01 August 2011
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This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and supporters,
and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Forthcoming events
August 2011
Note: The Railway Touring Company tours in August can also be booked
together as
a
week's
package which also includes steam trips on the 'Cumbrian
Mountain Express' and 'The Cambrian'.
Sunday 7 August Steam on the Coast:
'The
North
Wales
Coast
Express'
Railway
Touring Company Liverpool and Chester to Colwyn Bay,
Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead. Hauled throughout, by one of 6100
Royal Scot, 6201 Princess Elizabeth, or 60019
Bittern.
Tuesday 9 August Conwy Valley
Steam: Railway Touring Company,
'The Welsh Mountaineer' Preston - Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Sunday 14 August Steam on the Coast:
'The
North
Wales
Coast
Express'
Railway
Touring Company Liverpool and Chester to Colwyn Bay,
Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead. Hauled throughout, by one of 6100
Royal Scot, 6201 Princess Elizabeth, or 60019
Bittern.
Sunday 14 August Excursion Holyhead (dep. 07:30) to
Bath or
Salisbury, 'Western Cathedrals Express' with Class 52 loco. Postponed to 5 October.
Saturday 20 August Steam on the Coast:
Vintage Trains Tyseley -
Llandudno and
return with
5043.
Sunday 21 August Steam on the Coast:
'The
North
Wales
Coast
Express'
Railway
Touring Company Liverpool and Chester to Colwyn Bay,
Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead. Hauled throughout, by one of 6100
Royal Scot, 6201 Princess Elizabeth, or 60019
Bittern.
Tuesday 23 August Conwy Valley Steam:
Railway Touring Company, 'The Welsh
Mountaineer' Preston - Blaenau Ffestiniog.
27, 28 & 29 August –August Bank Holiday Weekend Welsh Highland Heritage Railway,
Porthmadog – Fun Whatever The Weather!
'Who cares if it rains over the Bank Holiday? We’ve organised a
special fun weekend, including chance to win a prize if you find the
Welsh Dragons hiding in the Engine Sheds.'
September
2011
Friday 9 September Clwyd Railway
Circle Edgar
Richards: Railways of the North East, 1965 onwards (part 1). After
recovering from an injury sustained in 2010, our top link speaker is
back. This time Edgar takes us on a journey from Berwick-upon-Tweed to
Durham.
Saturday 10 September Steam to Chester
The Cathedrals Express London Euston - Chester. Steam Dreams 60163 Tornado: Euston-Chester and return
Saturday 10 September – Welsh Highland
Heritage Railway,
Porthmadog – Lace on the Train. 'It’s National Lace Making Day, and a
team of master lace-makers will be travelling on the train
demonstrating
the art of making lace with pins and pillows.'
Saturday 17 September – Welsh Highland
Heritage Railway,
Porthmadog – Cob 200. 'The Great Embankment which allowed Porthmadog to
be built was completed 200 years ago this weekend. Two centuries
on,
The Cob is still there and still doing its job. We’re planning a
day
of celebrations as part of the festivities going on in town, including
a visit from the man who built The Cob – William Madocks himself.'
Saturday 24 September - Welsh Highland
Heritage Railway,
Porthmadog – Railways on the Air. Railway enthusiasts get together with
amateur radio enthusiasts to broadcast around the globe from our
station at Pen-y-Mount, and celebrate the 200th birthday of the Cob.
Listen out for call sign GOWHR.
October
2011
Wednesday 5 October Excursion
Compass Tours - from Holyhead
(dep. 07:30) and stations to Crewe, to Bath or
Salisbury, 'Western Cathedrals Express'
Friday 7 October Clwyd Railway
Circle Larry
Davies: Railway Wanderings in North Wales. A collection of slides
around North Wales presented by a great favourite with our members.
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Back to the 60s at Carrog - see report below. Picture by Glyn Jones.
