THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
47 793 Christopher Wren arrives at Crewe with the
ECS train from Manchester, 23 January (Dave Batt)
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supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 23 January 2004
47 793 Christopher Wren at Crewe awaiting
departure of the 1D75 15:27 to Holyhead on 21 January. (Rowan
Crawshaw)
That empty stock train, and other coaching notes
Further to our picture on the 21 January train of empty coaches
from Crewe to Old Oak Common, reported by Mark Watson (below) Riviera
Trains have kindly supplied us with details of the consist. The
formation on leaving Crewe was: 47 635, 6213, 6200,
6221, 9501, 3112, 4927, 21224, 17079,
9537, 17086 and 17077. The first four vehicles
are ex-First Great Western stock latterly used on the North Wales coast
line but now "off lease" and on the way to join other stored ex-FGW
vehicles for onward movement to Ministry of Defence store. The
rest are Riviera Trains vehicles travelling to London to join the
company's southern-based charter train fleet.
21224 is an interesting coach, being one of the Mk 1 coaches
built with first and second class accommodation as well as a guard's
van and toilet, that is to say a BCK - brake corridor composite. These
were neded back in the1950s for use as 'through coaches' to be detached
from expresses and worked down branch lines; your compiler fondly
remembers the London St Pancras - Buxton coach which was detached at
Miller's Dale, for example. 21224 has had a varied career; between its
time in passenger service on British Rail and being acqired by Riviera,
it spent some time as Signal and Telegraph technicians' staff and tool
coach KDB 977580. It's role in Rivera's charter rakes is also
basically for staff transport, the compartments and toilet being used
by the train staff.
General coach news is that there are now six ex-Virgin Trains
vehicles (owned by HSBC Rail and allocated to Pool Code HDHS) in the
'pool' of coaches for use in North Wales. Mk2F Tourist
Standard Opens 5912, 5983, 5989 and 5991,
and Brake Standard Opens 9513 and 9522. 9522 - 5983
- 5991 - 5989 are the rake in use at present,
noted by behind behind 47 793 at Llandudno Junction,
bound for Crewe at 13.37, on January 22. 5991 was, we believe,
the one previously noted as odd-one-out in a Great Western-liveried
set, having stood in for 5740 which was unserviceable. Other First
Great Western vehicles still around (as far as we know!) are Mk2d Brake
Standard Opens 9481 and 9494, and Mk 2d Tourist
Standard Opens 5631, 5632, 5636, 5710, 5737.
The 62xx series coaches which have been sent off to storage are Mk 2d
vehicles which were converted in 1989 from first to second class,
partially in 'airline' seating layout.
Many thanks to Gwyn Williams, Alastair Graham, David
Russell, Shaun Courtnage and Charles Paget
for assistance with this item. - 23 January
Loco hauled cutbacks
threatened
The picture shows 47 798 Prince William at
Manchester Oxford Road at the head of the 17:19 Manchester Piccadilly
to Holyhead on 21 January, swapped from Platform 1 to 2 at the last
minute yet again ... word reaches us that Arriva Trains Wales are
likely to cut back from two loco-hauled diagrams to just one in the
very near future, as First North Western have agreed that a Class 175
can be released for Welsh duty. The Manchester turn, with its
complicated reversals at Chester, would seem to be the most likely for
the chop, so have a ride while you can.
EWS have taken several familiar Class 47s out of traffic recently,
including 47 789 Lindisfarne and 47 749 Atlantic
College, although we believe enough are to be retained to cover
the Arriva trains despite persistent rumours of 37/4s taking over. All
EWS 47s are now allocated to Toton depot near Nottingham, following the
closure of Crewe depot. RAIL magazine
suggests that locos will be changed over during the evening layover at
Birmingham New Street: any observations of such a move will be very
welcome. - 21 January
Loco parade at Crewe, 21
January - by Mark Watson
There were some interesting
workings at Crewe on the morning of Wednesday 21 January.
47 793 departed with the 10.30 Crewe - Holyhead (?) and passed
47 826 Springburn which was stabled in the north end
loco siding.
67 019 (tailed by 67 002) departed from platform 12 with
the
royal train after a crew change and headed north on the WCML. Standing
at platform 11 is 43 084 with the 10:45 departure for Holyhead
from
Euston.
47 635 Lass O' Ballochmyle with the 10:02 ecs from Crewe
CS to Old Oak Common awaits
departure from the loop alongside platform 12, whilst 47 798 Prince
William stands at
platform 6 with the empty stock from the 06:38 Bangor-Manchester
train waiting for the road to the carriage sidings.
