North Wales Coast Railway Notice Board 14 October

NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD

Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd


14 October 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

See our Calendar Page for operator details.

November 2024


Friday 1 November Clwyd Railway Circle  Chinese Steam in 2001 and 2003  - Phil Thomas

Friday 8 November. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Then and Now" by Bob Barnard.

Wednesday 13 November  Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group Humph Davies  ‘An historical look at the route of the Lynton andBarnstaple Railway, 1898-1935.’

30 November 2024: Pathfinder. 40 145 from Dorridge to Chester via Wrexham General

December 2024

Tuesday 10 December  Midland Pullman from Holyhead to Edinburgh Waverley - Edinburgh Christmas Pullman

Wednesday 11 December  Welsh Highland Railway North Wales Group Fred Howes - “From Train Spotter to Civil Engineering Manager”.

Saturday 14 December Intercity Y Cracyr Nadolig” (The Christmas Cracker) Wolverhampton to Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog with class 40 and class 45 locos.

14-15 December Manchester Model Railway Society -  The Christmas Model Railway Show. The Sugden Centre, Sidney Street, Manchester

January 2025

Friday 10 January. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society  "Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Engine Sheds" by Noel Coates of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society.

February 2025

Friday 14 February. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Macclesfield Area Railways in the 1950s and 60s" by Martin Welch.

March 2025

Saturday 1 March - Railway Touring Company - 'The Mancunian' from Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno and Holyhead via Altrincham. Steam hauled.

Friday 14 March. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Navigation Road and All That" by Ted Buckley. Local rail scenes, mainly of steam, from the 1960s in the Altrincham and Dunham Massey areas and elsewhere taken by Ted's father Bill Buckley.

April 2025

Saturday 5 April  Saphos  Lakelander from Llandudno Junction to Carlisle. Diesel to Lancaster and return, steam from Lancaster, return via Cumbrian Coast line.

Saturday 5 April  UK Railtours - The Snowdonian. No further information available at present.

Friday 11 April. Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society "Steam, Diesel and Electric in the Northern Fells" by Ian Pilkington. A joint meeting with the Irish Railway Record Society Manchester Branch.

Saturday 12 April  Midland Pullman  Torbay Riviera Pullman from Chester, Wrexham General and Ruabon to Paignton.

Saturday 19 April   Northern Belle - Settle and Carlisle Steam Special. Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle via the S&C. Diesel to/from Carnforth, steam for remainder.

May 2025

Saturday 10 May  UK Railtours Llandudno and Chester. London Euston to Llandudno Junction and Penmaenmawr freight yards.

Saturday 31 May  Northern Belle Conwy Castle & Bodnant Gardens from Cardiff

June 2025

Friday 20 June   Northern Belle  Spirit of Travel Lunch. Circular tour picking up at Chester and Wrexham General. Diesel hauled.

Friday 20 June  Northern Belle  Champagne Afternoon Tea. Circular tour picking up at Chester and Wrexham General. Diesel hauled.

July 2025

Tuesday 15 July   Midland Pullman  Yorkshire Coast Pullman from Ruabon, Wrexham General and Chester.

August 2025

September 2025

Wednesday 17 September  Midland Pullman  Settle and Carlisle Pullman. From Ruabon, Wrexham General and Chester.

20 September   Northern Belle   Settle and Carlisle Steam Special. Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle via the S&C. Diesel to/from Carnforth, steam for remainder.

8 November Northern Belle  Settle and Carlisle Steam Special. Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle via the S&C. Diesel to/from Carnforth, steam for remainder.








North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme



Rail Head Treatment Train passing Conwy Castle, 11 October. PIcture by Gary Thomas.


Scene at Holyhead - report by Stuart Broome



Saturday 5 October saw trains terminating at Llandudno Junction from Holyhead, it was then a two-hour bus ride to Chester! With the sun shining I popped up to Holyhead just to see what was about. I assume that there was track relaying somewhere with nothing running from Chester to The Junction.  Above,  158 827 at rest with 805 009.



82229 with 158 827.  both getting long in the tooth now, Both class 158 and Mk4 coaches were built between 1989 and 1992.



805 009 sitting in the sun.



67 017, once named Arrow , sits silently in the yard.



Coach 12304 indentified the coach set HD02. however it lacks any TfW branding.



Restaurant/buffet car coach still lacks a number.


Miscellany



The 197s destined for the Cambrian lines continue to make test runs on the Coast: the return 3Q71 11:20 Holyhead to Crewe, 7 October. Picture by Garry Stroud.



