NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE
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Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
25 June 2012
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Forthcoming events
June 2012
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 Aberystwyth - and stations to Crewe - to Carlisle.
Saturday 22 September Llangollen Railway Diesel Day
October 2012
Where we were on our holidays: The Bougainvillea are in bloom as Trenitalia locomotive 464.561 rolls its stopping train into Monterosso station on the fascinating line through the 'Cinque Terre' on the Mediterranean coast on 9 June. Picture by Joanna Hulme.
The British summer
While your editor was basking in the Riviera sunshine, Wales was having torrential rain and floods, as these pictures by Ben Bucki illustrate. Above, a Class 158-worked Arriva Trains Wales service on the Cambrian Coast line slowly crosses the Barmouth Bridge on 6 June.
Edging its way cautiously over the street-running section on the Britannia Bridge, Porthmadog, former South African Railways Garratt loco 143 draws a Welsh Highland Railway service towards its destination of Harbour Station on 7 June.
Porthmadog Harbour Station with Single Fairlie Taliesin on station pilot duties, preparing to move a loaded Welsh Highland service onto the Cob. Waiting to attach to the train is Garratt loco 143, whilst Double Fairlie Earl of Merioneth waits to set back into the platform road with a Ffestiniog Railway service, on 7 June. From next year with the extension of the facilities at Harbour and the building of the new extended island platform (following the widening of the Cob earlier this year) such complicated movements should be avoided.
The Aberglaslyn Pass on 8 June, adjacent to the Welsh Highland Railway, on the evening of a day of exceptionally heavy rainfall across Snowdonia. The river Glaslyn has burst its banks, and is about to flood the Fisherman's Path which runs alongside the railway.
Old meets new at Caernarfon, with an original Welsh Highland coach alongside new generation motive power, former South African Railways Garratt loco 87, on 8 June.
Pont Croesor, on the Welsh Highland Railway, on 9 June, the morning after a night of extremely heavy rain which fell over west Wales. The river Glaslyn has burst its banks overnight, spilling across the flood plain either side of the railway.
The view from Pont Croesor station platform.
Pont Croesor station car park.
The narrow gauge demonstration section of the railway museum at Penrhyn Castle with the Ruston diesel loco Acorn on 8 June.
Vale of Rheidol breached - report by Denis Bates
The Aberystwyth area was particularly affected by the flooding, with villages evacuated and the Cambrian Coast line under water in places.
The Vale of Rheidol narrow-gauge line was washed out at a low embankment between the Black (Rheidol) Bridge and Glanyrafon, over about 20 yards, on Saturday 9 June. Staff packed up the track temporarily, to get the 'Permaquip' trolley across to the Devils Bridge side (above), and then took out the track prior to re-filling the breach.
Above, the Aberystwyth end of the breach, with the engine about to pull a rail length back. Train services had resumed by 15 June.
Diamond Jubilees then and now - pictures by Richard Fleckney
There's been much naming of railway rolling stock for the Queen's diamond jubilee, but the idea is not new. After some searching, Richard found his picture of ex-LNER A3 pacific 60046 Diamond Jubilee - a sister loco of the famous Flying Scotsman.
Built as Class A1, LNER 2545, in 1924, and rebuilt as an A3 in 1948, 60046 looked to be in a neglected state when photographed (believed to be at Hatfield) in the late 1950s. It was withdrawn from service in 1963. Like most of the class, the loco was named after a racehorse, which in turn was named after the previous Royal Diamond Jubilee. The horse was born in Queen Victoria's 60th year on the throne, 1897, and died in 1923. Wikipedia has many details of his career.
A remarkable contrast in many ways is namesake 67 026, seen at Bangor on 25 May 2012, although both locos were build for high speed.
As fare as we can discover, the 1897 event was not honoured with a locomotive name, even by the London and North Western Railway which was a great fan of loco naming. Perhaps Her Majesty would not have been amused. However, the event was commemorated by the LNWR, as described in this extract from O.S. Nock's book The Premier Line (Ian Allan, 1952), drawn to our attention by Geraint Rowlands:
At the time of the Diamond Jubilee, the North Western symbolised popular enthusiasm and conciousness in the growing significance of the British Empire by the painting of its two magnificently named express engines, Greater Britain and Queen Empress, in special colours. No. 2053 [Greater Britain] was decked out in Post Office red, with yellow
and black lining, while No 2054 [Queen Empress] appeared in a creamy white, with brass bands around the boiler. There was a suggestion that a third engine, the 'Dreadnought' class 3-cylinder compound No. 507 Marchioness of Stafford, was to be painted blue to complete the patriotic trio, but this latter proposal was not carried out.
