NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
04 August 2025
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
August 2025
11 August Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Lake District & Wales
25 August Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
22 August Belmond Britannic Six day tour of Cornwall & Wales,
September 2025
Thursday 4 September Clwyd Railway Circle 'The Steelworks Railways at Home and Abroad' Adrian Bodlander
Saturday 5 September Pathfinder Tours 'Cambrian Coast Express' from Cardiff Central to Pwllheli
11 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Lake District & Wales
Saturday 12 September Pathfinder Tours '.Cambrian Coast Express' from Bristol Temple Meads to Pwllheli
15 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Cornwall & Wales,
20/21 September
This year's Bala Lane Railway Model Show 10.00 - 16.00 both days. Venue: Ysgol Godre'r Berwyn (Bala School). We will have approximately 25 layouts and 11 traders, and there will be special extra trains on the Bala Lake Railway that weekend too.
26 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Lake District & Wales
29 September Belmond Britannic Explorer Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
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 2025
Thursday 2 October Clwyd Railway Circle 'Memories of railway operations at Llangollen from my childhood days growing up in the town during the BR era of the 1950’s and mid 60s.' Gareth Jones
20 October, Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
17 October Belmond Britannic Explorer Six day tour of Cornwall & Wales,
10 November; Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales
November 2025
Thursday 4 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.
December 2025
Thursday 4 December Clwyd Railway Circle 'Railways & Tramways of the Isle of Man' Geoff Morris.
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
47 815 brings the empty stock of a Hull - Llandudno Junction charter through the castle walls on 2 August for servicing. Picture by Geraint Williams.
Cement flyash and Slate
As we wrote in the last issue the flow of slate waste has begun. We have obtained from readers, and a document from the Peak District National Park, some details of the operation The cement works at Hope (Derbyshire) gets its basic materials from two adjacent quarries; one providing limestone and the other providing shale, (a soft rock which was responsible for the abandonment of a section of the A625 main road by slipping away). The shale quarry is running out of best quality shale, but there is some of another kind which is not so suitable. This can be used mixed with another material such as pulverised ash from power stations. Coal-fired stations have now ceased operation, but there is a supply available from the Drax wood-fired power station. It will be used at Hope alongside slate waste until the Hope operation, which is close down in 2042. There is suggestion that 280,000 Tonnes of slate are to be moved.
If you want to see the 92-page document, it's here.
View from The A34 Bridge - by Greg Mape
Between Gatley and East Didsbury there is a bridge on which the Styal Line crosses over the normally freight line between Northenden and Hazel Grove. The Styal line, which by-passes Stockport, is busy at present as Stockport station is closed for three weeks while work progresses to replace the 1960s concrete beams in the road roundabout which sits over the line close to the station. The result is that there are many more trains using the Styal line, including the loco-hauled (if you are lucky) Manchester - South Wales services, Greg Mape visited on 2 August, when also a excursion returning to Hull used the Northenden line. The train was top-and-tailed by 57 313 (above) ...
and 47 815.
The 17:42 Manchester Airport - Llandudno passed on its normal route, worked by 197 116.
390 050 on the 19:10 Manchester - Euston uses the diversion.
Note: The 4 August Belmond Britannic Explorer 3-day Tour of Wales is running, after two false starts. See the timings on our previous issue.
The Welsh Railways Research Circle
Mark Hambly has sent us some samples of the Welsh Railways Research Circle, a group whose name neatly describes its aim. Each year members receive four issues of a Newsletter and two issues of a Journal, the Welsh Railways Archive. Membership costs £25 annum for UK , £30 for Europe and £40 for the Rest of the World. The 48-page A5 Newsletter includes details of Outdoor and Indoor Meetings, articles, letters, book review, and more. Full information about the Circle and how to join is on the Circle's Website.
Browsing the copy of the index provided reveals many items about South Wales and the Cambrian lines, but very few about North Wales Coast subjects. The Circle is keen to remedy this, and new members with North Wales interests are especially welcome. To that end, in May 2025 a supplement to the Welsh Railways Archive in the form of a history of the Conwy Valley branch line was issued to members, and Mark has kindly included a copy . Written by Martin Connop Price, it included many pictures by the author. In sixteen A4 pages he packs much detail, some of which is omitted in other books on the topic. It also bring the history up to date, with the 197 units and the slate waste traffic noted.