Western postponement
The Compass Tours excursion from Holyhead to Bath and Salisbury,
the 'Western Cathedrals Express' planned for 14 August has
been postponed until Wednesday 5 Oct 2011 apparently the 'Train to be
used is not available on that date.'
70 on the sand - report by Paul Shannon
70 006 hauled the 6Z89
Ellesmere Port to Crewe sand empties on 25 July - seen (above) on
the Ellesmere Port Docks branch awaiting a path into the station ...
... and entering Helsby station. I believe it is the second time
a 70 has worked this train.
Clwyd Railway Circle news
We've received the Clwyd Railway Circle's list of monthly meetings for
2011-2012, which take place on Friday evenings in Prestatyn. See our Calendar of Events for details.
Marine Views
The Saturday London - Holyhead Pendolino at Rhyl on 30 July with 57 304 Gordon Tracy (Stéphanie Durrant).
A visit to the Rhyl Miniature Railway on 30 July (Darren Durrant) ...
... a chance to see a water-skier on the Marine Lake racing against
the afternoon train to London (Stéphanie
Durrant).
What goes on with WAG?
The December 2011 Arriva Trains Wales timetable has now been made
available for consultation, and it has been noticed that, contrary to
earlier statements, the Holyhead - Cardiff via Wrexham 'WAG Express 2'
continues to be timed for a Class 175 railcar rather than a
locomotive-hauled train, and insiders have been told that this will be
the case for the 'foreseeable future.'
In fact there are virtually no changes to the timetable at all;
additional trains to Aberystwyth, making use of recent track and
signalling improvements, are also absent. Assembly Members who have
asked the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) Minister about this - and
also the time-scale for the proposed double-tracking between Wrexham
and Saltney Junction - are told to wait for the 'National Transport
Plan Prioritisation' to be published in the Autumn. (The 'five-year National
Transport
Plan' was published in March 2010.) There is, it seems, a
controversy raging between the politicians about even the cost of the
current loco-hauled Holyhead - Cardiff train (pictured by Steve Conway
at Rhyl on 21 July with 57 316)
in
the
present atmosphere of 'cuts', and given that the current
contract with Arriva for running the train ends in December.
However, we hear that drivers who work the express have been told that
they are to be 'converted' - given a short course in the differences in
driving - from Class 57 to Class 67, which suggests that the train will
continue. Mind you, they have been told this more than once in the past
and it has yet to happen. Apparently Arriva have yet to apply for the
necessary regulatory approval. Regarding the use of Class 175s, the
question arises whether Arriva are actually permitted to hire out
rolling stock to the Welsh Government which is part of its franchise
fleet intended for use on franchised services.
And yet - back in January we
were
told that 'Thanks to £3.5 million support from the Welsh
Assembly Government, Arriva Trains Wales is developing plans to lease
additional rolling stock to operate the extra services from Holyhead to
Cardiff. By paying to lease the trains up-front for seven years, as
opposed to on an annual basis, the Assembly Government will save the
tax payer £350,000.'
In a statement to the Assembly in March 2011 (full
text
as
PDF), the then Minister wrote about the second
express: 'The Class 175 service will have an enhanced at seat
trolley service including some hot food [and does it?]. From the
timetable changes in December 2011, the Class 175 train will be
replaced by a Class 67 locomotive with carriages similar to those used
on Y Gerallt Gymro. This service will be able to have a first class
carriage and dining facilities similar to those currently available on
Y Gerallt Gymro. I am funding a substantial refurbishment before these
carriages are brought into service.'
What do we make of this? Anyone's guess. It was assumed by many that
the new carriages would be from the Wrexham & Shropshire fleet,
given that that Arriva is owned by Deutsche Bahn which was also a major
shareholder in W&S. Incidentally, the 'five-year National
Transport
Plan' was published in March 2010.
