NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
09 January 2023
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.
January 2023
Friday 13 January. Altrincham Electric Railway Society "Built in Britain: The Independent Locomotive Manufacturing Industry in the Nineteenth Century" by Dr Michael R Bailey MBE.
February 2023
Friday 3 February Clwyd Railway Circle Annual General Meeting followed by Chairman’s Choice. David Jones
Friday 10 February . Altrincham Electric Railway Society "Steam in North Wales and the Borders since 2010 - Main Line and Narrow Gauge" by Ian Pilkington.
March 2023
Friday 3 March Clwyd Railway Circle Travelling Around Britain by Train. Bill Rogerson
Saturday 4 March Railway Touring Company Steam 'The Cheshireman' London Euston - Chester
Friday 10 March. Altrincham Electric Railway Society "Colour-Rail" by Paul Chancellor
April 2023
Sunday 16 April Railway Touring Company The Great Britain XV: Day 2. Steam: Bristol - Shrewsbury - Wrexham - Chester - Holyhead. WCRC Class 47/57 Holyhead - Llandudno Junction
June 2023
Saturday 24 June North West Rail and Transport Collectors' Fair. Crewe Alexandra Football Club
Alexandra Stadium, Gresty Road, Crewe CW2 6EB
(5 mins walk from Crewe Station) |0.00am - 3.00pm
Admission - £2 Adults, Children Under I6 Free
September 2023
Friday 1 September Clwyd Railway Circle A Year in the Life of an International Train Spotter - Part 2 Phil Thomas
October 2023
Friday 6 October Clwyd Railway Circle A History of The Internal Railway at Shotton Steelworks and its Links with the Main Line
Glyn Jones
November 2023
Friday 3 November Clwyd Railway Circle The Railway in Conway. Larry Davies
December 2023
Friday 1 December Clwyd Railway Circle Members Night Presentations. Members are invited to give a 15-minute presentation of their choice.
(see our Calendar page for meeting venues)
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
Beginning of a new era: 67 029 Royal Diamond arrives at Stockport with the 10:52 Cardiff Central - Manchester on 9 January. The first passenger run of what is planned to be a daily (except Sundays) event. Picture by Lee Stanford.
News pictures
Platform 14 at Manchester Piccadilly at 14:45 on Thursday 5 January 2023 by Chris Scott while waiting for the 14:25 to Llandudno. Only one train on this day appeared to be a two car 197 (197 013) and the rest were all 175s. Some Transport for Wales services were able to run on this day as only Aslef were on strike (RMT strikes were on the two before and two after the 5th) and TfW have reached an agreement with the union. However, it seems from this view that this was not made clear in the Manchester area media.
Gary Thomas writes: 'Despite dank weather I ventured out on 9 January as there were two celebrity 66s on the Coast. 66 780 The Cemex Express on the Penmaenmawr stone (above, at Talacre) ...
' ... and 66 734 passing Rhyl on the Llandudno Junction Junction stone (I assume not slate on this day, based on the position of both loads in Junction yard).
'Less interesting, the lunchtime Holyhead to Cardiff ran in reverse with 67 025 pushing.'
From Peter Basterfield: ' In between strikes, on 2 January, seen from the Puffin Roundabout, 66 793 was presumably on a driver training run from Tuebrook Sidings and back, It arrived 6 minutes late and left after 5 having stopped by the signal box.
'The afternoon Cardiff - Holyhead at Rhosneigr with 67 025 unusually leading to Holyhead.'
Your editor braved the weather on 9 January to capture the 14:30 Manchester Piccadilly - Cardiff at Stockport, the first southbound run, with 67 029 propelling. There is only diagram at the moment, as more stock is available. Is the advertised restaurant facility actually available? A trial journey is needed...
In the background, Northern 331 005 calls at Platform 1 with the 14:38 Manchester Piccadilly to Alderley Edge. This service no longer crosses the city to contine to Southport, so the temperamental class 769 bi-mode conversions are no longer necessary. Their future seems to be in doubt; already Great Western have decided not to start using their tri-mode 769s.
After a delay of several minutes (getting a disabled passenger on board) the train went on its way, past the familiar skyline of the Roman Catholic church and the Armoury. The coach adjacent to the DVT (see the left column) has a 'golden door' - indicating first class, the other carriages having 'silver' doors.
One door on the DVT is clearly labelled for cycles; we understand that cycle racks have been provided inside. But will the train always be the same way round so that cyclist passengers at intermediate stations know where to wait? We'd be interested to hear from ayone who has used this facility.
Looking back: 15 April 1989 - with Barrie Hughes
A visit to Chester on 15 April 1989 found three Class 03s in the depot, removed from the recently closed Birkenhead Mollington Street depot, Nos. 03 162, 03 170 and 03 063, the latter two with side rods removed to allow faster hauled transits than their 28.5 mph maximum speed would normally allow. The first is painted green, carries its original number D2162, and carries the name Birkenhead South 1879-1985. The photos were taken with permission from the depot foreman.
03 162, which still had its side rods, was withdrawn days later on 23 May 1989. All three locos made it into preservation. 03 162 was later gifted to Wirral Council who loaned it to the Llangollen Railway. After many years of use as a Permanent Way loco, often tabled at Carrog, it was gifted last year to the Llangollen Railway and is currently being restored to use.
