24 February 2014
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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This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived
page.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.
February
2014
Thursday 27 February Merseyside
Railway
History Group Allan Lewis 'Union Pacific Steam'
March
2014
Tuesday 4 March North
Wales
Railway Circle Ken Robinson shows 'Chester to
Holyhead
including Llandudno branch' slides.
Friday 7 March Clwyd
Railway
Circle
The Committee & David Southern AGM
followed by
the talk
'Railways of the Wirral' After the
formality is over,
we can look
forward to Dave sharing his railway experiences of 60 years
living on
the Wirral.
Monday 10 March Wrexham
Railway Society.
Geoff
Morris-
Railways
of
New
Zealand
a
digital
presentation
based
on
two
steam-hauled
trips
around
New
Zealand
in
2011
&
2012
including
both
preservation
activities
and
the
rapidly-changing
current
railway
scene
on
the
other
side
of
the
world.
Tuesday 11 March 8E
Railway
Association Paul Shackcloth – Locomotives of the
L&YR-Part 1.
Thursday 13 March Llandudno
and
Conwy
Valley
Railway Society 'The Dinorwic Quarry Railway
&
its locomotives' Eric Lander
Monday 17 March RCTS
Merseyside,
Chester
&
North
Wales
‘The Ugly Duckling’: Bob Casselden looks at the
transformation of
B.R.’s ‘Other Provincial Services’ via ‘Regional Railways’
into today’s
privatised railways
Friday 14 March Altrincham
Electric
Preservation Society A Selection of Doug Darby's UK
PHOTOGRAPHS by Paul Shackcloth (Photographic Officer,
Manchester
Locomotive Society)
Thursday 23 January Locomotive
Club of
Great Britain Neville Bond “From Sea to Shining
Sea” 30 years
of North American scenes
Thursday 20 March Locomotive
Club of
Great Britain Dr Michael Bailey "The Manchester
Ship Canal
Railway"
Thursday 27 March Merseyside
Railway
History Group AGM & Members Slides
April 2014
Friday 4 April Clwyd
Railway
Circle Ron Watson-Jones 'The
Irish Mail
Train Crash at Penmaenmawr Aug 1950' Ron’s account of the
accident on
27 August 1950.
Tuesday 1 April North
Wales
Railway
Circle Dave Rapson of Connah`s Quay presents a
pictorial record of The Bidston - Wrexham Line.
Tuesday 8 April 8E
Railway
Association Chris Banks – Engine Sheds Pt. 3 Consett
to Eastbourne.
Thursday 10 April Llandudno
and
Conwy
Valley
Railway Society 'Welsh Wanderings in the
1980’s
& 90’s' Geoff Morris
Thursday 10 April Merseyside
Railway
History Group Ted Lloyd 'Quiz and informal evening'
Friday 11 April Altrincham
Electric
Preservation Society Slides from the Manchester
locomotive
society collection by David Young. Mainly steam
locomotives taken
1950s and 1960s
Monday 14 April Wrexham
Railway
Society.
Jon Penn. Railway Pictures From the 1960’s
– scanned
black and white
negatives and vintage colour slides, favouring the Cheshire
and
surrounding areas.
Monday 28 April RCTS
Merseyside,
Chester & North Wales ‘South of the
Border steam in the 50s and 60s’ by David Kelso, David
travels from Kent to present a follow up to his
earlier North of
the
border presentation, including a period when he was resident
in the
West Riding of Yorkshire.
Thursday 17 April Locomotive
Club of
Great Britain Norman Matthews "Steam in Central
America"
Saturday 26 April Excursion Chester
Model
Railway
Club / FR Dee and Mersey: 'Somerset Coast Express'
Hooton, Bache, Wrexham, Gobowen and Shrewsbury to Bristol,
Weston-super-Mare, Taunton and Minehead.
May 2014
Friday 2 May (Change of Date) Mid-Cheshire
Rail
Users'
Association Excursion from Chester and
stations on
the mid-Cheshire line to Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Ayr.
Tuesday 6 May North
Wales Railway Circle A.G.M. followed by Members
Videos,
Prints, Slides, and Digital work in the Photo Competition.
