NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd

12 September 2016


















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Forthcoming events

This list may be out of date if you are reading an archived issue. For full information visit our Calendar page.

September 2016

Monday 19 September RCTS Chester   Barry Shore Diesel Diary - The Sixties. Barry lives on the Wirral and his thoughtful presentations are always looked forward to. He is a long standing Branch member.

Friday 30 September Great Western Society North West Branch. Steam in Black and White. Peter Spilsbury.

October 2016

Wednesday 5 October   RCTS Liverpool Stephen Gay - Railways in a Cornish Landscape. Stephen is from Sheffield and a celebrated photographer. He returns to the Branch to give one of his presentations based on his walking tours covering the past and present railway scene.
 
Friday 7 October Clwyd Railway Circle Ron's Wanderings for Main Line Steam. A collection of film clips covering main line steam and preserved lines by Ron Watson-Jones

Thursday 13 October Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society 6 G - Fifty years by the Committee

Monday 17 October RCTS Chester John Sloane:  Sheds Part 2. John, from Parbold, is a member of the Lancs & North West Branch and is also the LCGB North West Branch Chairman. His nostalgic shed shots are accompanied by an insight into how each shed operated.

Friday 28 October Great Western Society North West Branch. Railway Personnel. Paul Shackcloth.

November 2016

Friday 4 November Clwyd Railway Circle Development of German Electric Locomotives. An illustrated description of the principal designs from the Siemens Demonstrator of 1879 to the latest members of the Eurosprinter & TRAXX families, covering their inception, technical features and service history by Ian Mainprize

Thursday 10 November Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society AGM and Members Miscellany       

Monday 21 November RCTS Chester Revd. Canon Brian Arman: Railway Roundabout. Brian, the Society's President, is from Bristol and another man of the cloth who is a railway enthusiast. His presentation starts and finishes in Gloucester via Bristol, Bournemouth, London and Birmingham.

Friday 25 November Great Western Society North West Branch. GW Steam in S. Wales and S West. Alf Storey

December 2016

Friday 2 December Clwyd Railway Circle Members' Night & Christmas Celebration

Thursday 8 December Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society Christmas Social / An evening with Norman Kneale        

Wednesday 7 December RCTS Liverpool Paul Wright: The 8D Association. Paul is Editor of the Association's Journal.

Monday 19 December RCTS Chester John Hobbs:  North Wales in Black & White.John lives in Warrington and is well known for his presentations covering the final years of steam in North Wales and around the north west. He is a member of the Branch and is actively involved in railway preservation.

               
January 2017

Friday 6 January Clwyd Railway Circle The Ffestiniog Railway. A short history featuring FR steam locomotives and a trip up the line using photographs from the 60's onwards. By Geoff Coward

Thursday 12 January Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society My favourite memories of preserved steam on the Coast by Ron Watson Jones

Monday 16 January RCTS Chester AGM - Followed by John Feild with a slide presentation Non-members are welcome after 20.15 hours for John's presentation which will
cover our Branch's 2016 outdoor visits and other topical items. He is a long standing RCTS member and now President of the Branch.
             
Friday 27 January Great Western Society North West Branch. North of Preston -  Barrie Rushton

February 2017

Wednesday 1 February  RCTS Liverpool  Mark Youdan. North West Railway Photography, 1995-2015. Mark, a Branch member, is a Driver/Trainer for Arriva Rail North and held the same position with Northern Trains.

Friday 3 February Clwyd Railway Circle BR Steam - The Splendid Years (1959-65 in B&W) Steam around the regions in the early 60's by John Sloane.

Thursday 9 February Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society Snowdon Mountain Railway, by Mike Robertshaw

Monday 20 February RCTS Chester Fred Kirk: Leicester Area Steam Days. Fred, from Leicester, spent a lot of his time bicycling around with his camera at the ready to various locations on all the main lines within reasonable reach of his home.

Friday 24 February Great Western Society North West Branch. Group AGM

March 2017

Friday 3 March  Clwyd Railway Circle Amlwch Branch Line and Annual General Meeting Chairman of the Lein Amlwch - Central Anglesey Railway Company, Walter Glyn Davies  will give a presentation on the progress of the lines revival. The talk will be followed by the Annual General Meeting.

Thursday 9 March  Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society    ... And we run trains too! Clare Britton (Ffestiniog Railway)

Monday 20 March  RCTS Chester    Paul Chancellor. A Colour-Rail Presentation. Paul, from Bromsgrove, is owner of Colour-Rail and will highlight the work of many fine railway photographers covering the better part of 70 years. He is also the RO Editor for the 'Preservation and Other Railways' section.