An interesting move, 6U41, on the morning of 11 October: starting out from Shrewsbury station’s platform 4A at 10:00 was a Network Rail 'Harsco Track Technologies Switch & Crossing Stoneblower'.  DR 80302 was heading off to Chipping Sodbury following the engineering work in the Rhyl area. Seen here passing the Golf Course in Meole Brace, south of Shrewsbury.



D345 being taken from the East Lancashire Railway to Carnforth by West Coast Railways 37 685 on 8 October.  Picture taken at Mills Hill station (Greg Mape). The owners say that  D345 'has been withdrawn from the mainline temporarily due to a "recurring power fault".



66 588 working 4Z36, the 14:20 from Wentloog Freightliners to Crewe Basford Hall, with a lengthy train of empty container wagons passing Belle Vue, Shrewsbury on 11 October  (Graham Breakwell).



70 814 approaches Penmaenmawr with the 4D61 06:12 Bradwell up sidings to Penmaenmawr stone empties on 14 October (Garry Stroud).



Loading in progress as the RHTT passes ...



... and out on the road (Logan Humphreys)



67 025 on the 08:49 Cardiff to Manchester Piccadilly waits on Platform 3 at Stockport for the right-away to Manchester (Stuart Broome).



On 11 October 67 015 basks in the sunshine at Manchester Piccadilly ...



... and pulls away with the 12:30 to Cardiff.


RHTT: a random selection



Spraying out of Holyhead, 4 October: 56 302 Peco leading 56 094 (Stuart Broome)



Talybont, 10 October (Logan Humphreys)



Conwy, 11 October (Geraint Williams)



PECO enlarged (Stuart Broome). Colas Rail Freight Class 56 locomotive 56 302 was named "PECO The Railway Modeller 2016 - 70 Years" during the West Somerset Railway Mixed Traffic weekend in June 2016. The naming ceremony was attended by Peco Directors Cherry Sargent and Hilary Arnold, and Colas Rail Freight Director Simon Ball and HR Director Smita Patel. (Text by AI)



A rather clean looking 56 113, as opposed to 56-302 on the front, are seen departing Llandudno Junction, at Pabo Lane, with the return 3S71 Holyhead to Crewe RHTT service. (Garry Stroud)

Graham Breakwell writes ' There seems to have been change in the working of the Cambrian leg of the train The first leg from the depot is working with one 97 and two tankers, running round at Machynlleth to return the Coleham where a second 97 couples onto the rear, the front loco is detached and the set waits in the depot to form the next evening’s run. A second set of tankers with 56’s at both ends then works the rest of the circuit. '



56 302 is seen here on 11 October  after completion of its circuit with 56 113 on the other end and 97 304 with 97 302 on the adjacent line.


Narrow Gauge Scenes  - report by Jim Ikin



The changing Welsh weather! The Super Power weekend at Dinas The previous day was glorious but Sunday 15 September wasnt! -high winds and horizontal rain.  Rebuilt 134 was moving up and down the yard (Above).



A view of 134 showing part of the redesigned tender to allow better sighting when running in reverse.



The Corris Railway on 28 September with new(ish)-build number 10 on the traverser.



Also on 28 September, on the Talyllyn Railway Edward Thomas runs round at Nant Gwernol.



29 September,  and Owain Glyndwr runs round its train after water filling at Devils Bridge.



Back at Aberystwyth and the superb museum. Standard gauge Earl Berkeley, a regular at Aberystwyth in steam days, is on loan from the Bluebell Railway.



Sabero No.1, built in 1895 by Couillet, and worked on the Hulleras de Sabero in Spain.



At the Ffestiniog  Bygones weekend on October on the Festiniog with bright blue skies. Above, 190 leaving Porthmadog.



Linda leaves Porthmadog.



Hunslet Velinheli arrives with a goods train.



James Spooner waits at Tan y Bwlch for an upcoming slate gravity train.

HST correction

In an early version of last issue we said that 43 301, now in use by Colas,  was one of the prototype HST cars.  In fact, this loco was 43 101, which entered service in October 1978, and was renumbered as 43 301 in July 2008 when it was rebuilt for Cross-Country.

Prototype power car 43 001 was scrapped at Booths in Rotherham in December 1990, having originally entered service numbered 41002 (in August 1972) and then renumbered to 43 001 in May 1974.

Thanks to the early-risers who explained this!


 News from the Vale of Rheidol Railway (press release, abridged)

The Vale of Rheidol Railway recently played host to a special reunion of locomotive crews who had once worked on steam engines along the historic Cambrian Lines. Many of these railwaymen, some of whom had not seen each other for years, gathered to reminisce and share fond memories of their time on the rails.