Thursday 8 May Llandudno
and
Conwy
Valley
Railway Society 'The Deganwy Dock Story' Eric
Smith
Tuesday 13 May 8E
Railway
Association Les Nixon - Railways of Scotland.
Thursday 15 May Locomotive
Club of
Great Britain AGM and Members/Visitors Slides
& Digital
Photos.
June 2014
July 2014
Sunday 27 July Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring Company. 'North Wales Coast Express'
Liverpool, Broad
Green, Warrington BQ, Frodsham and Chester to Llandudno,
Bangor and
Holyhead.
Tuesday 29 July Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring Company. Welsh Mountaineer. Preston,
Warrington BQ,
Frodsham and Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
August 2014
Sunday 3 August Steam on the Coast. Railway Touring Company.
North Wales Coast Express Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport,
Manchester
Piccadilly, Altrincham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and
Holyhead.
Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Sunday 10 August Steam on the Coast. Railway Touring Company.
North Wales Coast Express Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport,
Manchester
Piccadilly, Altrincham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and
Holyhead.
Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Sunday 17 August Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring Company. 'North Wales Coast Express'
Liverpool, Broad
Green, Warrington BQ, Frodsham and Chester to Llandudno,
Bangor and
Holyhead.
Tuesday 19 August Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring Company. Welsh Mountaineer. Preston,
Warrington BQ,
Frodsham and Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
September 2014
Tuesday 2 September Steam on the Coast. Railway
Touring Company. Welsh Mountaineer. Preston,
Warrington BQ,
Frodsham and Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Sunday 7 September Steam on the Coast. Railway Touring Company.
North Wales Coast Express Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport,
Manchester
Piccadilly, Altrincham and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and
Holyhead.
Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Saturday 20 September Steam on the Coast. Steam Dreams: Cathedrals
Express.
London - Holyhead.
|
Early morning at Chester: see report below. Picture by John
Murray.
Riding with 'Gerald' - with John Murray
A work meeting in Telford took me on the Premier Service,
a.k.a. 'WAG
Express' a.k.a 'Y Gerallt Gymro', departing Chester (above)
at
07:15 to Shrewsbury on 19 February. The train was
hauled into
Chester by 67 001 which then propelled the train for
the rest
of the journey via Wrexham.
There is an earlier direct service from Chester to Telford,
the 07:02
to Birmingham International, which is routed via Crewe and
Whitchurch,
adding about 30 minutes to the journey and is overtaken
between Chester
and Shrewsbury by 'Gerald' en-route. On this occasion this
service was
formed of 158 818 - shown on the page-heading
picture waiting
to
depart from Chester.
We arrived at Shrewsbury on time with DVT 82308 leading the
train ...
... which departed on time with 67 001 propelling the
train past
the soon-to-be-replaced lower quadrant semaphore signal for
the line
towards Hereford. Shortly after the departure, 158 818
arrived and
waited in platform 7 for sister 158 819 to be coupled
to the
rear before departing for Birmingham.
My return from Telford (above) was on the 14:52 London
Midland service
to Shrewsbury formed of 170 506 coupled to and 170
512.
Half-term on the Talyllyn - pictures by Martin Evans
Talyllyn Railway loco no. 2 Dolgoch enters
Abergynolwyn
with the 10.30 am service from Tywyn Wharf.
Dolgoch runs round its train at the terminus, Nant
Gwernol. This loco was was built in 1866 by Fletcher,
Jennings &
Co, and was the only engine in working order when the line
was taken on
by preservationists in 1951 to become the first 'heritage
railway.' One of the first 'preservationists', J.B.
Snell, who
fired Dolgoch on the first train to run on the
Talyllyn under
preservation, died in January 2014.
The classic Talyllyn scene as Dolgoch takes on water
at
its namesake station while working the 2.0 pm service from
Tywyn Wharf.
The loco is running in Crimson Lake livery for one year
only, prior to
its ten-yearly boiler examination. The line is now closed
until Sunday
9 March, then runs on Sundays only until 6 April when daily
service
begins. See the
Talyllyn website
for details.
