NORTH WALES COAST
RAILWAY:NOTICE
BOARD
|
|
Home |
Notice Board | Travel
Information | Calendar | History | Route
Guide
| For Railfans | Links
| Contact |
|
30 August 2012Last issue Archive RSS Link to this issue Share this issue: Tweet Contributions and comments are encouraged: see the Contributions Page This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and supporters, and especially the rail staff of North Wales. Recent issues 27 August 2012 The Great Marquess and the Welsh Mountaineer 22 August 2012 Llangollen weekend programme - report by George Jones Farewell Virgin, Hello First Number 9's last run (for this year) DRS Open Day 18 August - pictures by Richard Fleckney Freight views Working Timetables online Timetable troubles North Wales Jubilees Chasing the A4, 12 August - with John Myers Thomas gets Gold 20 August 2012 The Welsh Dragon - 18 August 13 August 2012 60009 rides again, 12 August Four days of locomotive pictures - by Stavros Lainas Marine visitor Basingtoke to Buxton via Middlewich Driving Van Trailer Training Mystery structure identified Out on the 'Long Drag' - report by David Parry Manchester Jubilees Day Out with Thomas Consultation or imposition? Looking back: A weekend in Anglesey - with Mark Youdan 09 August 2012 On the Welshpool and Llanfair - pictures by Martin Evans The Holyhead View - with M. Lloyd Davies Penrhyn Railway news - report by Stephen Hughes Cambrian Coast in yellow 06 August 2012 Push-Pull training starts Brush replaces Gresley - 5 August Virgin on Anglesey - pictures by Steve Morris The end of Virgin Trains? The Welsh Mountaineer 31 July 02 August 2012 Prestatyn Progress - report by Dave Sallery Compass Tours to Holyhead 175 002 repaired 60s Gala at Llangollen - report by Chris Jones-Bridger On the Parliamentary - report by George Jones Crewe 1995 - pictures by Peter Hanson Four-car Voyager Shrewsbury spruced up - report by George Jones Curzon Park Footbridge, Chester Forthcoming events This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived page. For the current list visit our Calendar. September 2012 31 August, 1 - 2 September Llangollen Railway Autumn Steam Gala Friday 7 September Clwyd Railway Circle Glyn Jones “John Summers & Sons Ltd” A look at the Steelworks at Shotton from its opening in 1896 to the closure of the heavy end in 1980. The talk includes footage of the iron ore trains from Bidston. Thursday 13 September Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Keith Jones with a double-barrelled show of 'The History of Penmaenmawr Quarry & its rail system' followed by 'Building and running miniature steam locomotives' Monday 17 September RCTS Chester North Staffordshire from the mid 1960s to the Early 1990s By Max Birchenough. Saturday 22 September Llangollen Railway Diesel Day Wednesday Sept 26 September. Ffestiniog Railway Society Cambrian Heritage Railways. H.Gallagher & R.Williams. Thursday 27 September LCGB North West John Owen "Vintage US Steam in Cuba" Thursday 27 September Merseyside Railway History Group Tom Heavyside: Narrow Gauge Tracks Saturday 29 September, Railway Ramblers club. Guided Walk from Tryfan Junction to Talysarn via Rhostryfan, Bryngwyn, Y Fron and Nantlle on or adjacent to the Welsh Highland and Nantlle railway trackbeds. For further details by post a reply to Chris Parker's message of 23/06/12 on the messages board of railwayramblers.org.uk. October 2012 Friday 5 October Clwyd Railway Circle Les Nixon “55 Years of Railway Photography (part 1)” The acclaimed railway photographer and entertaining speaker will treat us to an evening of nostalgia, including pre 1968 steam, foreign, modern traction and some preservation. The accent is on the unusual. Thursday 11 October Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society John Barden Davies tells us “How railways made North Wales a Tourism destination” Friday 12 October Altrincham Electric Railway Society "From Roade to York" colour slides of steam and modern traction at home and overseas from 1963 to the present day by Robin Patrick. Monday 15 October RCTS Chester Steam Classes that failed to make Preservation; Powerpoint presentation By John Cowlishaw Using Edgar Richards Photographs. Thursday 18 October Merseyside Railway History Group Gordon Davies: American Wanderings (note, not the last Thursday due, to redecoration of the hall) Wednesday 24 October Ffestiniog Railway Society Railways and Tramways around Blaenau Ffestiniog. D.Southern. (Note: