16 March 2015
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Forthcoming events
This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived page. For
the current list visit our Calendar.
March 2015
Wednesday 18 March Talking
Trakz Cllr Phillip Evans. "Railway Reflections and other
musings". Maelgwyn pub in Osborne
Terrace, Llandudno Junction, 19:30. Free admission.
Wednesday 25 March: Talking
Trakz Cllr Terry James. "Social History of Llandudno
Junction" Maelgwyn pub in Osborne
Terrace, Llandudno Junction, 19:30. Free admission.
Thursday 26 March Merseyside Railway
History Group AGM Members Slides
Friday 27 March Great Western
Society North West Branch Liverpool's Disused Tunnels, by Paul
Wright.
April 2015
Wednesday 1 April: Talking
Trakz Larry Davies. "Llandudno Junction—A Railway Town"Maelgwyn pub
in Osborne
Terrace, Llandudno Junction, 19:30. Free admission.
Wednesday 8 April: Talking
Trakz Anne Jones. "A fast moving night train experience" Maelgwyn
pub in Osborne
Terrace, Llandudno Junction, 19:30. Free admission.
Thursday 9 April Llandudno
and
Conwy
Valley Railway Society Railway enthusiasm - international:
Phil Thomas
Friday 10 April Clwyd
Railway
Circle The View From a
Signalbox Window: Adrian Bodlander
Friday 10 April Altrincham
Electric Railway Society Alvin Barker "A Selection of
British Transport Films from the Steam Era". Digital
presentation.
Saturday 11 April. Excursion. The Great Western Express from
Hooton to Worcester and Oxford The railtour is jointly promoted by the
Chester Model Railway Club and Ffestiniog Railway Society Dee &
Mersey Group. Full details can be found at the Chester
Model Railway Club website.
Saturday 11 April Excursion Compass
Tours
by
West
Coast.
The Wight & Sussex Express to
Portsmouth & Chichester with optional tour of Sussex and
Hampshire. Hooton, Bache, Wrexham, Gobowen, Shrewsbury,
Wellington, Telford, Wolverhampton, Rowley Regis, Stourbridge,
Kidderminster and Worcester SH.
Monday 13 April Wrexham
Railway
Society: Back to the ‘60s :Geoff Coward
Monday 13 April Excursion Compass
Tours
by
West
Coast The North York Moors & Heartbeat Explorer.
To Whitby,
From Chester, Frodsham, Warrington (BQ), Wigan, Leyland, Blackburn,
Accrington, Burnley, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge and Brighouse.
Wednesday 15 April Excursion from North Wales Compass Tours by West Coast The Royal
Windsor Express. With an option of a longer break in London (alighting
Kensington station)
From Holyhead, Llanfairpwll, Bangor, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay,
Rhyl, Flint, Chester, Crewe, Stafford and Lichfield TV to Windsor.
Wednesday 15 April: Talking
Trakz Cllr Vicky Macdonald. "The men who crossed the
Conwy" Maelgwyn pub in Osborne
Terrace, Llandudno Junction, 19:30. Free admission.
Monday 20 April RCTS
Merseyside & North Wales: 21st Century Steam in China.
Geoff Coward. Geoff presents video and stills from his visit in 2002.
Friday 24 April Great Western
Society North West Branch Standard Gauge Railways of France and
Germany, by Barry Rushton
Thursday 30 April Merseyside Railway
History Group Geoff Coward Quiz and informal evening
May 2015
Thursday 14 May Llandudno
and
Conwy
Valley Railway Society 6G locomen: personal reminiscences
by A Guest Panel
Wednesday 20 May Excursion Compass
Tours
by
West
Coast
The Cornish Explorer From Chester, Wrexham, Ruabon, Gobowen,
Shrewsbury, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford & Bristol to
Penzance. The train is routed via the scenic Welsh Marches line, South
Wales, the Severn Tunnel, Bristol, Somerset, the Dawlish Sea Wall,
Devon and rural Cornwall.
June 2015
July 2015
Friday 3 July Excursion Compass
Tours by West Coast The Conway Valley Explorer
Via the Scenic Conway line (with Ffestiniog Railway option). From
Grantham, Peterborough, Stamford, Oakham, Melton Mowbray, Leicester,
South Wigston, Hinckley, Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield TV, Rugeley TV
& Stafford to Betws-y-Coed & Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Saturday 4 July Excursion Compass
Tours
by
West
Coast The Conway Valley Explorer
From Lincoln, Newark NG, Grantham, Bottesford, Bingham, Radcliffe,
Netherfield, Nottingham, Tutbury & Hatton, Uttoxeter, Blythe Bridge
& Stoke to Betws-y-Coed & Blaenau Ffestiniog. (with Ffestiniog
Railway option).
