NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd

08 February 2021










 

 
 


Forthcoming events

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Note:  we have removed all entries relating to meetings as the events are cancelled.






 


Bob Greenhalgh braved the icy wind to capture DVT 82226 pushed by 67 025 passing Green Lane crossing on the 12:08 Crewe to East Usk Yard via Chester trial working, 8 February.


News pictures



Route learning for forthcoming engineering works on Merseyrail continues: 66 742 ABP Port of Immingham Centenary 1912-2012 passes Gobowen on 4 February. Picture by Chris Scott.



70 801 passes Green Lane with an engineer's train, 6 February (Bob Greenhalgh).



Two views from Greg Mape's telephoto lens on 3 February looking to Skelton Junction, Timperley. 66 754 Northampton Saints with its biomass train has climbed the sharply-curved chord on to the line towards Stockport, Guide Bridge and the Calder Valley line.



Freightliner 70 004 with empty refuse containers from Runcorn.  The line branching to left led (latterly) to the industrial premises in the Partington area, and is officially 'mothballed'.  The crossover which would allow to train to travel from that line towards Stockport would be unable to reach the correct line has been disconnected.   To the left is a loop line, which is clearly out of use, although the signal governing its exit still shines red from amid the undergrowth.



Harlescott, near Shrewsbury, 8 February, with  Graham Brakewell. A convoy of Colas Class 70s - 70 815 hauling 809, 810 and 805 from Crewe to Westbury.



97 302 in residence at Coleham depot  with 175 004 passing on 1V40 the 11:31 Manchester Piccadilly to Carmarthen.



At Meole Brace crossing, Shrewsbury, 97 302 pilots a track machine from Talerddig to Wrexham (Graham Breakwell).


Last days of 6A shed - remembered by Peter Neve



The date is 31 May 1967, just a week before Chester steam shed closed and locomotives would soon be moving to scrap yards or other depots. Fowler 0-6-0 Jinty 47598 was withdrawn on  23 July 1966 and had been in store pending scrapping. Built by W.G. Bagnall in 1928, 47598 was previously shedded at Mold Junction (6B). The smokebox number plate, shed code plate and whistle are all missing and there appears to be an absence of vacuum braking equipment.

 

Also on 31 May 1967 Stanier Black 5 4-6-0 45278 stands in the sunshine alongside Riddles 9F 2-10-0 92088 at Chester MPD. 45278 was visiting Chester from its home shed, Wigan Springs Branch (8F). It was withdrawn from there just 10 days later on 10 June 1967 and cut up at Cohens (Kettering) in December 1967.

 

Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48745 was a Stockport Edgeley (9B) engine photographed visiting Chester MPD on 31 May 1967. It survived almost a year longer and was withdrawn from Stockport Edgeley on the 4 May 1968 and scrapped in September of that year.


From Ken Robinson's archive



Two images from 31 August 2004. Firstly, heritage liveried D1648 (47 851) Traction Magazine passes Pont Myfyrian near Gaerwen on Anglesey, with the 08:40 Euston-Holyhead...



... and secondly, the return working, the 13:23 Holyhead-Euston, passes Valley.



27 January 14 years ago, 2007,  saw preserved  45 112 visit Holyhead with Hertfordshire Railtours' 'Tubular Belle Merrymaker' from York. 45 112, named The Royal Army Ordnance Corps hadn't been in the best of health prior to this tour, and many thought it might struggle on the day. However things went well for 45 112 throughout the tour, although 47 847 was on the rear as back-up loco, and to provide Electric Train Heating . Here are a few of the shots I took on the day: Above, 45 112 arriving at Holyhead.



47 847, minus its nameplates and working for Riviera Trains  was on the rear of the train. (The livery was still wrong - see recent issues - after the incorrect typeface was improved, as there should be a space after the class number.) The loco today is owned by Rail Operations Group.



45 112 receiving attention from photographers and passengers alike at Holyhead, with the empty stock of the train in the sidings behind.  The loco survives today, based at Nemesis Rail, Burton-on-Trent.


From Dave Sallery's archive



Early morning flasks to Trawsfynydd  with 31 163 and 31 201, 1 July 1994.



33 207 on  the last timetabled working of a Class 33 on the coast, Prestatyn, 27 September 1986.



