NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd

02 April 2012

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Forthcoming events

April 2012

Friday 6 April  Clwyd Railway Circle  change of date and speaker for this month only: see 13 April, below.

Tuesday 10 April 8E Railway Association  Stephen Gay presents Walking The Line - Discovering Lost Railways            

Thursday 12 April Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Clive Myers "The Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway"

Friday 13 April Clwyd Railway Circle  new date. Geoff Coward will
be showing Black and White slides mainly of steam from 1905 to 1950.

Friday 13 April  Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society North West Film Archive Evening featuring historic footage of buses, aircraft, trains and trams across the North West

Saturday 14 April Excursion Cheshire Cat Tours  Aberystwyth, Borth, Machynlleth,  Newtown, Welshpool,  Shrewsbury, Whitchurch and Crewe to Carlisle. Outwards via Shap, Return via Settle to Carlisle Line.

Saturday 14 April Steam to Chester Steam Dreams 'The Cathedrals Express' London - Chester

Monday 16 April RCTS Chester    Branch AGM (Members only)

Wednesday 18 April Excursion Compass Tours 'The Roses Express'
Hooton, Chester, Delamere, Northwich, Knutsford, Altrincham, Stockport & Denton to York. Scheduled for haulage by a Steam Locomotive from Preston.

Saturday 21 April Excursion Chester Model Railway Club Shrewsbury , Gobowen, Wrexham, Bache, Hooton and Frodsham to Edinburgh Waverley. 2 x Class 67s (top & tail) Tickets available in first and standard class. Includes Chester avoiding line and Hooton - Helsby through running as rare track.

21 - 29 April Llangollen Railway / Betton Grange Society Steel, Steam & Stars III Gala 'featuring up to 12 main line steam locos including 6 guests.'

Thursday 26 April   Merseyside Railway History Group  Geoff Coward:    Quiz and informal evening

May 2012

Sat - Mon 5-7 May Llandudno Transport Festival. (No specific rail content this year but worth a visit, especially if interested in buses)

Saturday 5 May Excursion Mid-Cheshire Rail Users' Association. The Lincolnshire Poacher Railtour to Lincoln, Wainfleet and Skegness from most Mid-Cheshire Line stations. Further Details at: www.mcrua.org.uk
(now fully booked but a waiting list is in operation.)


Saturday 5 May Steam to North Wales Vintage Trains 'Llandudno Victorian Fayre' Tyseley - Llandudno

Saturday 5 May Excursion to North Wales Statesman Rail 'Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza' Departing from: Swindon (06.50/21.55) Kemble (07.05/21.30) Stroud (07.25/21.15) Stonehouse (07.35/21.05) Cheltenham Spa (08.00/20.40) Worcester Shrub Hill (08.25/20.15) Droitwich Spa (08.35/20.05) Kidderminster (08.55/19.50) Stourbridge Jct (09.10/19.30) Tame Bridge Parkway (10.00/18.30) to Llandudno Junction and Llandudno.

Saturday 5 May Excursion to North Wales NENTA train tours 'North Wales Extravaganza' from Norwich, Ipswich & East Anglian stations to Chester and Llandudno Junction (coach transfer to Llandudno).

Sat - Mon 5 -7 May Ffestiniog Railway 'Blaenau 30' - celebrating the 30th anniversary of the re-opening to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Sat / Sun 5 - 6 May Welsh Highland Heritage Railway 'Elements Gala'

Tuesday 8 May 8E Railway Association  Les Nixon presents The A to Z of Railways Around the World

Thursday 10 May   Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society   "End of Indoor Season Special"

Saturday 19 May Steam in North Wales PMR Tours 'The Welsh Dragon' Bristol to Holyhead

Friday 25 May Excursion to North Wales Compass Tours 'Snowdon Mountaineer' Carnforth, Morecambe, Lancaster, Preston, Wigan North Western, Garswood, St Helens Central, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool South Parkway & Runcorn to Betws-Y-Coed & Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Friday 25 May Excursion to North Wales UK Railtours 'The Snowdonian' London, Milton Keynes and Rugby to to both Llandudno Junction and Bangor. From Llandudno Junction coaches for the scenic trip up the Conwy Valley to Blaenau where the greatest narrow gauge journey of all begins, right the way through via Porthmadog to Caernarfon, where coaches will be waiting for the short hop to Bangor where our main line train is rejoined. Half the passengers will do the 'circuit' in the opposite direction.

