NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
11 July 2016
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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
Friday 30 September Great Western Society North West Branch. Steam in Black and White. Peter Spilsbury.
October 2016
Friday 28 October Great Western Society North West Branch. Railway Personnel. Paul Shackcloth.
November 2016
Friday 25 November Great Western Society North West Branch. GW Steam in S. Wales and S West. Alf Storey
December 2016
January 2017
Friday 27 January Great Western Society North West Branch. North of Preston Barrie Rushton
February 2017
Friday 24 February Great Western Society North West Branch. Group AGM
March 2017
Friday 31 March Great Western Society North West Branch. (To be announced)
April 2017
Friday 28 April Great Western Society North West Branch. (To be announced)
57 605 Totnes Castle in the new Great Western livery at London Paddington, 6 June with the Penzance sleeper. Picture by Richard Putley.
We are on holiday this week, so here are some 'traveller's tales' from our contributors.
A Highland adventure - with Richard Putley
On Tuesday 14 June I drove up to Carrbridge on the Highland Railway Main Line to Inverness, pausing at Blair Athol where I saw 68 002 (above) on a southbound Tesco container train.
After checking into my hotel, The Cairn in Carrbridge , where I stayed last year, I drove up to Tomatin where I photographed the Up Highland Sleeper on the impressive viaduct over the River Findhorn there.
On the way back to Carrbridge I saw that the sleeper was held at Slochd Summit. So I was able to shoot it again and ascertain the identity of the locos – 73 967 (leading) and 73 968. The next morning, looking at the Realtime Trains website I saw that the sleeper was two hours late. It was raining heavily too so I wasn't too disappointed.
After tea the rain had at last abated. So I drove over to Kingussie to photograph a ballast train that was double headed by 68 006 ...
...and 37 688. According to Realtime Trains it was due to wait in Kincraig loop (between Kingussie and Aviemore) for a couple of hours to allow other trains to overtake it, hence my reason for going to Kingussie to see it.
While there I also saw the Down London - Inverness 'Highland Chieftain' with Power Car 43 251 leading. Later the same evening I saw 73 967 and 73 968 on the Up Highland Sleeper at Slochd.
On Thursday morning 16 June the Down Highland Sleeper was nearly two hours late. I photographed it at Carrbridge when it did arrive, behind 73 968 and 73 967.
I spent the day manning Boat of Garten station, where I photographed 2-6-0 46512.
On the Strathspey Railway the LMS Inspection Saloon 45021 was attached to the rear of the trains. Passenger pay a premium to ride in it and get served light refreshments.
Compared with the previous two days, on Friday morning 17 June the Down Highland Sleeper was only 10 minutes late. This time the locos were 73 968 and 966. One of the Mk3 sleepers, 10580, was in the new Caledonian Sleeper livery; the rest of the carriages were still in First Scotrail livery, as had been the case so far in the week.
Tyseley Open Day and Bristol - with Jim Ikin
We visited Bristol and the West Somerset for a week in June as part of a break. After a sunny start at the Tyseley Open Day on 25 June there was a prolonged shower, with hail at one stage. Regular North Wales coast performers 4965 Rood Ashton Hall ...
... and 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe played prominent roles.
Peckett saddle-tank No.1 (works No. 2004)
'Jubilee' 5593 Kolhapur looked a bit run down; it is there for a full overhaul.
Two Pannier Tanks, were in action: 9600 and London Transport-liveried L94 (ex-7752).
Although not a big fan of diesels I must admit the two class 20s, 20 205 ...
... and 20 189 looked good.
In the erecting shop: rear centre is 5596 Bahamas with 7029 Clun Castle in front; to the right is the smokebox of 71000 Duke of Gloucester and on the far left its frames an wheels.
On the Sunday morning we visited the Avon Valley Railway and an interesting rail vehicle is which - I was told - was one of two converted Mk 1 coaches for use as a barrier vehicle-cum-mess van for nuclear flask traffic. Both were apparently built by the MOD but deemed unfit for purpose.
During a visit to Bristol Docks (a fascinating visit to SS Great Britain ) we watched the Fairbairn steam crane in action. It was built by local firm Stothert & Pitt in 1875 to a Fairburn design...
... and Bristol Harbour Railway Avonside 0-6-0ST 1764 (with an all female crew) running back and to. You could drive the crane followed by driving the 0-6-0T for £50 pre-booked and there was a constant stream of takers.
An hour in Cork - with Tony Robinson
On 18 June I spent an hour around what was once known as Glanmire Road station in Cork, Eire's second city. It's now known as 'Cork Kent', once the start and destination of the renowned Dublin - Cork mails hauled in steam days by those magnificent Inchicore built Great Southern & Western/C .I.E. 4-6-0 loco's of which no. 800 "Maedb" is the sole survivor. (Pronounced Maeve - kept in the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in Cultra). Above: A fairly new and very smart 22 class DMU, 22 138, departs the train shed with a Dublin express at about 1.30pm.
2616, familiar design type of local DMU departs the opposite (East) side of the station bound for Midleton beneath some typical high-visibility semaphores.
3) As usual I hadn't done my homework and missed (by an hour) a visiting steam special - part of the Steam Dreams 'Emerald Isle Explorer' week-long tour - that had deposited this coach in a siding, reason unknown. A ticket collector complained that "It had filled the b......y place with smoke"!
This old fella is on display on the station concourse. A display nearby explains that No.36 was built in 1847 by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy of Liverpool for the Great Southern and Western Railway.
This was our first ever, and most enjoyable, visit to that part of Ireland.
Midlands perambulations - with Greg Mape
Around the West Midlands on 16 June with a Day ranger ticket from Crewe (above) where a Manchester Victoria Ascot 'Northern Belle' called, the waiting passengers dressed up to the nines.
We got to Redditch, and to Worcester's two stations with their lower quadrant
signals. At Worcester Foregate Street, really strange service: Great Malvern to Weymouth calling with a 158, operated by Great Western three car set 158 798.
A trip on the tram extension to New Street. On the left, celebrity tram 37 Ozzy Osbourne looking pretty in pink.
Unlike the Manchester branch which is now closed, the Birmingham Ian Allan shop continues to trade.
To the Model Railway Event at the Great Central Railway on 17 June, and a nostalgic DMU destination.
Model company Bachmann provided a headboard, seem above on 2-6-0 46521, and one-time Cambrian lines performer.
'Black 5' 45305 was hauling a special train for the model railway exhibitors.
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