Conwy Valley in Rail Express
Steve Morris writes: 'Part 3 of my series on 'North
Wales
Branch lines' Diesels is in the March 2014 issue of Rail
Express
magazine, now available.. This one covers Blaenau
Ffestiniog/Trawsfynydd and contains images from well known
local
photographers.' The sample above shows the first two pages.
Picture assortment
Train 6J37 Carlisle-Chirk logs was despatched over the
Settle-Carlisle
route on Saturday 22 February, seen south of Langwathby with
56 087 in
charge. Picture by Ian Pilkington.
A new Monday - Friday freight flow of 'biomass' (imported
bits of
wood?) from Liverpool Bulk Terminal to Drax Power Station,
operated by
GB Railfreight, runs via Earlestown, Hartford Junction,
Northwich,
Stockport, Denton Junction, Thorpes Bridge Junction,
Rochdale,
Mirfield, and Wakefield Kirkgate. The return empty wagons
are timed
through Stockport station at 15:13, and are seen above
(slightly late)
on 24 February: 66 727 Andrew Scott CBE looks
uncharacteristically
dirty for a GBRf loco. Beware: our first attempt
at this picture, on 19 February, was thwarted when the train
was
diverted by the signallers to Platform 1. Picture by Charlie
Hulme.
66 086 powers through Gobowen at 10:20am on 24
February
with train 6V75 empty steel coil wagons from Dee Marsh
Junction to
Margam (Martin Evans).
Greg Mape writes: ' I was in Aylesbury, shopping at
Morrisons, which is across the road from Chiltern Railways'
Aylesbury
Depot with plenty of class 121 single car railcars outside,
including
the ex-Arriva Cardiff Bay Class 121 55022, that was
slowly
moving under its own power coupled to a Chiltern one in BR
blue &
grey.The pair were initially parked on a siding by the
station.'
A view across the depot includes some interesting items,
including
shunter 01 509 Lesley. Built in 1963 for the
Ministry of Defence, it originally worked at the Central
Ordnance
Depot, Chilwell, Nottinghamshire.
The Valley - Crewe flask train passes Roodee Junction,
Chester on 19
February, hauled by 37 610 T.S.(Ted) Cassady
and 37
609 (Bob Greenhalgh).
With the Grand Union Canal in the foreground, the 12:10
London Euston -
Chester on 18 February passes Berkhamsted on the southern
section of
the West Coast Main Line (Greg Mape).
Carlisle on 20 February, with the first of the new
TransPennine Express
electric 'Desiros' 350 401, still in a plain livery,
working
the 08:14 Edinburgh to to Manchester Airport (due at
Manchester
Piccadilly 11:26). Picture by David Peacock. This
train will
reach Manchester over the newly-electrified route via
Parkside and
Castlefield Junction: an interesting website called Northwest Sparks has
been created
by Phil Wieland to chronicle the progress of the
electrification work going on in the Lancashire area.
Northern Rail 142 045 waits at Chester to form the
08:04 t0
Manchester via Northwich on 15 February (Peter Dickinson).
Is
the 'WN' sticker some amateur adornment, or does it have
some meaning?
Welsh Highland painting for sale
Two watercolours featuring scenes on the Welsh Highland
Railway, by
Welsh artist Hugh Warren Williams (1863-1941) have been sent
from
Canada to be auctioned - lots 136 and 137 - at a Welsh Sale
(catalogue)
by
Rogers Jones & Co. of Colwyn Bay on 1 March. Williams
did not
normally paint trains; it seems that these works were
commissioned by
the Welsh Highland Railway in the 1920s, as a monochrome
reproduction
of the one above appeared in the Snowdon and Welsh
Highland Holiday
Book in 1923. The auctioneer's estimate
for each is
£500-600.
Llangollen Railway update - by George Jones
No First Train on 1st March: Regrettably, despite the
best
efforts of everyone involved, the current situation as
regards
outstanding works means that the ambition of running a first
train to
Corwen on St David’s Day will not be met. Whilst this is
disappointing,
as an expression of good faith and future intent, it is
planned to run
an engineers’ works train to the head of rail,
wherever that may
be, on Saturday 1 March. The intention is to run the Class
03 03
shunter down the extension to overbridge 28A (seen above)
around
mid-day to allow an opportunity to see a train on the new
section of
track.
