NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
15 July 2024
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, society and tour operator details.
Tuesday 16 July Midland Pullman Holyhead - Paignton
Wednesday 17 July Statesman Chester-le-Street - Blaenau Ffestiniog
Saturday 20 July Northern Belle Hull to Llandudno Junction with off train options to Llandudno, Bodnant Gardens and the Penderryn Distillery.
20-21 July Talyllyn Railway Awdry Extravaganza
Saturday 27 July Midland Pullman Crewe - Paignton
August 2024
3-4 August Llangollen Railway 1960s Weekend
Saturday 3 August - Rail Excursion to the City of Chester. Newcastle to Chester (via York). Bishop Trains. HST to be confirmed.
Wednesday 14 August Statesman Telford Central - Carlisle
pickups Shrewsbury, Gobowen, Chirk, Wrexham General, Chester, Frodsham, Warrington BQ
24-26 August Bala Lake Railway August Steam Gala
24-25 August Model Railway Exhibition in Machynlleth in support of the Corris Railway
30 August - 1 September - Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway - Steam Gala with model railway exhibition
September 2024
Wednesday 4 September Statesman High Wycombe - Blaenau Ffestiniog
Thursday 5 September Pathfinder Tours The Cambrian Coast Express Bristol - Pwllheli
Friday 6 September Clwyd Railway Circle The Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway in the Vale of Clwyd - Fiona Gale
12 September Pathfinder Cambrian Coast Express Swindon - Pwllheli
14-15 September Welsh Highland Railway Super Power Weekend celebrating the successful restoration of the NG15 locomotive.
Sunday 15 September Steam Dreams 'Welsh Dragon' steam-hauled London Paddington - Shrewsbury, then diesel through to Pwllheli. For more on this and this and the next two entries see the Steam Dreams website.
Wednesday 18 September Steam Dreams 'Welsh Dragon' steam hauled Bangor - Crewe, then diesel to Cardiff via the Heart of Wales line
Thursday 19 September - Steam Dreams 'Welsh Dragon' steam hauled Cardiff to London Paddington via Gloucester and the Golden Valley line
Saturday 21 September - Northern Belle Telford - Carlisle pickups Shrewsbury, Wrexham General, Chester.
21-22 September Bala Model Railway Show Ysgol Godre’r Berwyn Secondary School, Ffrydan Road, Bala, Gwynedd LL23 7RU. 10:00 - 16:00 (Bus link to Bala Lake Railway station)
Opening times: 10.00-16.00 on both Saturday and Sunday.10.00-16.00 on both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday 28 September UK Railtours London - Chester 'Our tour takes an interesting route from London to Chester and Llandudno Junction where we plan to access the Glan Conwy freight sidings.'
October 2024
Friday 4 October Clwyd Railway Circle Wrexham’s Second Railway Mania - David Parry
4-6 October Ffestiniog Railway Bygones weekend
5-6 October Llangollen Railway Heritage Railcar Weekend
November 2024
Friday 1 November Clwyd Railway Circle Chinese Steam in 2001 and 2003 - Phil Thomas
December 2024
Tuesday 10 December Midland Pullman from Holyhead to Edinburgh Waverley - Edinburgh Christmas Pullman
14-15 December Manchester Model Railway Society - The Christmas Model Railway Show. The Sugden Centre, Sidney Street, Manchester
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
66 753 EMD Roberts Road' reverses into Llandudno Junction compound with the 4M59 slate empties from Tonbridge (Garry Stroud)
News pictures
The 'real' New Measurement Train departing Holyhead, 13 July (Greg Mape).
Talybont. Locos 43 062 John Armitt and 43 013 Mark Carne.
60 047 Scafell Pike rounds the curve of Chester East junction as it brings the 'North West Freighter tour into Chester on 14 July ...
... 57 306, erstwhile Jeff Tracy, looking very smart while running round the train, having been on the tail, before taking the tour onwards via Saltney Junction and Wrexham (Bob Greenhalgh).
Coton Hill sidings (Graham Breakwell).
Passing Winwick Junction, returning from Preston Docks to Watford Junction (David Hennessey).
Fresh from her first mainline working for over 20 years, LNER A2 60532 Blue Peter passes Winwick Junction, returning to Crewe from York, via Manchester on 14 July (David Hennessey)
67 022 made a brief visit to Shrewsbury on 15 July with a round light engine trip from Crewe TMD, Seen here passing the short home signal for platform 4 Shrewsbury at Crewe Junction, with plenty of other semaphores visible...
... Then on platform 4 ...
... with the crew observing the remains of what looks like a pigeon that didn’t “Stop, look and listen” (Graham Breakwell).
