NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE
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Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
07 July 2014
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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 Note change of route Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Warrington Bank Quay 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 Note change of route Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Warrington Bank Quay 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. Note change of route Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Warrington Bank Quay and Chester to Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead. Diesel-hauled Crewe - Manchester.
Saturday 20 September Steam on the Coast. Steam Dreams: Cathedrals Express. London - Holyhead.
October 2014
Saturday - Monday 18-20 October Land Cruise Compass Tours Autumn Highlander. Holyhead, Llanfairpwll, Bangor, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Flint, Chester, Delamere, Northwich, Knutsford, Altrincham, Stockport, Manchester Victoria, Bolton, Preston, & Carlisle to Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh. A 3-day weekend break by rail to the Scottish Highlands, inclusive of two nights stay in quality hotel accommodation at Inverness. From £329.00 each.
November 2014
Saturday - Sunday 1/2 November Wirral 2014 Model Railway Exhibition at Mosslands School, Mosslands Drive, Wallasey, Wirral CH45 8PJ . 18 layouts, 13 traders, demonstrators and Society stands, refreshments, free vintage bus rides.
37 425 Concrete Bob and and 37 405 cross Chirk viaduct on the morning of 1 July with the Crewe - Crewe via Shrewsbury, Bidston and Wrexham test train, heading south for Shrewsbury on the first leg of its itinerary. Picture by Mark Riley.
Several extra issues have appeared recently: see the list in the left column.
Chester and North Wales Explorer, 5 July
Saturday 5 July's excursion visitor to North Wales was a Compass Tours 'Chester and North Wales Explorer', train 1Z65, which had started at 07:42 from Bishop Auckland, a station in north-east England normally served only by Northern Rail branch line trains. Above, Rhyl's signaller keeps an eye on the Westbound train as it passes, headed by 47 804 ...
... with 47 786 Roy Castle OBE trailing. Note West Coast Railway Company's ex-Manchester Pullman Mk 2 kitchen car: a 'genuine' Pullman, unlike the many Mk2 First-Class coaches which now run in Pullman-style livery. Pictures by Roly High.
Crossing the Causeway between Llandudno Junction and Conwy. The train, which reached Chester via Stockport and the Mid-Cheshire line, unusually ran non-stop from Chester to Holyhead where coach tours were provided for passengers (Garry Stroud).
Halton Curve gets a boost
On 3 July, Chancellor the Exchequer Mr Osborne announced a package of transport improvements for the Liverpool area, which included £10.4 million to upgrade the 'Halton Curve' line which, we assume, will provide signalling and track alterations to allow trains to run in both directions over the short link between Frodsham Junction and Halton Junction (Runcorn) which in recent times has only been usable in the Runcorn-bound direction and has has a vestigial passenger service of one train on summer Saturdays only.
UK Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones MP told the press: 'Today’s announcement of a £10.4m upgrade to the Halton Curve rail line is great news for North Wales. It will enable an estimated 500,000 more people to access employment, educational and recreational opportunities. It will improve links to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and help stimulate further investment.'
This infrastructure improvement is surely a good idea, but the £10.4 million clearly does not include the provision of any actual train services. There are suggestions in various documents of Liverpool - Liverpool South Parkway (for the John Lennon Airport) - Chester - Llandudno trains, but who will fund them, which franchise company - Northern or Wales - will operate them, and where will the rolling stock come from? The Welsh Government has shown little interest in improving services between North Wales and North-west England in the past.
37 and Caroline
On Wednesday 2 July a Network Rail 'Inspection Train' toured the North Wales lines, formed of inspection saloon 'Caroline' with 37 409 Lord Hinton for power. Starting from Shrewsbury, the train left Shrewsbury at 08:05 and travelled via Wrexham - Chester (reverse) - Llandudno (reverse) - Blaenau Ffestiniog (reverse) - Llandudno Junction - Holyhead (reverse) - Chester (reverse) - and back to Shrewsbury, arriving at 19:07. 'Caroline' has driving controls, so it can lead the train when reversals are needed. Stavros Lainas photographed the train in this way (above) at Leaton, north of Shrewsbury, in the morning.
