THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
47 826 Springburn substitutes for an HST again, seen at
Rhyl on the morning of 22 March. (John Myers)
This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and
supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 23 March 2004
Class
31s - what
happened?
Keith Sharp writes: ' I was waiting in lashing rain on 22 March
to see the 15:49 Chester - Blackpool 31s near Mickle Trafford - the
rain was so bad it was no use thinking of a picture but I was surprised
when instead of taking the CLC line towards Mouldsworth Junction they
blasted past heading for Helsby and Warrington; I couldn't see if there
was anyone on the train - or since it wasn't on its proper route
whether it was running ECS, but I wonder what happened at Manchester?
did it reverse in platform 13 / 14?' - 22 March
The EWS Class 47s, soon to disappear from the Coast we are told,
are understandably in everyone's viewfinder at the moment. Here's
a fine portrait by John Lewis of 47 732 Restormel
pulling the 12:48 to Crewe up the bank out of Holyhead on Saturday 19
March.
Windy Saturday 20 March
43 094 waits at a signal to enter Holyhead on 20 March. Saturday
20 March saw wind-related line blockages all over the place, including
as one time or another the main lines from the north into London
Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras. Passengers from the West Coast main
line were being advised to travel via Bristol Parkway to reach London
Paddington. Chester station was closed for a while: it is reported that
'the station roof at Chester parted company with the contractors'
ladders, after they took a trip across the track to the other side of
the station!'
Those of us who ventured to the Nottingham Model Railway Exhibition by
rail experienced some difficulties thanks to the combination of the
effects of the wind on electrified and crowds of football supporters
packing the trains. Nick Gurney, of Dyserth Road
fame and one of this sites first-ever contributors, reports that it
took him seven hours to get back from Nottingham to Rhyl
... - 21 March
More about Cwm Prysor
Thanks to everyone who has written in with kind words about our Cwm
Prysor special (last Notice
Board.) Dave Sallery reminds us that on his Conwy Valley site there are a
dozen recent photos (inclusing the one above) of the Trawsfynydd - Bala
section, and a general
history of the line; also some very interesting consists and timetables
for troop trains to Traws in the 1920s. Dave also informs us that is
possible to have a virtual drive on the line using Microsoft
Train Simulator: the free download (quite large) is at www.uktrainsim.com.
Ian Bowland writes: 'I remember stopping off at Bala on a return
school
trip from Aberystwyth and seem to remember a Dukedog and a small shed
somewhere near where the trackbed now runs under the Bala-Corwen road.
I went to see it a few years ago after visiting the Llangollen Railway
and there is a signal and commemorative plate on the site.I
photographed it for
my website.'
Robert Darlaston, who took the old pictures, adds: 'I wish I had
taken more - but films cost me two weeks' pocket money in those school
days!' - 21 March
Windy Friday, 19 March
Friday 19 March began with the HST turn from Holyhead loco-hauled by 47
826 Springburn with a back-to-front DVT set, this due to a
HST 'failure' the previous night. Dave Bramley's picture shows
the train at Chester. We have heard on the grapevine that the guard on
the 19:05 from Euston on Thursday 18 March refused to take the train
because he had previously been told that the set of carriages involved
(set VW43) was off-lease and no longer part of the Virgin fleet. The
Service Delivery Centre as a result used a loco-hauled set and used to
HST as the 19:55 to Manchester to get it to Longsight depot. These
Virgin stories seem increasingly bizarre: the ' fly infestation'
mentioned in an earlier report is said to be fruit flies; the on
board staff apparently claim that they experience a number of
unexplained itches after working in 'scabby' HST buffet cars...
The day was disrupted by the weather; strong winds blowing along
the Coast brought a tree down on the line somewhere between Llandudno
Junction and Colwyn Bay on the up line. Single line working was
introduced for two hours whilst it was removed, resulting in delayed
trains from North Wales to Crewe and Manchester. Peter Roberts'
picture above shows 47 732 Restormel at Llandudno
Junction.
Further East, an additional steel train ran from Healey Mills to Mostyn
Docks powered by 37 109. It ran as 6Z84 08:00 Healey Mills -
Mostyn and 6Z51 13:00 return empties to the same place. Dave Bramley's
picture above shows the loaded train rolling through Chester.
Here's an interesting view shot with detail for modellers of how the
bogie bolster wagons are loaded: a rare view as it is usually pitch
black when the loaded train passes through Chester at 04:00.