August 2015
September 2015
Wednesday 9 September Excursion Compass
Tours
by
West
Coast The Conway Valley Explorer
Via the Scenic Conway line (with Ffestiniog Railway option) Sheffield
to Betws-Y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog. From Sheffield, Rotherham
Central, Swinton, Moorthorpe, Normanton, Shipley, Keighley, Skipton,
Hellifield, Carnforth & Lancaster.
12 September 2015 Excursion Compass
Tours
by
West
Coast
The Conway Valley Explorer Via the Scenic Conway line (with Ffestiniog
Railway option) Scarborough to Betws-Y-Coed & Blaenau
Ffestiniog. – Saturday
From Scarborough, Seamer, Malton, York, Wakefield, Brighouse, Sowerby
Bridge, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden & Rochdale.
October 2015
Saturday 10 October 2015 Excursion Compass Tours by West Coast The
Conway Valley Explorer
Via the Scenic Conway line (with Ffestiniog Railway option) Hereford to
Betws-Y-Coed
Departs – From Hereford, Ledbury, Gt Malvern, Worcester FS, Droitwich,
Barnt Green, Walsall & Wolverhampton.
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67 001 brings the 09:50 Manchester Piccadilly - Holyhead
into Flint on a rainy Friday 13 March. It is reported that DB Regio
have obtained from storage further Mk3 coaches which were threatened
with scrapping, and they may be used on further North Wales services.
We await developments. Picture by Tim Rogers.
Northern Belle news
Saturday 14 March saw the 'Belmond Northern Belle' luxury dining train
run a circular excursion from Crewe via Manchester Victoria, Chester,
Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay,
Manchester Victoria, and back to Crewe. Bob Greenhalgh
photographed the train, hauled by 57 305 Northern Princess, heading
past Saltney Junction towards Wrexham. Note the new, as yet unused,
second track at this point.
Chris Morrison captured the train passing 175 005
with the 11:21 Cardiff - Holyhead north of Gobowen. The up line has
lower quadrant signals and the down has upper quadrants here.
57 312 Solway Princess brings up the rear,
passing Gobowen station (Chris Morrison).
The train was out again, from Chester, on Mother's Day, Sunday 15
March. Paul Frost was a passenger, and has sent us some
pictures. Above, the lavish interior of coach 3275 'Harlech', created
from a Mk2e Open First class coach.
Rather pleasant ceiling decoration.
The neat route map issued to passengers.
Back at Chester, 57 312 (Paul Frost).
Snow Hill 1965 re-created
A few months ago, Geoff Poole, compiler of the 6G Llandudno Junction website,
received an
email from Alan Fisher, asking for contact details for John
Hobbs regarding a picture which, it transpired, has actually
appeared on our site (5
May 2013 issue). Alan explained that he had taken up painting in
his retirement, and would like to use the picture as basis for a work.
John was amenable, and we reproduce the result above. You may notice a
couple of livery inaccuracies, which we know Alan is planning to
correct.
Here's
John's
original
picture,
and
the
caption:
'The former Birmingham (Snow
Hill); now reincarnated but no longer accessible for trains from the
Chester to Shrewsbury line due to wilful destruction at the time of the
West Coast Electrification. Here 2-6-2 tank 4178 brings in empty stock while 7827 (formerly Lydham
Manor)
rests
after
bringing
in
the
09:10
Barmouth to Snow Hill. This scene is
from 21 August 1965.'
Lydham Manor still exists in preservation, which adds
interest to the scene. We asked if Alan was available for
commissions, but he tells us that he isn't, but 'leaves that to the
professionals.' To read more about Alan and more of his pictures, there
is a page
devoted to him on the 6G site.
Signal LJ68 - the full story
In the last update we mentioned and illustrated the 'wrong line' signal
LJ68 west of Conwy station. On studying the picture (by Tim Rogers,
repeated
above)
closely,
our
attention
was
caught by the fact that
although the signal shows a permanent 'red' it has a second light
fitting above suggesting it was capable of a second aspect. We asked
North Wales signalling expert Alan Roberts for help. His
informative reply follows.
As to LJ68 - yes, nowadays it only shows red as this is the end of the
bi-directional running of the up main, and was initially put in for the
short-lived Conwy shuttles which ran from Llandudno - Llandudno
Junction - Conwy and back again after Conwy station was re-opened in
the 1980s. With the construction of the A55 road in the late 1980s in
the Conwy area, a new contractor's site opened at Conwy Morfa (near to
the entrance of Penmaenbach tunnel) and sidings were laid down on the
up side of the main line. Traffic for these sidings included sand,
cement and steel for the bridges. To enable trains to get to the
sidings the bi-directional line was extended beyond LJ68 at Conwy
(involving an additional yellow aspect) as far as the Penmaenbach east
tunnel portal where a fixed red signal was put in. That enabled trains
from the yard at Llandudno Junction to travel over the bi-directional
line as far as the sidings.
