THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd hysbyseb



A very colourful 150 267 brightens up the cold and windy sea front at Abergele, working the 1V64 10:35 Holyhead-Cardiff on Sunday 22 February 2004. The Unit carries Arriva branding and the URL www.visitwales.co.uk where one can find out how South Wales contributed to the inductrial revolution. Forget the North Wales slate industry and coal mines etc...  it's a lot like watching Welsh TV channels! (Larry Goddard)

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This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.

Edition of 22 February 2004

To the North Wales Coast Railway main page

It looks like 47 750, an EWS loco which spent some time on hire to Virgin Trains and gained VT livery, and for a while also a reinstatement of its original name Atlas, has escaped the cull of EWS 47s for the moment. Shaun Courtnage's picture here shows it awaiting departure from Holyhead with 1K67 12:45 to Crewe on Saturday 21 February. Shaun's website www.sulzerpower.com is the place to look for all the latest developments in the Class 47 world.

Also featured is the much-photographed signal governing departures from platform 4, a British Railways (LMR) standard upper quadrant semaphore with a tubular steeel post. Note the electrical switch in its circular box which operates an indicator in the signalbox, and also the 'back-light-blinder' which swings in front of a small lens on the back of the lamp when the signal is 'pulled-off.'  If a white light can be seen at the back of a semaphore signal, then it is at danger. - 22 February

Incident at Deganwy

Here's a report from Bill Rear: 'My wife and I went to Deganwy to the promenade for a bit of exercise on Sunday 15 February, about 14:30.  The warning lights at the level crossing at the station (Llandudno end) were flashing and there was a build-up of cars in both directions. The barriers were raised but no one was in the signalbox and chaos reigned supreme. Eventually motorists "braved" the hazard and proceeded across the crossing, as did we. After our walk we returned to the car, about 15:30 and the lights were still flashing. No-one was in attendance and there were no cars queuing. However it occurred to me that under such situations, some poor unfortunate would assume there was an electrical/mechanical fault with the crossing and start across, only to get a quick access to our Maker. Who is responsible for the crossing out of hours ?  There was no telephone to contact anyone, and it occurred to me that Network Rail might be held responsible for a mishap.'

Well, we have done a  little research on this, and the first thing that needs to be said is that nobody was in any danger, as the Llandudno branch is completely closed on winter Sundays, no doubt partly due to the need to pay for signalling staff at Deganwy and Llandudno. because Deganwy  controls this crossing, and the new one at Deganwy Quay with its exceptionally long barriers, it cannot be 'switched out' and left unstaffed with its signals at 'clear' while trains are running, although it does have an 'absent switch' which transfers certain indications to Llandudno Junction box.

If, however, for some reason a train did pass signals and approach Deganwy, the crossing lights would flash, but the barriers would drop as there is no safety device to stop them falling on someone's car or head. The track circuits which govern this are, like most railway signalling equipment, 'fail safe' so if a fault occurred, this would also start the flashing lights. This is the most likely explanation of Bill's experience; we understand that there was some sort of 'testing' going on in the area that weekend which might also have had some connection with the events. A simple power failure should not set off the lights, as batteries are provided to back up the circuits. Alternatively, it might have been due to faulty contacts detecting the barrier booms, if 'Up' detection is lost than the road lights will show.

So what should the motorists have done?  Well, we are not completely sure, but probably the best thing would have been for someone to ring the police, who should have attended the scene until the situation could be resolved, as it is an offence to pass such lights when they are showing red. Whether this would be a job for the Transport Police or the ordinary North Wales Traffic Police,  we'd welcome advice from anyone who knows. - 22 February
More nuclear superpower



Direct Rail Services Class 66s made a re-appearance on Friday 20 February's flask train, photographed at Chester by Dave Bramley. The lower picture shows 66 401, 66 402, and their entire train of one wagon.  Thanks to Alastair Graham, and Jim of General Motors Gen, for filling in the details of our picture of a similar train the previous Friday: the locos on that occasion were 66 407 and 66 409.



News for 00-scale modellers is that a new kit is now available for the FNA nuclear flak wagon, filling a gap felt by the disppearance of the model made by Appleby Model Engineering.  The new kit, by Genesis Kits,  is a lead-free pewter casting, which the makers say can be polished to represent the original stainless steel look of these wagons. The kit costs a very reasonable £16 plus postage - more details and ordering info on the Genesis Kits website. If  anyone builds one of these, we'd be interested to hear how you get on. - 22 February
How (not) to operate Crewe station - an observer's view

We mentioned before how the operators of Crewe station seemed to be unequal to the task of handling all the football specials and other trains on Saturday 14 February. Ralph Barrett has written for us a more detailed description of events:

'I arrived at Crewe at 09:45 to "cover" the 10:02 departure to Cardiff via Chester and Wrexham, although I was not planning to travel on this section of this train. As I arrived on platform 6, a Freightliner 86 and 57 arrived with a long train. The Freightliner train blocked platform 6 for the next hour - at a busy time on a Saturday morning, when two extra
loco-hauled train were also due to depart to Cardiff ! Was it really necessary to reverse this Freightliner train in the platform road ? I suspect that the sheer volume of traffic and ensuing chaos delayed the reversal of the train, as it was an hour before the 86 took the Freightliner train presumably into Basford Hall yard ?