A (black and white) plate of Queen Empress and Greater Britain in
their festive colours is found on page 93 of the book. The 'Greater Britains' were a small class of 10 2-2-2-2 express engines, derived from the 3-cylinder compound Teutonics. They were built from 1891 to 1894 by Francis Webb, but were scrapped during George Whale's tenure (1903-1908).
Llangollen Railcar Weekend
The special gala weekend on 23-24 June at the Llangollen Railway provided an opportunity for one of the second generation of railcars - also known as Diesel Multiple Units or DMUs - to show its paces alongside the fleet of heritage diesel units. The class 141 railbus (picture above by George Jones), as developed by British Rail Engineering / Leyland Bus in 1984, to provide a series of new trains, was making a brief visit to the Dee Valley line. Its operation attracted a lot of attention from railfans keen to sample a ride on the train which is no longer in service on the National Rail network.
With a distinctly bus-like body and interior seating the bright yellow and red West Yorkshire PTE livery contrasted with the more traditional blue and green of the heritage railcars and the steam-operated Great Western autotrain during this annual event on the Llangollen Railway. Trains operated on to the new section of track west of Carrog to give passengers a chance to sample part of the line extension towards Corwen.
George Jones spokesman for Llangollen Railway writes, 'The railbus certainly demonstrated its ability to accelerate away from stations and, if permitted to perform at its normal operational line speed, it would have made a significant reduction in the journey times. However, on a heritage railway, it is limited to a 25 mph maximum and so stayed within our scheduled timetable alongside the other trains.
'If the Ruabon to Barmouth route had remained open, and this sort of railbus had been operated on the line, then the services would have been considerably speeded up between the major centres. However the line would have been subject to wholesale rationalisation of facilities by British Rail and none of the heritage aspects enjoyed by visitors today at stations on the Llangollen Railway would feature on the modernised railway, similar as to what has happened elsewhere on the national network.'
The driver's console has definite bus-like features within its compact presentation of controls - only the wheel is missing! The riding of these four-wheeled vehicles on old-style jointed track leaves something to be desired; a run from Ruabon to Barmouth in one might have been an 'experience.'
The Class 109 'Wickham' unit at Glyndyfrdwy working the 10:45 Bonwm to Llangollen on 23 June (Chris Jones-Bridger).
Special Guest 141 113 arriving at Glyndwfrdwy as the 11:25 Llangollen to Bonwm crossing the 11:20 Bonwm to Llangollen being worked by Class 108/104 sets on 23 June (Chris Jones-Bridger).
141 113 at Carrog working the 11:25 Llangollen to Bonwm crossing the push-pull auto-trailer, with steam 0-6-0 pannier tank 6430 propelling, on the 11:45 from Bonwm to Llangollen on 23 June (Chris Jones-Bridger).
The Class 104 set in Platform 1 at Llangollen after arrival on the 13:20 from Bonwm; class 127 in Platform 2 forming the 14:25 departure to Bonwm on 23 June (Chris Jones-Bridger).
Richard Putley writes: 'It was a spur of the moment decision to go, but I'm glad I did. It provided an opportunity to travel over the newly-extended line from Carrog to Bonwm. Not only did I get to ride on all the DMUs that were running but it also gave me a chance to enjoy the scenery and not some of the other rolling stock. Above, the general scene at Llangollen, with the River Dee running high.
'In particular the green and cream camping coach (above) reminded me of those at Fairbourne and other locations on the Cambrian Coast Line in the early 1970s. Indeed it was easy to imagine being back on the Cambrian in those days.
'Most of the LR's coaches are BR Mk1's but I did spot a GWR Hawksworth one in use as staff accommodation when I photographed the class 108/127 'hybrid' DMU approaching Llangollen (above). In the picture, although the main signals are at 'danger' the dummy (shunting ground signal) is 'pulled off' to allow it to approach at slow speed the Class 104 DMU which was already in Platform 1.'
The Class 105 coach which normally works with the 127 is currently out of service following asbestos-stripping work, and the 108 has been loaned to the railway as a replacement, until body corrosion in the 105 can be repaired, as well as the not-inconsiderable task of reconstructing the interior. (Thanks to Eddie Knorn for this information).
A late Sunday run by the 141, seen departing from Berwyn (George Jones).
Picture news
Gwrych Castle still awaits its often-promised revival as 47 804 passes with the Compass Tours excursion from North Wales to Weymouth on 8 June. Much more about this train in the next issue (Greg Mape).
66 848 on 6J37 Carlisle Kingmoor - Chirk logs at Gisburn Cotes on the Hellifield - Blackburn line, Wednesday 6 June (Ian Pilkington).
66 848 again with 6J37 from Carlisle to Chirk passing Ruabon at 19:05 on 20 June (Martin Evans).