When the train arrived at the fixed red signal, the route was then set
from LJ76 signal (first LJ signal after passing Penmaenmawr) to the
sidings. When the train was ready to depart from the sidings, the route
was set from the sidings to the fixed red signal, the route then
normalised and the train proceeded over the up main to Llandudno
Junction. When the sidings were dispensed with, the bi-directional was
shortened back to Conwy again and the aspect on LJ68 blanked off
leaving the fixed red as you see it today.
Alan offers this picture, showing 66 602 on 6K22 Penmaenmawr -
Basford Hall stone train, taken on 22 June 2006.
Sidelight: This train ceased to run after Network Rail cancelled its
contract with the quarry company in 2009 There was a revival of traffic
when Manchester Metrolink ordered ballast from there, but the quarry
connection is currently unused. There have been rumours of a possible
new traffic, after it was noticed that work was being done on the
sidings, but nothing has materialised so far.
Another Study to study
On 4 March 2015 the 'Welsh Route Study Draft for Consultation' was
published. The full document can be read as a PDF
on
the
Network
Rail
website; we've extracted some salient North
Wales-related points below.
The document offers a list of possible choices (not in priority order)
for funding in 'Control Period 6' which covers the years 2019-2024:
1. Provision of additional passenger capacity on
Cardiff Valley Lines services during peak periods and associated
platform lengthening;
2. Phased programme of further network enhancements on Cardiff Valley
Lines and development of Cardiff Capital City Metro proposals for rail;
3. Line speed upgrade on Relief Lines between Severn Tunnel Junction
and Cardiff;
4. Enhancement of Cardiff Central Station to create a station fit for a
capital city;
5. Programme of level crossing closures in west Wales;
6.Continuation of additional peak services on Heart of Wales line;
7. Train lengthening on selected Marches Line services between Cardiff
and Manchester;
8. Modernisation of the North Wales Coast Main Line between Crewe and
Holyhead;
9. Improved line speeds on North Wales Coast Main Line;
10. Development of new interchange station at Shotton;
11. Further network capacity enhancements between Wrexham and Chester;
12. Improved line speeds between Wrexham and Bidston for connections to
Liverpool;
13. Continuation of additional peak services on Cambrian line.
The authors offer estimates of passenger traffic growth into the
distant future, based on the based on the 'Prospering in Global
Stability scenario'. For example, demand between the North Wales Coast
is predicted to rise by 27% by 2023, and by 2043, assuming the HS2
high-speed line is open, by 151%.
As an example of the content, the interchange station at Shotton
is discussed, along with the before and after diagrams reproduced
above. Quoting the document:
The growth in demand for better connectivity between
North East Wales and Merseyside provides an opportunity to think again
about the purpose and functionality of Shotton ... and possible
improvements ... that [could] act as a step to accommodate future
required improvements in connectivity including access to the Deeside
Industrial Area that is not currently well served by rail. Interchange
between the two stations is not easy as they are in different locations
even though one line goes over the other. Figures 5.3 and 5.4 sets out
the before and after scenarios.
Opportunities exist to improve the interchange potential at this
location by creating one modern station that serves both lines albeit
on two different levels and, also, through timing services so that
interchanges can be optimised. More and better car parking facilities
could also be provided. A transport planning study that considers all
modes of travel is recommended as a next step to inform the
feasibility, value for money and affordability of this potential scheme.
Once there were ideas floated for the building of one of more 'chords'
to link the two lines at Shotton, but these seem to be no longer 'on
the table' even for the 2040s.
This diagram suggests ways in which Chester station could be altered to
cope with the vast increases in traffic expected by 2043. Note that the
artist has forgotten the current project to double the Wrexham line at
Saltney Junction which will hopefully be complete by 2019. Chester East
Junction currently funnels all traffic, in both directions, over one of
two points, labelled A and B in the upper diagram. This spartan track
layout is, of course, largely due to the simplifications of the 1980s
re-signalling scheme. The lines shown as option A are designed to
remedy this. The new platform (option B) would be used by terminating
Merseyrail trains, freeing Platform 7 for through traffic. It's quite
surprising that this has not been done already.
There's much more: 109 pages more, in fact. The consultation process is
open until 9 June 2015 and Network Rail would welcome views, ideas and
other feedback on the strategy and choices presented in this Study.
07:47 Wrexham - Birmingham: the last word
Now that Arriva Trains Wales have officially 'saved' the morning
commuter train from Wrexham to Birmingham, following protests by users
and local politicians about his planned removal from May 2015, the
question arises why it was to be removed and what's been done to
re-instate it. The answers are: (a) an extra Class 158 unit was
needed to provide the promised hourly service between Shrewsbury and
Aberystwyth and make use of the infrastructure improvements completed a
few years ago; and (b) freeing up a unit by reducing the time allowed
for scheduled maintenance at Machynlleth depot. It remains to be seen
how this will affect the reliability of services.
