THE NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY NOTICE
BOARD
Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru Bwrdd
hysbyseb
66 539 heads the second ballast of the day west through
Sunny
Rhyl on 13 May (Dave Sallery)
This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and
supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Edition of 14 May 2005
Something of a Bumper Issue this time, and still there are
things in the Intray! Thanks as ever to all our correspondents and to
everyone at the now-flourishing North
Wales Train News mailing list. - Charlie
150 on driver training duty
150 283 in Scotrail colours has been used for driver training
runs along the North Wales Coast line in recent days, and the runs will
continue in the week beginning 16 May. This is part of the new
drivers' traction training prior to
undertaking supervised in-service experience accumulation; 3 weeks in a
classroom and 2 weeks on a training train. Each of them has also to be
trained on door operation, too, which has led some to speculate that
there is conductor training in progress, or even that 150s will replace
175s. - updated 15 May
Enlightened upgrade at Abergele - report by Larry Goddard
Did the signalbox at Abergele ever look smarter? Following a massive
overhaul and fitting of double-glazed window panels, this
enlightened upgrade has left the 1902-built structure retaining much of
its original London and North Western Railway character and shows what
can be done where there is a will. A Class 175 passes by with the 10:40
Holyhead-Crewe on 12 May.
Freightliner 66 603 powers through Abergele with assorted
Network Rail and Railtrack branded wagons on the daily ballast from
Penmaenmawr, 12 May. - 14 May
Fun on the Cambrian Coast
Extremely interesting news is that Arriva Trains Wales is teaming up
with West Coast Railway Company to run some steam-hauled trains
this summer on the Cambrian Coast line. The trains will run on six
dates, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28 and 29 August, starting at either Aberystwyth
or Machynlleth, and
running along the Cambrian Coast line as far as either Porthmadog or
Pwllheli. Fares will be priced at
£30 for adults and £18 for children. Tickets will be on
sale from the beginning of June and booking details will be available
shortly. We'll spare you the full press releases with their inspiring
quotes that are supposed to make you think we have personally
interviewed 'rail bosses' - take a look at the Daily
Post for more. Certainly we'll keep you up to date with any
timings and booking details which come our way.
It looks as though there are hopes to build on the success of the
regular workings between Fort William and Mallaig, and it's certain
that the railfans and photographers will enjoy themselves, but ... will
a ride at £96 for the average family be acceptable to
Cambrian Coast holidaymakers, who, we suspect, are generally in a
slightly lower income bracket than the visitors to be found in the
Scottish Highlands, where the Fort William - Mallaig adult return fare
is £26? Let's ll hope so, as it would be great is this did become
an annual event. Something similar has been done before, from
1987 until locomotives were banned from Barmouth Bridge in the early
1990s (there's a video
available from this era) - does anyone have any pictures or
memories?
The locomotives will, we are told, be 'appropriate' for the line, and
there are plenty such machines available, including several 'Manor'
4-6-0s, Standard 2-6-4 Tanks, and Ian Riley's Standard Class 4 2-6-0 76079.
The latter brings back nostalgic memories for your compiler: the rather
battered picture above was taken during a week I spent on the Cambrian
Coast in the summer of 1966 (the first holiday I had on my own - can it
really be 39 years ago?) The scene is Dovey Junction, where
shunting operations are in progress to combine the Pwllheli and
Aberystwyth portions of one of the few trains that remained
steam-worked
at that time. A 2-6-0 has brought in the Pwllheli portion on the left,
and the 4-6-0 on the right has already been detached from the
Aberystwyth portion. It's an interesting thought that these
neglected-looking steam locomotives were built in the early 1950s and
thus were no older in 1966 than the Class 158 DMUs of the early 1990s
are today. Even the LMS-design coach, possibly 20 years old at the
time, was a youngster compared to the Mk2s recently seen in North Wales.