not the last Wednesday this month.) Thursday 25 October LCGB North West Tom Heavyside "B R in the North West" November 2012 Friday 2 November Clwyd Railway Circle Dave Southern “Chester to Pwllheli” The slide show will follow a journey from Chester to Pwllheli via Oswestry. There will be slides of each of the lines we pass on the journey, based on the early 1960's. Thursday 8 November Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society AGM followed a look at “The Llandudno Transport Festival over the Years” (Guest Speaker) Friday 9 November Altrincham Electric Railway Society "30 Years of Steam Photography" a colour slide presentation by Phil Taylor. Monday 19 November RCTS Chester – Conway and Llandudno Junction in B.R Days by Larry Davies. Thursday 22 November LCGB North West Norman Matthews "Steam in New Zealand" Wednesday 28 November Ffestiniog Railway Society My life with trains. B.Bushell. Thursday 29 November Merseyside Railway History Group Andrew Scott: Around the world with 80 trains. December 2012 Friday 7 December Clwyd Railway Circle Members Night & Christmas Celebration. Members are invited to give a 15/20 minute presentation of their choice (any format). This will be interrupted by festive treats (all high calories). Members must book their slot with David Jones no later than 20 November. Thursday 13 December Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Christmas Social helped along by members Alex Cowan confirming to us that “Trainspotting was an education” and Larry Davies taking us back to “1962 – a year of change” Thursday 13 December Merseyside Railway History Group Angus Tilston: Film & Social evening Friday 14 December Altrincham Electric Railway Society "Steam Saved from the Scrapyard" a colour slide presentation by Tom Heavyside. Thursday 13 December LCGB North West Les Nixon "55 Years of Railway Photography – Part Two" Monday 17 December RCTS Chester Members Slide/Digital Images – 30 Slides or artefacts of your Choice January 2013 Friday 4 January Clwyd Railway Circle Pete Gray “Welsh Highland Railway” Our speaker for the night is the Safety & Development Manager of the WHR; previous to this, he was the Construction Manager from 2006-2010. Pete will be talking about his experiences during this time and the organization that is needed to keep the show on the road. Thursday 10 January Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Speaker to be confirmed Friday 11 January Altrincham Electric Railway Society "Transport around Manchester from 1750" a colour slide presentation by Chris Makepeace. Thursday 17 January LCGB North West Keith Naylor "Isle of Wight Railways" Monday 21 January RCTS Chester Branch A.G.M. followed By British slides between 1983 & 2010 By Alan Donaldson. Thursday 31 January Merseyside Railway History Group Geoff Coward: Northeast China Steam 2002 February 2013 Friday 1 February Clwyd Railway Circle Gordon Davies “American Wanderings 2, the Great Plains Drifter” - Recollections of Gordon’s trip in 2008, covering the largest open cast mine in Wyoming plus the world’s largest marshalling yard. Friday 8 February Altrincham Electric Railway Society "The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway" a digital presentation by Bob Barnard. Thursday 14 February Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Speaker to be confirmed Monday 18 February RCTS Chester The Northern Hub. A Talk By Duncan Law, Senior Programme Development Manager, Network Rail. Thursday 21 February LCGB North West Mike Taylor "Preston and North" Thursday 28 February Merseyside Railway History Group Dave Southern: Rails to Blaenau Ffestiniog March 2013 Friday 1 March Clwyd Railway Circle The Committee & Larry Davies. AGM followed by the talk “60 years ago – Diamond days” After the formality is over, we look forward to the talk by one of our favourite speakers. Friday 8 March Altrincham Electric Railway Society "The ICI Hopper Trains" a colour slide presentation by Brian Arnold. Thursday 14 March Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Speaker to be confirmed Monday 18 March RCTS Chester B.R in the early 1980’s By Tom Heavyside. Thursday 21 March LCGB North West Tony Harrison "The Dragon's Last Roar" Thursday 28 March Merseyside Railway History Group AGM: Members Slides April 2013 Friday 5 April Clwyd Railway Circle Michael Murphy 'Liverpool Overhead Railway' To finish off the season, a highly recommended speaker