This site is dedicated to all our regular contributors and supporters,
and especially the rail staff of North Wales.
Forthcoming events
This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived page. For
the current list visit our Calendar.
May 2013
Friday 3 - Monday 6 May Ffestiniog
Railway Steam 150: A Narrow Gauge Odyssey
Saturday 4 May Steam
on the Coast Vintage
Trains
The Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza - GWR 4-6-0s 4965 +
5043: Tyseley - Llandudno and return. Cancelled.
Saturday 4 May Excursion Statesman Rail 'Llandudno
Victorian
Statesman' Cambridge and stations to Nuneaton to Llandudno Junction and
Llandudno.
Saturday 11 May As part of the Steam
Dreams
8-day 'Cathedrals Explorer' a diesel (97/3) loco-hauled run from
Shrewsbury to Porthmadog connecting with a special on the Ffestiniog.
The journey continues on 13 May from Bangor to Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Traction (steam?) to be arranged.
Thursday 16 May LCGB North West AGM
and Members/Visitors Slides & Digital Photos.
Saturday 18 May ExcursionCompass Tours 'The Heart of Wales Scenic
Rambler'
Holyhead, Llanfair PG, Bangor, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl,
Flint, Chester, Crewe, Whitchurch, Wem & Shrewsbury to Llandrindod
& Cardiff.
Wednesday 29 May Compass Tours 'Ynys
Mon
Express' Southport - Holyhead. (Was to be steam, but has been changed
to diesel due to 'loco availability issue.')
Saturday 8 June Wirral 0
Gauge Group Open Day, Unit 7, The Odyssey Centre,
Corporation Road,
Birkenhead CH41 1HB British model trains running 13:00 to 17:00.
Admission £2 - ample free parking. Nearest Station Birkenhead
Park. Contact 0151 653 0637 or j.elliott37[at]sky.com for more
information.
Saturday 6 July. The Welsh
N-Gauge Model Railway Show, organised by the N-Gauge Society
North Wales Area Group.An exclusively N-Gauge Exhibition with layouts
from the Group and visiting layouts in British and American outline. St
Mary's Church hall, Rosehill Steet, Conwy LL32 8LD,10.00am to 4.00pm,
adults £3.00 Children £1.50 Refreshments available.
Hall fully disabled accessible - car parking, bus stops and rail
station adjacent.Further information: 01492 572633.
Saturday 6 July ExcursionStatesman Rail
'Welsh Mountain Statesman' Saturday 25 May 2013 Sheffield, and stations
to Wolverhampton to Aberystwyth for the Vale of
Rheidol Railway. (Fully booked.)
Sunday 28 July Steam on the CoastRailway Touring Company 'North Wales
Coast
Express' Liverpool - Holyhead - Liverpool. Loco 45305, 46233, 60009 or
70013.
Tuesday 30 July Steam on the Coast Railway Touring Company 'The Welsh
Mountaineer'
Preston-Frodsham-Llandudno Jc -Blaenau Ffestiniog and return. Loco
45305 or 61994.
Sunday 4 August Steam on the CoastRailway Touring Company 'North Wales
Coast Express' Crewe - Holyhead, steam-hauled Manchester Piccadilly -
Altrincham - Chester - Holyhead and return by 45305/70013
Saturday 17 August Vintage Trains 'The
Welsh
Dragon' Tyseley - Llandudno Junction and return. Loco 5043
Sunday 18 August Steam on the CoastRailway Touring Company 'North Wales
Coast Express' Liverpool - Holyhead - Liverpool. Loco 45305, 46233,
60009 or 70013.
Tuesday 20 August Steam on the Coast Railway Touring Company 'The Welsh
Mountaineer'
Preston-Frodsham-Llandudno Jc -Blaenau Ffestiniog and return. Loco
45305 or 61994.
Saturday 24 August Wirral 0
Gauge Group Open Day, Unit 7, The Odyssey Centre,
Corporation Road,
Birkenhead CH41 1HB American model trains running 13:00 to
17:00. Admission £2 - ample free parking. Nearest Station
Birkenhead Park.
Contact 0151 653 0637or j.elliott37[at]sky.com for more
information.
Sunday 1 September Steam on the CoastRailway Touring Company
'North Wales Coast Express' Crewe - Holyhead, steam-hauled Manchester
Piccadilly - Altrincham - Chester - Holyhead and return by 45305/70013.
Tuesday 3 September Steam on the
Coast Railway Touring Company 'The
Welsh Mountaineer'
Preston-Frodsham-Llandudno Jc -Blaenau Ffestiniog and return. Loco
45305 or 61994.