The Llangollen Railway fully intends to operate trains to
the phase 1
station at Dwyrain Corwen East during 2014. Although a
specific date
cannot be given at this time, the prospects are for trains
to operate
on the extension during the summer peak period and the
Railway’s
timetable for 2014 reflects the train times for this,
although for the
moment trains continue to terminate at Carrog.
The removal of the contractor’s scaffolding on completion of
repairs to
over bridge 28A opened up the track bed for further track
laying during
January. Within the limits of readily available stocks of
sleepers, the
permanent way team laid four track panels to bring the head
of steel up
to the bridge. This work saw the arrival of the works train
on site,
propelled by the class 03 shunter 03162, now out stationed
at Carrog,
making another notable train movement west of Plas Bonwm,
the second
locomotive to pass the site of the former Bonwm Halt.
Work clearing the vegetation in the cutting beyond over
bridge 28A
occupied the volunteer work force for much of January and
continues
during February, with a notable improvement to the view of
the over
bridge as seen from the A5 road and the track. A fifth
track
panel was laid on 1 February which brought the railhead
through the
bridge arch, an operation seen by those who availed
themselves of the
escorted track viewing walk from Carrog to Corwen.
A further 40 panels of track are needed to reach the station
site, but,
for the moment, the railhead remains at this point whilst
further
supplies of concrete sleepers are sought for delivery. A
good response
to the Corwen Sleeper Appeal has provided the necessary
cash, but
finding them at the right price and grade is proving
difficult, also
bearing in mind the added costs of transport to the site
from wherever
they are available. Base ballast is being delivered to site
for
spreading on the track bed and further work is going on to
attend to
the many specific items of infrastructure which require
completion, as
with the provision of surfaces at level crossings, for
example.
Top ballast delivered to Carrog yard has provided several
loads of
stone for the ballast train to bring out and deposit on the
stretch
leading up to Bonwm Halt, again propelled by the 03 diesel
shunter.
Given the situation at locations on the mainline requiring
repairs, it
will come as no surprise to find that availability of
ballast is
currently at a premium.
During February the Project team hosted an informal
inspection of the
extension works by Steve Turner from the Minor Railways Team
at the
Office of Rail Regulation, who pointed to items of detail
still needing
attention but, overall, the work met with general approval.
Dwyrain Corwen East station: Contractors gained
access to
the station site on 15 January and marked out the location
of the
footings for the station platform along the embankment.
Excavations
quickly followed and, with concrete poured, the 66 footings
were
completed in seven days. They now clearly mark out the
station site as
seen (above) from the A5 road, but the five coach platform
will not be
installed until the track is in place.
Reinstatement of the level at the location of the former
bridge 30 has
been undertaken and has allowed for vehicular access to the
trackbed,
although the contractor for the Corwen Flood Alleviation
Scheme
continued to require access to the riverside. The high level
of the
water in the River Dee has frustrated their aim to complete
the work on
the drainage outflow which remains on hold. It is now
expected that the
works site for this major civil engineering project will be
vacated and
the area restored during May.
Meanwhile the area known as Corwen Common through which a
public
footpath will lead visitors from and to the station site
remains
underwater and completion of this facility must await better
ground
conditions. Finally, within the station area,
underpass
bridge 29 has been rebuilt to allow pedestrian access to the
riverside
nature reserve and only awaits provision of the handrails.
Continued support needed: Thanks are due to all those
who
have contributed to this long drawn out railway restoration
project
which continues to require the provision of resources to see
its
completion. Those wishing to give their support to this
final stage of
the project are asked to donate to the Corwen Sleeper Appeal
which
remains open to receive funds c/o: Mr Paul Bailey, Dolwen,
Bryneglwys,
Corwen, Denbs, LL21 9LY, remittances payable Llangollen
Railway Trust
Ltd.
47 down the Coast
West Coast Railways sent their loco 47 237 from Chester to
Llandudno
and back on 24 February, presumably on a driver training /
route
learning run? Bob Greenhalgh photographed it
passing the
supermarket car park at Saltney.