It was put to work on a diesel gala 21 May 1995 and later was the main loco building the Carrog Extension. Can anyone help date this image, believed to be between 4 March 1996 and 29 March 1996? The photos are bracketed by a mixed traffic event at Llangollen with D8142 (20142), steam loco 44806, D7629 (25 279) and steam loco 47 298 all out on the line.
03 170 was withdrawn im March 1989 and is currently at the Epping and Ongar Railway. 03 073 was withdrawn on 26 November 1987 and preserved locally at Crewe Heritage Centre where it is occasionally used for brake van rides.
Viewed from Hoole Road bridge, 47 512 in large logo livery was on a London-Holyhead rake with a smart rake of newly-liveried IC air-cons. This loco was never named and did not survive, being condemned just two years later, on 1 October 1991 and cut up at Booth's Rotherham 20 May 1994.
Lastly a general view of Chester Depot with the 03s, an 08, class 20s and
47s. This situation was not to last long as loco refuelling was moved to Ellesmere Port shortly afterwards and Chester became just a DMU maintenance depot, eventually even losing its 08 duty.
From Dave Sallery's archive
40 001 on a excursion (or charter?) returning from Llandudno to Marston Green. Mostyn, 4 July 1984. 40 001 - which was withdrawn later in the month - was not the first in the class, it was decided when the 'Tops' signalling was implemented not to use 40 000, so the actual first, formerly D200, was moved to a vacant spot at 40 122 - which is now in the National Collection.
40 015 with a train of spoil wagons at Prestatyn, 4 October 1984. This shows the original front arrangement of the class, with doors to allow staff to pass through to another loco when double-heading. This rarely happened, so they were almost(?) never used. The folding discs to display steam-era headcodes are also in place. (This system was replaced in 1961 by the four-character display The arrangement shown was not generally used, as on a steam loco it would need three lamps) . 40 015 was withdrawn in Novermber 1984.
40 194 with ballast empties passes 47 444, held by the signal at Prestatyn, 23 September 1984. The wagon behind the loco is loaded; the procedure at the time was that the loads went direct to the site of the current track-relaying, and any stone that was excess to requirements was left in the wagon and taken back to Penmaenmawr to await the next job.
40 194 exhibits the final front end style - from 1976 it was decided that headcodes would no longer be displayed on the front of trains, and the 'two-dots' replaced the four digits. This loco lasted in traffic until January 1985.
(Our thanks to the Class 40 Motherlist for added details.)
Looking back: Steam, Diesels and Electrics 2010 - by David Pool
At Basford Hall on 16 August 2010, Freightliner 4L92, 14:03 Ditton to Felixstowe, was hauled by 86 622 in grey and 86 614 in the newer green livery. (dp41192).
The West Coast Main Line electric locomotives never seem to have attracted much attention, but the webpages of the AC Locomotive Group are an excellent source of information on the history and development of these locomotives. Introduced in 1965 as the AL6 class, many were later modified with flexicoil suspension and other features, becoming the Class 86/2, and eventually the remaining 86s were similarly modified, the whole fleet becoming the Class 86/4. Some were eventually allocated for freight duties, with the train heating capability removed and the maximum speed reduced to 75 mph, being renumbered as Class 86/6.
Pairs of 86/6 locomotives were particularly used on Anglo-Scottish freights with the challenges of Shap and Beattock. At Gretna Junction on 17 July 1990 86 622 and 86 426 were heading North. I think this was the 7S68 from Hardendale to Ravenscraig, with limestone in JTA Bogie Tipplers.
86 614 was perhaps a celebrity locomotive, having received the name Frank Hornby in 1986. On 13 July 1991 I photographed its nameplate at Carlisle, working with 86 623 on 4O81, Coatbridge to Southampton. (dp24549).
I am not sure what exactly was happening with 6Z42, the 13:58 Chirk to Ribblehead empty log train on 21 August 2010. I was waiting for it at Gobowen, expecting it to be heading for Shrewsbury and then on to Crewe, but it stopped at Gobowen and then set back onto the Northbound line. Apparently it was then heading towards Chirk and Wrexham, since I saw it again at Ruabon. The Colas liveried 47 739 Robin of Templecombe had a Ribblehead Ram emblem on the cab front.
47 739 was no stranger to North Wales. As 47 739 Resourceful in Rail Express Systems livery it could be seen regularly on the coast, On 12 September 2003 it was leaving Chester with the 13:56 Holyhead to Birmingham, formed with the First Great Western Mk2 coaches.
A rare visitor to Chester was the Wrexham and Shropshire Railway’s train to Marylebone. On 4 September 2010 the line South of Wrexham was closed for Engineering Work, so the 1317 from Wrexham had been diverted via Chester. W&S 67 013 Dyfrbont Pontcysyllte was leaving from Platform 3 or the adjacent bidirectional line, so a head-on view was all I could manage.
The departures from Platform 4 were much easier to photograph in 2010, although unfortunately not today now that the footbridge has been closed. Also on 4 September 2010 the Lune Rivers Trust Special had come to Chester from Carnforth, and was returning at 16:38 as 1Z48. 46115 Scots Guardsman had recovered from its troubles earlier in the year, and made a good picture – even the exhaust was blowing in the best direction!
The Ffestiniog Railway’s newly built locomotive Lyd was ready to enter service in 2010 after its successful commissioning period, and its first outing with a passenger train was on 11 September from Dinas to Beddgelert, as shown in my picture in the NWCR News of 11 January 2021. Later that day it travelled from Beddgelert to Porthmadog with a mixed train, and the shot at Garreg with Cnicht in the background must be one of my favourites.
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