Saturday 26 May Excursion Cheshire Cat Tours Holyhead, Bangor, Llandudno Junction,Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Flint, Chester and Warrington to Carlisle. Outwards via the Settle to Carlisle line, Return via the Cumbrian Coast Line

June 2012

Sat / Sun 2 - 3 June Welsh Highland Heritage Railway 'Family Fun Weekend'

Friday 8 June Excursion Compass Tours  'Dorset Coast Express' Holyhead, Llanfairpwll, Bangor, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Flint, Chester & Crewe to Brockenhurst, Bournemouth or Weymouth.

Sat / Sun 9 - 10 June Welsh Highland Heritage Railway 'Teddy Bear weekend. 'Children go FREE if they bring a teddy bear.  Find the bears hiding in the Engine Sheds and win a prize.'


Saturday 16 June Excursion to North Wales Scottish Railway Preservation Society From Glenrothes with Thornton, Kirkcaldy, Dalgety Bay, Edinburgh Waverley, Kirknewton over Beattock and Shap summits to Chester and Llandudno. (diesel-hauled)

Saturday 16 June Excursion Cheshire Cat Tours Whitchurch, Wem, Shrewbury, Wellington, Telford Central, Codsall, Wolverhampton, Tame Bridge Parkway, Birmingham International to Canterbury.

Sat / Sun 23 - 24 June  Llangollen Railway Heritage Railcar Gala

Sat / Sun 23 - 24 June Welsh Highland Heritage Railway Slate industrial exhibition

Saturday 30 June Excursion to North Wales Compass Tours  'Snowdon Mountain Ranger' Skipton, Keighley, Shipley, Wakefield Kirkgate, Huddersfield, Denton, Stockport, Altrincham & Knutsford to Betws-Y-Coed & Blaenau Ffestiniog

July 2012      

Saturday 7 July  Excursion to North Wales UK Railtours 'Chester and the Pennines' Stevenage, Potters Bar, Finsbury Park to Chester (break) and then through Wigan, Blackburn and Accrington to  Copy Pit Summit, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd before descending to Wakefield and finally joining the East Coast Main Line to head homeward.

Sunday 22 July Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Frodsham and Chester to  Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Holyhead (arr 15:10 dep 17:45).

Sat / Sun 28 - 29 July  Llangollen Railway 1960s weekend

Sunday 29 July Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' Liverpool Lime Street, Broad Green, Warrington Bank Quay, Frodsham and Chester to  Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Holyhead (arr 14:30 dep 16:30).

Tuesday 31 July Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'The Welsh Mountaineer' Preston, Warrington Frodsham, Chester to Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog (arr. 13:15 dep 16:10)

[Note: again this summer there will be no steam trains on the Cambrian Coast line due to the rail industry's continuing inability to adapt the new ERTMS signalling for use with a steam locomotive.]

August 2012

Sat / Sun 4 - 5 August Talyllyn Railway Tom Rolt Steam & Vehicle Rally

Sunday 5 August Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Frodsham and Chester to  Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Holyhead (arr 15:10 dep 17:45).

Sunday 12 August Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Frodsham and Chester to  Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Holyhead (arr 15:10 dep 17:45).

Tuesday 14 August  Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'The Welsh Mountaineer' Preston, Warrington Frodsham, Chester to Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog (arr. 13:15 dep 16:10)

Saturday 18 August Steam in North Wales Vintage Trains 'The Welsh Dragon' Tyseley - Blaenau Ffestiniog (Steam loco 5043 as far as Llandudno Junction; Class 47 diesel to Blaenau)

Sunday 19 August Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' Liverpool Lime Street, Broad Green, Warrington Bank Quay, Frodsham and Chester to  Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Holyhead (arr 14:30 dep 16:30).

Sat / Sun 25 - 26 August  Llangollen Railway Classic Transport weekend

Sunday 26 August Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' Liverpool Lime Street, Broad Green, Warrington Bank Quay, Frodsham and Chester to  Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Bangor and Holyhead (arr 14:30 dep 16:30).


Tuesday 28 August Steam in North Wales Railway Touring Company 'The Welsh Mountaineer' Preston, Warrington Frodsham, Chester to Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog (arr. 13:15 dep 16:10)

Saturday 31 August - 2 September  Llangollen Railway Autumn Steam Gala

September 2012

Sun / Mon 1 - 2 September  Llangollen Railway Autumn Steam Gala (continued)

Saturday 15 September Excursion Cheshire Cat Tours Holyhead, Bangor, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Flint, Shotton, Chester and Frodsham to Edinburgh.

Saturday 22 September Llangollen Railway Diesel Day

October 2012

Saturday 20 October Excursion Cheshire Cat Tours Aberystwyth , Borth, Machynlleth,  Newtown, Welshpool, and  Shrewsbury to Bath and Salisbury.





