While on this subject: it was noticed with some annoyance by local
users that while the 'WAG expresses' not run on bank holidays, a
'normal' morning train has been diverted away Mondays - Fridays to find
a path for the Wrexham version, with the result that on Spring Bank
Holiday morning there was a long gap in the southbound service at
Wrexham from 08:34 to 10:42. We are now assured that the service train
will be re-diverted back on August Bank Holiday.
Excursion newsreel
Friday 22 July saw a 'Northern Belle' excursion from Newcastle-on-Tyne
to Knutsford (for the Tatton Park flower show) with DRS 47 818 hauling and 47 790 Galloway Princess on the rear as it
passed Stavros Lainas at
Ashley at 12:05.
Later the same day Stavros Lainas
was Dunham at 16:12 to see 'Large Logo' 47 580 County of Essex top'n-tailed by 47 760 with the empty stock 5Z21
Carnforth to Chester. This was the stock move for the following day's
Llandudno – Ravenglass excursion, Statesman Rail's 'The
Lakelander.'
Unfortunately, the next day, 23 July, the loaded train ran into
problems, and at Rhyl it was decided to run 47 580 round to the front
of the train, watched by Steve Conway who took this sequence of
pictures....
... backing on ...
... eventually ready to start, an hour late.
Stavros Lainas took this
view at Knutsford at 09:35, by which time the train was running an hour
and a half late. At Carnforth, steam took over as planned in the shape
of 8F 2-8-0 48151.
Another special on 23 July was Compass Tours' Hooton – Edinburgh
charter. Above, 47 804 takes
the train through Mobberley in the early morning with 47 851 on the rear (Stavros Lainas).
Capenhurst station does not appear often in these pages: above, on 24
July 47 804 heads the empty
stock of the previous day's Edinburgh train from Hooton to the West
Coast Railways base at Carnforth, with 47 851 on the rear. Picture by Andrew Vinten. This was one of
several 'Lakelander' runs to Ravenglass on Saturdays this summer, with
a different start point each week. The 6 August train starts in the
West Midlands and will be running via Wrexham and Chester.
Another weekly steam train this summer is the Friday 'Scarborough
Flyer' from Crewe. Above, 29 July's trip behind 34067 Tangmere passes Chelford
station on time at 07:42. Chelford is a great place to see it as
it waits a few minutes in the down loop to allow a Manchester-bound
Arriva 175 to pass, so it is always working hard as it leaves the
loop and enters the station (Steve
Morris).
Prestatyn progress - report by Dave Sallery
Some recent view of work on the new footbridge at Prestatyn ...
... which, it seems, might be open in the 'next few weeks'.
I've also heard, not officially, that the wooden LNWR station building
is in very poor condition and may have to be demolished. No work
has been carried out on it for many weeks, not since the new slate roof
was put on. Arriva also want the blue temporary ticket office
container moved the platform as they are losing a lot of revenue.
Beatles to Beeching at Llangollen 30-31 July
The 1960s Weekend at the Llangollen Railway on 30-31 July was full of
interest: here is a selection from the fine selection of pictures from
our contributors. Above, on Saturday 30 July, the line's resident
Wickham-built diesel railcar, very redolent of the period, stands at
Llangollen (Glyn Jones).
A curious mixed train was in operation through the weekend, starring
some nicely-restored British Railways standard 12-ton vans, once one of
the most familiar sights on the network. The loco was visiting
'Austerity' saddle tank built by Hunslet in 1952 (works number 3777)
which had recently been running in a fictitious BR guise as class 'J94'
68030. (BR did have some
locos of this type.) The train is seen after arrival at Carrog with the
13:30 from Llangollen (Chris
Jones-Bridger).
At Llangollen (Glyn Jones).
The 'SLS Special' headboard
of the Stephenson
Locomotive Society appeared on some remarkable rail tours in the
1950s and 1960s, including runs in open wagons behind a real 'J94' on
the Cromford and High Peak line (George
Jones).