The train returns empty, passing 47 776 Respected
waiting for the road on the way to reverse its Chester - Manchester
empty stock train on the triangle west of the station. Picture by Dave
Bramley - 21 March
New website to visit
An interesting new website
devoted to North West Railways is under construction by Duncan
Anderson and Daniel Parkinson, of Chetham's School of Music
in Manchester. They are very keen to get some photographic
contributions, and invite anyone who is willing to contribute to get in
touch with them via their site. - 21 March
Looking ahead
Arriva Trains Wales have put their proposed Monday
- Friday timetables for the December 2005
timetable change on their website in PDF format, presumably because
this is all part of their franchise promise. Described as a 'standard
pattern' the westbound turns are based on clockface
departures xx.17 Manchester - Llandudno every hour, xx.06
Crewe - Holyhead every two hours (Chester depart xx.27). Shuttles run
xx.36 Crewe - Chester every hour plus xx.06 when there is no through
train from Crewe to Holyhead.. The gaps in the Crewe - Holyhead service
are filled by the new concept of two-hourly service to Holyhead from
the Wrexham line, reversing at Chester where it departs at xx.27. These
services are largely aimed at the Cardiff market, and all call there,
although some of them start back from places such as Bristol and
Plymouth. 1V79, 08:48 from Holyhead, presumably class 158-worked, is to
run through to Penzance, arriving at 19:28!
The clockface idea is admirable - some extras off the pattern do
survive, such as the 10:03 Manchester - Holyhead and the 17:43
Manchester - Chester, but the handy ability to remember times is very
useful indeed. It doesn't work so well with two-hourly services,
however, as it's not so easy to remember which hours. And the Conwy
Valley line is not amenable to a clockface service, so connections
there are likely to rather random, and no effort has been made to
re-instate an evening peak train out of Llandudno, or indeed to improve
this service at all. The service to the small stations west of
Llandudno Junction is messy, too: surely if fixed clockface times are
needed, all trains might as well serve all the request stops?
However, there is no doubt that the most controversial aspect of this
timetable is going to be the accent on
service to Cardiff at the expense of direct services to Crewe, and
Birmingham which only retains the night train. Clearly, this is a
political decision based on providing access to the capital of Wales,
but, apart from politicians, is this where North Wales coast people
want to go? Comments are welcome - certainly the fact that the Cardiff
trains call at
Wrexham is useful, but running through to Plymouth and Penzance is
surely just an operating convenience. We have to remember that we are
also promised a two-hourly Virgin service between the Coast line and
London. - 21 March
Enter the Duke
The preserved BR standard pacific 71000 Duke of Gloucester
travelled from the East Lancashire Railway to Crewe where repainting
work is to be undertaken at the Bombardier works.
Paul Braddock's picture shows 71000 on its way along the Heywood
section of the East Lancashire railway towards the Network Rail
connection. Which gives us a chance to divert briefly give you some
clarification
about the way this link is signalled, folllwing on from our articles
back in January. David Ingham writes: '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.'
Anyway, back to Duke of Gloucester. It was 'hauled in steam' by 66
119 from Castleton to Crewe where Dave Batt's picture above was
taken. Originally it was intended to undertake a loaded test run along
the
North Wales line but Adrian Meakin of the 71000 group tells us
that
this will now be
unlikely. There will be a light test run followed by a loaded test run
but details have not been finalised at present as
which routes will be used. The owners are hopeful that the test runs
will
take place around the end of April, to ensure the loco is OK for the
charter trains over Shap planned for 1 and 3 May.
Another angle at Crewe, by Ian Bowland. Ian writes: 'There was
no doubt about which engine was doing the work - the three-cylinder
arrangement could be heard quite clearly. Wonderful to see the Duke
back on the rails as those who saw it at Barry will appreciate.'
The history of this loco is indeed a fascinating one. The largest
passenger loco in the BR standard range was the 'Britannia' pacific,
rated in the '7P' power range, but the design team clearly had ideas of
grandeur. When ex-LMS 8P pacific 42602 Princess Anne
was destroyed in the dreadful Harrow accident of 1952, they managed to
get permission to build an 8P pacific of their own design to replace
it, and the unique 71000 was the result, built at Crewe works and
entering traffic in 1954. After just a few years work, it was withdrawn
and sent to Barry scrapyard, except for one cylinder and its associated
Caprotti valve gear, which became an exhibit at the Science Museum in
London.
The loco stayed at Barry rusting until 1973 when a group was formed
with a view to restoring it to traffic, and after muich affort this was
achieved, the loco running again for the first time in 1986. Ten years
later, it was in need of overhaul, and with the help of a Heritage
Lottery Fund grant of £233,800 this work is nearing completion.
The opportunity has been taken to make a jumber of improvements to the
loco. For further reading, there's
a website recounting the full history, and the official
website of the 71000
Trust.
If you would like to ride behind 71000 and supporting the Railway
Children charity at the same time, have a look at Past
Time Rail's page.- 21 March
Rhyl departure - by John
Myers
Now that we have daylight (and even sunshine) at that time of day, I
thought you'd maybe like to see this short sequence showing 47 732
Restormel making the Rhyl stop and then departing at 07:15 for
Manchester on 15 March.
