01 October 2012
Last issue
Archive
RSS
Link to
this issue
Share this issue:
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
24
September
2012
Archive addition: 37s on Ballast
Stormy Weather
Class 56 on the logs
Exhibition: Corwen, A Railway Town
Llangollen's Autumn Diesel Day 22 September
Quarry Power on the Welsh Highland - report by Ian
Club 55 to Cheltenham (and website woes) - by
Stephen Hughes
20
September 2012
All Change for the Premier Service - special issue
17 September 2012
Rainbow at Helsby - report by Bob Greenhalgh
News from Arriva
Mind the (158) gap
Crewe to Tywyn by Club 55 - with Robert Darlaston
Mixed Gauge at Laxey
Carnforth to Holyhead
Training Turn
Picture Miscellany
Variety at Crewe - report by Martin Evans
Welshpool and Llanfair gala - report by David Parry
10
September 2012
News in Pictures
Llangollen Steam gala views - by Chris Jones-Bridger
Suburban detail
A Class 67 day out - report by Charlie Hulme
Three rails to Snaefell Summit - by David Parry
Liverpool Central (Wirral) reopens - report by George
Jones
03 September 2012
Heritage Weekend: Chester Station
Change looms for the WAG Express
Class 47s in the Conwy Valley
Virgin strikes back
Saturday on the Coast - with Roly High
Doing the Round Robin - report by Greg Mape
Welsh Holiday - with Ben Bucki
The Bill Rear legacy
A day on the Isle of Man Railway - with David Parry
30
August
2012
Picture Assortment
Two more years for Wylfa
Llangollen Railway Classic Transport 25/26 August
Moorgate to Carrog - report by George Jones
Bank Quay Scenes - report by Martin Evans
Prestatyn renewed - pictures by Dave Sallery
The Mersey Moorlander - report by Stephen Hughes
Timetable Twaddle
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
Forthcoming
events
This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived
page. For
the current list visit our Calendar.
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.
Saturday-Sunday 6-7 October Manchester
Model
Railway Society Exhibition, the Armitage Centre,
Moseley
Road, Fallowfield, Manchester (several bus services run from
a stop
near Oxford Road station.)
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.
|
57 307 Lady Penelope passing RAF Valley on 22
September with the 14:38 Saturdays-only return Pendolino to
London
Euston, due to arrive in the capital at 18:38. Picture by M.Lloyd
Davies. The future of Virgin Trains after 8 December
still hangs
in the balance awaiting a judicial review.
Welcome
to the first issue
following the installation of our new (well, only 6-year-old but
reconditioned)
computer. Apologies for any quirks which may occur. - Charlie
Weekend events
On Saturday 6 October
in
conjunction with the Snowdonia Arts Festival at Betws-y-Coed, the Llanrwst Male Voice Choir
will be
gathered at Betws-y-Coed Railway Station to deliver some
genuine Welsh
singing from 11:00 to meet passengers off the 10:22 train
from
Llandudno. Their concert will last some 45 minutes and
it will be
the first time we will have had such an event at a Valley
line station.
The Festival runs from 5-7 October: full details of the many
events
taking place can be found on the on the Festival
website.
The Manchester
Model
Railway Society Exhibition is open Saturday (10:00 -
18:00)
and Sunday (10:00 - 17:00) 6-7 October at the Armitage
Centre, Moseley
Road, Fallowfield, Manchester (served by several bus
services run from
a stop near Oxford Road station.)
The Wirral Bus and Tram
Show
takes place at Taylor St depot and Woodside Ferry Terminus,
Birkenhead,
10am - 4pm. Sunday 7
October.
Admission is free: there are sales stands at Taylor St.,
Vintage cars at Woodside Ferry, and Vintage Buses at
Littlewood's car
park giving free rides, and of course the Birkenhead tramway
(fare
£1) will be operating. Programmes are available on the
day,
price £1:00. See the Merseyside
Tramway
Preservation Society website for details.
Another look at the at the Arriva Premier Express
We present another selection of Premier Service / WAG
Express pictures.
Above, the picture by Mark Watson shows 67 002 top-and-tailed
with 67 001 on the
final train 1W91 16:15
Cardiff - Holyhead via Crewe on Friday 14 September.
The train
has just passed through Wrenbury station at 18:50 running
somewhat late.
Daylight pictures of the re-routed and re-timed train are
going to be
hard to get; here are portraits by M.Lloyd
Davies of the soon-to-be-replaced Mk2 vehicles
stabled for the
weekend at Holyhead on 23 September.
