NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY:NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
06 June 2022
Contributions to the Notice Board are welcome, although they may not always be used, due to time constraints, especially if they don't follow the file name convention given on the Contributions Page.
Forthcoming events
Charter trains, and meetings, may be subject to cancellation or postponement. See our Calendar Page for Club and Society details.
June 2022
10-11 June Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways ‘Cwrw ar y Cledrau’ returns in 2022 with a vibrant mix of Real Ales, Steam Trains, and Live Music. Regular steam-hauled trains will also be running throughout the weekend. Updates will be posted on www.rail-ale.com.
July 2022
2 -3 July Llangollen Railway Classic Transport Weekend
Sunday 17 July 2022 Railway Touring Company. Steam The North Wales Coast Express Liverpool -Holyhead and return.
Tuesday 19 July Railway Touring Company. The Welsh Mountaineer Steam Preston Blaenau Ffestiniog and return.
30-31 July : Welsh Highland Railway Centenary and Celebrations:
A weekend of heritage trains operating between Dinas and Rhyd Ddu (as South Snowdon is now known) to celebrate the reopening of this section of line.
August 2022
Friday 12 August Pathfinder Tours Cambrian Coast Express Cardiff - Pwllheli
September 2022
Friday 2 September Clwyd Railway Circle: “The Greatest Railway Builder in the World” A 60 Minute Talk on the Life and Times of Thomas Brassey by Peter Bolt
3-4 September Llangollen Railway Diesel Weekend
Saturday 3 September The Cheshireman steam (6233) Norwich - Chester and return (diesel Peterborough - Norwich)
Friday 9 September Pathfinder Tours Cambrian Coast Express. Oxford - Pwllheli
24 September Trailffest Half Marathon : An Event Train will be provided to take the competitors from the event centre at Porthmadog to the start of the race in Tanygrisiau, the cost of which is included in the entry fee.
Friday 7 October “Fond Memories” A look back over 70 years of Railway interest by Larry Davies
7-9 October: Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways: Vintage weekend.
8-9 October Llangollen Railway DMU railcar weekend
November 2022
Friday 4 November Clwyd Railway Circle: “A trip by Norwegian Railways to Hell (and back).” Geoff Morris
Saturday 5 November Llangollen Railway Ride the Rocket Firework Train
December 2022
Friday 2 December Clwyd Railway Circle: “Members Selections & Christmas Celebrations” Members are invited to give a 15-minute presentation of their choice (Any format). Contact David Jones 01244 537440 to book a slot.
(see our Calendar page for meeting venues)
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
GB Railfreight 66 734 Platinum Jubilee, the latest work of the paint shop at Eastleigh, passing Hereford on the 09:24 Dee Marsh to Margam empty steel train, 4 June. Picture by Richard Putley. (This loco, an import from the Continent, has been given the number of the one that derailed and fell down a banking on the West Highland line in 2012.)
Chester station visit
As part of the Chester Heritage Festival, "A tour of Chester Station, not just a whistle stop visit. Explore this station opened in 1848. Look at the historic features of this impressive station as its story is told."
18th June, 2pm. £5.00 Be quick to book if interested as places are limited.
Buckley Pictures
On 17 May, West Coast Railways 57 313 Scarborough Castle hauled 37 706 as the 12:38 Carnforth Steamtown to Coleham depot, seen passing Sutton Bridge Junction, Shrewsbury...
... and the pair were moved (brushing against the trees) to a siding, which also housed a defective steel carrier wagon which had been removed from a train some months ago.
Eventually, on 1 June the pair and the wagon formed the 08:47 from Coleham to Dee Marsh Junction where it was probably left in the steelworks siding. It was photographed by Bob Greenhalgh passing Buckley; 57 313 topped and 37 706 tailed the wagon.
A closer view shows that on of the wheelsets are on a 'wheel skate' which allows a vehicle to be moved, at a very slow speed (class 8 headcode) , with the damaged wheels supported by the small wheels of the skate. The movement was scheduled for almost three hours, but actually took four, with several stops. The locos departed at 13:15 back to Carnforth.
On the same morning the 11:06 Birmingham International - Holyhead was heavily delayed and eventually cancelled at Chester, but it's not clear whether the two events are connected.