Amid a sea of semaphore signals, the 15:30 Manchester Piccadilly - Pembroke Dock service, formed of 175 005, approaches Craven Arms station on 29 March. Picture by Ken Robinson. The crossover in the picture is used by trains to the Heart of Wales line which run 'wrong line'  for a short distance to the actual junction.


On Snowdon Mountain - report by Eryl Crump



The Snowdon Mountain Railway  re-started running public trains to the summit of Snowdon, following its winter break, on Saturday, 31 March. This was the earliest date that trains have ever run to the summit; the picture shows the first train after arrival, propelled by Hunslet-built diesel no.9 Ninian.  Indeed railway officials believe its the earliest trains have run since the railway opened on 6 April 1896 - the very first day of services. An unusually mild winter is the reason for the early running. Very little snow has gathered in the cuttings high up the mountain and little track maintenance work was required.



The recommissioning of the Hafod Eryri building took about 10 days and is also now open daily until the end of the season in late October. The weather forecast for this week includes snow, so services may be curtailed for a while.



The café area inside the building.



It was dull and damp at Llanberis for departure but a temperature inversion meant that the train emerged from the clouds into bright sunshine (and swirling mist) round about the monolith which marks the start point of the Pyg track.


Saturday Drag



Class 57/3 locos will still be seen on the North Wales Coast line, providing traction west of Crewe for one Saturday London - Holyhead and return train formed of a Pendolino train which runs on electric power between London and Crewe. 31 March saw 57 311 Parker on the duty, one of just three 'Thunderbirds' to retain its name.  Above, the westbound train rolls into Llandudno Junction (Peter Lloyd)



The same train at Llanfair PG (Richard Fleckney). Three locos are to go to DRS, which will no doubt re-paint them in its blue livery, or possibly in Pullman colours for use on the Northern Belle. Watching these changes from the sidelines, we wonder why blue locos, no longer wanted by Arriva, were not chosen. No doubt there is a good reason, perhaps related to 'engine hours.'



The return train at Prestatyn (Stéphanie Durrant). See also a Video taken at Colwyn Bay. The reason for this weekly expedition to Holyhead is said to be retain train crew knowledge and experience of the technicalities of 'dragging' Pendolinos. Paradoxically, though, the retractable 'Dellner' couplers were only fitted to the 57s when Virgin was obliged to haul Pendolinos; for 'Thunderbird' rescuing failed trains it had been envisaged that a removable 'emergency coupler' would have been used. However, the system has proved useful when engineering work has required Pendolino-worked trains to be diverted over non-electrified routes, such as Preston to Manchester, and Liverpool to Manchester via Warrington Central.


Nostalgia corner



Thanks to Glyn Jones for this portrait of 'Royal Scot' 4-6-0 46138 The London Irish Rifleman at Flint station with a westbound express.  Thanks to the marvellous new BR Database website we can tell you that this loco, built in 1927 by the North British Locomotive Company, was allocated to  Holyhead shed, coded 6J, from June to September 1960 and April to October 1961. It was withdrawn from service at Carlisle in 1963. The train appears to be formed entirely of BR Mk1 coaches, which at that date suggests it was a fairly important express; the first coach, a corridor composite, still carries the early British Railways 'blood and custard' livery, the others the later all--over maroon.



Ken Robinson writes: 'The photos of Rhyl in 1966 (19 March issue)  caught my eye, and, whilst looking for another photograph I came across this one taken at Rhyl in 1967/68. It was during a Sunday School trip and being bored at Marine Lake I ventured to Rhyl station with my small Instamatic camera! The lad on the extreme left seems as excited as I was to see the class 40 whistling by at around 60mph. There's also a green class 25 shunting in the background.'

Checking the Summer 1967 timetable book, we find that the Class 40-hauled service was probably the daytime 'Irish Mail' 08:45 London - Holyhead which left Crewe at 11:07 and ran non-stop from there to Holyhead.  Other named trains at the time were the night 'Irish Mail' (01:10 Holyhead - London, 20:55 London - Holyhead) both of which included sleeping cars (even though the 'down' train arrived at Holyhead at 01:30)  and the 'Emerald Isle Express' which left London Euston at 18:35 and made a few more stops.