Mk 2F Brake Standard Open 9539. Of the 30 vehicles of this
class built
at Derby in 1973-4, 15 were later converted to Driving
Trailer Brake
Open Seconds for use in Scotland, and later East Anglia, on
push-pull
services and renumbered 9700 - 9714 - five of them have
since passed to
Network Rail and gained yellow livery. Others still exist in
storage;
one wonders if Arriva Trains Wales ever considered obtaining
some. Incidentally, modellers can obtain transfers for this
livery scheme from Precision
Labels.
Mk 2F Tourist Standard Open 6137. The Mk 2F variant was the
last type
to be built before the longer Mark 3 vehicles became the
standard. Originally they features the same internal
fittings to be used in the later Mark 3 type, but have been
refurbished a number of times since then. These examples
still feature all seats in groups of four aroiund tables,
though.
Tourist Standard Open 5976. As mentioned in Adam Barnard's
report
below, these vehicles appear to be in excellent condition.
Perhaps they
will be sold back to West Coast Railway Company whence they
were
obtained in the early days of Arriva Trains Wales when
Graeme Bunker was
Managing Director.
David Peacock
travelled
on on the Cardiff-bound service on Thursday morning 6
September, and
took these interior views just north of Shrewsbury.
David writes: I was one of only four passengers from Crewe
in the
carriage. One more chap joined at Shrewsbury, but it was
obvious he was "rail industry" anyway.' We are assured that
evening meals will be
served on the new evening service even after leaving
Chester, until the
chef leaves the train at Rhyl. Reports on this are welcome.
We still have no date for the introduction of the 'new' Mark
3 coaches,
although 'October' is still being bandied around. In the
view above,
taken at Barrow Hill in September 2011, several of the
actual coaches
now being refurbished in Cardiff can be seen in the
background, in Blue
and Grey livery as re-applied by the ill-fated Cargo-D
company. The
Mark 3s can be distinguished by their roof corrugations.
The new 'Irish Mancunian'?
An unusual working the new timetable on the North Wales
Coast line, althoughcommon on other Arriva Trains Wales
routes, involved the 08:50 train from Manchester Poiccadilly
on Mondays - Fridays. This is formed of a pair of two-car
units coupled together, which separate at at Chester. The
first unit (the only one advertised to have a refreshment
trolley) then departs Chester at 09:58 to Holyhead, calling
only at Llandudno Junction and Bangor, arriving at Holyhead
11:20.
The second unit departs Chester at 10:02 and heads for
Llandudno. Unlike other xx.50 trains from Manchester,
however, it does not call at all stations west of Chester,
missing Shotton and Abergele and leaving a 92-minute gap in
westbound service at those places. This enables it to match
the Llandudno arrival times of 'normal' Manchester -
Llandudno trains which depart Chester at xx:55.
Apparently the intended consist is a pair of Class 158
units, although Class 150s have been seen, possibly pending
the completion of the Class 158 refurbishment programme.
Manchester has had no through trains to Bangor or Holyhead
since the demise some years ago of the daily boat train
which used to depart Manchester (originally Victoria, later
Picccadilly) at 10:03, killed off by Arriva's idea for a
'clockface timetable.' Now, in addition to the 08:50, the
07:50 from Manchester runs to Holyhead and the 10:50 to
Bangor, both formerly Llandudno trains. On Saturdays,
however. all the above trains still simply run to Llandudno
as before.
In the eastbound direction, there is no return Holyhead -
Manchester 'boat train' and just one Bangor - Manchester
service, the 13:31 Bangor - Manchester. which again is
Monday - Friday only, and has no sensible connection from
Llandudno.
'Last of the Summer WAG', or 'The Long Way Round' - by
Adam Barnard
I was travelling back to university in Bangor from Sudbury
in deepest
darkest Suffolk, and decided to try and get in a ride on one
of the
final Mark 2-operated 'WAG expresses'. The original plan was
to go via
Shrewsbury but Virgin have made me dislike them so much
recently with
their e-petition nonsense, that I decided to go with
First Great
Western (FGW) to Newport, then get the express from there,
going the
long way round (as it were).
I arrived at Sudbury station (above) on Tuesday 11 September
at about
07:30 - mum could only drop me off before she went to
work - and after a
tearful goodbye with mum I caught the 07:59 service to Marks
Tey.
There were some delays due to an "ongoing police
investigation" at
Brentwood, so I stayed at Marks Tey for a while as many
fast-moving
commuter trains sped through the station without stopping.