For those who prefer more blue in their locomotive smoke, there are no
less than three more 37-hauled railtours to Pwllheli planned for the
summer:
18 June - 'The Snowdonian I.' (redated from April
2nd). Sheffield - Pwllheli. 37-hauled railtour. Pathfinder
Tours
16 July The Cambrian Coast Flyer. Bristol -
Pwllheli. 37-hauled railtour. Past Time Rail.
30 July 'The Snowdonian II.'
Bristol - Pwllheli. 37-hauled railtour Pathfinder
Tours
And for those who just fancy a day out using service trains, we'd
highly recommend at visit to Dave Sallery's Cambrian Rail Cruise website
which tells you all you need to know to take a day's circular tour
round the North Wales, Welsh Marches, Cambrian and Ffestiniog lines,
with times, fares, and route guides. Back in the
'un-enterprising' nationalised 1980s and 1990s this circular trip was
publicised by British Rail and the FR, but this faded away after
privatisation. Perhaps now Arriva Trains Wales run the North Wales
Coast and Cambrian lines they might consider promoting the idea again?
More Virgins in North
Wales
The highlight of the recent Rail Passengers Committee meeting in
Llandudno was the announcement by the Strategic Rail Authority's West
Coast Modernisation Investment Manager Matt Dillon (I don't like it,
Chester, it's too quiet...)
of plans to increase the number of services to/from London. If
adopted, there could be nine trains each weekday - roughly an hourly
service with a few gaps off-peak. Six would start from Holyhead, two at
Bangor and one from Llandudno. All would be operated by a dedicated
fleet of six class 221 Super Voyagers "cascaded" from Virgin Cross
Country to West Coast as Class 350 'Desiro' electric railcars are
delivered to operate the Manchester - Birmingham services. Suggestions
that the unwanted (thanks to the SRA) 9-car 'Meridians' ordered for
Midland Main Line could be used were described as a 'non-starter' ; the
350s are only available because of yet another change of plan by the
SRA, as they were originally ordered for South West Trains.
The Pendolinos would, it seems, be transferred away. "Journey times
will also be reduced because it will not be necessary to haul an
electric Pendolino train along the North Wales line. Two trains a day
are currently 'dragged' by a diesel locomotive and it takes 10 minutes
to detach or attach the engine at Crewe. That makes no sense at
all", said the man from the ministry (sorry, from the SRA.) He
apparently did not comment on how much sense it would make to run so
many diesel trains over the 120 miles of fully-electrified main line
between Crewe and London.
Peak services would be operated by a pair of 221s making a 10-carriage
train. The 221s will be refurbished with "wasted space" - the words of
the SRA man - reduced, and more first class seats installed, along with
a equipment in the 'galley' for hot food preparation (a microwave?). In
addition, two or three services to Shrewsbury would be operated by the
221s giving Cambrian Coast passengers "easy connections". The SRA were
woolly when asked if Arriva Trains Wales trains would wait for
late-running Virgin ones and vice versa. This is the preferred option
by the SRA who are also considering other plans including concentrating
VT services at Chester to give a slightly more frequent service.
Some people at the meeting seemed sceptical about this idea.
If given the go-ahead, we can look forward to these services in
December 2008 but if the Desiros bed in quickly (they are currently
being test-run in Staffordshire) the 221s may be released sooner,
making December 2006 a possibility. According to the Daily Post Rail
Passengers Committee Wales chairman Colin Foxhall described the
improvement in service as "very good news". He said: "Over the past
year, we are pleased, to say services have been enhanced due to the
considerable investment made by the company. As well as improving
access to London these services will raise the profile of the North
Wales line."
Well, North Wales is a great place, and we all love it, but we have to
ask - is there really a demand for nine trains each way daily from the
Coast to London? Already the Llandudno trains is reported to us as very
lightly loaded. Will the trains replace Arriva ones west of
Chester or will they be additional? What about a few London trains
serving the place 'with a population of 43,000... the largest in
North Wales ... the total population of its County Borough is
129,300 ... Often described as the capital of North Wales ... the
natural hub for the surrounding area' ? * Let
us know what you think.