On 31 May, 6V41 17:08 Penyffordd Cement to Avonmouth Hanson departed Penyffordd at 17: 07 on time, arriving at Dee Marsh Reception sidings 27 minutes early to 'run round'. It departed at 18:26 as soon as 2J71 (17:36 from Bidston to Wrexham Central, worked by 150 281, still in Arriva blue) had cleared the section from Shotton to Penyffordd. Worked by 66 717 Good Old Boy , it approaches ...
... and passes through Buckley Station (Alastair Graham).
With the long welded rail train
GBRf driver Jim Scott writes: The long welded rail train was mentioned on the site recently: I worked one to Heswall a few weeks back. These pictures were all taken from a position of safety. Above, Waiting outside Shrewsbury.
Shotwick at 1 am waiting to enter the Possession.
Job done at 4am after offloading 17 rails between Neston and Heswall in readiness for a big relaying job at the end of June.
On the Narrow Gauge
A beautiful morning on 2 June in Llanberis with Thomas Bach and Elidir in steam on the Llanberis Lake Railway - and of course a visit to the National Slate Museum. 2022 is the fiftieth year of public passenger services on the line (Jim Ikin).
Lyd in Ffestiniog action at Porthmadog on 29 May. Lyd is a close replica of Lew, one of the Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts built for the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in Devon, which closed in 1935. The replica was built by the 762 Club, an organisation set up to build new locomotives for the revived L&B, who plan to build four more locos to the same design.
A smaller cousin of Lyd is Yeo, a 12¼ inch gauge half-size replica which runs on the Fairbourne Railway, as seen by Martin Evans on 17 May.
Buikt by David Curwen in 1978, the loco originally ran on a railway in France, the Réseau Guerlédan Chemin de Fer Touristique.
The 'Beyer Bash' at the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway took place over the weekend 20-22 May, and Jim Ikin was there over on the first day. The 'Beyer' refers to the former Beyer Peacock locomotive works in Manchester, and this loco (works no. 1827) built in 1879, was the works shunter, visiting from the Foxfield Railway. A length of standard-gauge track was provided at Welshpool.
Other Beyer Peacock products on view were Isle of Man Railway No. 8 Fenella and Steam tram 47 from Crich Tramway Museum. Originally shipped to Australia, it proved unsatisfactory and after working in colliery construction sites returned to Gorton works (Full story). The Ffestiniog's Garratt K1, the very first Beyer Garratt loco, was also in attendance.
Shuttle services between Welshpool and Sylfaen were in the charge of 822 The Earl , like its sister Countess a Beyer Peacock product, also displayed.
Full line trips took place using loco 2 on loan from the Zillertalbahn in Austria (above) and German built Taiwan Sugar Corporation diesel number 17.
A journey from Welshpool behind the Austrian loco was a superb uphill climb but problems with brickette-type coal required several stops to build up pressure.
Llandudno Junction scenes
On 30 May, 197 101 arrives at Llandudno Junction with yet another training run.
67 014 departs on the 16:36 Holyhead - Cardiff ...
... Driving Van Trailer 82229 on the rear. Notice the wooden fence, perhaps protecting passing Conwy Valley trains from flying slate chippings?
From Dave Sallery's Archive
31 415 at Rhyl is seen with Great Eastern Railway saloon No. 1 at Rhyl on 9th September 1990. The occasion was a visit to North Wales by the Railway Heritage Trust. The train is about to reverse out of the way into the engineers sidings.
47 079 GJ Churchward on Permanant Way duties at Rhyl, 5 October 1986. A Class 25 is also lurking behind. This area is now part of the Home Bargains emporium.
97 204 taking a break from working test trains on a Llandudno - Derby train passing Prestatyn, 24 June 1989. Before transfer to the Railway Technical Centre fleet to replace a fire-damaged loco 97 203 (ex 31 298), it was numbered 31 326, and later became 31 970.
56 063 in Mostyn yard marshalling bogie bolsters, 3 March 2001. The bolsters carried steel from Redcar to Northern Ireland which went forward by sea.
Looking Back: Steam, Diesels and Electrics 2004 - by David Pool
Some farewells are not quite what they seem. On 30 March 2004 Brush Type 4 47 750 was carrying the headboard 'BRUSH CREWE - HOLYHEAD FAREWELL' as it went through Holywell Junction with the 15:27 Crewe to Holyhead. It may have been thought to be the last regularly scheduled Class 47 train on the North Wales Coast line (but it wasn't - see our 29 November 2006 issue) but there were certainly many Class 47s in preservation and available for further service.
