NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
06 November 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 advice and 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.
November 2023
Friday 10 November. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Paul Shackcloth "People and Places 2". Images of the steam railway with at least one person visible.
Saturday 25 November Railway Touring Company 'The Christmas Cheshireman' steam hauled Bristol - Chester and return
December 2023
Friday 1 December Clwyd Railway Circle Members Night Presentations. Members are invited to give a 15-minute presentation of their choice.
Saturday 9 December Pathfinder Tours 'The Chester Christmas Cromptons.' WCRC Class 33 locos Eastleigh - Chester & return
January 2024
Friday 12 January. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Simon Temple on "South Asian Steam in 1982" - features India, Pakistan and Nepal.
February 2024
Friday 9 February. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society John Hooley. "Euston and Destinations: the Potteries
and the North West". Steam in action on passengers and freight.
March 2024
Friday 1 March (note the first Friday of the month). Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society Dennis Flood. "Edge Hill Motive Power Depot". Dennis will entertain us with tales from his career on the footplate in the 1960s.
April 2014
Friday 12 April. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society David Beilby. "Transport around the World by GEC and its predecessors". A joint meeting with the Irish Railway Record Society Manchester branch.
(see our Calendar page for meeting venues)
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
67 022 propels the 10:52 Cardiff - Manchester out of Stockport on 1 November. The train had left Cardiff 17 minutes late, and was still 17 minutes late. A quick turnround at Piccadilly reduced the delay to 3 minutes for the return trip, but arrival at Cardiff was 20 minutes late. On the slow line, 331 029 working the 14:06 Manchester - Crewe local.
Miscellany
Old and New: On 1 November 175 106, working 5W79 empty stock 10:05 Holyhead to Landore depot and an uncertain future, passes 197 012 on 1D34 09:25 Manchester Airport to Holyhead near Rhyl on 1 November. The day before, 175 007 travelled from Landore to Holyhead. What's happening?
67 013 stabled on 31 October in the east-side refuge siding at Hereford with wheel chocks in place. It’s parked right next to the “Mobile Tyre Fitting” service, though I doubt they fit tyres to class 67s ...
... In the shadow on the left of the picture above is the rear of 6V75 Dee Marsh to Margam in the Down Through Line. This was headed by 66 711 Sense in Aggregate Industries livery, “Sense” apparently being the name of the river that runs through part of Aggregate Industries quarry at Bardon Hill near Coalville in Leicestershire. I had a good look at the wagons in the consist. For most of them there is evidence of heavy recent maintenance on wheelsets, bogies and couplings, possibly following on from the coupling mishap north of Church Stretton earlier in the month which damaged track and debris from which punctured a fuel tank on a passing TfW Class 150/2 (John Oates).
66 591 approaching Abergele on a the very wet Sunday morning 5 November after delivering a load of new track (Greg Mape)
Autumn Steam at Llangollen on 5 November (Greg Mape). The next trains will be the 'Santa Specials' in December.
Another view from Stockport, on 9 September: 197 001 heads for Manchester. Tower blocks are sprouting all around: The 'Capital Centric' building is remarkably close to the viaduct. The letters have since been removed. By contrast, Stockport No.2 signalbox, containing 90 levers, built in 1890, although many are no longer used (Charlie Hulme).
On Saturday morning 4 November from the 3rd floor of the Holiday Inn Express Hotel adjacent to Stockport station here is 156 455 arrived into platform 1 at 08:55 with 2J44 0830 Stalybridge to Stockport. Unusually, it then departs from platform 1 northbound crossing over to the Down Fast with 2J45 09:04 Stockport to Stalybridge Saturdays Only. (John Oates)
197 status
Chris Scott writes: 'It is noticeable that the 197s from 022 to 041 are conspicuous by their absence at present. These are the ones to be fitted with ERTMS for the Cambrian lines. These units in the main are currently stored in the high-security Donnington freight depot. The 197s kept there do not have their numbers attached, but I can confirm that amongst amongst them are 022 to 028 inclusive, 037 and possibly 123.
175 Stories - by Charlie Hulme
The early days of the 175s were recorded in detail by our contributors and contacts in the company. Someone sent me a document with detailed engineering design of the trains; I posted this on the website, resulting in a hasty email from North Western Trains insisting that this should be taken down (I did), and would you mind telling us who gave it to you (I didn't).