The use of the Siemens-built Class 350 units on Manchester - Birmingham
trains is likely to be controversial, too; they are basically
outer-suburban trains in general design, with only a trolley for
catering, no tilt feature and a maximum speed of 100 mph compared with
the 221's tilting and 125 mph - a speed which is now possible
between Stafford and Wolverhampton after some expensive upgrading work.
(Although from pictures the interiors of the 350s look decidedly more
pleasant to this writer than the claustrophobic 221.)
One does wonder sometimes what qualifies the people at the SRA to make
the decisions they do. But then it's all being abolished soon anyway,
to
be replaced by a Government body called DfT Rail under the leadership
of a man
with a PhD who allegedly has a reputation for ruthless cost
cutting. Sound familiar? - 14 May
" Wrexham, that is to say.
Early bird visits Llandulas - with Larry Goddard
Early bird Thunderbird No.57 314 Firefly crossing
the River Dulas at 06:40 hauling Pendolino 390 049 Virgin
Express as the 05.38 Holyhead-Euston on 10 May.
20 306 and 20 312 head the Wylfa-bound flasks over
Llandulas Viaduct on the morning of 10 May. [The bridge in the
foreground carries the Rhyl - Colwyn Bay section of the North Wales
Cycleway.]
Road traffic had built up by 07:25, but 153 312 sufficed for
rail travellers on the 06.06 Holyhead-Crewe, seen approaching Abergele.
A Voyager passes Hen Wrych with the 06:48 Holyhead-Euston on 10 May. -
14 May
The end of the RPC Wales
- another press release
The Welsh rail watchdog, the Rail Passengers Committee for
Wales, has launched what is likely to be its final annual report, at a
public meeting in Llandudno. The Rail passenger committees, which have
been the official voice of rail passengers for the last 60 years, are
to be replaced by a new national form of passenger representation. The
annual report looks at what has been recently achieved, and pays
tribute to the committee members past and present who have dedicated
their time to the service of rail travel.
Chairman Colin Foxall said that against the background of these
changes "the Committee decided to concentrate its' work this year
so as to bring about as much benefit as quickly as we could for
passengers in the time remaining for the Committee to operate, and to
press for the early establishment of a new passenger transport
committee for Wales. We also decided to create a document, which would
set out the passenger issues, big and small, that remained to be
tackled - our legacy to whoever follows us both here in Wales and
in the UK.
"We established a number of Taskforces who have sought quick wins for
passengers, to work on improving passenger interchanges - integrating
transport - and to work on station issues. We also continued our very
successful work on facilitating discussions between a wide range of
parties involved in policing and the judicial system about tackling
route crime on the railways."
The Annual Report highlights a number of the RPC's quick wins, brought
about by the work of the Committee. These include an increase in staff
at important local stations such as Abergavenny, the opening of Wrexham
Central station on Sundays and the re-instatement of vital services
such as the 7:14 from Cardiff Central - Chester. But the rail industry
in Wales still has a lot yet to achieve in terms of improvements to
services and infrastructure.
"Many of the trains in Wales are old, the infrastructure is inadequate
(so much so in places that it prevents improved services), and
connections between TOCs' services are often inadequate or from the
passengers point of view involve long waits which make journeys much
more arduous than they should be. Often we also regret that connections
between different modes of transport are poor or non-existent," Colin
Foxall added.
The Committee has continued to campaign for improvements to the rail
system across Wales, and has been instrumental in securing a number of
major benefits including:
* Re-opening of Vale of Glamorgan line to link
Cardiff International Airport with the main line between London,
Cardiff and Swansea
* More action to tackle railway-related crime
across Wales, including partnership working with operators, the police
and other key stakeholders
* Passenger representation on major transport schemes
such as the Holyhead and Bangor Interchange projects
* Securing consultation with schools in North Wales
ahead of timetable changes
* Restoration of Sunday services from Wrexham Central
* A number of "Meet the Passenger" sessions at
stations across Wales, surveying hundreds of passengers.