'47 750 arrived into platform 12 on the terminating coast working at about 09:50. Stock for the 10:04 to Cardiff arrived in platform 11 from Crewe South carriage shed shortly afterwards. I noted two(!) catering trollies being loaded onto this train. So now all the nominally through 'down' platforms at Crewe were blocked by 'Duffs' - the Freightliner 86 had departed leaving the 57 at the front of the Freightliner train on platform 6. To the south I could see the down ex-Euston 10:27 to Holyhead waiting for a free platform with access to the Chester lines. Time passed. Nothing happened. What price the abandoned through platform on the same island as platform 12? Like much else at Crewe, this platform was 'lost' in the Crewe rationalisation during the Thatcher years.

'Finally the 10:04 to Cardiff departed at about 10:25, thus freeing platform 11 for the down Holyhead. Had the signallers being holding the Cardiff to let the Holyhead Duff go first ? Platforms 12 and 6 were still blocked however. Two down Glasgow trains and a down Liverpool were now awaiting platforms at Crewe. At this time, platforms 1 and 5 were
busy with up trains. Eventually the late running Glasgow trains managed to use platform 5 (87) and platform 1 (voyager) to get through this man-made Crewe bottleneck. Next on platform 11 came a Cardiff to Manchester Oxford Road via Deansgate class 150 (yuk).

'All this time the stock of the 10:18 Crewe to Cardiff was stuck in Crewe South carriage sidings awaiting a platform. Also the 10:28 all stations stopper to Cardiff and Milford Haven was also apparently stuck in  platform 8 due to a succession of trains using platform 11. At about 10:40 the class 153 on platorm 7 was shunted onto the already late 10:28 to Milford Haven, presumably to strengthen the train for the Rugby match. Why didn't the stock of the incoming Milford Haven arrive on platform 7 in the first place - it was scheduled to. This would have made coupling up much quicker and easier.

'The 10:28 to Milford Haven was further held up as the stock of the 10:18 to Cardiff was propelled at walking pace from Crewe South carriage sheds into platform 11. Platforms 12 and 6 were still blocked, as above. Once the 10:18 had arrived in platform 11, the 'bashers' and two more catering trolleys quickly boarded. There was then a mass of activity from the Virgin red-coats to clear the train from platform 11 as soon as possible, as by now there were more up trains waiting to use this platform.

'But the Crewe signallers then let the late running all stations to Milford Haven go first! This was one of the most stupid regulating decisions I have ever witnessed. The whole point of running the loco-hauled trains to Cardiff was to provide extra seats for the rugby supporters further south. If a 3-car sprinter went out first, it would end up totally wedged, and nobody on the loco-hauled special. Doh!

'The 10:18 special then departed with me on board. Ex-Virgin air-conditioned coaches were tidy, but looked very 'second-hand' - then again they looked much the same whilst in VXC service. We then crawled from Crewe to Shrewsbury stopping at every block post on the way, as the Milford Haven sprinter called at all stations in front.

'Letting the Milford Haven out first delayed the fast Cardiff train by an additional 30 minutes by Shrewsbury. But control then (correctly) held the Milford Haven at Shrewsbury to let the 47-hauled fast to Cardiff overtake. Letting the Milford Haven leave Crewe first had not only severely delayed the fast Cardiff, it had also delayed the Milford Haven at Shrewsbury ! Letting the Cardiff leave Crewe first was the correct decision for the Cardiff, the Milford Haven and any other up trains waiting for a through platform at Crewe.

'I bailed out at Shrewsbury to get the (by now) following loco-hauled to Cardiff that had run via Chester. Milford Haven all-stations stopper now followed the 10:18 ex-Crewe towards Cardiff down the Marches line. Followed by a 2-car service 158 for Cardiff, followed by the last Class 47- hauled special train with the Mk2a carriages.

'We stopped at almost every block post to Abergavenny, due to the all-stations stopper in front which was limited to 75mph on account of the 'dogbox' on the front. Nethertheless, I had a very enjoyable ride in an almost empty Mk2A carriage (these trains do not start to fill up until after Hereford). Mk2a carriages were very well kept for their age, and there was excellent service from our two catering trolleys in the guard's van. And as we headed south past the Long Mynd the sun appeared and shone all the way to Cardiff. Plenty of thrash from the Duff too, as we accelerated away from every block section. And plenty of time to study all those nice ex-GWR signals - even lower quadrant distants. And plenty of buzzards sitting on posts - these birds are now very common in this region. The Marches line is really an excellent line with stunning scenery, when the sun is shining.' - 22 February
Crewe - want to try it yourself?