Friday 31 March Great Western Society North West Branch. (To be announced)

April 2017

Wednesday 5 April RCTS Liverpool David Rapson. Railways - The Digital Effect David, who lives in Connah's Quay, has worked on the railways for many years spending a lot of his life in Control positions and now works for West Coast Railway Company. He is also a Branch member and for those who read Rail Express will be aware of his contributions.

Friday 7 April Clwyd Railway Circle Railways of North Cheshire in Early BR Days Being a Manchester lad, Russell Hatt was able to capture the busy scenes around his home area.

Thursday 13 April Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society An evening with Barry & Steve  - Barry Wynne and Steve Morris

Monday 24 April   RCTS Chester   George Jones : Onwards to Corwen.George lives in Wrexham and for many years has been an important publicist for the Llangollen Railway and certain of its locomotives. He will cover the railway's reinvigoration of the line to Corwen and look at its future prospects.       

Friday 28 April Great Western Society North West Branch. (To be announced)

May 2017

Thursday 11 May   Llandudno & Conwy Valley Railway Society   A tribute to the late David Jones, by John Myers 






Branch line idyll at Berwyn, 2 September. Picture by Tim Rogers.


A short 'steam special special'  - other news will be covered in an extra issue on 18 September. - Charlie

North Wales Coast Express



This year's final steam special to Holyhead, the North Wales Coast Express on 4 September, suffered changes of plan - as has in recent months become almost the normal situation. Promised locomotive 45690 Leander was judged not fit to run and was replaced by 46115 Sectors Guardsman, no longer hauling the Crewe - Manchester - Chester - Holyhead (and return) train throughout, as originally advertised, but Chester - Holyhead - Chester only, with diesel haulage for the rest of the itinerary.  Social Media spread the news, so few steam-oriented photographers made wasted journeys. However, Greg Mape captured the diesel leg in the spectacular few from Frodsham Hill (above). In charge was West Coast Railways loco 47 237.



Rhyl (Phil Clarke).



47 237 travelled on the rear of the train for the steam leg (Phil Clarke).



Passing the long-disused Rhyl No.2 signalbox (Ian Pilkington).



The train arrived early at Llandudno Junction and was held at home signal LJ57 to await the passage of the 12:50 Holyhead - London service. seen passing by in Jim Ikin's picture taken from Conway Road bridge.



Leaving The Junction for Holyhead in a heavy rain shower as a jet-ski heads south (Larry Davies).



During the usual watering pause at Llandudno Junction Jim Ikin re-located to Waen Crossing to record the train heading for Holyhead in heavy rain - with thanks to Mrs Ikin for holding the umbrella.



Working 1Z46 18:00 Holyhead - Crewe,  46115 blows off as she heads through Conwy and slows for the Tubular Bridge. Picture by Larry Davies, who writes:  'It was here on the original
station that I first set eyes on a Scot nearly 60 years past. Oh dear, was it that long ago?'

[Possibly longer: The original Conway station closed in February 1966, and re-opened on the same site in 1987.- Charlie]



Bangor (Ken Robinson).



Malltraeth (Rowan Crawshaw).



Approaching Rhosneigr (Ian Pilkington).



46115 has arrived at Valley from Holyhead to turn, and the signaller has cleared the ground signal  to proceed to the triangle to turn (Ian Pilkington).



The view from the public footpath as 46115 heads back to the the main line and Holyhead after the turning manoeuvre (Ian Pilkington). Will this facility be retained when there are no more flasks to be carried from Wylfa, the chief reason for this trackage?



The return train passes Llanfairfechan (Ian Pilkington).



In the gathering gloom, the return train passes Abergele (Jim Ikin)...



... and Rhyl (Roly High).


Cambrian in North Yorkshire

Eddie Knorn writes: At the North Yorkshire Moors Railway we will be adding a Welsh theme to our Autumn Steam Gala on 30 September - 2 October. Locomotives with a mid/north Wales connection will be 7822 Foxcote Manor and 80136, the latter having spent time at Machynlleth when in service. We also plan to renumber our Standard Class 4 4-6-0 to recreate a long-lost Machynlleth sister, also look out for the rebirth of two former Croes Newydd Black 5s.


Llangollen Autumn Steam Gala



We've received a large selection of pictures of the Llangollen Railway's event on 2 - 4 September. What follows is a selection - hopefully including something from everyone.  The Gala featured five engines in steam from the resident pool of locos plus one visitor. Above, pannier tank 6430 at
Glyndyfrdwy forming the  12:30 Glyndyfrdwy to Carrog with push-pull coach W30. Picture by Tim Rogers.