known for his light-hearted style of presentation. The talk will be followed by film footage of the railway in its heyday. Thursday 11 April Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Speaker to be confirmed Friday 12 April Altrincham Electric Railway Society "Current Developments on Metrolink" a digital presentation by Tony Williams, Manchester Area Officer, Light Rail Transit Association. Monday 15 April RCTS Chester Even Further Down Under: New Zealand In 2011 & 2012 By Geoff Morris. Thursday 18 April LCGB North West John Sloane 'Steam Sheds and Diesel Depots' Thursday 25 April Merseyside Railway History Group Richard Kells : Quiz and informal evening May 2013 Thursday 9 May Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Speaker to be confirmed Thursday 16 May LCGB North West AGM and Members/Visitors Slides & Digital Photos. |
67 002 on the Driving Van Trailer Driver Training run paid an unusual visit to bay platform 2 at Llandudno Junction on 28 August when driver Dave Trains requested an stop for inspection after a fault was discovered at Bangor. Picture by Peter Lloyd. Autumn Steam Gala, Llangollen Railway, 31 August and 1-2 September. Picture AssortmentColas Rail 66 849 on train 6J37, Carlisle - Chirk logs, Wednesday 22 August, between Rise Hill Tunnel and Dent on the Settle-Carlisle line (Ian Pilkington). Further to our earlier item on 'Jubilee' class locos on the North Wales Coast (22 August) here's one in colour: 45742 Connaught at Bangor on 15 August 1959. Picture by Denis Bates. Roger Carvell writes: 'I would agree that the Jubilee class was frequent on the coast. I saw many and had a lethargic ride behind one to Holyhead in 1965 when the class was well past its best. The 9Fs were almost daily between 1964-7 when I did my spotting, mainly on freight or permanent way work, from either Birkenhead or Speke Junction. 'The "Flying Pig" Ivatt 2-6-0s were indeed almost unknown, despite their numbers in the Stoke area. But on 9 July 1966 I recorded 43007 on Flint troughs with an up return special, the only Ivatt 4MT I ever saw on the North Wales Coast. That day I also logged Jubilee 45647 Sturdee, on the Leeds to Llandudno summer Saturday working.' The vessel Atlantis, seen off Barkby Beach, Prestatyn, on 12 August, working on the East-West Interconnector, a cable which will connect the Irish power system to the electricity grid in Britain with a capacity of 500 Megawatts. See the project website for more detail. Picture by Dave Sallery. The 09:45 Llandudno - Manchester calls at Rhyl on 21 August (Roly High). Timetable changes from 14 September will alter some of the workings on the Llandudno - Manchester axis. This train will continue as before, but the present 08:45 from Llandudno will start from Llandudno Junction and the extra morning short workings between Llandudno and Llandudno Junction will cease, among various other changes. Direct Rail Services Gresty Bridge depot, as seen from a passing train during a signal stop on 29 August, with some of the company's remarkable collection of traction on view. Twelve locomotives appear in the picture, of Classes 20, 37, 47, 57 and 66, including both the 'Northern Belle' liveried locos 47 832 and 47 790. 37 194 and 57 002 are on the nearest track, and the 66 is 66 302, with (we think) 37 425 behind. The Driving Van Trailer training train, 5Z51, in Platform 1 at Llandudno Junction on 28 August. After an interruption due to locomotive availability problems this train is running again Mondays-Fridays (see times in our 13 August issue) in the lead-up to the introduction of push-pull working on the Cardiff express, notionally from 17 September, although as far as we know the necessary Mk3 Coaches are not yet ready after refurbishment. The back-up plan to allow the train to reverse at Crewe to serve Wrexhm, as promised, is to use the existing coaches, which are not wired for use with a DVT, with a loco each end. Picture by Peter Lloyd. Two more years for WylfaBBC News reports that Wylfa nuclear power station (above, picture by M.Lloyd Davies) will be able to produce electricity for another two years after it was given permission to move fuel. The station already had a licence to generate power, but the remaining usable fuel was in Reactor 2 closed-down which had to be closed down, and eill be moved to Reactor 1. Fuel elements of this type are no longer manufactured; Wylfa is the only 'Magnox' power station still generating electricity, following the closure of Oldbury in Gloucestershire in February. The other nuclear stations in operation in the UK are of the Pressurised Water or Advanced Gas-cooled type. The extra income from Wylfa and Oldbury - which closed in February after generating electricity for four years longer than originally scheduled - is so far estimated to be worth around £600m. 