If you have read Ralph's comments above, and wonder if you could cope with the intricacies of Crewe's over-simplified track layout, one way would be to invest in Ashley Greenup's computer simulation of the signaller's VDU screem, reproduced at half size above. It has a built-in timetable with various sources of randomness thrown in, such as trains which don't leave after you have pulled off the signals. Very absorbing.

Ashley also produces driver simulations based on real videos of each line, including one of the North Wales Coast which uses a video from about 1990 featuring passing Speedlink trains and other great things of the past. Go to Ashley's TrainGames website for all this and more. - 22 February



47 750 with the 12.48 Holyhead - Crewe flying through Pensarn and Abergele Station, 19 February. (Colin Meredith)


Evening steam at Llangollen

The Foxcote Manor Society are organising an enthusiast's special with Pannier Tank 6430 and an Autocoach to run on the Llangollen Railway on the evening of Saturday 13 March. Fare is £12 a head.  Details from Neil Evans, 183 Delamere Street Winsford Ches CW2 7LY. - 20 February
Conwy Valley Views - by Larry Goddard

Three scenes from 18 February:



Work in progress adjacent to suspended track at Llanrwst. This same section of embankment was washed out in 1996 after acting as a dam against the flooded River Conwy.


 
Tracks at Betws-y-Coed rusty and out of use temporarily, but there is plenty of activity even in February on the adjacent tramway and miniature steam railway.


 
Llan Ffestiniog, perhaps waiting to be connected to the Conwy Valley passenger service (we can dream), hasn't seen trains pass for around seven years now. Sad. - 20 February
Class 47 Survivors - by John Myers

I've been doing some browsing on the excellent website www.class47.com into past identities of some of the surviving Brush Type 4s, especially following the recent note here that 47 770 was, at one time, the celebrity 47 500 (D1943).

Of this week's five alleged EWS survivors,  two come from amongst the first of the small batch of Western Region ones to receive names in the 1960s.  The former D1660 City of Truro became 47 749 Atlantic College and D1666 Odin is now 47 778 Duke of Edinburgh's Award.  Based on the wealth of information listed on the above site, it amazed me that, in fact, most of the original named batch of D1660-77 have fared quite well, although D1671 was a notably early withdrawal as long ago as 1966!

D1660 City of Truro; still with EWS as 47 749, Atlantic College.
D1661 North Star; still with Porterbrook as 47 840.
D1662 Isambard Kingdom Brunel; recorded still stored at Glasgow having been on the scrap roads at Crewe for a long period. D1662 became 47 484 under TOPS renumbering and kept its name throughout  its remaining life. According to The End of the Line website (www.wnxx.com), the former "IKB" seems to have been stored since
6/98.  Their "small print" in the disposals section offers caution in using the term withdrawal as such in the post-privatisation era.  Either way, however, it seems that the majority of this other pioneer namer still
exists!
D1663 Sir Daniel Gooch; recorded stored for Fragonset at Barrow Hill as 47 628 having been allocated 47 752.
D1664 George Jackson Churchward (later shortened to G.J. Churchward); now 57 009 Freightliner Venturer.
D1665 Titan; a late EWS survivor as 47779.
D1666 Odin; still with EWS as 47 778, Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
D1667 Atlas; still an EWS survivor at the time of writing, as 47 750.
D1672 Colossus; a late EWS survivor as 47 767.
D1673 Cyclops; recorded as being still at Wigan CDRC as 47 624 having been allocated 47 748.
D1674 Samson; a late EWS survivor as 47 781.
D1676 Vulcan; still with Porterbrook as 47 843.
D1677 Thor (II); now VT Thunderbird 57 308 Tin Tin having been converted from 47 846.  Name transferred from D1671 to D1677 in August 1966 (see below).

Non-survivors:
D1668/47 083 Orion; scrapped as unnamed 47 633 in 1994.  Withdrawn from Crewe 1991.
D1669/47 084 Python, scrapped as unnamed 47 538 in 1997 (de-named when renumbered 47084 in 1973). Withdrawn from Crewe 1993.
D1670/47 085 Mammoth, scrapped as 47 085 Repta in 1999. (Was Conidae 1988-91). Withdrawn from Bescot in 1998.
D1671 Thor, scrapped as D1671 in 1966 after Bridgend collision/derailment, 1965.  Withdrawn from Cardiff Canton in 1966.
D1675 / 47 089 Amazon, scrapped as 47 089 in 1989 after Chinley collision/derailment, 1987. Withdrawn from Bristol Bath Road in 1987.