Sunday 8 September Steam on the CoastRailway Touring Company
'North Wales Coast Express' Crewe - Holyhead, steam-hauled Manchester
Piccadilly - Altrincham - Chester - Holyhead and return by 45305/70013.
Since the last timetable change, Class 158 units have been seen
regularly on the Manchester - Llandudno service, which for some years
past monopolised by 175s except during shortages. The key reason for
this is the re-appearance of a Manchester - Holyhead 'boat train' in
the form of two through coaches attached to the 08:50 Manchester -
Llandudno as far as Chester where they are detached and run
limited-stop to Holyhead. Class 158s, with their end corridor
connections make it possible for one conductor to reach all of the
combined train. The 158 that goes to Llandudno returns with the 11:44
Llandudno - Manchester Piccadilly, where it spends the customary
sojourn in the loop siding beyond the station, before returning as the
14:50 Manchester - Llandudno. 158 822
is seen on thus service passing Deansgate station in our
picture above, which dates, like all those in this item, on 17 April.
Oddly perhaps, the Holyhead service does not run at weekends when more
passengers for the ferry to Ireland might be around.
Moment later, 158 822 takes the main Manchester South Junction route
towards Ordsall Lane Junction where it will join the historic Liverpool
and Manchester Railway line across Chat Moss and as far as Earlestown,
where North Wales trains descend the connection to the West Coast Main
line. Meanwhile, Metrolink tram 3017 heads
for
Eccles.
Overhead
wires
for
the
Manchester
-
Liverpool
electrification
scheme
are
now in place under the two bridges; the
disused one behind is a little lower than the other, but the wires have
been installed without major problems. The Liverpool-Manchester project
introduces an innovative new
generation of electrification equipment, developed by Network Rail,
called the Series II Design Range, according to a detailed article in
the online journal The Rail Engineer.
St Peter's Square in the City Centre, which is going to be transformed
in the next few years. Work is under way on 'improvements' to the Town
Hall and Central Library behind the hoardings seen in the picture, and
major changes to the square involve moving the Cenotaph to a new
position behind the two trams in the picture, on the site of the former
'Peace Garden' which has already been destroyed in preparation. It is
hoped that a new four-platform station here will be the junction for an
additional line which will turn left in front of the Victorian building
in the background, and form an additional route to Victoria. St Peter's
Square will be remain double track; at present 25 trams per hour in
each direction pass this point, and there will more in the future.
The 26 Italian-built Metrolink trams from 1991-2, and the later small
batch of 6 from 2000, are all scheduled for early withdrawal, several
having gone already. However the new Austrian-built 'bananas' do not
have the retractable steps necessary if a twin-unit is to call at the
partially low platform of Mosley Street station. The solution is to
close that stop, but for the moment the old cars still cling on, mostly
working a daytime service of double units on the Bury - Altrincham
direct service. 1023 and 1003 are seen above approaching
Shudehill station, passing what was once a well-known electronics
shop. 1003 is the only old tram to have received the yellow
livery, in a vinyl version advertising the Imperial War Museum North.
There will be 94 of the new vehicles when current orders are complete,
at the time of writing there are 67, although several have yet to see
public service. See British
Trams Online for full spotting details. The former textile
warehouse in the centre reveals behind its stone frontage a
modern-style steel-framed structure.
The line beyond Shaw to Rochdale Railway station is now open, served by
trams from St Werburgh's Road (Chorlton) which run direct, not via
Piccadilly station. Explorers from North Wales can alight at Oxford
Road station, and either walk to St Peter's Square or catch a train the
short distance back to Deansgate where a bridge connects to
Deansgate-Castlefield station. Alternatively an interesting walk along
the canal towpath makes an interesting diversion. 3045, seen above, is arriving at
Rochdale station, having descended a single-track ramp alongside the
Network Rail station (still served by trains on the Calder Valley
route) which is seen in the background. A street-running extension to
Rochdale town centre is nearing completion.
Chester Model Railway Club open days
Chester Model Railway Club have Open Days on Saturday and Sunday 11 and
12 May, open 10:00-16:00. Venue is Upton Royal British Legion, Heath
Road, CH2 1HX. There will be four layouts, one of which the
public can control, plus one or two traders. There's plenty or car
parking and disabled access, or from Bache station turn right and walk
along Mill Lane and Heath Road for about 1km. Admission: Adults
£3, Children £1, Family £7 (2+2) More details at www.chestermodelrailwayclub.com.