For those
who are interested, Marks Tey is laid out like Helsby
station, but with
one half of the "Y" being only single track and
platform. 156 422
(above) is working the
Sudbury shuttle service for the day.
I eventually caught the 0956 to London Liverpool
Street, this
being a very fast train that calls only at Witham and
Chelmsford. I
then travelled to Paddington via the Circle line, on a very
grotty
C-stock train.
After a long-ish wait at Paddington I boarded the train I
was booked
on, the 12:45 to Newport. I have always like FGW's HSTs,
with the
seat-back televisions and high-backed seats made by Grammer
of Germany, the same seats that are reportedly being fitted
to Arriva's new Welsh
Government-sponsored Mark 3s.
After a very pleasant journey that included watching an
episode of
'Fawlty Towers' on my seat-back television I arrived in
Newport (above).
I was missing my family at this point, and was quite
miserable but was
cheered up by the sight of 170
101,
a
train
I had ridden between Ely and Cambridge a few days earlier.
It
reminded me I was not that far from home.
After another long wait at Newport, 67
003 turned up with the Northbound express. I got a
seat, despite
the train being quite busy, and I noted what good condition
the
carriages are in. They are much better than Greater Anglia's
Mark 3s,
and it seems a real shame they will be stored very soon.
I have always liked the Marches line, but this run was very
special as
it was from a "proper" train and the first time I had
travelled on the
leg from Newport to Hereford. I noted a lone photographer at
Craven
Arms, and many at Shrewsbury taking pictures of this
soon-to-be extinct
train.
As we ventured northwards toward Crewe, a storm broke many
miles away,
causing a large rainbow. How poignant, I thought, as it
marked the
death of the train in it's current form.
We arrived at Crewe on time ...
... but it was spookily empty for some reason,
and looked
like it had been abandoned. We passed Beeston castle in
broad sunlight,
and arrived in Chester, before a very pleasant run along the
coast to
Bangor. It was a lovely trip and I would recommend it to
anyone, as the
Marches line never disappoints. I hope the new Mark 3
coaches are
refurbished to a high standard, as they have a lot to live
up to, and
hopefully some use is found for the current Mark 2s. Only
time will
tell.
Night had fallen by the time we neared Bangor.
Class 97/3 doings - report by Mark Watson
Two pictures of the Network Rail class 97s that were used on
an
Aberystwyth - Carlisle Statesman excursion as far as Crewe
on Saturday
8 September. The first depicts 97 302 and 97 303 accelerating away
from a signal check at Wrenbury while working light engine
back to
Shrewsbury from Crewe. The semaphore signals here are on
borrowed time
and will soon be replaced by bi-directional colour lights
controlled
from the South Wales signalling Centre in Cardiff.
97 303 and 97 302 hauling the
Aberystwyth -
Carnforth empty stock on Sunday 9 September at Oss Mere,
near
Whitchurch. The signal on the left, WH2, has been 'bagged'
out of use
for several months.
Corwen Project Update - by George Jones
Following a major review of the Corwen project, the Board of
the Llangollen
Railway Trust has reluctantly concluded that, due to
the present
economic climate, it will not be possible to fund the
proposed 'Phase
2' terminal station at Corwen in the foreseeable future
without
substantial grant aid. However, the Board believes it is
essential to
run steam train services to Corwen as soon as possible and
to achieve
this aim a modified 'Phase 1' scheme will provide for the
early
completion of a 'Corwen East' station.
To allow steam trains to operate to Corwen on a regular
basis a
run-round loop will be installed some 170 metres east of the
platform.
on land which is available within the boundaries of the
line. (The
Llangollen Railway has the necessary turn-out pointwork to
allow for
such a loop line to be constructed.) The four-coach-length
platform for
Corwen East station will be constructed near to the end of
the existing
embankment. This revised location will be possible when
underbridge 30
is removed and the trackbed filled in after Denbighshire
County Council
has installed a larger culvert as part of improved flood
control
arrangements. This new location for the platform end
ramp will
provide for a graded access on to the entrance track for
Welsh Water’s
Corwen Sewerage works. It will dispense with the provision
of a long
three-staged access ramp and save the cost of an expensive
item of
infrastructure. Some form of portable building will be
provided in this
area as a temporary shelter for passengers and to offer
basic
facilities for railway staff.
Tracklaying
Whilst there has been a lull in the track laying since the
big effort
to get the extension ready for the 'SSS3' gala in April,
efforts have
continued throughout the summer to prepare the next section
for track.
After stripping of the surface vegetation, the centre line
for the
track has been undertaken by contractors using GPS
positioning.
