NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd

11 February 2019












 



Contributions and comments are encouraged: see the Contributions Page


Forthcoming events

February 2019

Tuesday 5 February North Wales Railway Circle NWRC Secretary Peter Hanahoe will give 'A 1980s Extravaganza' slide-show.

Friday 8 February  Altrincham Electric Railway Society Steam and Diesel in the Northern Fells 2010-2016. A digital presentation by Ian Pilkington.

Wednesday 6 February RCTS Liverpool "North West & North Wales Reminiscences of the 1960s" John Cashen

Monday 18 February RCTS Chester "A Taste of Japan" Gordon Davies

March 2019

Friday 1 March Clwyd Railway Circle  “Annual General Meeting” followed by “Chairman’s Choice” A night of self indulgence from the retiring chairman, David Jones

Tuesday 5 March North Wales Railway Circle 'Next Train's Gone!'..Humph Davies with an illustrated historical survey of the route of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway & Successors, Part 1. Caernarfon -Rhyd Ddu.

Friday 8 March Altrincham Electric Railway Society. The Glorious Steam Railways of India. Steam across India from 1976 to the early 1980s. A digital presentation by John Sloane.

Monday 18 March RCTS Chester "55 Years of Railway Photography, Part 2" Les Nixon

April 2019

Tuesday 2 April North Wales Railway Circle Gareth Haulfryn Williams, archivist and author, on 'Rails to/from Bethesda.'

Wednesday 3 April RCTS Liverpool "Manchester to Liverpool by CLC" Ken Grainger

Friday 5 April Clwyd Railway Circle  "Scotland in the 1960s" The talk covers the whole of Scotland - going up the west side to Wick and Thurso and returning down the east side from/to Carlisle.
John Cashen

Friday 12 April  Altrincham Electric Railway Society Great Western and Southern Steam in the West Country. A colour slide presentation by Alf Storey.

Monday 15 April RCTS Chester "Steam on the North Wales Coast" (Video Presentation) Ron Watson Jones

May 2019

Tuesday 7 May North Wales Railway Circle AGM and Members' Photo. Competition.




A meeting at Bangor: 67 014 waits with the Holyhead - Manchester train, as 47 815 Lost Boys 68-88 passes of 4 February with a collection of carriages which were to act to act as brake forced runners for the move of new electric unit 397 001 from Holyhead to Manchester International depot  the following day. Picture by Peter Basterfield.


Thanks for all the contributions: some have had to be held over until next week due to time pressure.- Charlie

Class 397 on the Coast



4 February's working from Leicester to Holyhead  passes Sandycroft in the sunshine with Rail Operations Group loco 47 815 Lost Boys 68-88  leading (Tim Rogers).  The esoteric loco name , first applied to 56 098 (which is not currently operational)  in 2016, breaks new ground by commemorating a Facebook group, whose members were 'Driver's Assistants' on British Rail in the days when it was thought that diesel locos required a 'second man' in the cab.



The return working on 5 February with Class 397 was well-observed by our contributors. This is Pensarn, with 57 312 Solway Princess leading.  (Alan Martin).   The five coaches of the 397 had been carried individually by road to the Holyhead Aluminium sidings, where they were marshalled together.  This unit, although built in Spain, has been on test on the the Velim test track in the Czech Republic, and brought by ship  from (we think) Cuxhaven to Immingham docks, where it was transferred to road trailers.



Taken with a long lens from the same location as above, the train passes Towyn (Alan Martin).



Rhyl (Dave Sallery)



Two of the 'runner' vehicles, 68501 (above) and 68504, hired from Arlington Fleet Group, were from a batch of ten driving motor vehicles from Souther Region 2-HAP 2-car sets which were converted in 1983/84 to act as driver accommodation (and extra power) on one end of the 'Gatwick Express'[ trains being introduced at the time. Each set had a class 73 electro-diesel at the other end.



Close-up of a driving vehicle at Bagillt (Tim Rogers).  Twelve of these 5-car 125 mph-capable  units (Called 'Nova 2' by Transpennine) are on order, to replace Class 350s on the Manchester - Scotland service. Opportunity for 125mph running by non-tilting on that route will be quite limited, if allowed at all.



Chester (Geraint Williams). 57 312 is one of the locos given Pullman livery by DRS  for their operation of the 'Northern Belle' luxury train, but the contract for this has now passed to West Coast Railways. We assume it is still owned by DRS, as their nameplates have not been removed; it appears to have been hired to the Rail Operations Group, a small form who specialise in one-off moments of this kind.
 


The payload, 397 001 at Chester (Geraint Williams).


Steam activity



Black Five 45231  The Sherwood Forester approaches Chester on 5 February on a test run with support coach from Locomotive Services at Crewe (Martin Evans).



After turning using the triangle of lines west of Chester, preparing to return to Crewe.  It was expected to make two test runs but the first one was cancelled due to ash pan problems (Martin Evans). The loco would have pushed the coach out of the station. Propelling moves  require a loco the other end according to current rules,  but apparently a single support coach is exempt (comments welcome).



Ex-LMS Black Five 45231 Sherwood Forester with support coach, heading back to Crewe. Viewed from Promised Land Lane in Waverton  on 5 February (Jeff Albiston).



The following day, 6 February, a loaded test run  with four coaches and D1733 hanging off the rear, made a circular run. Bob Greenhalgh's picture is from Green lane Crossing.



Black Five 45231 at Balderton level crossing  (Jeff Albiston).



Wrexham General. Picture by George Jones who notes: ' Arriving five minutes early. the approach was under a red signal for Croes Newydd, turning yellow to allow it to open up through the platform,  with the draink cocks open on the right hand side.'



D1733 on the rear at Wrexham (George Jones).



Cholmondeston (Robert Meredith). The working was circular test run Crewe - Chester - Telford - Crewe.



Ex-SR West Country Pacific, 34046 Braunton still masquerading as scrapped classmate 34052 Lord Dowding,  departs from Chester on a light test run back to Crewe.



Wardle (Robert Meredith).


Dave Sallery's archive spot



20 903 on the rear of the weed-killing train making its annual visit to the Conwy Valley line. 20 902  was on the other end, on 17 August 1993.


Passenger scenes



67 014 at Chester on 5 February having arrived from Crewe at 10 35. It was waiting its next turn of service as disruption from  an early incident between Llandudno Junction and Chester had caused delays to a number of services (Martin Evans).



The same train, 09:53 Manchester - Holyhead, passes Bagillt at 11:19 (Tim Rogers).


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