A 35-minute stop at Rhyl was incorporated in the schedule,
to allow
other trains to pass. Above, The driver telephones the
signalbox.
Hoping for an earlier start?
150 227 calls at Rhyl on the 11:44 Llandudno to
Manchester
Piccadilly, again this week, 150s are working the diagram
intended for
158s.
175 109 departs with the 10:50 Manchester Piccadilly
-
Bangor, after which the 47 could proceed.
Soon afterwards, the 'down main' line was used again, by
Colas Rail's
Plasser & Theurer 08-4x4/4S-RT switch & crossing
tamping
machine DR 73909 Saturn, en route
from
Warrington to Llandudno Junction in preparation for
overnight work.
Above, the loco crawls through Llandudno Junction westbound
(Peter
Lloyd).
Returning through Deganwy station (Peter Lloyd).
Passing the tamper at Llandudno Junction (Darren Durrant).
The schedule
showed that the loco was to lay over in the rarely-used
siding at
Holywell Junction from 15:04 to 16:10, but this did not
happen, it
continued to Chester an hour early, in front of the 13:50
Holyhead -
Euston which, although a couple of minutes late, managed to
depart on
time from Chester.
Excursion news
This year's excursion, the Somerset Coast Express,
organised by
the Chester Model Railway Club and the Ffestiniog Railway
Dee &
Mersey Group runs on 26 April from Hooton, Bache, Wrexham,
Gobowen and
Shrewsbury to Bristol,
Weston-super-Mare, Taunton and Minehead, with time allowed
to travel on
the West Somerset Railway if desired (at extra cost).
Full details and on-line booking for this very tempting trip
are
available at the Chester
MRC
website. It should be noted that the route does not
pass
through Dawlish, and will therefore not be affected by the
blockage of
the line there. Traction will be West Coast Railway
Co. Class 47
diesels.
Fares: First Class, Adults £99, Children (5-17) £59,
Children under 5 sharing a seat, free. Standard:
Adults
£69, Children (5-17) £39, Children under 5 sharing a seat,
free.
The Robbie Burns Express advertised by the
Mid-Cheshire Rail
Users' Association for Saturday 3 May has been re-arranged
to run on
Friday 2 May, as the planned route is blocked by engineering
work on
the Saturday. See
the MCRUA
website for details and booking.
An excursion into our area on 24 May is the Seaside
Flyer
hauled by steam loco 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
from
Tyseley, Wolverhampton, Stafford and Crewe to Llandudno for
the Llandudno
Air Show
which is taking place that day. See the Vintage
Trains
site for details.
We have now added the Railway
Touring Company's proposed North Wales trains this
summer to our Calendar.
Past Times with John Hobbs - Loco variety at Croes
Newydd
Above, Ex-LNER J39 Class 0-6-0 64880 rests at Croes
Newydd, circa 1961; steel products and materials to
and
from Brymbo used to be sent to the Sheffield area by a
daily
return freight working and a Gorton (9G) loco was diagrammed
to take
the train from Godley Junction to Wrexham via
Stockport (Tiviot
Dale), Skelton Junction and Dee Marsh Junction. Formerly
locomotives
off the GC/CLC would have been serviced at Rhosddu Shed.
Sadly not the
best photograph, I was 14 at the time - camera a bit ropey
- but
it is a bit of history.
Ex-LMSR 0-6-0T (A 'Jinty') 47321
runs
past Croes Newydd North Fork and heads for Croes Newydd Yard
on 3
August 1965; at the time the LMR Motive Power Dept. were
keen to get
rid of the ex-GWR Pannier Tanks at Croes Newydd; the
crews did
not take kindly to this. A 'Jinty' handled by staff used to
its
idiosyncrasies could no doubt produce the same effort as a
GWR pannier
tank but Croes Newydd staff had a lifetime of pannier tank
expertise,
so this battle was won 'hands down' by the GWR Pannier
Tanks. Many
Croes Newydd turns required high power outputs, and
learning a
new locomotive type on a cold wet run to Brymbo with a heavy
load or
climbing from Shotton (High Level) to Buckley Junction would
test any
footplate crew even with a familiar machine. A second-hand
cast-off
'Jinty' would be a poor substitute. 47321 was formerly at
Holyhead and
was surplus to requirements when most North Wales coast
services went
over to Diesel Multiple Units on 1 February 1965, meaning
that less
carriage shunting was required; however someone loved it as
it had been
cleaned. In the event the panniers persisted until November
1966; they
were replaced by BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0's on the Minera
run so there
must have been a dispensation from the Civil Engineer to
allow running
beyond Brymbo.
