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09 May 2016Last issue Archive RSS Link to this issue Tweet Tweets by @NWrail1 Contributions and comments are encouraged: see the Contributions Page This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived issue. For full information visit our Calendar page. May 2016 Thursday 12 May Llandudno and Conwy Valley Railway Society Ray Bailey: Steam into Holywell June 2016 Sunday 5 June Steam Dreams THE CAMBRIAN COAST EXPRESS (Day 1 of 4) London Paddington - Pwllheli (WCRC) Steam loco 60103 Flying Scotsman: Paddington - Leamington - Shrewsbury Monday 6 June Steam Dreams THE CAMBRIAN COAST EXPRESS (Day 2 of 4) Tuesday 7 June Steam Dreams THE CAMBRIAN COAST EXPRESS (Day 3 of 4) Wednesday 8 June Steam Dreams THE CAMBRIAN COAST EXPRESS (Day 4 of 4) Bangor - Paddington. Steam loco 60103 Flying Scotsman: Chester - Wrexham - Hereford - Bristol Parkway - Paddington Wednesday 15 June Steam Dreams THE EMERALD ISLE EXPLORER (Day 1 of 9) London Euston-Holyhead Steam loco 60103 Flying Scotsman: Euston-Holyhead. July 2016 Sunday 24 July Railway Touring Company THE NORTH WALES COAST EXPRESS Liverpool-Holyhead (WCRC) Steam loco 45690 or 46100: Liverpool - Chester - Holyhead and return Tuesday 26 July Railway Touring Company THE WELSH MOUNTAINEER Preston - Blaenau Ffestiniog . Steam loco 45305 or 48151: Preston - Chester - Blaenau Ffestiniog and return August 2016 Sunday 21 August Railway Touring Company THE NORTH WALES COAST EXPRESS Crewe - Manchester - Holyhead (WCRC) Steam loco 45690 or 46115: Manchester - Chester - Holyhead and return September 2016 Sunday 4 September Railway Touring Company THE NORTH WALES COAST EXPRESS Crewe - Manchester - Holyhead (WCRC) Steam loco 45690 or 46115: Manchester - Chester - Holyhead and return |
67 002 brings the 15:50 Manchester - Llandudno into Helsby, 9 May. Picture by Andrew Vinten. Flask scenesChiltern Railways liveried 68 on the Coast: 68 011 with the flasks at Talybont, 6 May (Peter Basterfield). Not the first Chiltern 68 appearance on the line, as this same loco made a light engine run to Llandudno Junction in August 2014. Llandudno Junction (Peter Lloyd). Abergele (Tim Rogers). Shotton (Mark Riley). 37 604 playing second fiddle. Train 6D41 westbound emerging from bridge 147 at Talybont on 9 May with 37 610 / 37 069 in contrasting liveries (Peter Basterfield). Engineering work on AngleseyDaytime engineering work, good weather and colourful trains are guaranteed to attract our contributors. 7 and 8 May say the line on Anglesey. Colas Rail provided the locomotives for the ballast trains: Saturday saw a pair of Class 70s in charge, 70 806 and 70 802. Peter Basterfield caught up with the train between Bodorgan station and the eponymous tunnels (above). A telephoto picture from the station (Peter Basterfield). Heading back east in the evening at Talybont near Bangor (Peter Basterfield). Later that evening a second trainload if ballast headed for the site top-and-tailed by a pair of Colas 66s... ... 66 848 and 66 850 David Maidment OBE, returning in the sunshine on Sunday afternoon. Jim Johnson was on hand to photograph the train at Bangor with 66 848 leading ... ... and 66 850 trailing. Nor all the ballast provided was used, but it's always worth having some spare (Jim Johnson). Tim Rogers photographed the train, 6Y66 16:00 Bangor to Crewe Basford Hall, from the refurbished footbridge at Bagillt. The view of the rear of the train by Tim Rogers highlights the wagons on this train, which are all shiny 'new' ones. They are of type MXA, created especially for this purpose; the sides are quite low; because the 'spent ballast' removed from sites and loaded into the empty wagons can be very heavy, having become mixed with compacted material. They have been built by fixing pre-fabricated bodies on to 'bogie bolster' wagons originally built to carry steel products. The type has been given a 'fishy' name in the long tradition of marine 'telegraphic' codes for engineers' wagon types. In this case, DB decided to hold a competition for primary school pupils to choose the name. The winners with 'Lobster' were three 10-year-olds from The Willows who 'came up with the apt title to match the bright red colour and the long rectangular shape of the MXA wagons. They got to attend a naming ceremony in January at Trafford Park, when loco 60 020 was dubbed The Willows. Whether 'Fishy McFishface' was one of the entries we cannot say. A close-up by Tim Rogers of 66 850. David Maidment (a member of the Manchester