Newsreel
A Network Rail measurement train stabled at Bangor on 24 April, with 31
465 as traction ...
... and driving trailer 9714 at the other end. Note the variation in
colours. 9714 appears to be painted all over in 'front warning panel
yellow' whilst the test coach is in the paler shade which has been used
by Network Rail in the past. Both pictures by Adam Barnard.
66 001, resplendent in a
coat of DB
Schenker pink, brings the evening steel coils for Shotton through
Gobowen. pausing for a signal check on 25 April (Martin Evans).
57 302 and 90 044 at Crewe on 26 April, the 57
on 'Thunderbird' duties and the 90 on the Virgin Trains 'Pretendolino'
rake of Mark 3 coaches. We understand that a crew-training run
from London
to Crewe is made with this train on most Fridays, to retain staff
familiarity in case the train is chartered. Until the 'end' of the
Virgin last year it was an advertised passenger run
Fridays-only
18:43 Euston to Crewe. Picture by Martin
Evans.
Chester on 26 April, 31 106
and 37 904John Tiley arrived at into Chester
from the Helsby with a measurement train (Martin Evans).
The driver changed ends and the train departed back towards Warrington.
Again, notice the colour variation.
The southbound Holyhead - Cardiff premier service passes Leaton,
Shropshire at 08:00 on 26 April (Stavros
Lainas).
56 105 at Rossett en route to Chirk with a load of
timber at 18:23 on 27 April (Stavros
Lainas).
Further to our previous coverage of the run
of newly-built pacific Tornado to Holyhead, and other events on 20-21
April, M.Lloyd Davies has sent
a collection of pictures which we've made into a slide show for your
enjoyment.
Biomass expedition - report
by Andrew Vinten
I visited Ellesmere Port earlier on 26 April, hoping to catch the new
train carrying imported 'biomass' fuel for Ironbridge power station
being loaded. I had heard that the train had been stabled at Hooton
overnight. When I arrived at the loading point 66 702Blue Lightning was stabled and 66 746 (above) was assisting in the
loading procedure. The biomass (wood pellets from North America) was
blowing all over the place.
I then moved to a local crossing and managed a photo of 66 746 crawling
along; once loading had ceased it propelled the train back into the
siding.
66 746 then uncoupled from the train, coupled to 66 702 and then
re-attached to the train.
The train then departed from the docks and recessed in the Goods Loop
at Ellesmere Port.
Later, 66 746 detached and ran to Crewe where it was photographed by Martin Evans posing with DRS loco 37 667. 66 746 is one of five
which previously worked for Colas Rail numbered in the 66/8 series.
Past Times with John Hobbs - at Shotton High Level
Above: on 17 March 1965, GWR 0-6-2T 6626
passes Shotton (High Level) station with coal for Shotwick Sidings from
the Wrexham area pits. This is on the former LNER line from Wrexham
(Central) to Bidston (Seacombe before 1960), always an odd line; Great
Western power on this line formerly operated by ex-LNER engines was
quite a turnaround. In earlier years coal for Shotton Steelworks seemed
to come from the Stoke area worked by 'Stoke Scots' (LMS 4F's); coal
from Wrexham seemed to be used for domestic purposes and for coaling
shipping out of Birkenhead.
LMS 8F 2-8-0 48325 follows,
also at Shotton (High Level), with a mixed freight on the same evening.
This is at the bottom of the incline which starts just north of Buckley
Junction. A diesel railcar disappears up the hill in the distance.
Shropshire to London?
Virgin Trains held a 'meet
the manager' session on their Twitter feed on 29 April, and among
the few questions that were actually answered was the possibility of a
Shrewsbury - London service:
Q: Is there any more news of the
proposed Shropshire - London due to start in December?
A: It's something we've been asked to look at but can't confirm
anything yet.
The same answer was given to a question about a London - Blackpool
service. Elsewhere, however, we read that Virgin plans two services
each way between Shrewsbury and London daily, stopping at Telford, out
at 07:06 and 15:06, returning at 11:33 and 18:37, and that Virgin
spokesman Jim Rowe told the press: 'It's our desire to start those
services by this December.'
However the Office
of
Rail
Regulation website does not at present appear to reveal any
application for Track Access Rights, although things can be hard to
find on these offical publications.
Gobowen facilties
Our recent note about Colwyn Bay station and its revamped counter with
a lower section for wheelchair users prompted Martin Evans to send us these
pictures of Gobowen Station booking office. This office has also had a
recent re-vamp to current standards funded by an national fund for
improving disabled facilities at stations in Wales (although Gobowen
lies in England).