The Duke emerges - report by Geoff Morris
On 4 August 71000 Duke of Gloucester made its first mainline run under its own power since its previous boiler certificate expired in 2012. The run was over the usual Crewe - Chester and return "circuit" with the train turning on the Chester triangle. Class 20 (D8107) was attached at the rear.
Two pictures are attached showing it passing Chester depot prior to reversal around the triangle and then departing from the stop in Chester cutting at the start of its return to Crewe. Note that the loco was running without nameplates, lining and BR tender transfer while the boiler barrel was only partially cleaned. I don't expect it to stay like this for long.
Weeding time
Two views of the weedkilling train on 28 July, 66 783 and 66 785 with 3Q98 19:30 in the Rhyl civil engineers sidings ready to go with 3Q98 19-30 Rhyl civil engineers sidings to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Gary Thomas)
Having just arrived at Llandudno Junction, 66 783, with 66 785 out of view, wait for the drivers to reverse cabs and to proceed down the branch (Garry Stroud).
July 2000 : a reminder of the 37 era - pictures by Tim Rogers
25 July at Bagillt: 37 057 Viking, 1H42 13:21 Holyhead to Manchester Piccadilly
26 July: Greenfield, Holywell Junction in the distance. 37 429 Eisteddfod Genedlaethol
1G95 06:29 Holyhead to Birmingham New Street.
27 July: Flint. 37 413, 1G95 06:29 Holyhead to Birmingham New Street...
... departure from Flint - anyone recognise the window-hanger?
From Dave Sallery's archive
31 130 with a short loaded ballast in Penmaenmawr yard, 19 June 1996.
31 432 passes Conwy on an up passenger train, 4 September 1993.
45 112 with a Bangor to Scarborough service at Llandudno Junction, 23 June 1984.
Holyhead Freightliner terminal seen in March 1984, 7 years before closure and totally unrecognisable today.
Looking Back: Steam and Diesel in the 60s - by David Pool
Two of my earliest shots from the 1960s don’t seem to have appeared on the Notice Board, but it was at the beginning of the Covid crisis in 2020 and my image handling was then far from competent, so my apologies if these have been duplicated. The first is my only colour slide of a rebuilt Patriot. 45547, which was not named, and was on the 13:35 Holyhead to Manchester at Colwyn Bay on 22 August 1960. It was never rebuilt, and was withdrawn two years later.
I wish I had taken more shots of the Cambrian Railway Cruise trains in the 1960s, but the Standard Class 4MT locomotives were commonplace, and the assortment of coaches and an Observation Car were not features of much interest to most railway photographers at that time. On 26 August 1960 Standard Class 4MT 75053 was leaving Rhyl with Barmouth as the destination. The Cambrian Radio Cruise headboard and the locomotive were both in need of some cleaning.
My shot of a parcels train at Chester on 22 March 1969 did not seem particularly interesting at the time, but D5054 became one of the four surviving Class 24s, being currently on the East Lancs Railway. It is difficult to determine the colour of D5054 from the image, but the later British Railways crest indicates it will have been in green. In the TOPS era it would have been 24 054 in blue, and in 1999 on the ELR it was D5054 in black, with British Railways lettering. My understanding is that it is now numbered D5053, for reasons best known to the ELR!
The next images are all of Class 101 Metro-Cammell units in the Barmouth area. In some cases the car number is uncertain and not legible from the slide. At that time there were frequent changes of the cars in a set, and confirmation of the pairing in 1969 would be welcome. On 5 April 1969 the 07:50 Pwllheli to Machynlleth was exchanging the single line tablets at Barmouth, the leading car being M51174.
On the following day the 08:12 Machynlleth to Pwllheli was arriving at Barmouth. The rear car was M56058, and I think the leading car was M51195, but this is not certain. The sandhills in the distance are on the other side of the Afon Mawddach at Barmouth Ferry, where the Fairbourne Railway terminates.
The same set was returning as the 13:15 from Pwllheli, and the driver in car M56058 was exchanging tablets at Towyn (now Tywyn).
The next train from Pwllheli was the 1705 to Machynlleth, shown arriving at what was once Barmouth Junction. Renamed Morfa Mawddach in 1960, the station has remained open, although the line to Bala Junction had been closed in 1965. The leading car was probably M51174.
The final shot was on the morning of 8 April 1969, when the 08:12 from Machynlleth was passing Barmouth South box. The set was M56349 and M51194, in this case the leading car
not having a full yellow end. Note the “Fixed Distant” signal.
And finally...
A picture of Chester station by our contributor Greg Mape was chosen for an ITV weather broadcast on 4 August.
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