NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARDRheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
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13 January 2025![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 13 January Forthcoming events See our Calendar Page for operator details. January 2025 Monday 20 January Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Bromborough: AGM followed by: Jon Penn “A Miscellany of Railways” (Non M,C&NW members and Non-RCTS members will not be able to take an active part in the AGM) February 2025 Wednesday 5 February Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Liverpool: Chris Poole “Czech Railways” Thursday 6 February Clwyd Railway Circle David Jones and Dave Southern “Annual General Meeting” followed by “Rails to Bala” 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. Thursday 6 March Clwyd Railway Circle Jeff Nicholls “A Baptism of Fire and Water-My First Wolsztyn Experience” Part One 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. Monday 17 March Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch: Charles Roberts “On Line Transport Archive (OTA) Images” April 2025 Wednesday 2 April Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales Branch Liverpool: Paul Shackcloth “L & Y Engines at Work, Part 3” Speaker and Subject TBC 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. Saturday 11 April Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from Swindon to Pwllheli 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 Thursday 1 May Northern Belle "Conwy Castle & Bodnant Gardens" charter from Coventry It includes other off-train options. Saturday 5 May - The Victorian Festival (Intercity). Birmingham International to Llandudno and return with a pair of LSL class 20s. Saturday 9 May Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from East Midlands Parkway to Pwllheli Saturday 10 May UK Railtours Llandudno and Chester. London Euston to Llandudno Junction and Penmaenmawr freight yards. Saturday 16 May Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast' Express from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli 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. ![]() Saturday 21 June North West Rail and Transport Collectors Fair Crewe Alexandra Football Club 10:00 - 16:00 Thursday 26 June The Railway Industry's "Three Peaks by Rail" will be down the Coast on the evening of 26 June and heading onwards in the early hours of 27 June. July 2025 Saturday 5 July Railway Touring Company "North Wales Coast Express" from London Euston to Llandudno. Electric to Crewe, with steam along the Coast. Sunday 13 July Railway Touring Company charter from Liverpool to Holyhead on with steam throughout. Tuesday 15 July Midland Pullman Yorkshire Coast Pullman from Ruabon, Wrexham General and Chester. August 2025 September 2025 Friday 5 September Clwyd Railway Circle To be announced Saturday 5 September Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from Cardiff Central to Pwllheli Wednesday 10 September - Snowdonia Statesman. Cardiff Central to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Saturday 12 September Pathfinder Tours '.Cambrian Coast Express' from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli Wednesday 17 September Midland Pullman Settle and Carlisle Pullman. From Ruabon, Wrexham General and Chester. Saturday 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. October 2005 Friday 3 October Clwyd Railway Circle To be Announced Wednesday 8 October - Snowdonia Statesman. Durham to Blaenau Ffestiniog. November 2005 Friday 7 November Clwyd Railway Circle Jeff Nicholls “A Baptism of Fire and Water-My First Wolsztyn Experience” Part Two Saturday 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 |
![]() Royal Scot passing Bagillt, 13 January (Scott McGahey). Don't miss the time travel at the end of this issue Snow Scenes![]() Way out of area but we can't resist using these pictures by Greg Mape who travelled on the Saturday Rochdale - Ribblehead service. This is Ribblehead station with 158 815. ![]() Near the viaduct (Greg Mape) Steam on the Coast 13 JanuaryFrom the LSL Facebook page a few days ago: We are currently getting ready for 46100 'Royal Scot's last run before she goes out of service for her overhaul .... 