Locomotive Society), had a long career in railway management, for which he was awarded the OBE in 1996, and has played an important role in The Railway Children and other charities. His website is well worth a look. The loco was named in 2013. On 9 May, two track machines pass Rhyl heading from Stafford to Bangor. These two machines Plasser and Theurer Tamper DR73116 and Ballast Regulator DR77906, provide support for the high-output track renewal system. The opportunity was also taken to pour some concrete at Valley level crossing ... ... captured on camera by Jim Johnson. Fry's Chocolate Train - by by Stephen HughesFor some time I have had old negatives of the attached photos taken by my father in my possession, but even though it was possible to identify the subject matter, they were so badly damaged by damp that they were unusable, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find, in an old envelope, the two original prints which I have now scanned. By no means perfect, but I hope that they might be of interest. Taken in the 'Excursion' platform at Caernarfon station, (now the site of Morrisons car park) the three ex Great Western vehicles were painted in blue and gold and travelled across the country advertising Fry's chocolate products, taking in 10000 miles and visiting 250 stations. Very little information regarding the train can be found on the internet, but the few pieces of information seem to date its travels between May 1933 and 1937. Unfortunately at the moment I can't date these photographs any more accurately, although I suspect that they might have been taken in 1933. The coach in the middle is a clerestory-roofed former first class dining saloon (9502) converted into a café car (alternatively called a 'Tea Lounge') and the two either side of it are converted scenery vans (590 and 593 - code name 'Monster' ) that had their doorways removed and gangways fitted to join with the café car. A kitchen was fitted and accommodation was also provided for the travelling staff. The internet informs me that the National Railway Museum has postcards showing the train, including the interior. Any other information regarding the visit of the train to Caernarfon would be most welcome, I wonder whether it went to any other location in North Wales? Incidentally, whilst chatting the other evening about these pictures we were both convinced that Fry's Chocolate Cream had long gone. Apparently it hasn't, and even though J. S. Fry's chocolate business merged with Cadbury as long ago as 1919 it managed to survive until the current owner, Kraft foods, closed the Bristol factory in 2010 (despite saying they wouldn't) and shipped it to Poland, where it is now made. ['Five Boys' - now there was a chocolate bar- Ed.] Ffestiniog members' weekend - report by Ian PilkingtonAbove: on 30 April Former Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry Hunslet Britomart (with Palmerston at rear) runs the stock of a shuttle from Blaenau round the loop at Tan-y-Grisiau. David Lloyd George heads the 13:35 Porthmadog-Blaenau towards Tan-y-Grisiau. Visiting locomotive, privately owned Darjeeling & Himalaya Railway Sharp Stewart 19B, heads the 14:55 Porthmadog-Blaenau north of Moelwyn Tunnel. The leading coach was built by the FR at Boston Lodge Works for the same owner, Adrian Shooter. Sunday 1 May, and Blanche and Linda head the 10:05 Porthmadog-Blaenau past Boston Lodge. Blanche was withdrawn from service for heavy overhaul at the end of the day. In very heavy rain, Darjeeling 19B heads a Porthmadog-Beddgelert Special over the Afon Glaslyn Bridge on the Welsh Highland. Not taken during the event, here are three images of new FR coaches newly built at Boston Lodge works, photographed on Tuesday 3 May Above: Pullman Observation Car 150, Service Carriage 119 and Super Saloon 117 stand at the head of a service train at Blaenau Ffestiniog. From Pullman Car 150, loco Lyd can be seen at the Blaenau water column. Another view of 150's opulent interior. Note: Ffestiniog scenes from other contributors will appear in the next issue. MiscellanyDeganwy, 30 April (Greg Mape). Ffestiniog Railway loco Lilla performing on a short length of track at the Albert Dock, Liverpool on 6 May (George Jones). Symptom of the 175 shortage? Or units trapped at Holyhead by the engineering work perhaps. 150 217 at Bagillt with the 15:24 Shrewsbury to Bangor (Tim Rogers). Impromptu rehearsal by the Wirral Pipe Band on Llandudno station, 1 May (Greg Mape). 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