7822 Foxcote Manor at Glyndyfrdwy on the 13:15 Llangollen to Carrog (Tim Rogers). The train comprised  BR Mk1s corridor stock ...



... and  LNER Buffet Bar Car E1706E.  LNER Bar Car E1706E ... 



...  a splendid way to travel (Tim Rogers).



2-6-4T 80072 at Llangollen, 2 September (Tim Rogers).



An interesting guest loco was 12322, built in 1896 as No. 1300, one of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's '27' class 0-6-0s, photographed at Llangollen on 3 September by Larry Davies.



Doing the job she was designed for: demonstration shunting at Carrog on 3 September (Larry Davies). Locos of this type - by then renumbered in the 523xx series - found their way to North Wales depots by the 1950s, presumably as replacements for worn-out London and North Western Railway equivalents. One of their duties was the Corwen goods trip from Denbigh yard.



12322 on arrival at Carrog with the 9.45am service from Llangollen on 3 September  (Martin Evans). 484 of this type were built between 1889 and 1918 at Horwich works; this is the only survivor and is based at the Ribble Steam Railway, although it has recently been on load to the East Lancashire line.  It was a tribute to the soundness, usefulness and simple practicality of the design that around 50 members of the class were still operating in the summer of 1960 under British Railways. 



On 2 September, fireman Matt Grindley demonstrates the ancient art of cooking breakfast on the shovel (George Jones).



The next day's weather was less friendly, and the old loco's storm tarpaulin had to be deployed, with mixed results (George Jones). Try to imagine running like this on a dark and stormy night in the high Pennines.



An interesting view of 12322's inside motion (Jim Ikin).



Wet weather makes for better steam effects: resident 2-6-2T 5199 storms away from Berwyn station on the very wet Saturday morning 3 September working the 11.25am departure from Llangollen (Martin Evans).



Portrait of 5199 at Carrog (Jim Ikin).



Corwen East on Sunday 4 September: 80072 'in disguise' as 80043 (Ian Henderson).



A new addition to the demonstration freight train, a wagon decked out in 'private owner' colours for a local coal merchant.  A little 'modeller's licence' applied here, we feel, as coal wagons generally had higher sides, but it looks good.


'80043' on the move



BR standard class 4 80072 left Llangollen on 7 September for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway gala at Midsomer Norton (Martin Evans). The gala is being held over the weekends 10/11 and 17 /18 September, and she will be hauling passenger trains from 10:30am to 4:30pm both weekends, including a commemorative run in honour of the last S&D steam passenger train in 1966. She has been renumbered to 80043 for the Gala and may also run as 80041.



In action at Midsomer Norton, 11 September (Richard Putley). The real 80043 worked some of the trains on the last day of operation of the Somerset and Dorset line, 5 March 1966.



In the siding in Richard Putley's second view includes an interesting Midsomer North resident, chain-drive Sentinel 0-4-0 shunter 7109.  7109 is actually the works number of this machine which once worked at Croydon gas works. It has been liveried to replicate the LMS Sentinels which served the colliery at the nearby Somerset town of Radstock, which had LMS numbers 7190 and 7191. Despite appearances, these 'Sentinels' are steam locos.


Steam on the water - report by David Parry



Having been on board the paddle steamer Waverley when she was unable to berth at Llandudno Pier in 2014 and 2015, my wife and I were delighted to be present when she came in on 30 August.   The tide was low so the lower embarkation level was used.   We were impressed by the large number of passengers disembarking and almost as many appeared to be joining for the next leg of the cruise.  The picture shows the ship reversing away from the pier before sailing forward in an arc to sail past the Great Orme.   


Shrewsbury Princess - report by Roly High



A member of staff at Shrewsbury station on carries out Buddleia-pruning operations in advance of the arrival of ...
 


... LMS Pacific 6201 Princess Elizabeth with a 'Cathedrals Express'  excursion from London Paddington, which 6201 has taken over from a diesel from Bristol.



The loco and support coach were detached here to turn on the triangle before a move to Coton Hill sidings for coal and water.



On the other end, patriotic 47 580 County of Essex. The  return train would detach the steam loco at Bristol Parkway, and head diesel-hauled to Slough (five minutes late at 23:15), with passengers reaching London by service trains which the train proceeded empty to West Coast Railways' depot at Southall. A Great Western HST for London calls at Slough at 23:31 for a London arrival at 23:53.


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