In the future, passengers' interests will be represented by a new UK
wide body. The new organisation will be supported by staff who
will maintain passenger contacts through a series of Passenger Link
managers covering Train Operating Companies (TOCs), user groups, public
bodies, and others. Wales - along with Scotland - will be represented
on the new body, but will also have the power to establish passenger
representation of its own. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has
already indicated that it intends to establish its own body and has
announced a plan to create and fund a committee covering all forms of
public transport at a future date. This corresponds with a paper the
Rail Passenger Committee prepared for the WAG in the summer of 2004,
which recommended such an organisation.
RPC Wales Chairman Colin Foxall said: "Our aim, until the committee
ceases to exist, will be to continue our work for passengers and to
hand on a legacy of information and knowledge which will help the new
organisations that follow us to represent the passenger and continue to
provide a balance in the relationship between the passenger and the
provider."
Here's the annual report as a PDF download
- but beware, it's over a megabyte and will use a lot of your blue ink
if you print it. Nobody's written to say they attended the 'meet the
passenger' event at Llandudno Junction, was there anyone there? Anyway,
we'd like to thank at this point the North Wales members of the RPC
Wales who are clearly enthusiastic supporters of the railway, and have
been very supportive of our work on this website too. - 14 May
Holyhead Pending Pendo
1A66, the 16:07 service to London, waits at Holyhead on Sunday 8 May
formed of 390 022 Virgin Hope headed by 57 311 Parker.
(Picture by Corrie.) To the surprise of some rail-watchers, and
probably some passengers as well, this was retimed to leave Holyhead at
17:17, as the Chester - Crewe being blocked until 19:00;
Pendolinos are, we believe, currently not passed for the diversionary
route via Middlewich. Incidentally, we believe the Wrexham - Shrewsbury
line was also closed. What happened to the Dee Marsh steel trains which
usually run on Sundays? - 14 May
Missing coach? Not
really.
This picture by Gwyn Williams from Saturday 7 May shows
four-car 'non-super' Voyager 220 033 Fife Voyager standing at a
rather dull Llandudno Junction at around 12:00. A rare (but not
unique) sight on on our line, possibly because 220s with no tilting
equipment are restricted in speed south of Crewe, but we think this
particular train had started from Crewe in any case. (or have we
misunderstood the intricacies of the timetable?) - 14 May
Loco-hauled Manchester - report by Charlie Hulme
On 7 May a small working party from the website team set out on a field
visit to investigate the source of the Granada Reports TV 'live' (or
not) backdrop - a journey which start badly aboard a Cardiff -
Manchester Class 158 heaving with Swansea football fans on the way to
Bury who next proceeded to mob the Metrolink station ....
And here is the only regular loco-hauled passenger train service now to
be found in Manchester, at least on days when Virgin Cross Country are
not using their Class 90 'reserve train.' The scene is the Museum of Science and
Industry in
Manchester where rides are generally available at weekends behind
the replica of 1830-built Liverpool and Manchester Railway loco Planet
which was built in the Museum workshop.
The train makes a Y-shaped journey, reversing twice at the gate just
before the sadly underused connection between the museum line and
Network Rail. It's pleasant to note that there is usually an exchange
of whistles between the crew of Planet and any passing main
line train. Well worth a visit, the Museum is in the original
Manchester terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, and
includes the original buildings. Entry is free, the train fare is
£2.
