THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
The 09:51 Holyhead-Crewe formed of 175 106 departs Rhyl,
right time at 11:03 on 7 April. Against the substantial station
buildings, with the distant hills as backdrop and bathed in sunshine,
the unit makes a fairly attractive sight even if it doesn't have a
locomotive on the front..... (John Myers)
This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and
supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 14 April 2004
Cambrian news -
by
Trevor Roberts
On Good Friday 9 April at 23:30, 2 Class 37s with 10
loaded JHA ballast hopper wagons went through Barmouth to Pwllheli,
returning at 04:00. The loco's were 37 667 and 37 669.
They seem to have opened up their 'revs' on leaving Barmouth northwards
and left behind a number of complaints of houses near the trackbed
being the subject of vibrations. (Although no one seemed to have heard
the train returning at 04:05 as I never heard of any complaints then,
mind you when this heavy train has passed before in both directions
always in the early hours of the morning no one with the exception of
myself seems to be awake.) Sorry no picture but it was of course
pitch black at both times ... and yes I was awake when it returned!
Again we wonder, if two locos and a heavy ballast train can cross the
Bridge, why not the occasional passenger charter?
12 April produced another colour scheme for the Cambrian line and a new
number. The 07:52 from Barmouth to Machynlleth produced 158
818 in what seems to be a new variation on Arriva livery with a
'swoop' perhaps intended to echo the shape seen on Arriva buses. The
unit is seen departing from Barmouth. Meanwhile, David Peters
writes to tell us that several of the green ex-Central trains units
normall associated with the Cambrian lines have recently been seen
working on Manchester - Cardiff. services. - 14 April
Pendolino news
A very quick response from Dave Skipsey to our appeal
for a picture of 390
042 City of Bangor. Probably working the 14:10 London Euston -
Liverpool Lime Street, the unit is seen on 29 March at Rugby. - 14
April
Easter in Rhyl - with John Myers
A seven-vehicle Network Rail rail grinding train stayed in one of the
engineering sidings at Rhyl for most of the Eester weekend; it was
powered up and being worked upon both on Good Friday and the following
day. It remained in position on Easter Sunday so, unless it was
seen in between nocturnal sorties, I'm uncertain as to the reason for
its presence.
Working what appeared to be the late-running 10:42 Llandudno-Manchester
on Saturday 10 April, 175 112 was seen to pull up at the
eastern end of Rhyl's Platform 1 - when a door on the leading vehicle
opened an then closed again - before the unit continued its
journey shortly after 11:18.
First North Western 158 753 arrived shortly afterwards with
what may have been1D65, the late-running 10:21 Crewe - Holyhead, a
working which, only two weeks previously, had been entrusted to
EWS-liveried 47 792 Robin Hood, or perhaps more likely
the 09:55 Manchester - Holyhead which is 'booked' for a First North
Western unit.
Running on time, 1D87, the 10:23 Virgin West Coast Crewe-Holyhead
service, followed, with Power Cars 43 094 and 43 097
providing the traction.
The Rhyl
Marine Lake Miniature Railway continues to
provide us with locomotive-hauled passenger trains along the coast and,
during Sunday afternoon 11 April, the veteran Cagney 4-4-0 No. 44
was in steam and pulling a two-coach train around the lake for the
pleasure of locals and visitors alike.
No. 44 has an interesting history: believed to have been built in the
Cagney brothers' Jersey City workshops near New York about 1910, it was
brought to the UK (in a dismantled state) in 1999, and entered service
on the RMR in 2003. The railway has now obtained plannoing permission
for a new station building and museum: details of this very worthwhile
project are on the railway's
website. - 12 April
Rail grinding down the
Coast
Dave Sallery's picture taken at Rhyl on 8 April shows the cab unit
of the Loram
Rail Grinding Train. There are three of these Loram trains, built in
Minnesota, USA, in the UK at present, C2101 (vehicles DR
79231 - 7), C2102 (DR 59241 -7) and C2103 (DR 79251 -7). The first
train had been designed specifically to fit the UK structure gauge, but
Railtrack declined to buy it ... until the Hatfield derailment
and all the panic about 'gauge corner cracking' or rails which experts
said could be alleviated by grinding the rail surface to remove the
cracks while they were still very small. Back in BR days there was
some rail grinding, mostly done by a single train and crew which
visited Britain from Europe, and grinding seems to have be seen mostly
as a way to remove small corrugations from the rail head which created
unnecessary noise.
Railtrack had given up even on this, but now, grinding is
suddenly in fashion again, and machine has been brought in from all
over. C2101, the first Lorman machine and very one which has spent
Easter at Rhyl, had been found work on US routes, but with the
help of Interfleet
Technology of Derby it was modified back
to UK status and shipped across the Atlantic. Two sister trains have
since been procured from Loram. To quote from a Thessis
written by Todd Whitman of Minnesota: 'The world's leading
railroad maintenance organization, Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc., has
developed the C21 Rail Grinder, a multiple car train outfitted with a
number of large grinding stones capable of cutting iron. Each of these
stones has three axes of motion and can be set from the cab of the
train to form grinding patterns. A laser imaging system on the front of
the C21 obtains a cross-sectional view of the rail and displays the
image on the computer inside the cab. The goal of the C21's operator is
to determine the proper grinding patterns and train speeds that will
mold the rail head into an ideal shape. Loram currently owns several
C21 Rail Grinders operating on four continents.'
The excellent website On
Track Plant has details and pictures of this and other grinding
trains, and is the place to go for information about all yellow beasts.
The pictures there show that the train has been repainted at some stage
from Railtrack yellow to Network Rail Yellow, losing the red stripes
along the sides that it originally carries. What the train has been
doing at Rhyl is not clear, perhaps the sidings there were seen as a
handy base for its crew to carry out repairs. Any elucidation would be
very welcome.
