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03 December 2017
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Sunday 3 December at Berwyn on the Llangollen railway. 2807 heads the 11.55 Llangollen to Carrog 'Santa' Train. ExcursionsA West Coast Railways-powered excursion under the 'Statesman Rail' banner ran from Holyhead to Edinburgh and back on Saturday 2 December. The empty stock arrived at Holyhead at 04:26 that morning, and departed as train 1X62 at 05:55. Locomotives were 47 772 Carnforth TMD and one-time Premier Express loco 57 316. We hear that the old Class 47 put up a notable performance on the climb to Shap, managing 33 mph at the summit, the train having a gross weight of 623 tonnes, including the class 57 on the rear. Arrival at Edinburgh was at 13:05, with time to explore Edinburgh's rather spectacular Christmas Market before departure at 16:15, for arrival back at Holyhead (14 minutes late) at 23:07. For obvious reasons we have no pictures of the excursion itself, but the empty stock did return in daylight the next morning as 5Z65 13:10 Holyhead-Carnforth. Jim Johnson was able to photograph it at Bangor (above).1) Arriving a few minutes early, it was held at the signal on on the Up main line. 47 772's nameplate celebrates West Coast Railways' Traction Maintenance Depot which is the based around the former Carnforth steam shed. (Some interesting news is that the Belmond have sold the 'Northern Belle' luxury train operation - the whole works, not just the rolling stock - to 'a joint venture company owned by David Smith, Chairman of West Coast Railways Limited and his business partner David Pitts.') Departing at 13:42, 57 316 on the tail. Continuing signalling problems at Penmaenmawr saw it departing through a red light, under the relevant special arrangement. Saturday 2 December also saw a Pathfinder Tours railtour made the 264-mile journey from Eastleigh to Chester, powered by Royal Train loco 67 005 Queen's Messenger. Bob Greenhalgh photographed the train at Green Lane crossing south of Wrexham - the milepost records 211 miles from London Paddington. Manchester Scenes - pictures by Greg MapeVisitors to the Manchester Model Railway Show the University's Barnes Wallis Building had the added attraction of the view from the café of passing trains on the Manchester Piccadilly - Oxford Road line. Above, a Northern class 319 passes by on 3 December. A view of the Rochdale Canal at Deansgate station with a North Wales - Manchester Class 158 passing one of the fine cast-iron arch bridges in this area. The canal is undergoing maintenance in the area and has been partly. Good views are now available of the new bridge on the 'Ordsall Chord' line which is now complete and scheduled to open to passengers on 10 December with an hourly service from Leeds via Rochdale to Manchester Oxford Road. A new location, Water Street Junction, has joined the Network, where this line meets the Ordsall Lane Junction - Castlefield Junction line. A Northern train on that line can be glimpsed in the distance. The view from the Oxford Road across the site of the BBC buildings, demolished after the BBC moved to Salford Quays. A new development known as 'Circle Square' is taking shape, no doubt providing many student flats. The chimney on skyline served the Bloom Street power station, opened in 1901 and provided with an arm of the canal to bring in its coal. Peter Basterfield's View1 December's 6D43 Flask train at Llanfairfechan with 68 033 and 68 034 braving the waves. Train 1V94 Holyhead - Cardiff Central heads out of Llanfairfechan on 1 December. The beach was covered in foam blown off the sea, quite a surprise as I had never seen anything like that before. 67 014 0n the 'WAG' set en route to Cardiff for the rugby on 25 November, from that footbridge that is often seen from the A483 but rarely photographed from. On 25 November, 70013 Oliver Cromwell drops down from Gresford Bank onto the new double track section. 70013 at Beeston with the return to Bristol. Llangollen NewsThe Llangollen Railway Santa Season started on Saturday 2 December, and on Sunday, in marginal lighting, the procession to Lapland at Carrog, as seen passing Berwyn, featured 2807 on the 12 noon departure ... ... later seen returning ... ...followed by the third train of the day with 5199 in charge. Pictures by George Jones. A long-term resident of the yard at Llangollen left for a new home on 30 November. 2859 was seen loaded up and ready to depart to its new owners' restoration base at Congleton. Proceeds from the sale of 2859 will go towards the boiler overhaul of small prairie tank 5532 which resides in the shed awaiting the final essential item to complete its restoration from scrapyard condition (George Jones). Shipping news - by Jim JohnsonThese pictures Nassau-registered MV Danica Hav at Port Penrhyn, Bangor, loading decorative slate chippings, either purple or blue, from Penrhyn Quarry (or possibly green from Pen-Yr-Orsedd) destined for Rye, Sussex. She docked on Friday evening / early Saturday morning, 22 December, and left on the evening tide, Saturday 2 December. North Wales Coast home page | Archive | Previous Notice Board |