Inside the Power Hall, here's EM2 class electric loco 1505,
built in Manchester for the Woodhead line, later sold to the
Netherlands Railways and donated to the Museum on withdrawal. As for
Granada Reports, well it's clear that (as our correspondent Dave
Roberts suggests) that the view comes from a camera situated not at
the Granada TV Studios (which can actually be seen in the view on
screen) but from a camera situated on a high building somewhere over to
the left of the Voyager in this picture and probably on the other side
of the Mancunian Way. Only one candidate is visible from the train,
further investigation is needed to see what it is. Opinions of
correspondents on the liveness of the picture differ; some say the
weather and light level follows reality, others say it doesn't, but the
appearance on screen of the weekends-only museum train on a Monday -
Friday show, not to mention 47 847 after loco-hauls finished,
makes us sceptical. - 14 May
Holyhead Depot
4 May at Holyhead, and the 14.17 Holyhead - London Euston
departs, formed of 221 135 Donald Campbell. Note
the stabled 221 in the maintenance facility, which was to have worked
the 09:50 Euston Service. (Picture by Corrie.) - 14 May
West of Chester - with Geoff Morris
Some pictures relating to my earlier report on 24 April. Wrexham
- Shrewsbury was closed for engineering work and so Dee Marsh steel
trains were diverted via Crewe and Chester. A 60-hauled train was
on the slow line at Chester locks waiting for a path to Wrexham. The
locomotive is 60 500 - originally numbered 60 016 but
renumbered to celebrate the 500th issue of Rail magazine. [I have to
confess some ignorance here: I thought this was a typing error when I
was editing the original report. - Charlie]
The 14:55 Holyhead - Llanelli (booked to Milford Haven but curtailed
due to engineering work) was a 6-car 158 formation, each in a different
livery: 158 838 in 'stainless steel' livery, 158 847
in former Central
trains green., 158 828 in Arriva turquoise livery. - 14
May
Mid-Cheshire Rail Day -
supplementary
Two more excellent pictures received of May 1's special trains between
Altrincham and Chester promoted by the Mid-Cheshire Rail Users' Association.
The above view of 45407 at Chester is by Martin Evans,
Secretary/Treasurer of the Wrexham Railway Society.
This spendid action shot in Delamere Forest is by Simon Hough,
and was kindly sent to us by John Kitchen, the Rail Partnership officer
for the mid-Cheshire line.
Coda by Charlie Hulme: The very successful Rail Day was
unfortunately followed by a rather ridiculous occurrence the next day,
Monday 2 May. Joanna and I had been cycling in Cheshire and were
waiting at Mouldsworth station for a train back to Stockport; as is my
wont when cycling I was wearing a yellow waistcoat. To my surprise the
Mouldsworth Junction signalman left the signalbox and approached us to
ask 'This may be a stupid question, but have you been on or near the
line?' I assured him I hadn't and this was just my cycling garb, and he
told us the train might be a little late because someone in hi-vis gear
had been seen trespassing on the line. The train arrived ten minutes
late, and away we went.
I later discovered what had happened, thanks to our friendly team of
contributors. A passenger on the steam train had been gaily taking
pictures from an open window when his spectacles fell on to the
trackside. Dismayed at this loss, he decided to don a local
council-issue yellow vest and come back and look for them the next day.
Spotted wandering along the formation by train drivers, he was reported
to the signaller and to the British Transport Police who eventually
apprehended him. It is reported that he didn't find his glasses,
either.
Take my advice readers: don't do this. - 14 May
In the Dark
Two intersting night shots by Steve Jones showing of 57 307
Lady Penelope at Bangor on the evening of Wednesday 13 April.
The 17:21 from London arrives at Holyhead at 21:36, so it should now be
becoming. possible to photograph the train in daylight for most of its
journey. From mid-June we are also promised a second 57/370 working in
the middle of the day. - 14 May
Gardening tips - with Charlie Hulme-ock
You know you are obsessed with Class 37/4s when they start to influence
your choice of plants for the garden. Seen here awaiting an early
departure for its place in the soil is Rhododendron 'Loch Rannoch' -
well, it does have yellow ends... - 14 May