Continued attention has been given to the lineside
vegetation clearance
and fencing, as well as culvert clearance and embankment
access at the
Corwen end.
The provision of an Otter Licence has allowed for the
installation of
an otter fence alongside the environmentally sensitive River
Dee
section. Meanwhile the stockpiling of material has
progressed using the
gated access point from the A5 at the Bonwm Halt site. It
should be
noted that there is no intention to reinstall a halt
platform at the
old site which would no loner meet modern requirements or be
safe in
terms of its access to the A5 road. However it is the
intention to
position a board here to advise this was once the site of
Bonwm Halt as
provided by the GWR.
Work on extending the track west of the current rail head at
Plas Bonwm
farm is due to restart shortly, once delivery of ballast
supplies is
completed. This will see the stop block moved forward to the
area
adjacent to the A5 road. Beyond there work will proceed on
the laying
of the base ballast and the distribution of concrete
sleepers towards
Corwen before further track is laid during the autumn and
winter
2012/13.
However the overbridge No.28a near Plas Derwen, a farmer’s
occupation
access, requires major work to repair the brick arch, the
abutments and
the water proofing and concreting of the cap which will be
underway
during the autumn. Other underpasses in the area of the
Corwen East
station also require significant attention.
During the summer months, on various special event days, a
shuttle
service of trains ran west of Carrog to show visitors the
extent of the
current extension and to maintain interest in the project.
These
occasions saw both the Class 109 Wickham DMU operate and the
single
coach auto train with pannier tank 6430. An unusual
opportunity to
provide viewing of the work was provided during the Classic
Transport
event at the end of August, when an open top bus, amongst
others, gave
the high level view of the length of the extension from the
A5 road
through to Corwen.
Funding
All this work will proceed subject to the availability of
finance and
Llangollen Railway Trust continues to work hard to raise the
match
funding for the grant aid of £500,000 provided by the
Welsh
Assembly Government which kick started the project. To date
the Trust
has received over £110,000 from donations from
supporters and
well wishers, including gift aid claimed. A current estimate
of the
costs indicates a requirement in excessive of
£200,000 to
complete phase 1 of the project and more support in needed
in terms of
donations and sponsorship for elements of this work.
It is worth considering that the cost of a sleeper with rail
section
and associated fittings can be estimated at £25, and a
further
£3000 or so are needed to complete the section towards
Corwen,
plus ballast and other civil engineering work.
The acquisition of funds remains a challenge for the Trust
and an
appeal for sponsorship from local businesses has been
launched, but
further support from well-wishers is needed if the project
is to be
successfully completed to allow trains to run in 2014.
Looking back
Two pictures submitted by John
Hobbs
to show locations shown in their present-day form in recent
issues.
Above: LMS Class 5 4-6-0 44807
arrives at Wrexham (General) with the 11.40 Birkenhead
(Woodside) to London (Paddington) after a morning snow
fall on
Saturday 3 December 1966; the locomotive would work this
service from
Chester (General) - where the train reversed - to
Shrewsbury.
Sister loco 44806 is now a stalwart of the Llangollen
Railway.
LMS Class 8F 2-8-0 48697
at
Llangollen Goods Junction with the Railway Correspondence
and Travel
Society, Merseyside Branch, 'Wrexham Mold & Connahs Quay
Railtour'
on Saturday 29 April 1967; the last steam train from
Llangollen under
BR auspices. The full details of this tour can be found, as
with many
others, on the marvellous Railtour
Files website. Ruabon to Morfa Mawddach had closed to
passengers in
1965, but Ruabon to Llangollen Goods was retained for
diesel-hauled
freight until April 1968. According to the official history
of the
Llangollen Railway, the passengers on the railtour were not
allowed to
to alight at Llangollen passenger station, as this might
encourage the
International Eisteddfod organisers in their campaign to
allow
excursion trains to run.
Corwen exhibition - report by George Jones
The exhibition "Corwen - A Railway Town" opened on time on
Friday 28
September in the Oriel Gallery, Corwen, when Llangollen
Railway Trust
chairman, Jim Ritchie, was joined by Martin Christie from
Carrog
station to lift the Welsh flag from the entrance
photographic
display.
Initial attendance was mainly by those who had played a role
in setting
up the displays, but by lunchtime other visitors began
arriving to take
in the exhibits and favourable comments were left by all of
them about
the quality and content of the exhibition. Of particular
appeal is the
digital slide show comprising some 200 assorted views of
Corwen and its
railway over the past many decades which comes with steam
age sound
track accompaniment. It is a notable collection of images
shown to
advantage via the modern medium on a large screen.