Picture news
On Saturday 14 March, the 'WAG Express' train worked a Holyhead -
Cardiff extra for the Rugby match at the Millennium Stadium. In charge
was 67 029 Royal Diamond, seen passing the site of Mold Junction
marshalling yard. The remains of the Up Goods line remain in place
among the birch trees behind the train. Picture by Bob Greenhalgh.
158 828, working a Birmingham - Holyhead train, approaches
Saltney Junction on 14 March, passing the current 'end of rail' of the
new second track (Bob Greenalgh).
20 308 leads 20 305 with one flask from Valley,
runs through Flint on 13 March (Tim Rogers). The reactor at
Wylfa power station was shut down on 7 March, possibly
for up to four weeks, while a technical problem with the removal of one
the fuel elements is investigated.
Looking work-stained, the pair pass Beeches Farm bridge (Bob
Greenhalgh).
On 11 March, 57 008 and 57 011 headed east with three
flasks, seen at Saltney Ferry (Tim Rogers).
The second Class 92 to appear in the 'Midnight Teal' colour for the
Serco Caledonian Sleeper franchise which begins on 1 April, 92 018
stands in Crewe station looking very shiny on 10 March (Martin Evans).
Sister
loco
92
033,
previously
pictured
here
in the new blue, has
recently been accumulating mileage on the Trafford Park - Felixstowe
intermodal trains.
The Tunstead to Lostock Works stone train, with 60 092 in
charge, rumbling through Altrincham about 3.20pm on Sunday afternoon,
15 March (Greg Mape).
185 113, working in from Cleethorpes, waits for a
platform at Manchester Airport as the Emirates Airbus A380 from Dubai -
wings made in North Wales - comes in to land (Greg Mape). There
are now two daily visit by these aircraft to Manchester. Flights EK
17/18 arrives 11:20, and departs 13:20. Flights EK19/20 arrive
18:35, and depart 20:25. Also of interest on the same route
is flight EK21/22 arriving at 07:00, departing at 08:45, which is
worked by a Boeing 777-300. For more information, use the airborne
equivalent of Realtime
Trains: flightradar24.com.
Cambrian Crossings
The Welsh Government has allocated £3 million to Network Rail
towards a scheme to close eight Cambrian railway level crossings around
Talerddig, between Newtown and Machynlleth. The total estimated cost of
the scheme is £7.5 million and Network Rail's £4.5 million contribution
is a significant allocation of the ring-fenced funding for crossing
closures across England and Wales.
Powys County Council is Network Rail’s delivery agent and the majority
of the works are on the highway. The project comprises two kilometres
of new highways works, two road-over-rail bridges and one new river
bridge.
The intention is improve safety and train performance and punctuality,
make the performance of the May 2015 improved timetable more robust and
more able to recover from delays. The closure of the crossings will, it
is said, provide an improvement in local safety and will also
assist local farmers in moving livestock across the railway.
Steel, Steam and Stars (Part 2)
As promised, one picture per contributor of the second weekend of the
'Steel, Steam and Stars' steam gala on the Llangollen Railway, 13-15
March. Sadly, bad weather seems to have deterred some visitors, or
maybe their mothers opted for different Mother's Day treats?
Above, 0-4-2T 1450 arrived at Corwen East on Friday 13 March. Picture
by Rowan Crawshaw.
92214 heading the 11:40 Llangollen-Corwen working on
Saturday 14 March; the two eight-coupled ex GWR locos, 4270 and 3802,
were on the rear, thus making for a very powerful combination! John
Myers chose to view this train passing alongside the site of the
former platform at Bonwm Halt, where several traces of its whereabouts
still remain, half a century after closure.
5199 departs Llangollen with a demonstration freight train to Carrog on
14 March at a 12.40pm; this train carried passengers who paid extra for
a brake van ride (Martin Evans)
3205 departing Glyndyfyrdwy with a rake of Suburban Mk1 coaches on
Saturday (Lee Davies).
34092 Wells on the goods train at Berwyn, 15 March
(Peter Dickinson).
1450 at Llangollen, Sunday (Ian Wright).
John Myers comments about the event: 'Sadly, we weren't blessed by the
bright and sunny weather that featured during weekend one but
nevertheless, most trains were full of passengers and doing well to
keep to time on what was a very busy weekend for all concerned with the
operational side. Therefore, I do hope that the entire Gala will
result in a successful outcome for the organisers and that the
newly-opened extension into Corwen has begun to help the various local
businesses to appreciate the line's restored presence, too.'
I think we can all second that thought. Our thanks go to all involved.
North
Wales Coast
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