Now long forgotten, the centre cars of the three-car 175s were equipped for 'entertainment', provided from some kind of CD-changer device; I recall that the CDs were selected by a couple of staff browsing in the Manchester HMV store. It seems that some sort of 'premier class' which was never implemented. The system was seldom used, was soon abandoned.
Another example of 'early tech' was the display and that tell passengers that the train is approaching a station. No fancy GPS in those days: the data from a device which counted the number of times the wheels turned. Staff rode a train along the route, and noted the number at the requisite position.
Sometime in this early period, I was persuaded to ride one of the new trains accompanied by a BBC radio reporter who obviously had been expecting me to praise the wonderful new trains. I was sceptical, raising problems of overcrowding, and when the chosen train pulled in to Piccadilly, the two coaches were packed to the gunnels with passengers, and we could not board. I don't think my comments made the programme ...
From Dave Sallery's Archive
175 007 on a down service near Abergele, March 2007.
37 706 and 37 893 on the RHTT at Rhyl, 4 October 2004.
47 815 at Rhyl on a down additional service, 3 April 2005. This loco is still in use, now in Rail Operations Group blue. An unusual event involving this loco when it was 47 155 is chronicled in on the amazing Class 47 website: acting as a generator at a power station.
47 832 near Prestatyn on the 10:00 Manchester - Holyhead (started at Chester on this day) on 3 September 2004. A Great Western liveried loco hauling Virgin-liveried coachesOne of the Voel bus company's finest passes over the road bridge in the background.
Looking back: Lancashire lines Part 2 1965-1968 - By David Pool
There must have been some engineering work taking place on Sunday 8 August 1965, as the 10:10 Liverpool Exchange to Blackpool South had been diverted. In those days there would have been no appetite for bus substitutions, so the train had been routed via the electrified line to Southport. The first three car set is a Class 101, with M50335 leading, while the second 3 car set is a Class 110. They are signalled to take the South Curve at Southport, heading towards Burscough Junction. The direct line from Southport to Preston via Hesketh Bank had been closed, but the North Curve at Burscough was still available at that time for trains to Preston.
On 9 June 1967 I had left home early to travel to Devon on the Car Carrier (Motorail) service from Newton le Willows to Newton Abbot, which departed at 07:10. While the cars were being loaded, the 06:03 Warrington to Barrow arrived, being a Cravens 2-car unit M51718 and probably M51693. I don’t know why the destination was shown as Preston. These units were powered by Rolls Royce engines with torque converters, but were apparently troublesome, and were withdrawn after a relatively short life.
The service to Gateacre was still being provided in 1967, and on 27 July a Class 108 M56493/M51910 was due to work the 09:30 to Liverpool Central. It would reverse at the platform, and the rear oil lamp is being removed.
I had wanted to photograph the rather unusual signals at Halewood North Junction, which were CLC lower quadrant arms on upper quadrant signals. Travelling in the compartment immediately behind the driver, I was able to get my shot as we approached the Junction.
Another interesting set of signals was on the gantry at the North end of Preston Station. On 28 October 1967 I was travelling on the RCTS Railtour “The Border Limited”, on which 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley worked from Crewe to Carlisle via Shap. The Northbound journey was fast, arriving at Carlisle around 15 minutes early, but the fireworks were kept for the Southbound run over the Settle and Carlisle. The sound of the exhaust from 4498 in the gathering darkness was unforgettable, and Blea Moor was passed sixteen minutes ahead of schedule.
The view from Stanley Road today looking towards Sandhills Station shows one pair of tracks for Ormskirk and Kirkby and another pair to Southport. On 3 March 1968 there were considerably more tracks, as a 6-car Class 502 unit M28315 headed the 09:55 Liverpool Exchange to Ormskirk.
The 09:50 Liverpool Exchange to Preston was steam worked on Sundays in 1968, and on this occasion it followed the Electric unit. 44761 was perhaps not in the best condition, with only a few weeks left before it was withdrawn, but the leaking steam certainly made an interesting shot.
There were few sheds still with operating steam locomotives on 9 March 1968, so a visit to Lostock Hall (near Preston) was not to be missed. I was particularly pleased to see 44800, with the red backed smokebox number and shedplate, having photographed it on the Sunday morning 09:50 to Preston on 18 February (Noticeboard 6 September 2020). Some months later I was offered the chance to purchase the smokebox number for 44800 – the price was right but I decided that collecting smokebox numbers was not another hobby I wished to take up, and I let the opportunity pass me by.
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