their stock and many of their stations and replace it with a messy 'futuristic' version of British Rail blue and grey. Ex- First North Western managing director David Franks is now a high-up in the management of the National Express rail division, it would be interesting to know what he thinks about it ... -21 May
On Monday night19th May I decided to go to Manchester Victoria to film the Inverness - Birmingham 'Northern Belle' being hauled by our old Coast regular 37 426, and was reminded of the recent article on the Notice Board about the problems encountered by the 12:21 B'ham- Holyhead and the lack of any logic or common sense being employed to find a solution to these. The booked time at Victoria was 21:55 - 21:58. I was informed it would arrive on platform 3. There was a unit standing in that platform but that was OK; I thought as this was forming the 22:02 'stopper' to Liverpool Lime Street, and the Belle was known to be running about 15 minutes late.
As time went on there was no sign of the unit moving and eventually 37 426 rolled into platform 4 at 22:10. It was then held there for 20 minutes, departing at 22:30. Unbelievably, the Liverpool train was held also until the Northern Belle departed! Why?Was this fair to the passengers on the unit ? I saw one passenger waving his arms in the air as he spoke to the train guard . And what about any passengers waiting along the route at unmanned dimly-lit stations on a wet and windy night with no information as to to why their train has not yet arrived over half an hour beyond its scheduled time. A little common sense would surely have prevented this situation . What a way to run a railway.... - 21 May
The 1D67 10:21 Birmingham - Holyhead arrives at Bangor behind 47 757 Capability Brown on 19 May (Rowan Crawshaw)
A long shot by Ian Bowland of 47 847 Railway World Magazine rounding the curve as it approaches Llanddulas with Pensarn in the background: Sunday 18 May, 14:00. This loco has now been transferred to Freightliner. - 21 May
A few pictures taken from Saturday when the FA cup was on at the Millennium stadium at Cardiff, and Wales and Borders put on a loco-hauled train from Manchester to Cardiff and back in the evening.
45 112 noted at Crewe in the morning on a steam special to Appleby.
37 197 at Crewe in platform 1 before departure of the 07:19 to Manchester Piccadilly.
37 197 at Cardiff after arrival of the 08:33 from Manchester.
37 417, newly overhauled, at Rhymney on the 12:59 from
Cardiff.
37 419 at Cardiff on the 16:15 from Rhymney.
37 197 in the evening back at Crewe on the 17:44 Cardiff to Manchester. - 21 May
Unfortunately, of course, from the new timetable all Virgin Cross
Country
services have been withdrawn from Liverpool. The Transport Select
Committee of the Hose of Commons will apparently accuse 'rail
regulators'
of slashing services and creating an even greater divide with the
south.
In the words of the Echo: 'Services from Liverpool to major
towns
and cities across England along with
airport connections and holiday destinations are getting the chop or
being reduced. It will leave passengers facing more changes,
longer
journeys and more crowded trains. Now Merseyside MP Louise Ellman, a
member
of the transport select committee,
has accused the SRA of "leaving Liverpool at the end of the line to
nowhere". She said: "We are seen as an easy target for cutbacks made by
a centralised body, which does not relate to the needs of Merseyside.
The
travelling public and business are not getting the service they
deserve.
We must not be seen as the end of the line."'
Mrs Ellman, Labour MP for Riverside, has 'blitzed' Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, with parliamentary questions, while North West passengers committee chairman Brendan O'Friel is reported as saying : 'We were astonished and disappointed at many of the SRA's proposals, which appear ill-thought-out. Some service reductions appear to owe less to SRA strategy than operational expediency dictated by the failure of the Virgin Voyager fleet to live up toits planned performance.'
Lots of words flying around, but will they make an difference? Thanks to George Jones for his indefatigable press-watching. - 21 May
George Jones writes: 'Press reports the Queen and Prince Philip will visit North East Wales on 4 June. Royal Train will arrive at Flint station (hope they do it up!) and they will depart later by train from Wrexham General towards Cardiff after visits to Mold and Wrexham. Guess it won't be by steam this year!' - 21 May
Bad news from the Cambrian coast is that on the evening of 12 May, Wales and Borders unit 158 839 (not one of the ex-Central Trains green ones) became derailed in the platform at Aberystwyth station while departing. Reported cause is that the cardan shaft which carries the drive from the engine to the bogie of one vehicle had fractured in some way on the train's journey towards Aberystwyth; when the train set off in the other direction this shaft fell down on to the track and struck the point mechanism of the release crossover, resulting in a low speed derailment and damage to the point mechanism and blades. Out on the Web there's a very interesting picture report by Richard Shipman detailing the aftermath of this accident.
Trains resumed running the next day, but the release crossover is now out of commission awaiting repair, making it impossible for a single locomotive to run round a train, and disappointingly causing the powers-that-be to cancel the steam-hauled charter booked for 26 May from Manchester to Aberystwyth. It seems a shame that someone could not have provided a second loco to release the stock; there is a diesel-hauled charter booked for 14 June, let's hope something gets sorted out by then. - 21 May