Ordnance Survey thoughts - by John Murray

At a recent Ordnance Survey Opendata event in Manchester it was explained that they run regular competitions, called Geovation for people to come up with ideas for using Opendata for the good of society. The latest one is "How can we connect communities and visitors along the Wales Coast Path?" it is open to ideas from all sections of society. All users of the path are welcome and I mentioned this website. The organisers said "If rail fans and rail operators want to get involved it would be really good". The Ramblers' Association and other interested bodies are already involved so, as a lot of the path parallels rail lines, why not?


One Morning on the Coast - pictures by Tim Rogers



Here is a series of pictures taken on 26 March, the day of the last (scheduled) use of a Class 57/3 locomotive on the Holyhead -Cardiff service, and the first use of a Class 67. Tim Rogers arrived on the early morning at Flint with his camera.  Above, 158 818 calls at Flint on 26 March as train 1G93, 05:11 Holyhead to Birmingham International.



Above, train 1V31 05:32 Holyhead - Cardiff is seen at Flint station. 57 316 was entrusted with this farewell run; nobody bothered with a special headboard.



Not often seen on these pages is the westbound flask train, 6D41 05:41 Crewe to Valley, see here at Flint running 45 minutes late with 20 301 Max Joule 1958 - 1999 and 20 302 hauling just one wagon, FNA 550021. 

News this week is that power companies E.ON and RWE npower have pulled out of a joint project to build a new nuclear power station Wylfa B, intended to operate from 2025, after a strategic review. It is hoped that new investors will be found to rescue the plan. The present station is due to cease generation this year, but trains will continue for some time afterwards to remove the fuel, which will take until 2016. After that, ancillary buildings will be demolished but the main reactor building will have to be looked after until the year 2091 when it is considered safe to remove it. What will life be like in 2091?



Back to Flint station, and two of the line's typical trains in one view. Virgin Trains 'Voyager'  221 112 Ferdinand Magellan (left) calls with 1R24 05:51 Holyhead - London.  175 103 (right) is Arriva Trains Wales 1D30 05:33 Manchester Airport - Llandudno. Manchester Airport is served by Arriva in the early morning and late evening, although the timings for the Manchester Piccadilly - Llandudno service allow for an hourly run all day. Most trains spend the best part of an hour standing in the loop south of Piccadilly station; a chance for the train crew to catch up on their reading...


67 on the WAG



The evening train from Cardiff on 26 March was the first 'All-Wales Express' to be Class 67-hauled: above, it passes Hargrave, between Crewe and Chester (Paul Shannon). 67 002 continued on the duty for the remainder of the week; 67 001 and 67 003 have also been painted blue for Arriva use; all three are still officially part of the DB Schenker fleet.



Arriving at Chester, 26 March. Picture by Jack Bowley, who boarded the train here, as did a number of other readers and contributors.



With the light fading fast, 67 002 approaches Rhyl on 26 March (Ivor Bufton)



Night scene at Bangor, 26 March (Geraint Jones)



Holyhead (M.Lloyd Davies).



The first week of 67 operation coincided with the start of British Summer Time, and also a few days of very summer-like weather, ideal for photographs. Above, the evening Cardiff - Holyhead at Flint, 27 March (Glyn Jones). Note that the loco has not received any logos or other branding.



28 March, time 08:17, and 67 002  heads south through Dorrington, six miles south of Shrewsbury, which once had a station and still has its original mechanical signalbox (Stavros Lainas).



The returning train at Onibury, north of Ludlow,  heading towards Shrewsbury passed Stavros Lainas at 17:47 running 'a tad late.'



29 March and the northbound train approaches Craven Arms; the Heart of Wales line is seen on the right (Ken Robinson). 67 002 was formerly names Special Delivery - wouldn't it be nice to see some Welsh-connected names (maybe some of those once seen on Class 37/4s) make an appearance?



Shrewsbury, 29 March (Martin Evans). The next step will presumably be bring into usethe Driving Van Trailers which Arriva have procured; we'd be interested to hear from anyone who knows the timescale.

Another Class 67 loco in the news this week is 67 026, which has been 'dolled up' in silver with artwork for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and made a run with the Royal Train in North-west England on 23 March. (Picture on the Rail Express magazine site). Not to be confused, of course, with 67 029 Royal Diamond - that was for the Queen's diamond wedding anniversary.


Miscellany



On 1 April, train 6F05, bringing limestone from Tunstead, Derbyshire to the Cheshire chemical industry, had deposited half its load into Lostock works and was running up to Oakleigh when photographed (above) just west of Northwich station by Andrew Vinten. The locomotive is 60 054.



Dorrington, again, on 28 March:  47 786 with a Compass Tours excursion to Cardiff via the Central Wales line.This passed at 10:20 after being held for a time (Stavros Lainas)


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