'Wylfa's continued generation is excellent news and will deliver significant additional revenue to support our clean-up mission,' says Brian Burnett, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's head of programme for Magnox. Now Wylfa can continue generating electricity until the fuel runs out or September 2014, whichever is the sooner. The station is due to close after that date and plans for a replacement, known as 'Wylfa B' are on hold until a company can be found that is willing to operate it; last month it was announced the Areva [not Arriva!]group and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) group were to bid for the Horizon project, which includes Wylfa B. Llangollen Railway Classic Transport 25/26 AugustThe 'Classic Transport Weekend' at the Llangollen Railway on 25/26 August featured an intensive train service with two steam and one diesel locomotives plus the heritage Wickham railcar, as well as a host of road vehicles. Above, 2-8-0 3802 runs round its train at Llangollen. Picture by Richard Putley. Thanks to the weather forecast attendance was slow on Saturday but improved on Sunday which turned out to be one of the warmest days of this miserable summer so far. Above, 3802 again, arriving at Carrog. 'Black 5' 44806 was also on duty, seen at Glyndyfrdwy (picture by Richard Putley) with a replica(?) headboard for the 'Scottish Rail Tour' jointly run by the Stephenson Locomotive Society and the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. This impressive affair ran over a whole week in June 1962; the excellent Six Bells Junction website tells us that it was hauled by a sister 'Black 5' loco, 44978, as well as, at various times, twenty other steam engines including the various preserved Scottish locos which were in running order at the time. Passenger's view of Class 31 D5580 at Berwyn (Richard Putley). The Classic Road Transport activities were centred at Glyndyfrdwy station with the vehicles gathered in the field behind platform 2. (George Jones). The programme listed some 50 assorted cars, buses and motor bikes from the vintage era, but, in the event, others came as late entrants over both Saturday and Sunday. Buses from the former North Wales and Cheshire operator Crosville, as well as from Chester, Barrow in Furness, North Western, Southport, Midland Red, Bournemouth and Greater Manchester joined the contingent from the North West Museum of Road Transport to put on a show of some variety, their owners travelling from North Wales, Lancashire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Manchester, Merseyside and Birmingham. Above, Crosville Leyland Olympian DOG 104 (GFM 104X) dates from the latter days of Crosville when it was a subsidiary of the National Bus Company (George Jones). The entrants from the North West Museum of Road Transport in St Helens offered a half-hourly free bus service between Glyndyfrdwy and Corwen to provide a road run along the A5 and a view of the Llangollen Railway's line extension beyond Carrog. Above, ECW-bodied Bristol VRT DVL 435 (RMA 435Y) stands at Carrog with its destination blind set for Crosville route D94 Wrexham - Barmouth which was the 1960s replacement for the railway and survives today as route 94. Most popular was the open top Leyland PD2 type, formerly No.201 of Lancaster Corporation, and the weather proved suitable for the 'al fresco' journey on both days, other journeys being by Leyland National single decker No.1 from Widnes ... ... and Chester No.99, a newly-restored Dennis Dominator, plus the double deckers of the former Crosville fleet. Pictures by George Jones. Supplementing these were the two Crosville L-type single deckers of 1950s vintage (owned by John Oates, Chairman of the Mid-Cheshire Rail Users Association) as examples of how things used to be on local bus services. Above, SLB 178 (LFM 759) dates from 1950. Picture by Richard Putley. The collection of cars featured many former British makes with Triumph, Austin, Morris, Rover, Vauxhall and Jaguar being presented. Moorgate to Carrog - report by George Jones
|