10 years ago, LSL took the Scot to Holyhead on her first run out following overhaul by LNWRH. This was a regular route for the Scots back in the day, so it seemed appropriate to repeat the trip as her final farewell. It has been 40 years since class 40 D213 was switched off and withdrawn from British Rail, here on the Down Holding sidings at Crewe. As far as we're aware, a class 40 has never piloted a Scot over on the East side of the NW coast, which is what we have planned for today when the train returns form Llandudno Jct in the afternoon. This is a private charter running exclusively for LSG Employees.Here we go: ![]() Chester Walls (Geoff Morris) ![]() Beeches Farm (Bob Greenhalgh). ![]() Rhyl (Ivor Bufton). ![]() Approaching Abergele (Ian Pilkington) ![]() Llandudno Junction (Garry Stroud) ![]() Heading for Conwy, D213 trailing (Garry Stroud). ![]() Conwy station (Scott McGahey) ![]() Dwygyfylchi (Ian Pilkington) From Dave Sallery's archiveUp to 2,000 contractors are working Turkish firm Eren Holdings to transform Shotton Mill in Flintshire into one of the UK's largest cardboard and tissue production facilities, which it is hoped will start operating next year. The paper mill, opened in 1983 (or 1986 from another source) to produce newsprint paper. However, decline in the demand for newsprint and the site, latterly was used as a recycling plant. It was sold to Turkish Eren Holding in 2021. The site in includes an area which used to hold the blast furnace for Shotton Steelworks. Eren Holding said its new plant would process a quarter of the waste cardboard the UK currently sends abroad, and focus on creating containerboard - used to make packaging and corrugated boxes from recycled paper - as well as tissue products. The Shotton Mill had a siding, which was used to bring in logs for pulping, and china clay, and send out products. Sadly, the rail operation was disused by 2010. Will the new owners bring it back? Unlikely perhaps. ![]() 31 201, wearing the 'Railfreight Coal' symbol, with empty china clay wagons from Shotton Paper to Cornwall leaves Penyffordd after a signal check, 20 August 1998. It had been one of a small group of 31s allocated for nuclear flask traffic which 'sort of like coal. ![]() 47 238 Bescot Yard with empty 'OTA' wagons from Shotton Paper passing Hawarden Bridge, 13 January 1994. This loco was allocated to the Railfreight Distribution sector: it was named after Bescot Marshalling yard in a ceremony at an an Open Day, when it looked rather smart, as seen in a picture in Railway Herald. ![]() 56 088 is climbing out of Shotton with empty 'OTA' wagons, 14 June 1997. The OTAs were created from 1985 by converting air-braked open wagons , and later vans. By the 1960s, they were withdrawn in favour of continental bogie wagons. (Details here). The loco has the livery of the English, Welsh and Scottish company which took over most of the country's freight trains in 1996. None of the locos in this item exist today. Looking back - Gloucester and Dorset Steam - by David Pool![]() The Horton Road level crossing in Gloucester was always worth a visit in the 1960s. At that time there were two mainline stations, Gloucester Central for the Western Region trains from South Wales towards Cheltenham, and Gloucester Eastgate for the London Midland Region trains from Bristol to Birmingham. These two lines converged at Horton Road, which was adjacent to the Western Region shed 85B. On 1 September 1961 Jubilee 45572 Eire, a Bristol locomotive, was on the 14:15 from Temple Meads to York. A month later it was transferred to Shrewsbury, and finally withdrawn in 1964. ![]() The shuttle service between Gloucester and Chalford was worked by a 14XX locomotive and two Autocoaches on that day, the 15:06 from Gloucester being 1472, a GWR Autocoach W233W plus another of BR design. Chalford station was closed in 1964, marking the end of the shuttles, at which time other classes of Western Region tank locomotives were sometimes used on the service. ![]() I had several holidays in Swanage in the 1960s, and on 6 September 1961 the late afternoon sun gave a pleasing shot of M7 30108 with the 17:58 Swanage to Wareham. ![]() On the following day the freight working at Swanage produced 30539, a Q Class locomotive from Bournemouth. 30539 was withdrawn in 1963, and only one of this class has been preserved, 30541 being now at the Bluebell Line. ![]() On 7 September 1961 the afternoon Channel Islands Boat Train had left Weymouth Quay behind Pannier 1368, somehow managing to get past the parked cars, although there seems to be an obstruction ahead. In those days cars were narrower and seldom had wing mirrors! ![]() A short time later the Pannier had handed over to the main line locomotive, which was a Lord Nelson class 30857 Lord Howe. It was leaving Weymouth some time after 3pm, and if anyone has a 1961 Southern Region timetable I would be interested to know what the timings were from Weymouth Quay. ![]() The next train out of Weymouth was the 15:50 to Waterloo, which had a King Arthur class 30788 Sir Urre of the Mount, one of the North British “Scotch Arthurs”, with a set of Bulleid coaches. Six months later it was withdrawn, followed by 30857 in September 1962. ![]() Meanwhile on the Lyme Regis branch the Adams Radial Tanks had gone, and the LMS designed 2MT locomotives were being used. On 9 September 1961 41306 was on the 1139 Axminster to Lyme Regis, and calling at Combpyne, where for once some passengers had alighted. The platform facilities remained rather basic. It would seem that the lineside fencing was being renewed, but that was no indication that the branch was safe from closure, and the end came in November 1965. MONSIEUR HULMO'S HOLIDAY - RESTORED
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