THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
43 098 calls at Bangor with the 1A77 13:41 Holyhead - London on
7 May. Picture by Rowan Crawshaw
This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and
supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 10 May 2004
The Dee Valley
Growler
The timetable below is for the Llangollen
Railway on Sunday, 16
May. The Growler
Group has chartered 37 240 and coaches for the day, and non-members
of the Group are welcome to turn up on the day and pay £20 for a
day's diesel-hauled travel. (Normal fares apply on the steam trains.)
Loco 37240 37240 Steam 37240 Steam 37240 Steam 37240 37240 37240
Llangollen 0900 1035 1100 1210 1300 1410 1500 1610 1750 1915
Goods Junc a 1213 1413 1613
d 1220 1420 1620
Berwyn 1109 1309 1509
Glyndyfrdwy a 1124 1324 1524
d 1131 1331 1531
Carrog 0927 1102 1137 1244 1337 1444 1537 1644 1817 1942
Loco 37240 37240 Steam 37240 Steam 37240 Steam 37240 37240 37240
Carrog 0940 1115 1150 1314 1350 1514 1550 1700 1830 1955
Glyndyfrdwy a 1121 1320 1520
d 1126 1326 1526
Berwyn 1212 1412 1612
Goods Junc a 1217 1417 1617
d 1220 1420 1620
Llangollen 1015 1146 1223 1346 1423 1546 1623 1735 1900 2025
Thanks to Ivor Bufton for the information. - 10 May
Llandulas then and now -
by Larry Goddard
Having dusted down the camera and been drawn trackside by the prospect
of decent weather, the procession of striped doodlebug 175s leaves one
nostalgic for previous years. Direct Rail Services Class 37 No. 37
608 and an unidentified Class 20 make a welcome change heading a
solitary wagonload through Llandulas on 7 May 2004.
At this same location on Saturday 24 May 1980 (for some a lifetime
ago), I photographed 2 Class 25s, 5 Class 47s and 8 Class 40s,
all bar one on passenger workings. This was 40 138 working back
to Chester with ECS. It had worked the 07:52 Leeds-Llandudno earlier
that day. - 10 May
Chester Tram No. 4 to be
saved
 |
Our recent item about the remnants of Chester
tram no. 4 in danger of destruction at Tal-y-Cafn (where railway
preservationists are losing out to property development) has
borne fruit, thanks to our contributor John Murray who has organised a
rescue plan with the help of the local media and the Merseyside
Tramway Preservation Society (MTPS).
Anne Murray's picture (left) shows John (right) and Nick Jones posing
with the valuable relic.
The plan is that a working party from MTPS will go to Tal-y-Cafn on
15th
May and will recover the parts. The main bulkhead and doors,
which are
largely intact, are planned to be restored for static display in the
Wirral Transport Museum in Taylor Street, Birkenhead. The seats and
other
parts of Chester 4 are expected to be used by the MTPS in the
restoration of
their Warrington car number 2, built in 1902. Any remaining parts
and
the wood framing, will be used in the construction of the body of
Chester car
19, a 1/3 size replica of a 1920's 3'6" gauge single deck car.
This replica is to become Chester car 19 (following on in sequence from
the 18 original Chester cars). John has researched the history of
Chester Tramways, with the help of Heritage and History and Chester
City Transport, both of whom were extremely helpful.
|
In March 1928, Chester City Council considered a report to modernise
and extend the tramway, much of which was time expired. The open
double deck cars were dated and offered outside passengers and crew no
protection from
the elements. The Ministry of Transport refused permission for
Chester Corporation Tramways to operate closed top double deckers due
to concerns about their stability on the narrow gauge track and in
particular about cars being blown over by high winds on the Grosvenor
bridge. Therefore the committee considered the replacement of the
fleet by longer, fully enclosed, single deck trams, mounted on pivoted
bogie trucks which would allow them to negotiate tight corners in the
city centre. Extensions were also considered for the Tarvin Road
line to Green Lane, the Christleton Road line extended to Filkin's
Lane. New lines might have run from Chester Station, to Hoole via
Brook Street and Hoole Road and from Eastgate Street along Northgate
Street and Liverpool Road to Upton and a loop line linking Chester
Station, the Town Hall and Northgate Railway Station (now the site of
Northgate Arena)
Members of the Tramways Committee visited a number of towns and cities
in the North West where such trams were operating and the English
Electric factory in Preston where they were built. Unfortunately, after
considering the report, the City Council decided against replacing the
tram fleet and decided to substitute motor buses. This was the final
death knell for the tramways, the last tram running at 4.30pm on 15
February 1930. Chester Car 19 is based on what would have been if the
City Council had instead decided to modernise the tramway. It is
based on a 3'6" gauge single deck car built by English Electric in the
late 1920s and early 1930s. The replica is 1/3 of actual size,
measuring, 2'2" wide by 10' long and weighs just under ½
ton. It is powered by four 200w electric motors with electricity
been provided by a pair of 24 volt marine batteries located under the
seats.
Work started in autumn 1998 and continued until summer 1999, when
overseas work commitments caused a temporary pause. Work
restarted in 2002. The tram is now mechanically complete, with
chassis, motors, brakes and controllers. The next stage is to
build a single deck body, part of which will be recovered from Chester
car 4. Temporary seats have been fitted to allow the tram to be
tested on the Grosvenor
Park Miniature Railway where it has performed admirably. It
will happily carry up to 5 adults, or 8 children, and also capable of
hauling a similar size trailer. - 10 May
A visit to the Railway
Age, Crewe - by Stephen Parascandolo
I'd like to remind readers about the excellent Railway Age centre
in Crewe. £4.50 gets you entry to probably the best railway
museum in the country (if its signalling you're after). Crewe North
Junction box gives great views of the railway: the picture shows 175
006 arriving from the North Wales coast route. It also houses a
very hands on display of signalling including many levers to pull,
signals, locking and relays to watch, block instruments and bells
connected to a model railway that reacts to
your signals and much more.
The original 1940-built Relay Room and Minature Electric lever frame is
present (above) and when I was there the volunteers were delighted to
explain it all and give demonstrations. My colleague's face on seeing a
rotary style Train Describer was quite something, him being more used
to writing the data for modern computer based systems.
The highlight, for me though, was finding "Exeter West" box open. The
box has been perfectly recreated, complete with timetable, block
instruments, 130 lever mechanical frame with simulated weights for
heavy levers, whistle signals from trains, telephones to the platform
staff and a train register. A man in a caravan oposite works the other
end of the block bells and 'occupies' the track sections. For a Bank
Holiday, the centre was suprisingly quiet and the signalman at Exeter
West let the two of us work the box for a couple of hours under his
supervision and direction. (That's me in the picture sending 'call
attention.') This gem really needs some more visitors I think - more
people need to know about it!
For more information see the Exeter
West Group's website and the Railway Age site.
- 10 May
Walking over Cwm Prysor
Referring to our articles about the Bala - Blaenau Ffestiniog line,
Steve Williams of North Carolina sends these pictures taken in April
2003 when Steve and his son Andrew
walked the route from Ffestiniog to Bala in two days. This picture
shows Maentwrog Halt.
Sheltering from the rain east of Llafar Halt. The trackbed is
not a public footpath, but does appear to used as a path.
The line rises above the valley on the approach to Cwm Prysor.
Approaching the viaduct.
The viaduct from the west...
... and looking back across the wild valley. - 10 May