On the Llandudno branch, approaching the terminus (Garry Stroud). The locomotive is leading at this point, after a reversal at Chester.
In recently-improved Llandudno station - the improvement process involved some demolition in the area behind the locomotive (Gerry Stroud).
Heading back from Llandudno and approaching Deganwy station, past the 'fixed distant' board which serves to warn drivers heading for Llandudno that they may have to stop at the signals on the approach to Llandudno station.
Looking the other way from the same footbridge, showing the train passing signal DY6, the Up Home signal operated by Deganwy signalbox. On the white plate is a telephone number on the railway internal network - a driver stopped at the signal can call the signaller, rather than having to get out and use a fixed phone as has been the general rule for many years.
Arrival at Blaenau Ffestiniog (Jack Bowley).
Ready to return to Llandudno Junction (Jack Bowley).
Heading for Holyhead at Llanfair PG (Richard Fleckney)
37 409 now on the rear again, returning though Bangor (Rowan Crawshaw). Ahead is the 890-yard Bangor Tunnel, its west portal, designed by Chester and Holyhead Railway architect Francis Thompson, perhaps inspired by a gate of the Temple of Isis at Philae in Egypt, a destination popular with wealthy Victorian tourists. (The temple was moved in the 1960s, following the construction of the Aswan dam, and now stands in a different location)
Denis Bates writes: 'An interesting parallel is the Egyptian Arch Bridge on the Belfast to Dublin main line near Newry, built in 1851, not long after the line through Bangor opened in 1848. This arch was designed by Sir John MacNeill: here is a link to a picture.'
No Mid-Cheshire Steam
The Railway Touring Company 'North Wales Coast Express' steam trains were initially notified as running from Manchester to Chester via the Mid-Cheshire line and calling at Altrincham on 3 and 10 August and 7 September. However, these trains will in fact run from Manchester Piccadilly to Chester via, and calling at, Warrington Bank Quay.
In the Conwy Valley
Larry Davies writes: 'In my capacity as Community Rail Officer for the Conwy Valley line, I was at Tal-y-Cafn station (above) on the evening of 3 July, an excellent example of the dedication and hard work of the volunteer station adopters who are members of the Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society.
'The last southbound train of the day, 150 250 on the 19:03 ex Llandudno, heading for the mountains – a lovely peaceful evening where the rural railway comes into its own.'
37s and Flasks
37 602 and 37 605 worked a flask train to and from Valley on 2 July. Nick Gurney photographed them waiting at the Valley transfer point.
Heading east through Bangor (Rowan Crawshaw). It seems there almost as many 37s to be seen in North Wales these days as were around in the 1990s when our site was founded to celebrate the 37-hauled passenger trains of that era.
Shotton (Tim Rogers).
Picture assortment
The early morning Holyhead to Cardiff express on 2 July (above) passed Stavros Lainas at Leaton, north of Shrewsbury, a little later than booked at 08:02 on July with 67 003 leading.
Meole Brace, south of Shrewsbury, with the late running Dee Marsh - Margam steel empties at 11:52, also on 2 July (Stavros Lainas).
47 784 leads an Alnmouth - Shrewsbury charter south through a soggy Saltney on 28 June (Mark Riley).
As previously reported, 28 June also saw an excursion from Ayr to Holyhead. Bernard Allan photographed the train on arrival at Holyhead with 48 786 Roy Castle OBE on the east end ...
View from the road bridge as an enthusiast takes a 'detail shot.' The Cardiff express stock is stabled in the background (Bernard Allan).
The purpose of Palmerston
Thanks are due to Phil Brown, who writes: 'I can give you a bit of background as to why Palmerston was at Porthmadog when John Roobottom visited (see 2 July issue). It had been hired by the BBC as part of the series to do with Wales during the war (presented by Eddie Butler). With Boston Lodge being used as a 'munitions factory' they were focussing their attention on there, along with a relative of one of the original workshop employees.
'If you look carefully at the top of Palmerston's Cab Roof [another look at John's picture, above] you can see the Go-Pro camera that is attached to film the journey to Boston Lodge. How do I know all this? I was the fireman at the time.'
