THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
Shrewsbury on Sunday 17 April, and 150 245 prepares to
work a service to Cardiff Central. This is the only 150 transferred
from Anglia (or 'one' Anglia as it is now known) to Arriva Trains
Wales. Ian Richardson, who took the pictures for us,
suggests that this makes 13 different liveries in service in the ATW
fleet. Any higher offers?
This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and
supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 20 April 2005
Thomas
Brassey
Bicentenary 1805 - 2005
Chester City Council is coordinating a number of events
commemorating the life of Thomas Brassey, born in 1805 in the parish of
Aldford near Chester and reckoned by many to be the foremost
railway contractor of the nineteenth century. He built Chester Station
in 1848 and was also responsible for the building of sections of the
lines between Crewe and Chester, Chester to Birkenhead, Chester to
Shrewsbury and Chester to Holyhead. Brassey had an international
reputation and examples of his work are to be seen throughout the world.
On 18 June 2005 'Royal train locomotive' 6233 Duchess
of Sutherland (built at Crewe in 1938) will haul a train promoted
by PMR Tours along
the line that Brassey built between Crewe and Holyhead. It will carry a
commemorative headboard. Departure from Crewe will be at 09:55 and from
Chester at 10:25. Return to Chester at 18:30 and Crewe by 19:00. (the
train, also know as the 'Welesh Dragon Relief', actually starts from
Northampton and picks up additionally at Rgugby and Lichfield.
Train Reference No is WD2 and bookings can be made by calling 01773
743986 (Mon-Fri 09:30 - 16:30).Standard Return Fare £55.00 with
Juniors at Half Price. Further information and booking forms from the
Tourist Information Centre,Chester and Chester Visitor Centre.
Alternatively you can download a booking form in PDF format from the
PMR website, link above. You are asked to 'Please support this event by
booking early.' - 18 April
Tourist trains are no
joke
We are assured by very reliable sources that, despite having
appeared on 1 April, the proposal by Arriva Trains Wales to run
'heritage units' as a tourist attraction on the Heart of Wales and
Conwy Valley lines is a very serious one, and it is hoped to put it
into practice in Summer 2006. It is completely true that Tom Clift is
acting as consultant to the project, and would be pleased to hear
at taclift26038@aol.com from
anyone who seriously has any 'heritage' DMUs they woule be interested
in prividing for such a service. Mr Clift was, of course, the managing
director of the Cardiff Valley lines and presided over the intriduction
of loco-hauled workings on the Rhymney branch. The Welsh Assembly
Government and Wales Tourist Board will be actively involved in the
plans; it will be interesting to see if they come to fruition. It's
rather unfortunate that Arriva comes into the markey just as Angel
Trains has sold off all its remaining Class 101s to preservationits,
including of course 101 685 which was painted in heritage green eleven
years ago in a previous tourism initiative. - 18 April
The Barmouth shuttle
Thanks to everyone who wrote in confirming that the train transferred
by road to Porthmadog is indeed 158 829. Trevor
Roberts sends the above picture of the unit in question, leaving
Barmouth on Monday 11 April, the first day of the Fairbourne -
Pwllheli shuttles which will operate until the damage at friog rocks is
repared.. As can be seen from the picture its leaving northbound
towards Pwllheli via the up platform. This is because this
service and one other later in the day do not actually go beyond
Barmouth to Fairbourne; they just wait at Barmouth for connecting bus
services and then return to Pwllheli. Under the radio electronic token
block signalling system used on the Cambrian, the platforms can be used
in either direction, but because the 'sprung' points automatically
return to their rest position, a train which is reversing will depart
from the 'wrong' platform.
158 829 arrived at Chester depot on Saturday night 9 April at midnight,
in readiness for putting onto the low loader, it had come in from Crewe
and was destined to go off to Wrexham on a service train before
returning to Chester, going onto the depot after all the 175s were on,
to be fuelled and put on the very back road for winching onto the
low-loader, however on the day 158 838 did the Wrexham journey.
The road journey to Porthmadog, with two low-loadedrs running in
convoy, did not go entirely smoothly. A lamp-post on the corner of
Constantine Terrace, Caernarfon, caused something of an impasse, which
took half an hour of manoeuvring to creep past, according to a report
in the Caernarfon Herald.
Special thanks to M. Prichard for this picture showing one
coach of 829 arriving safe and sound in Porthmadog. Allelys
Heavy Haulage seem to be experts at moving trains around.
As for the progress of the repair work, rumours from within
repair contractors Dean & Dyball
Engineering suggest they've never had to work in such difficult
circumstances; the site is only accessible from the beach and not when
the sea is rough - and it's dependent on tides. They 'got on the beach
the other day at about 7pm and had to come off again at 9pm when the
wind got up.' - updated 18 April
Back to normal this
Sunday
Train services in North Wales will run on Sunday 17 April, following
'positive talks between Arriva Trains Wales and train driver union
representatives.' It says here
that Graeme Bunker, managing director for Arriva Trains Wales, said:
“We welcome the constructive talks that took place this week with union
representatives which have resulted in this positive outcome, most
importantly for our customers but also for our employees and the
company. Providing a reliable train service for our customers is
paramount and we will always work with union colleagues to ensure we
provide this.” - 15 April
Virgin holds the fort
Geoff Morris was at Chester to record events on Sunday 10 April
when Arriva drivers decided to stay at home and leave Virgin Trains and
a fleet of coaches to handle the traffic. Above, 221 108 and 221
105 at Chester on 13:14 Holyhead - Euston.
57 301 Scott Tracy and 390 012 Virgin Star
at Chester Walls on 16:07 Holyhead - Euston.
The rear of 390 012 at Chester Locks (after a sprint around the corner)
Rail replacement buses outside Chester station - 6 in view with 3 more
out of sight on the left on City Road. They only seemed to be
loading one at a time - possibly to avoid blocking up the car park. -
15 April
Background to the news
Ian Bowland draws our attention to the backdrop of Granada TV' s
evening news programme which appears to be a live view from their
studio. Ian writes: 'Tonight [14 April] there were two 'hippos'
seen passing, one was a multi-set. A couple of weeks ago there was a
large logo 47 passing on Virgin stock even though the Holyhead service
had finished. What is most interesting is that every now and again
there is a steam engine going from right to left which then returns a
few minutes later.'
Ian's shots here show a 175 passing behind Ms Meacock's head. The steam
loco will be the replica Planet loco running on the lines
within the Manchester
Museum of Science and Industry which is the 1830-built
Liverpool Road station of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
This normally only runs at weekends (and great fun it is too) which
leads us to suspect that the view is not a live shot but a videotape.
If so, when was it recorded? Comments from viewers in the Granada area
welcome. Who remembers when we persuaded Manchester BBC TV to adjust
their webcam so we could get a better view of the Class 37s? - 15
April
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