Comments and corrections
Cambrian Confusion: A double mistake by the editor: First I said the Class 507 unit was to be kept at the Llynclys site, was told was wrong, so I changed it to say it would be the Nantmawr site of the Cambrian Heritage Railways, but of course that's wrong as well: the Tanat Valley Railway based at Nantmawr is a separte group. (More than just another railway!) Apologies to all concerned. The 507 is to the Tanat Valley, owners Angel Trains have promised it for no charge, but the group need about £10,000 to pay for the transport. See their Crowdfunder site.
The Red Box: David Pool asked what the red box was on the back of loco 46441 seen at Southport. Thanks to all those who explained that locos of this class had a ladder on the back of the tender for use when taking water. The red plank covers this for safety reasons when working on electrified lines.
Scotland for 769: further to the item in David's piece about the redundant Class 769 bi-mode units, Scotrail have shown interest, and two units have been tried out (not with passengers) on various routes.
Finally, here is 37 428 on 1K61 09:50 Holyhead to Birmingham New Street carelessly omitted from the last issue. In 1998 It was liveried to work the Royal Scotsman luxury train, but in 2000 it was transferred for a short time to Wales(Tim Rogers) The excellent Scot-Rail website tells the story.
Steam again
On Sunday 14 July another steam train made its way along the Coast: The 'North Wales Coast Express'. advertised as Liverpool Lime Street to Holyhead and return (via Warrington Bank Quay). The operator was Railway Touring Company, and the locomotives 44871 (again) and 47 802 (again) from the West Coast fleet.
On the day, the route turned to be to Llandudno, not Holyhead. The reason is believed to be unavailability of the turning triangle at Valley. Unusually the train ran, with 47 802 leading, back to Chester where there is another triangle, and reverse the whole train so as to return to Llandudno with the steam loco heading.
Lea Green (David Hennessey).
Kinghtley's bridge, Towyn (Gary Thomas)
Passing Pensarn (Logan Humphreys)
On the way to Chester to turn, passing Old Colwyn (Gary Thomas).
Returning past Pensarn after turning at Chester (Logan Humphreys).
Deganwy (Garry Stroud).
Preparing to depart for Liverpool (Roland High).
One for the 'river-counters'. The livery is as used British Railways after nationalisation, derived from that of the London and North Western Railway, thanks to a senior manager who worked for that company before 1923 (Roland High).
Passing Beeches Farm with the final run to Chester (Bob Greenhalgh)
A long weekend in Tywyn (Part 1) - report by Richard Putley
Friday 4th July
I set off from Chippenham at 07:00, thinking that this would enable me to get to Corwen in good time to catch the 13:35 train from there to Llangollen. Good progress enabled me to get to Chirk in time to see 45 118 The Royal Artilleryman on its Mainline Test run. It was hauling the Northern Belle set with 57 311 on the rear for insurance.
Afterwards I drove onto to Corwen and was surprised to see their Class 31 on a loco hauled passenger train in the station. There were lots of staff present so I was a bit surprised to see a sign saying "No tickets on sale today". I assumed this meant the Booking Office was manned. I had been expecting to see a DMU as their Published Timetable said it was Table A - DMU service.
But on speaking to the staff , I was told there was no public service. 31 271 was on a Private Charter, while the DMU(s) were also being used for another Charter. Having just paid £4 for an all day Car Park ticket , I was not very pleased about this. The staff seemed sympathetic. This was apparently the General Manager's decision. I shall be interested to see if he replies to my email! The crew of the 31 did however allow me a brief look on the footplate.
Continuing West, I found that the Bala Lake Railway - unlike the Llangollen - were running their advertised service. Motive Power was Hunslet 0-4-0ST George B. I was delighted to learn that as a Talyllyn Member I qualified for a sizeable discount. As a result I spent a generous amount of money in their excellent shop and cafe. I noticed they had at least one visiting Coach Party.
Thursday 5 July
A lovely sunny day, so we decided to have a walk along the Coastal Path. We took the 11:30 from Tywyn (09:34 ex Pwllheli) to Penhelig, formed by 158 836. Then walked back along the Coastal Path to Tywyn
Saturday 6 July
An early start, we took the 09:00 departure from Tywyn Wharf, hauled by diesel loco No 9 Alf as far as Dolgoch. We walked up past the Waterfalls to view the old mine workings. We continued from Dolgoch to Nant Gwernol on the 10:30 from Tywyn. This was double-headed by the two "Falcon" 0-4-2STs: The Corris's new No 10 and No 3 Sir Haydn.
After watching the Falcons run round at Nant Gwernol we walked into Abergynolwyn village for lunch at the Railway Inn. On our way back to Abergynolwyn station, I was able to photograph the two Baguley diesels 12 St Cadfan and 11 Trecwm double heading the 12:20 from Tywyn.