Ffestiniog Railway 0-4-0TT Palmerston accompanied by coach no 15, 'curly roof' van no 1 and privately owned Motor Rail Simplex no 435 at the National Railway Museum Railfest, York, Thursday 7 June with LMS 4-6-2 no 6201 Princess Elizabeth in the background (Ian Pilkington).
Also taking part in the 9-day Railfest at the National Railway Museum were two locomotives familiar from North Wales duties but now in the DRS fleet: 37 419, and 57 309 (formerly Brains and now Pride of Crewe.) This flickr link refers.
Magazine watch
The July issue of Rail
Express magazine, now on sale, carries an article by our contibutor
Steve Morris on the Britannia Bridge fire of 1970, and the
ensuing repatriation of the locos marooned on Anglesey. There are nine
pages in total, with a large number of images taken by the cream of
North Wales railway photographers included, none (as far as is known)
published before. Steve tells an interesting story of events which now belong to a different age when trains of Irish cattle, freightliners, and trainloads of sulphur made their way across Anglesey. Looking at Llanfair PG station today, it is easy to forget that it had been cpmpletely closed in the 1960s, and the platforms removed; when it was re-instated for a shittle servive west of the fire site, a temporary stack of sleepers was used as a platform. Happily, when the bridge re-opened, it was decided to retain the famous station with the long name, a tourist attraction in itself. Just one of the absurditied of the 'Beeching era' - it is said that the managers of the London Midland Region at the time rejected any suggestion that staions could be operated with out any staff, as it would not be safe, so many were unncecessarily closed, while on the Eastern Region conductor-guard operation was common.
Meeting the Duchess - report by Glyn Jones
On Friday 8 June, together with other members of the Clwyd Railway
Circle, I visited the LNWR Co's works at Crewe. Whilst there, we were able to view, with permission, 46233 Duchess of Sutherland. She was in light steam and being prepared and serviced for her next day's outing with 'The Royal Scot' from Crewe to Carlisle.
It is often forgotten what goes on behind the scenes and I was most
impressed with the devotion and hard work her support crew put in, despite frequent, heavy downpours of rain. After seeing her on her last outing to North Wales, it was an unexpected bonus to view her again, this time at such close quarters.
The Royal Scot - pictures by Tom Donnelly
9 June, and 42633 beings her support coach into Crewe to take over 'The Royal Scot' excursion, 1Z33 from Milton Keynes to Carlisle.
The headboard is a replica of that used for a London - Glasgow train in the days when 46233 was green for the first time. To readers 'of a certain age' it will bring back nostalgic memories of Hornby-Dublo accessories.
Llangollen and Anglesey - report by Mark Youdan
I was one of those who took part in the Driver Experience with the visiting Class 141 unit (above) at Llangollen on Sunday 17 June. My guide and instructor was Evan Green-Hughes, the Chairman of the Llangollen Railcar Group and I had a brilliant afternoon with him.
The service trains on the Sunday were in the hands of 'Black 5' 4-6-0 44806 ...
... and Class 37 diesel 6940.
After I left Llangollen I carried on to Anglesey for a few days. Given
that the loco hauled Cardiff to Holyhead is to be retimed to run later from September, this will be the last summer that shots in daylight will be possible on the island. I was quite luck as on Monday 18 June it was 67 001 (above at Ty Croes) ...
... and on Tuesday 19 June it was 67 002, seen at Rhosneigr.
I stayed in position on both occasions to get a shot of the following Voyager on the 17:10 Euston to Holyhead. Above is un0named 221 116 at Ty Croes; the station has staggered platforms either side of a level crossing. which is protected by the signal shown.
This is 221 110 James Cook at Rhosneigr as the shadows fall on 19 June.
158 827 at Valley on 18 June with the 13:23 Holyhead to Birmingham International.
Editor's note: Recent Class 158 refurbishments no longer carry the 'Welsh Assembly Government' locos found on the initial examples, although they still have the space for it. Is this because the Government has changed its name to the Welsh Government and nobody has got round to making new vinyls? There are now just seven Arriva 158s waiting to be refurbished, of which just two, 819 and 826, retain the old Wales and Borders silver livery.
Talyllyn runs through floods
It spite of the weather over the weekend of 9 - 10 June the Talyllyn Railway managed to run a full service. Flooding at Cynfal nearly two miles from Tywyn delayed the morning departures on 9 June, but all trains ran including an extra charter special. The Railway has sent us these pictures of the soggy situation at Cynfal.
Spokesman Ian Drummond comments: 'We appreciate that we were not as severely affected as others by the rain, and we thank all those who made sure that our trains ran throughout the week-end, as well as keeping people informed as to what was happening. However, our thoughts are with who have suffered as a result of the flooding.'
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