Oddly, this is the second
rail grinding train to visit the North Wales coast in a couple of
weeks, as witness this report by Gwyn Williams: 'Sunday March
28: There was a
fine-looking
monster slumbering in the sidings at Llandudno Junction this morning.
It was a three-unit engineering train of some kind, with a driving-cab
and headlamp at each end. Each unit was about two-thirds the length of
the Class 153 standing nearby. Their numbers were: DR79200-B :
DR79200-C : DR79200-A. Their uppers were yellow-orange in colour,
lowers black, all very weathered. The two outer units had heavy skirts
hanging down to track-level, while the centre unit had 'SERCO' in large
lettering on its side.' This is a Schweerbau (UK) SPML15 Rail
Grinder, a German-made 'Schienenschleifzug' with mch the same
function as the Loram train. Machines by Speno of Geneva and Plasser
& Theurer of Austria are also now active in the UK.
Thanks also for help with item to Colin Meredith and Bill
Rear. - 12 March
67 028 with the driver-training special passes Phyl, 7
April (John Myers)
Off the grapevine
We have heard from several sources that we can expect an announcement
before 16 April of the award of the Northern rail franchise. This new
train operating company is a merger of the parts of First North Western
which remain after the amputation of the North Wales lines and the
long-distance routes which have become TransPennine Express. The list
of prospective operators has been whittled down by the Strategic Rail
Authority to just two, namely FirstGroup (as in First North Western)
and the Serco / Netherlands Railways consortium (current incumbents of
the Merseyrail network.) The franhcise begins in September 2004
and 'It will be of up to eight and three quarter years' duration - the
final two years dependent on achieving performance targets' says
the SRA
press release.
Many people are very concerned about the future of these local lines,
whoever wins the bid, as the SRA appears now to be handing out
contracts to the one who bids the lowest subsidy, and few believe that
there are many more productivity gains left to be achieved short of
reducing staff and/or services. If First win, it will re-unite services
in Northern England, as the Trans Pennine franchise is already theirs,
this making a nonsense of the SRA's strategy of splitting them up into
two, but it is doubtful whether such logical considerations will
influence the choice.
Over to the question of Virgin's future North Wales service. Railway
Magazine, in its May 2004 issue, seems convinced that Pendolinos to
Holyhead are now back on the agenda, Network Rail having assured Virgin
that the necessary work can be carried out before September. The Daily
Post has a similar story. Time will tell ... does anyone have any
more detail? Meanwhile, over at RAIL magazine there's a
suggestion that Midland Mainline will not need all the 9-car 'Meridian'
Voyager-based trains they have ordered, as the SRA has vetoed one of
the services for which they were intended. There is a hint that
they could be used North Wales Virgin services as they are
nine-car, but the magazine comments that without tilt there could be
pathing issues on the West Coast Main Line. Alternatively, suggests the
mag, they could be split to strengthen the Cross-Country fleet,
releasing 221s for north Wales.
Pendolino 390 042 City of Bangor is reported to entered
traffic. I i seems surprising that none of the local press
(especially around Bangor) have picked up on this as other City namings
tend to boost the civic pride and attract the appropriate
publicity. It is, however, rumoured that glitzy naming ceremonies
have now been banned by the SRA's accountants who are now calling the
shots at Virgin. A picture of the unit would be welcome... - 12 April
Chester tram relics at
risk
Readers will recall reading here of the impending closure of the
preservation site at site at Tal-y-Cafn on the Conwy Valley branch, due
to that site being sold by the landlords. Some of the equipment there
is destined for the new Dolgarrog Railway project, but there are also
items on site owned by individuals not connected with the Dolgarrog
group. In this category are the remains of the body of a Chester tram,
No.4. Not much remains of the tram, one platform is currently
part-assembled inside a shed, with the front dash (the curved bit with
the headlight and
the number), the platform floor, grab pole, the front bulkhead with
sliding doors, and part of one side. Many other 'parts' are
scattered around the site though they may be difficult to
identify. However the site is being cleared very soon and these
remains are likely to end up on the bonfire: already some ex-Llandudno
and Colwyn Bay tram track and pointwork has had to be sold for
scrap. Anyone who wants these parts should take action very soon:
more information can be got by emailing chester4@bodnet.com. - 12
April
Adopt a station
Arriva Trains Wales has now launched its 'Adopt a Station
Initiative' to help improve links with local communities and customers
living near our unstaffed railway stations. The project is aimed at
improving the unstaffed stations and encouraging regular feedback about
the station buildings and facilities to help ensure they meet the high
standards expected by our customers. Arriva are are currently seeking
volunteers who are interested in the welfare of their local train
station and would like to take an active role in
keeping the company up to date about any issues at the adopted stations.
Volunteers are referred to as 'station adopters' and report on matters
such as litter, graffiti, vandalism, lighting, other equipment, and
information posters. Adoption involves no financial commitments on
behalf of the adopter. The only criteria is [sic] that adopters
are willing to fill in
regular survey forms to help keep ATW informed of how well
station facilities are meeting customers' needs. Other adoption
activity could include enhancing the appearance of stations such
as giving attention to flower displays, etc. In return,
station adopters will receive £60 of complimentary travel
vouchers to use on any part of the National Rail Network.
Contact Arriva Trains Wales, Telephone: 0845 6061 660 Email: customer.services@arrivatrainswales.co.uk
Although not stated in the blurb quoted above, the Website
seems to imply that only unstaffed stations
are eligible for adoption, and of those in North Wales, Deganwy,
Dolwyddelen [shouldn't this be Dolwyddelan? Perhaps the adopter
can start by sorting that out] , Glan Conwy, Llanfairfechan,
Pont-Y-Pant have 'already gone.' - 12 April