A highlight of the day was a tour of the Vale of Rheidol Railway’s newly opened Engine Shed museum. The group enjoyed a buffet lunch next to the legendary "Dukedog" locomotive No. 9017, which is on a short loan from the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. No. 9017 has returned to the engine shed where it was frequently stabled before 1960, and for some of the attendees, it was a chance to reconnect with a locomotive they had worked on many decades ago.



To conclude the day’s events, the group embarked on a scenic journey to Devil’s Bridge, pulled by locomotive No. 8 Llywelyn, which has recently been repainted in British Railways black livery, a nod to its historical roots.

Developments at Devils Bridge

Building on the success of recent improvements at the Aberystwyth station the Railway is now turning its attention to enhancing the heritage feel of the Devils Bridge site. The plans include the construction of a new building featuring high-quality toilet facilities and engine shed, replicating structures that were present in the early 20th century. The station will also see the recreation of the former timber yard, a key feature from the railway’s commercial past, and a display space telling the fascinating and forgotten story of the areas ancient mining history.

As part of these changes, and with the temporary catering building now being life expired and no longer fit for purpose, the railway has taken the difficult decision after several months of discussions, to serve notice on the operators of the Two Hoots Tearooms... 


From Dave Sallery's archive



The first visit of a High Speed Train to the Conwy Valley line was on March 6th 1993 when 43043 and 073 arrived on a tour from London Kings Cross. The train is seen here near Llanrwst.



Preserved 45 112 passes Rhyl with the 'Tubular Belle Merrymaker' from York to Holyhead and back, 27 January 2007.  More about this on the excellent Six bells website. After a long period in store, this loco is back under the auspices of Locomotive Services



57 007 passes Helsby with logs from Carlisle to Chirk, 28 August 2009.



31 439 & 31 119 and 31 275 & 31 199 at Llandudno Junction, 10 July 1995.  The pair on the left are on a ballast train and the right hand pair had arrived from Trawsfynydd on a flask train.


Looking back: Isle of Man part 3, 1970 - by David Pool



The Foxdale branch of the Isle of Man Railway had the passenger services withdrawn in 1940, but freight continued until 1960.  On 21 June 1970 the track looked to be in remarkably good condition, and the exposed location has limited the extent of lineside vegetation. 



A few miles away on the Ramsey branch, Peel Road station was much more overgrown, although freight trains had still been running a year earlier in 1969.



The following day 22 June 1970 was decidedly damp, and the Winter Saloon No.27 was being used on the Horse Trams.  Built by G.F.Milnes of Birkenhead in 1892, the interior panelling and comfort gave the Winter Saloons the nickname of “Pullmans”.  The horse appears to be complaining about the weather, but roller bearings had been fitted to the Winter Saloons in the 1930s, and they were certainly not as heavy as the double decker cars once used.



The Isle of Man Railway somehow survived until 1967, when the Marquess of Ailsa obtained a five year lease to operate the system.  The Ramsey and Peel branches were clearly uneconomic, and it was decided to focus on the Douglas to Port Erin line.  Most of the locomotive fleet and plenty of passenger carriages were still in existence, and as an indication of the new regime it was decided to repaint locomotives in an apple green livery.  On 23 June 1970 No.11 Maitland was leaving Douglas with the 1015 to Port Erin.  The new title “Isle of Man Victorian Steam Railway” had appeared in 1969, and would be used until the end of the lease in 1972.



No.1 Sutherland, the first of the Beyer Peacock locomotives built for the IOMR in 1873, had been withdrawn in 1964, but received the apple green livery as a static exhibit.  The distinctive Beyer Peacock dome had been replaced on most of the other locomotives in 1970, but several received Beyer Peacock domes for the 100 year celebrations in 1973.  (dp2615).



The famous single bladed point is visible in the shot of Snaefell Mountain Railway No.1 at the summit on 25 June 1970.  The lever for operating the blade in on the post at the left.



Returning to Douglas on that day, I couldn’t resist a shot of buses.  IOM Road Services PD2 No.85 and two of the Douglas Corporation’s Regent III fleet, Nos.56 and 68 were typical of the buses being used at that time. 



Two days later I visited Ronaldsway Airport.  I’m not particularly interested in modern aircraft, but I remember the flights coming over my house to land at Speke Airport in the 1950s, which were often elderly DC3 Dakotas.  On one particular day a DC3 emerged from low cloud to find that the Wirral was not the airport runway, and clearing my house by a few hundred feet managed to find the power to climb out of trouble. 

The DC3 at Ronaldsway seen in the picture was G-APBC, one of two owned by South West Aviation, an Air Charter company based at Exeter Airport, and subsequently taken over by Skyways in 1973.


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