The office is privately-run by Severn Dee Travel,
established in 1995 an independent rail agency and is operated as a not
for profit company administered by a group of volunteer Directors
including Martin. The facilities provided are almost wholly financed by
the small commission paid from the ticket sales, as an Arriva Trains
Wales agency. From the pictures attached you will see the recently
revamped counter facilities funded by an ATW grant for improving
disabled facilities at stations in Wales(although Gobowen lies in
England).
Various railway memorabilia are on display, including a replica
nameplate from ex-Wrexham & Shropshire locomotive 67 015 which is named after the
David Lloyd, a campaigner for improved railway services, and founder of
the Severn Dee Travel company, who died in 2006.
Wessex Express - report by Roly High
Not all our contributors were watching or riding behind Tornado on 20 April: some were
aboard the excursion from Hooton, Bache, Wrexham, Gobowen and
Shrewsbury to Bath and Weymouth organised by the Chester Model Railway
Club and the Ffestiniog Railway Dee & Mersey Group. Above, 67029 Royal Diamond has just brought the
Riviera Trains empty stock from Crewe into Hooton, to form train 1Z64.
The Network Rail staff member who had 'clipped the points' at Hooton's
long siding, to enable the locomotive to run round the train, walks
back to the platform whilst 67 029 couples back up to the coaches to
pull them into the station. Pictures by Roly High unless stated.
Riviera Trains Mk 2 coaching stock is very comfortable, quiet running,
and there's plenty of hot tea and bacon butties - marvellous!
Approaching Chester we were crossed over to approach the North
Junction, thereby avoiding Chester station.
From the North Junction, we traversed the undergrowth quite slowly,and
with a lot of noise coming from the wheels, to Chester South Junction.
From here we headed for Saltney Junction to head up the single line
(soon to be re-doubled)to our next stop at Wrexham General.
The train arriving at Wrexham (picture by George Jones).
After travelling the Welsh Marches line from our last pick-up point at
Shrewsbury, we traversed the Maindee North Junction curve to
avoid Newport station. the severity of the curve allowed a
picture of the locomotive from inside the coach.
After emerging from the Severn Tunnel, the four and a half mile length
was covered in roughly four and a half minutes, we head towards
the Bristol avoiding line. This section of line is known locally as the
'Rhubarb loop' due to the closeness of the tavern of that name,
although it is also called 'Dr Day's Curve' after the name of the
junction.
[Richard Putley tells us that
Mondays - Fridays there is one service train from Filton Abbey Wood at
15:56 to Bath which uses this curve. It runs non-stop from Filton Abbey
Wood to Keynsham, then calls at Oldfield Park and Bath Spa where it
terminates.]
After leaving our first stop at Bath Spa,we were pathed through
Bathampton Junction, Trowbridge, and passed the White Horse on the hill
overlooking Westbury. In the stone sidings, there were quite a number
of class 66s from DB Schenker and Freightliner.
We came to a stand Yeovil Pen mill; this is the view looking back along
the train.
The reason for the hold up was this First Great Western service from
Weymouth to Gloucester.
The driver of that service had to hand the single line token to the
signaller, and walk back his train, while our driver waited for the
signaller to present him with the token so we could proceed towards our
next stop at Dorchester.The single-tracking of this line must surely
bring the same problems encountered on the Chester to Wrexham section.
Arriving from Weymouth into Dorchester West is another Great Western
service to Gloucester, formed of 150
921, formerly London Midland's 150 121, a 3-car unit formed of a
150/2 coach between the two cars of a 150/1.
Dorchester West station looking towards Bath.
George Jones continued to
Weymouth: above, the locomotive on arrival, with the excellent replica
of a Southern Region train headboard.
The tramway track on the Weymouth Town Quay section, now out of use,
looking towards the ferry terminal - with Channel Islands ferries now
transferred by Condor to Poole, it is unlikely that boat trains will
return to this once classic location. (George
Jones)
The way it was - flashback to c.1980 (Charlie
Hulme)
Our train returning from Weymouth into Dorchester West for the journey
home.
Approaching Bristol, the sky was filled with hot air balloons (picture
by George Jones).
(The return train was early into Bath Spa and had to wait time for the
published departure time at 18:31. Curious would-be passengers to
Bristol had to be told this train would not call there and its next
stop was Shrewsbury - So please get off!)
Many thanks to Ffestiniog Railway Society / Chester Model Railway Club,
Network Rail, DB Schenker and Riviera Trains for a very well organised
trip.