THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and
supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 28 August 2004
Class 47 Week
The last weeks of summer 2004 have been quite remarkable for the
variety of both old and new trains to be seen on the North Wales Coast
line. While new trains have been making test runs, both Virgin and
Arriva have found themselves using Class 47 locomotives, now almost 40
years old, in passenger service. Needless to say, our
contributors have been sending pictures galore of these machines,
several of which wear 'heritage' liveries restored a couple of years
ago by Virgin. Here we go with as many as we can fit into a special
tribute page....
Staring on Saturday morning 21 August, 47 851 / D1648 Traction
Magazine is preparing to leave Crewe with
the 08:00 London-Holyhead. (Ian Bowland)
47 853 Rail Express leaving Crewe 40 minutes late on the
same day with the 11:30 Arriva Trains Wales service to Holyhead.
The train arrived as the 08:54 from Holyhead running 55 minutes late. (Ian
Bowland)
Added to the mix on this day was "The Dereham Cheshireman" a
charter from East Anglia to Chester. Great Western liveried 47 832
(now owned by Fragonset) was at the head of the train leaving Crewe (Ian
Bowland) ...
... and Fragonset loco 47 703 Hermes on the rear. The
train started its ourney at Dereham on the preserved Mid-Norfolk
branch.
Mark Atkinson was at Chester to witness the arrival of 47 853
and its train. This Arriva Holyhead - Crewe diagram works on Saturdays
only, the 47 being used on a Manchester turn Mondays - Fridays.
Mark's telephoto view of the NENTA (North East Norfolk Touring
Association) charter rolling into Chester.
The train shunts out of the station after setting down its passengers.
Notice that the loco still has its First Great Western 'fag packet'
gold lines even though the FGW locos have been removed. (Mark
Atkinson)
Later in the day, 47 853 and train rest in Platform 4 at Holyhead. The
livery is a replica of that carried by this loco to haul the XP64
experimental train in the early 1960s, the first appearance of the
'double arrow' symbol. See the project XP64 website
for more about this.
The Arriva loco does not run on Sundays, but here is 47 851 preparing
to depart Holyhead with the 16:10 to London ...
.. and pulling out of Holyhead. Pictures by John Lewis.
So far, all the revived Arriva Trains Wales loco-hauled trains to and
from Manchester have been hauled by Riviera Trains loco 47 853 Rail
Express, seen starting out of Holyhead in Aaron Taylor's
picture from Monday 23 August.
Tuesday 24 August, and 47 826 Springburn arrives at
Bangor with the 1A77 13:23 Holyhead - London.
47 853 calls at Bangor with the 1H52 13:39 Holyhead - Manchester on the
same day. Pictures by Rowan Crawshaw.
47 853 standing at Manchester Picadilly on arrival, Wednesday 25
August. Picture by Craig Allan - see his Northern
Railways website for more.
47 816 has the passengers' attention as it brings 1A49, the 09:20
Holyhead - London, into Bangor on Wednesday 25 August. (Alan
Crawshaw)
Thursday 26 August, and Darryl Thomas was on hand at Shotton to
capure all three of the 47s on duty. 47 851 worked 1A49 towards
London ...
... 47 853 the Manchester - Holyhead ....
... and 47 816 the London - Holyhead. It rumoured that the two GW green
Virgin locos, 47 816 and 47 830, will be withdrawn from service at the
end of the summer timetable.
Approaching Holyhead at Lunchtime (Greg Mape)
Also on 26 August 47 816 speeds back through Llanfairfechan station at
14:35 with the late-running 13:35 Holyhead - Euston (Larry
Goddard.)
ex-Class 47 57 301 Scott Tracy was out and about again
on 26 August with another Pendolino haulage test. It is seen, with 390
049 running through Penmaenbach on the outward run.
And the 'shiny stuff' heads back to England through Bangor. Picture by Alan
Crawshaw.
47 810 Porterbrook, arrives at Bangor with the 1D87
08:40 London - Holyhead on 27 August. This seems to have been the only
47 seen in the whole week which was wearing the 'correct' livery for
its operator. (Rowan Crawshaw)
Photographed just as the sun went in on Friday 27 August, D1733 / 47
853 passes Llanfair PG the 13:39 Holyhead - Manchester
Piccadilly. (Alan Crawshaw)
All this scheduled loco working is to continue for a further two weeks.
The trains involved are the Virgin trains shown in our railfan's timetable
plus the following Arriva Trains on Mondays - Fridays: 1H44 06:38
Bangor - Manchester Piccadilly; 1D37 10:00 Manchester Piccadilly -
Holyhead; 1H52 13:52 Holyhead - Manchester Piccadilly and 1D45 17:20
Manchester Piccadilly - Holyhead. Arriva Saturday diagram is 1G96 08:54
Holyhead-Crewe; 1D67 11:30 Crewe-Holyhead; 1G11 13:58 Holyhead-Crewe;
1D77 16:31 Crewe-Holyhead. - 28 August