Without checking, I think 47 538 (D1669) and 47 633 (D1668) were fairly regular performers along the coast when allocated to Crewe.  The damaged 47089 (D1675) was recorded as being present for the Crewe Works Open Day on 4.7.87, presumably being assessed as to suitability for the repairs that weren't, in the end, carried out. Another interesting coincidence is that EWS survivor 47 776 Respected was the numerically similar D1776 when built, having borne earlier TOPS numbers 47 181 and 47 578.  It was named The Royal Society of Edinburgh before gaining its current identity. - 20 February

18 February - more trials and tribulations
 
Readers will have nitice a lot of problems reported with the old loco-hauled trains recently, and not a lot of mentions of the new Class 175 units. Well, let's take a look at the situation with Arriva Trains Wales share of the 175 fleet on the morning of 18 February.
 
07:07 Chester - Bangor Cancelled, no unit
07:27 Chester-Manchester Piccadilly Cancelled, no unit (later reinstated 25 late using 07:44 Crewe unit)
07:44 Chester-Crewe Cancelled, no unit
08:19 Crewe-Bangor Cancelled Crewe to Chester, restarted 77 minutes late using a First North Western 156.
08:38 Bangor-Manchester Piccadilly Cancelled Bangor-Llandudno Junction, restarted there using the single-car153 which would normally have been used in the Conwy Valley.
08:52 Holyhead-Crewe Cancelled Holyhead - Chester, restarted using a Ginsters-liveried 158 from Shrewsbury.
 
The handful of 175s left working the Coast seemed to be receiving fitters' attention almost every pass through Chester they made. The 07:07 to Bangor, 07:27 to Manchester  and 07:44 to Crewe have all been hit by unit shortages cancellation / heavy delay earlier in the week as well. The 153 diagram took it up and down the Coast and reportedly also off to Manchester Piccadilly to work back on the busy 16:17 Manchester-Llandudno. The FNW 156 also failed at Piccadilly, resulting in the 13:17 Manchester - Llandudno being cancelled throughout, eventually to bestarted at Chester using a FNW 142.

A couple of weeks ago, we were being told by sources within FNW that Class 175 availablilty was improving, to the extent that Arriva would be able to withdraw one of their two Class 47 diagrams. What's happening here? Are Trans Pennine and First North Western getting the pick of the best units, or are they also suffering?

Here's a passengers view of the day kindly written for us by John Evans: 'There seemed to be a distinct lack of 175s. The 08:18 Crewe - Bangor was cancelled from Crewe and was advertised as starting Chester. In fact the 08:18 Manchester- Llanduno, which was itself running 25 minutes late arrived, and the leading 156 departed Chester at 09.53, running non-stop to Llandudno Junction. Although it had been announced as running to Bangor, it was in fact diverted to Llandudno.

'I then caught the rail replacement to Blaenau, a Clynnog and Trefor Coach. This left some 10 minutes late as it had brought the passengers from Llandudno, as the train had been used for another service. An Arriva conductor was present - apparently last week the coach had been very busy as word had spread that it was free! Due to the roadworks beyond Betws two coaches are needed, and we passed an Alpine coach returning. I caught the Ffestiniog Railway train with two minutes to spare.

'On my return I caught 47 792 Robin Hood from Bangor to Holyhead. and the 18:22 to Birmingham. The loco kept very good time until after Stafford, where we came to a stand with the engine shut down at Four Ashes. The driver restarted, but we only moved a few yards before shutting down again. Several attempts were made to restart, but the engine kept shutting down. Eventually at 22:20 66 053 arrived from Bescot and coupled to the front, but there was then a problem with the brakes. The guard eventually realised that the air was leaking from the rear coach, and we were finally under way at 22:50 in a very cold train. We then had quick run via Bescot reaching Birmingham at about 23:40 with the train leaving at once for Holyhead.'



47 792 Robin Hood was, we believe, working the Coast passenger traffic for the first time since the 47s returned. Note the colour-clashing red nameplate, as seen at Crewe, above, by Rowan Crawshaw...



... at Chester, by Dave Bramley ...



... at Abergele (picture by Colin Meredith) ...



... and at Bangor (Rowan Crawshaw)



The 'footex' from Crewe to Cardiff via Chester was handled by Freightliner (ex-Virgin) loco 47 848 Newton Abbot Festival of Transport instead of the planned  two class 37/0s  because the heating generator heating van was 'broken'; the rake of coaches was the same used to Cardiff the previous Saturday, 'load 6' in Virgin and Intercity livery. Picture above by Rowan Crawshaw.
 


A rarely-photographed train, 56 059 on the early morning Mostyn-Healey Mills steel empties. (Dave Bramley)
 


153 310 which has cream doors, but only on one side. They seem to be vinyls applied over the FNW blue & gold, giving a very odd appearance. (Dave Bramley) - 20 February

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