Test Train 37s
We've already shown some pictures of the 1 July Network Rail train (radio survey?) featuring 37 425, but here are some more which are well worth a look. Above, the train at Penyffordd on the Bidston line (Tim Rogers).
Just before 13:00, 37 425 approaches Wrexham Central after its visit to Bidston (Mark Riley).
Soon after, the train was running onto the loop at Croes Newydd. and 20 minutes later was
heading north to Chester, ahead of its planned departure time (Mark Riley).
Pen yr Orsedd gala at Llanberis
On 5-6 July the Llanberis Lake Railway held a Steam Gala which featured locomotives that had worked at the Pen yr Orsedd quarry in the Nantlle valley. The resident locos were joined by Una from the National Slate Museum and former Pen yr Orsedd stable-mate Britomart which is normally based on the Ffestiniog Railway. Alan Crawshaw's picture from 5 July shows (left to right) Dolbadarn, Una and the little vertical boilered loco Leary.
Resident locos Elidir and Dolbadarn. This locomotive design, built by the Hunslet firm in Leeds, were favourites of the North Wales slate quarries, and quite a number of them still exist in preservation (Alan Crawshaw).
Elidir runs along the lakeside with a demonstration train of slate wagons (Alan Crawshaw).
A high level view shows the line's lovely situation alongside Llyn Padarn (Alan Crawshaw).
On Sunday 6 July, the balanced inclined plane in use at Gilfach Ddu replicating the historic operation of these machines throughout the slate industry; labour on this occasion was provided by Ffestiniog Railway staff. Picture by John Hobbs.
The hard labour evident in loading and unloading the platforms was evident and the contrast with modern materials handling by fork lift truck was stark; it took about 20 minutes to unload and load the platforms (John Hobbs).
Hard work was also required moving coal about (above, left) and the very warm day did not help; a spectacular display by the staff which sadly was not rewarded with may passengers, at least on the Sunday of the event. Above right: a busy scene at Gilfach Ddu as two trains pass with the four Quarry Hunslets on display. Elidir and Britomart are passed by Dolbadarn and Una on the 1.55 Llanberis to Penllyn (John Hobbs).
The newly-restored Padarn Railway brake van trails behind Elidir while leaving Cei Llydan with a demonstration freight at about 4.20 pm on 6 July (John Hobbs).
Britomart leads Una away from Llanberis station with the final working of the weekend, an empty stock train to Gilfach Ddu at about 17:30 on 6 July (John Hobbs).
John Hobbs writes: 'I think I could claim to be the only person there on Sunday who had actually worked in the Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry! I spent a few days each year in the period 1975-79 examining the lifting equipment, and one job was to examine the aerial ropeway "Blondin" cranes. By the time I worked there Una, Sybil and Britomart had departed and manpower was used to move the slate about the quarry; at least so it was within reach of Fork Lift Trucks and the like; it was a period of transition. The picture above aerial ropeway cranes at Pen-yr-Orsedd around 1975 (picture: John Hobbs Collection).'
Taking you to the Tour
To help handle the crowds of spectators travelling to the Yorkshire stages of the Tour de France, Northern Rail hired in locomotives and coaches including a train provides by DRS, whose staff had provided unusual locomotive adornments, as seen above on 57 308 County of Staffordshire seen at Leeds on 5 July; we were there! (Charlie Hulme)
Apparently it has been intended to have 57 309 on the other end of the train, and that also received the bike-wheel buffers, only to be called out to rescue a stricken Pendolino the night before, so 47 810 Peter Bath MBE (in the new version of DRS livery) stood-in, as seen at Harrogate.
Riding this train brought back memories, as it included some of the coaches formerly used by Arriva on the Cardiff - Holyhead express, including brake-standard coach 9521, still with its internal bilingual notices, etc.
Also in use over the weekend were the Virgin Mk3 'Pretendolino' coach set, worked by two Class 67s, and a pair of Class 20s. Northern Rail really did rise to the occasion. well done to the company and espcecially the members of the 'backroom' staff who volunteered to don yellow shirts and assist travellers.
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