The Class 175s were now familiar in the North West, but I had not seen any of their faster cousins, the Class 180, which were being operated by First Great Western. A day trip to Worcestershire gave me the opportunity to see 180 103 at Norton with the 13:03 Worcester to Paddington.
Some Railtours and excursions ran on the Merseyrail system, starting from Hooton. These tended to be rather early in the morning, but on 24 April 2004 the weather forecast was encouraging and I was tempted to get up early to see the 07:18 Hooton to Paignton, headed by 67 007. The sun was just high enough to give a nice shot as the train approached the Chester avoiding line from North to South Junctions.
Another Railtour which had an early start on that day was from Skegness, leaving at 06:34 for Bangor. 1Z52 was top and tailed by 57 601 and 47 854, with 57 601 leading as it passed Mold Junction. The Class 57 was now in West Coast Railways maroon, having lost its distinctive Porterbook purple livery. The stock appears to be a mixture of Pullman and Mk1 coaches.
Shortly after the Railtourer train, 60 079 Foinaven in Mainline grey came through with Hanson hoppers on 6Z52, the 10:47 Penmaenmawr to Westbury. Foinaven is a mountain in the far North West of Scotland. The 1967 Grand National winner, the 100 to 1 outsider who won when most of the rest of the field did not finish, was Foinavon, an Irish horse with an English spelling!
The Class 57/3s were being fitted with Dellner couplings from 2003, but 57 308 Tin Tin had not been modified on 25 April 2004 when it was being used on Virgin West Coast trains from Lime Street which were diverted via Manchester. It was passing Glazebrook, with 90 008 on the rear of the train.
On 2 May 2004 a number of steam specials were run between Chester and Altrincham, using Class 4MT 76079. With no facilities for turning at Altrincham, it was running tender first through Northwich as it returned to Chester. The BR2A tender gives a good view rearwards, and is showing the required high intensity light in addition to the top lamp indicating a Stopping Passenger train.
Another Merseyrail unit was being conveyed to Eastleigh for refurbishment on 10 May 2004. 508 199 was being hauled by 67 007, with the usual barrier coaches 975974 and 975978. The train has just left Birkenhead North Depot, and the chimney of the disused Bidston Incinerator in the distance was soon to be demolished.
Llangollen Railway news
A Corwen First: A significant development at the new Corwen station.
On Saturday evening 28 May 2022, Class 47 diesel locomotive 1566 hauled a five-coach train comprising four Mk1 coaches and an Engineers saloon from Llangollen to Corwen, to check the clearances on the platforms of the new-build railway station.
This is the first time that Mk1 coaches have entered Corwen station.
The opportunity was also used to check the recently tamped trackwork, while under load. Pictures above by Peter Neve.
3802 Returns: Just after alighting from a bus at the former Trevor station site, Martin Evans found loco 3802 passing on a trailer.
The 2-8-0 was returning back to Llangollen from Carnforth and West Coast Railways, whence it had transported for tyre turning.
In other news : Glyndyfrdwy Station Master Paul Bailey and his team have been busy with their paint brushes to adorn part of the station in royal purple colours. An ex Southern Railway parcels van, lamp post, milk churn, sack barrow, porters trolley and plant pots have all received the Royal treatment.
Paul said 'We were inspired by our friends at the Severn Valley Railway, who have painted one of their locomotives in Royal purple for the Jubilee. Our small team of dedicated volunteers have had a lot of fun getting the paint out at Glyndyfrdwy and we hope our visitors will enjoy looking out for all the purple bits and pieces around the station over the bank holiday weekend, where we are running a busy schedule of steam and diesel trains'.
Her Majesty and Prince Phillip visited Llangollen on the Royal Train in July 1953, when the line was still part of the national network and ran between Ruabon and Barmouth.
'Lilac Lizzie'
Richard Putley writes: ' I know this is a controversial subject, but I like the Severn Valley Railway's re-paint and re-naming of 34027 Taw Valley as No 70 Elizabeth II is certainly eye-catching and by and large seems to have been well received. On 3 June I photographed her crossing Victoria Bridge on the 11:45 Kiderminster - Bridgnorth service.
'Later on I also snapped her running tender first on the 14:00 Bridgnorth - Kidderminster'.
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