47 635, still looking good in its Highland Rail branded large
logo livery, departs from Crewe 35 minutes late at 11:05 with its mixed
rake for Old Oak Common. The first four vehicles were one of the FGW
Mk2 rakes used
on North Wales services; there were also chocolate and cream, blue and
cream and a Regional Railways liveried Mk2 coach included in the
formation. - 21 January
Complications
In the last
Notice Board Larry Goddard
reported two loco-hauled trains passing near Abergele on 17 January,
and asked whether one was an empty stock working. Here's an
insider's report on the movements that day:
'Larry's photo of 47 790 westbound at Abergele on Saturday was
indeed an ECS working. People spent hours on the phone the
previous afternoon just trying to move the three sets of coaches
around. 47 790 is depicted hauling the coaches that formed 1D65 on
Friday 20 January which the woman jumped out of at Rhyl. The police
(and everyone else of course) required a full check of the central door
locking system before releasing the set back to traffic. This was
completed by 18:00 on Friday, but needless to say, there was no driver
to work it till Saturday.
'The rolling stock involved in the fatality earlier on Friday
re-entered traffic on 5D45 on Friday afternoon, hauled from Crewe to
Chester (to replace the 156 that worked from Manchester Piccadilly) by 47
798 Prince William - the loco off 1D65! 47 790 had to
be taken out of service due to low coolant level on Friday morning and
was replaced by 47 798 (light engine from
Bescot) which had originally been commandeered to work the 'demic' set
on the wheelskate from Chester to Crewe. Instead, 47 790 (after
repairs) ran light to Chester for those coaches and worked as 5Z21
17.30 Chester to Crewe on Friday evening at 20 mph.'
Are you all following that? - 21 January
508 move - the picture
Following correspondence about the moves of Merseyside's Class 508
units between Eastleigh and Birkenhead, Tim J. Rogers kindly
sends along this view of the working of 12 January, with 47
812 hauling freshly-refurbished 508 103 around the
curve at Bidston, with an un-refurbished unit in service in the
background. - 21 January
Another correction...
In the last
noticeboard, we rashly sugegsted
that the gate at Heywood station marks the boundary between the East
Lanachire Railway and Network Rail. Thanks to Paul Braddock for
the following explanation:
'The gate on Green Lane at Heywood station is not the actual ELR
boundary, that is further up the line towards Castleton at the foot
crossing by the Heywood end of Castle Hawk golf course, there is an old
Railtrack maintenance limit sign screwed to one of the sleepers, and a
pair of catch points back to back.
'I believe the ELR have the key to one of the points and the other is
kept at Castleton East signal box, when there is a train movement onto
Network rail metals the train (or loco) has to wait at the points while
a crew member walks to Castleton East (about three quarters of a mile!)
to obtain the other key, if a mainline loco is making a pick up from
the ELR they can collect the key on their way past the box. Sometimes
if a Mainline crew is going by road to Heywood, to take over a loco,
they will collect the point key and bring it by road.
'I understand the long term plan for Green Lane crossing is that there
will be level crossing gates installed; there is currently an open
crossing with lights and an audible warning, for now they have had to
install a set of points on the station side which allows just about
enough room to run round without venturing onto Green Lane. At the time
the station was being built the railway inspectorate deemed it would be
unsafe to have several train movements a day at weekends over Green
Lane unless crossing gates were installed, and I don't think there was
enough money in the budget for a full crossing.' - 21 January
[The following additional information was kindly supplied by David
Ingham: The Castleton North Junction to Bury South single line is
worked by two separate single line train staffs. The Network Rail train
staff allows a train to occupy the single line between Castleton North
Junction and Hopwood Ground Frame, and the East Lancashire Railway
train staff allows a train to occupy the single line between Hopwood
Ground Frame and Bury South. The train staffs are in the form of
Annetts Keys, and both of them are required to be placed into Hopwood
Ground Frame to allow a movement to be made from Network Rail to the
East Lancashire Railway or visa versa.
In store on the East Lancashire Railway is the signal former Crumpsall
signal box, which was acquired to be installed in Bury at Buckley Wells
Crossing. Plans altered and the East Lancs. decided that due to lack of
staff Buckley Wells level crossing would remain a trainman operated set
of gates and the former Crumpsall signal box would be moved to Heywood
station. Well over ten years after acquiring it Crumpsall box is still
in store and with the East Lancs. still labouring over the signal box
at Bury South, which should have been in operation for the Heywood
extension, the prospects for a signal box at Heywood look bleak.]