'Daisy',  celebrity heritage-liveried 101 685,  Roman Bridge 18 July 1994.



Early morning flasks to Trawsfynydd with 31 163 and 31 201, Llanrwst 1 July 1994.



56 134, brand new from Crewe Works, on test at Prestatyn, with 47 465 as insurance,  12 September 1984.  (See next item.)


More about Blyth Power - by Daniel Pearson



I was interested to read the brief article by Martin Weeks in the 1 February issue on the class 56 name Blyth Power.

Growing up in the North East (with the bonus of also having family living in Connah's Quay and Sandycroft!) I was very use to seeing this plate initially on 56 076 and then carried by 56 134 so when I got the opportunity to purchase one of the original nameplates a few years ago I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately the associated dedication plates that Martin mentions had long since 'disappeared', despite a search of the nameplate stores at Toton, so I asked the clever people at Newton Replicas (who produced the originals) if they could make me one. Despite not having the original pattern they managed impressively to make me an exact dimensionally correct copy just from a photograph.

Both plates now sit proudly on my office wall as per the attached photograph.


Looking back with David Pool - Llangollen 1996-98



Although several Deltics had been preserved, some had not been certified for main line running, and were to be found as visitors on Preserved railways.  55 015 Tulyar was on the Llangollen Railway on 19 October 1996, nearing the Fixed Distant signal on the approach to Glyndyfrdwy.  It was certainly unable to demonstrate its “East Coast Racehorse” capabilities on this occasion.



The last time I had photographed Tulyar was on 13 July 1962, when it was leaving Harrogate with the Southbound Queen of Scots Pullman.  This was nothing out of the ordinary at the time, but it illustrates how much the railway scene has changed since then.  Note the West Yorkshire Bristol LL5G on the bridge and the green Class 110 dmu with headcode 2N71 in the platform.



This is one of those images which was so typical of branch lines in the early 1980s, but the Class 108 units never ran on the Llangollen Railway before it closed in 1965.  On 29 March 1997 the blue/grey 108 M51907/M54490 was leaving Carrog, with Llangollen shown on the destination blind.  This must be one of the few station shots on a Preserved railway with no photographers or spectators visible on the platforms. The LO 262 indicates the Unit’s home Depot would have been Longsight (Manchester).



19 June 1997 was a red-letter day for the Llangollen Railway, since the famous “Coal Tank” 1054 was visiting, and arrangements had been made for a Special train to run after normal services had ended for the day.  My first shot was taken as it left Llangollen, and I managed a second at Berwyn, thinking that the evening sun would be behind the hills by time 1054 reached Glyndyfrdwy. 



For once I was lucky, and there was a small patch of sunlit track at Glyndyfrdwy opposite the signal cabin on the Carrog side, which just suited a “going away” shot.  This was more successful than in 1969 when I tried to photograph 1054 in Penrhyn Castle Museum.  It may have been still carrying its BR number 58926 then, but it was a tight fit in an alcove, and little more than a head on view of the smokebox had been visible.



It was a cold Easter Saturday in 1998, and I was hoping for some shots of steam in snow along the line.  I planned to try for a shot leaving Berwyn, but called in at Llangollen to see what was in steam.  Prairie Tank 4141 was in the station, and all looked promising, but then there was the sound of a diesel, and this proved to be 25 313.



Win a few, lose a few, is the usual pattern for my photography, so I was not surprised to see 25 313 on the front when the train got to Berwyn.  Fortunately 4141 was just visible behind the diesel, so the steam didn’t look out of place.  At least the Class 25 had the appropriate miniature snow ploughs!



To answer the question “where is 4141 today?” I show a shot taken on the Epping and Ongar Railway at North Weald on 29 June 2014.  4141 was looking very clean, but was not in service at the time.  The Class 03 in front of the locomotive was one of the “cut down cab” variety from the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley line, where they used to work in pairs on the heavier trains, until they were replaced by similarly cut down Class 08s.


Paperwork



Rail Replacement Buses are not just a modern phenomenon, as this 1935 publication from Jim Johnson's collection shows. Below is the full length of the document.  Was there a specific reason for this disruption, or just simple engineering work?




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