The display containing details of the Llangollen Railway's
track
extension project was well received and many questions asked
about
progress and delivery of the trains back to the Corwen East
station,
pending provision of the ultimate terminal station.
Mr Chris Magner from Bridgnorth, Shropshire also attended to
launch his
new book : Ruabon to Barmouth - A tribute to a Welsh "West
Highland
Line" (see below.) The exhibition will be open again from
October 4 –
7, between 10am and 4pm. Admission is free.
To Dundee, come Hell or High Water - report by Roly High
It's 5 am on a very wet Wednesday morning 26 September at
Hooton,and
West Coast Railway's 47
786
Roy Castle OBE has brought the empty stock from Carnforth
via Helsby
and Ellesmere Port to form 1Z52, the Compass Tours charter
to Dundee.
47 760 at the rear of the train will now become the lead
loco for the
long haul through Chester, Stockport, Huddersfield,
Wakefield Kirkgate,
York, Newcastle and Edinburgh(bypass), over the Forth and
Tay bridges
and into Dundee.
Metrolink tram 3011 waiting to start the day's work at
Altrincham.
Great credit must be given to Network Rail, West Coast
Railways, and
Compass Tours staff for getting us to Dundee on what was a
very trying
couple of days on the railway network. Herculean
work by Network Rail staff enabled us to get as far as
Northallerton,
North of York on the East Coast main line. The area here was
very badly
affected by flood water, so we had to divert off the
main line, and head off in the direction of Stockton-on-Tees
to bypass
Darlington. After a reversal, we rejoined the main line for
a trouble
free run through Durham, and onward to Scotland.The result
of the
reversal placed 47 760 at the rear of the train again, seen
above upon
arrival at Dundee.
Glad to see the bacon buttie van back on the train!
47 786 after arrival at Dundee.
The nameplate, recently restored to its place on 47 786.
The departure board at Dundee. I wonder how much it will
cost to remove
all the Virgin Trains stop boards off the whole Virgin
network? In the
distance a Scotrail unit is climbing the bank out of the
station bound
for Perth.
Due to the sharp curve after departing Dundee station,a
photo can be
taken of the Tay bridge(s),from the carriage window;
you get a
good view of the piers of the original bridge which
collapsed son after
it was built, while a train was crossing.
Despite the great efforts of Network Rail, and good teamwork
by West
Coast Railways / Compass Tours, they still could not prevent
the
termination of the train at Chester (above).This was due to
emergency engineering works at Hooton because off the
flooding, which
had caused great disruption to Merseyrail services
over the
previous couple of days.
An ignominious end to a good day's train travel,a
replacement bus to
take us back to Hooton. Great credit to Compass Tours
for a
well-organized trip.
New book on Ruabon to Barmouth - reviewed by George
Jones
Yes, another book about the line across Wales, but one with
a
difference. Chris Magner's latest title, Ruabon to Barmouth - A Tribute
to the
Welsh "West Highland line", was launched at the
Corwen
exhibition on 28 September.
Ruabon to Barmouth
is
the result of many years of study and research into the
recent history
of the route. The starting point is the 1950s when the
author first
became acquainted with it as a schoolboy, then through the
years
leading up to Dr Beeching's report and the closure in
January 1965,
followed by the wilderness years with the eventual
demolition and then
the revival efforts at Bala Lake and Llangollen.
The text and layout is in the author's own inimitable style
and
presents a level of detail no ordinary publisher would
countenance.
Here is the story of the past 50 or so years that you won't
read
anywhere else. A work of some magnitude it comes with the
reminiscences
of railway enthusiasts, railwaymen and passengers of the BR
years,
followed by the recollections of the preservationists who
took on the
challenge of rebuilding the railways on two sections of the
former
through route.
The book is privately published by the author as A4 size,
136 pages
spiral bound with limp cover. Illustrations are black &
white, as
well as some colour, photographs, mostly previously
unpublished from
private collections. Whilst some of the pictures are of
marginal
quality, they are included for their rarity and are all the
more
acceptable because of the unusual scenes they depict in less
than ideal
weather conditions in the pre-digital age.
As a privately published title the initial production run is
limited
and availability will be by postal sales from the author's
home
address. Cost is £12 plus £1.40 UK postage
and orders
can be sent to : Mr C J Magner at 21 Dunval Road,
Bridgnorth,
Shropshire WV16 4NA.
North Wales
Coast
home page Archive Previous
Notice Board
|