Class 47 D1566 at Llangollen with the 1700 departure to Carrog (Chris Jones-Bridger). This loco,
later 47 449, was new in 1964. Incidentally, Murray Brown, who was
instrumental in its preservation, has been re-appointed to his old role
as editor of Rail Express
magazine in place of Gareth Bayer who, we hear, is off to Japan to
teach English.
D1566, which carried the two-tone green colours of the 1960s, seen at
Berwyn after arrival with the 17:00 from Llangollen. The loco was shut
down after arrival and the crew were giving attention (Chris Jones-Bridger).
'Black 5' 44806 was running
without its usual nameplates, which have been added in recent years,
and looking very clean - no doubt it had been 'bulled up by
enthusiasts' as some locos were in the final years. Train '1T57' was
the 'last steam train' special run by BR in August 1968, which has come
to called the 'fifteen-guinea special' after the fare charged (Glyn Jones).
Class 26 D5310 arrives at
Llangollen platform 1 (Glyn Jones).
A feature of the weekend was attempt to re-create the condition of the
ex-Great Western 'Manor' class locos which had survived until the
mid-60s as they would have looked when sent for scrapping. Above, 7822 Foxcote Manor minus name and number
plates was masquerading on the driver's side as 7800 Torquay Manor 'en
route for Cashmores Scrapyard' (Glyn
Jones)
The same loco, on the fireman's side pretending to be 7825 Lechlade Manor 'en route for Bird's, Newport
Scrapyard' see at Carrog (Glyn Jones).
City of Chester double-decker 35 (FFM 135C), a 1965 Massey-bodied Guy
Arab, acting as a 'replacement bus' (Glyn
Jones).
D6940, seen at Carrog, built in 1964, shows off its blue livery. It had
its original 1960s look, as seen here, with round buffers and 'cowls'
around the buffer beam, restored for last year's 1960s gala (Glyn Jones).
Also in traffic was the former LNER four-wheel pigeon van as restored
but minus its 'Clarabel' features usually seen on 'Thomas' events. A
ride down the line in this with J94 haulage proved an interesting
trundle on the hard class benches. Not as unpleasant as might be
thought! (George Jones).
The cheerful bar staff of the LNER Thompson 'Elizabethan' buffet
car as reintroduced into service as E1706E in its 1950s
décor. It was running in the the rake carmine and cream stock
seeing, haulage by D1566.
On to Sunday 31 July, and Halton Transport No.38, a Leyland Titan PD2,
at Carrog as part of the Carrog - Llangollen Rail 'replacement bus
service'. The bus came from the North West Museum of Road Transport, St
Helens (George Jones).
7822 Foxcote Manor, in dirtied 1965
condition, runs round at Llangollen. The 'dirt' was due to
be washed off and loco returned to polished condition by Monday (George Jones).
Class 31 5580 runs round - it
had run double headed with class 37 6940 on first train of the day (George Jones).
A sixties icon - a Mini Moke on display at Llangollen - operated by the
Liverpool Motor Club on the Aintree circuit (George Jones).
'68030' contrasts with a D6940 at Llangollen (Larry Davies).
The beautifully-restored Wickham Class 109 56171/50416 is an absolute
treat and the views of the Dee valley it affords are second to none (Larry Davies).
At the end of the day, the 'Manor' was depicted as going to the
breaker's
yard and is seen here at Carrog before that "last journey" -
Enthusiasts of another era have expressed their sentiments! (Larry Davies)
'Off to the scrapyard.' Picture By Larry
Davies.
A good weekend was had by all (Larry
Davies). The next event to look forward to is the 'Classic
Transport' weekend on 27-28 August when vintage transport with be
gathered at stations along the line and a rail replacement bus service
will operate Glyndyfrdwy to Corwen to allow for sight of the line
extension project to be viewed at high level from the A5 and provide
for visits to the intended terminus station site a Corwen.The first
train service to Corwen....will be a bus in 2011!
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