GWR design but BR-built 0-6-0PT 1638 leads the array
of GWR
machines in the shed yard at Croes Newydd on 3 August 1965.
9669
can also be seen; the other 57XX is anonymous and two 56XX
0-6-2Ts keep
company.
A fine line-up around the turntable with 4683, 41204, 75029
& 3855
inside the shed on 3 April 1965. This was typical fare at
Croes Newydd
at this time, and 3855 would make it through to August, when
LMS 8F
2-8-0s would arrive.
Metrolink modifications - report by Charlie Hulme
Thursday 20 February (above) was the last day of operation
of
Manchester Metrolink's Victoria station before closure for a
nine-month
programme of alterations which will turn it into a
four-platform
station, junction for the planned extra cross-city link. A
new turnout
has been installed in Balloon Street, and it appears that
the single
line is being worked on the token system. The trams in the
picture are 3018
(left) and 3052 (right); new cars from 3001 to 3078
are now in
traffic, with more on order, up to 3104.
As can be seen, a new station roof is also being constructed
above a
so-called 'crash deck'. One track will remain open
through the
station, but trams will not stop there to avoid congestion
(they
hope!), passengers being required to walk up the hill to
Shudehill
station. Reconfiguring of services during the work means
that there is
no through service, even from Shudehill, to Piccadilly
station; a
change of trams and/or a walk will be needed. Passengers
from North
Wales heading to Victoria can alight from the train at
Oxford Road
station and catch the no.2 free bus from there to Victoria.
I believe all the original trams in the 1000 series from the
opening of
the system have now been withdrawn. I was lucky to see 2003,
one of the two remaining of six vehicles built to a similar
design in
2000 for the Eccles line. Meanwhile, 150 116, built
circa
1985, and all its sisters, continue to provide sterling
service on the
Northern Rail side, even if the nice new upholstery already
looks tatty.
3038 squeezes under Cheetham Hill Road bridge outside
the
station; the Network Rail lines to the left were lowered in
a recent
'blockade' to allow installation of 25 kV railway catenary.
The new street-running section in central Oldham is now in
use, and
involves some stiff gradients: the tram in our picture is
approaching
Oldham Central from Rochdale on 20 February.
Merseyrail's new look
Merseyrail 507 011 has appeared in a new vinyl-wrapped
livery, seen
abobe in an official picture from the Merseyrail
website where we are told that it 'will give our
existing fleet a
brand new, fresh and exciting, look and feel ... replects
what our
region has to offer and illustrates how passengers can enjoy
our
network. There are 6 different designs, half with a sleek
silver
background and the other half, a bright vibrant yellow
background.'
And there are prizes to be won in the Merseyrail Selfie
Competition! 'To celebrate our new look trains, we are
giving away
10 £20 rail travel vouchers which can be used for local and
national train travel or in any of our Mtogo stores. To
enter the
competition, tweet @merseyrail a selfie of you next to one
of our newly
wrapped trains along with #trainselfie. If you don't have a
Twitter
account you can send your photo to
marketing@merseyrail.org. The
competition will close on Friday 28 February. Winners will
be chosen by
a select panel of judges. The judges decision is
final.'
There's a challenge for our contributors. First, find the
train, then
open your photo editor ...
Here's a reminder of the 'old' livery, no use for the selfie
competition, which was applied at the last refurbishment
between 2003
and 2005 and started to look untidy after just a few trips
through the
cleaning plant. Pictore of 507 032 at Chester on 15
February by Peter Dickinson.
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