We then took the 14:05 from Abergynolwyn to Tywywn, which was hauled by No 9 Alf with Diesels 11 and 12 on the back. We passed No 1 Tal-y-llyn resplendent in its new Dark Blue livery at Quarry Siding. Then the two Falcons at Brynglas.
We stayed at Tywyn Wharf station to see the cavalcade of the five steam locomotives that were running that day. I also saw that the 17:27 to Machynlleth (15:37 ex Pwllheli) was formed by 158 836 + 158 827. Good to see a 4-coach train on the Cambrian Coast Line!
Sunday 7 July
We took the 09:30 train from Tywyn to Abergynolwyn. This started out with the two original locos No 2 "Dolgoch" and No 1 "Tal-y-llyn" double heading. At Pendre extra carriaged were added an No 7 "Tom Rolt" banked the train to Abergynolwyn. Here the train split, with 1 & 2 continuing to Nant Gwernol and No 7 returning to Tywyn with its half of the train. We then spent the rest of the day elsewhere.
From Dave Sallery's archive
31 201, 31 200 and 31 224 approach Prestatyn on the combined Wylfa and Trawsfynydd flask train, 10 June 1994. Normal practice was for one 31 to go to Valley, for Wylfa, and two to go to Trawsfynydd.
37 073, on test from Crewe Works passes Prestatyn, 14 January 1988
37 407 on an inspection saloon near Dolwyddelan, 13 May 1993
37 719, with steel coils for Shotton works, near Drury, 6 April 1998
Looking back: Bord na Mona part 2 - by David Pool
The Notice Board of 31 May 2021 contained a selection of my photos of the Bord na Mona railways in Ireland. At the time of my visits in 1996 and 1997 it was recognised that peat extraction was detrimental to the environment, and the future of the railways was threatened. In 2020 all peat harvesting at Bord na Mona sites was to have ceased, but the last Bord na Mona train to a power station ran on 29 March 2024.
My photograph taken on 10 May 1996 at the Blackwater system in County Offaly shows LM318, a Hunslet Wagonmaster, fitted with a Ford 6 cylinder diesel engine and a five speed transmission via a fluid coupling. The wagons would be filled with milled peat.
Peat extraction had ended on much of the Blackwater bog, leaving a bare surface with the occasional water filled gutter. This was the start of the peatland rehabilitation process, which needs water to encourage plant life and form a wetland habitat, described as environmental stabilisation. The final stage is restoration, when the wetland becomes a peat bog again. The Bord na Mona’s current webpages indicate that around 17,000 hectares are now being rehabilitated, while 2,000 hectares are considered to be restored. The power station on the horizon is West Offaly, which was the largest peat fired power station in Ireland. It shut down in 2020 when permission to continue to burn peat was refused.
Away from the main peatlands in the centre of Ireland, there was another large source of peat in County Mayo. The base for railway operations was at Bellacorick, which I visited on 13 May 1996. This was one of the two locations for the “Bog Trains”, the other being at Blackwater and illustrated in Part 1. The Bellacorick train used a coach converted at the CIE Works at Inchicore from a West Clare Railway railcar built by Walker Brothers of Wigan in 1952, hauled by a Ruston and Hornsby diesel LM111.
In 1996, the line to the bog at Bellacorick was still in use. In the distance is Bord na Mona’s Oweninny Wind Farm, the first in Ireland. Bord n Mona recognises the target of zero greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland by 2050, and their last peat fuelled power station (Edenderry) converted to biomass fuel in January 2024. In addition to peatland restoration, Bord na Mona is now involved in Waste Management and Solar Energy.
LM49 was photographed at Bellacorick in 1996. Built by Ruston and Hornsby in 1948, it had a Gardner engine. The railcar was possibly C70, built by Bord na Mona in 1972.
Twenty Gleismac LF45 locomotives were ordered in 1984 after the testing of two demonstrators. Built under licence at Dundalk in 1984, LM361 at Bellacorick was fitted with a Deutz engine and hydraulic transmission via a torque converter. Several of these locomotives were eventually sold by Bord na Mona – one is at the Southwold Railway and two, previously on the Isle of Man, are possibly in store at the Weardale Railway, although I have not been able to verify this. There may be others on 3ft gauge preserved railways in Ireland.
There are also a number of Bord na Mona’s Ruston and Hornsby locomotives on preserved railways in Ireland. An example is LM77, built in 1952 and photographed on the Fintown Railway in County Donegal on 19 May 1996.
LM 26 was a Ruston and Hornsby locomotive used on the 2ft gauge Bord na Mona system at Grenties, also in County Donegal, and photographed on 6 May 1997. It seems to have received a new coat of paint, so may have been sold and is awaiting collection!
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