NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
18 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
67 029 leaves Stockport on 30 July with the 12:30 from Manchester to Cardiff.
Note: Next issue will include a collection of narrow-gauge items recently received.
News Pictures
Russell Withington writes 'The Working Timetable for Friday 15 August featured an STP path 0Z43, a Light Locomotive from Derby RTC to Derby RTC, pathed as an HST, so was clearly worth the effort to get down to have a look at. And so it proved - the light locomotive was actually two Colas Class 43 power cars 43277 Safety Task Force and 43274 (both of which I’d seen at RTC on 31 July) running back-to-back and seen here at Bagillt crossing 5 minutes early, on their way back to Derby. '
We are not sure where this run, using the path normally used by the New Measurement Train once a month on a Thursday, is a test run for the locos, or driver training. Can anyone confirm?
Llanfairfechan (Gary Thomas).
Holyhead (Stuart Broome).
Holyhead (Stuart Broome).
The engineering work at Stockport has produced some interesting workings. 66 019 on the Northenden - Hazel Grove line about to go under the A34 Kingsway road Knowsley - Wilton refuse train, running via Wigan Wallgate - Wigan Warrington Bank Quay - Northwich - Altrincham - Northenden - Edale - Sheffield - Swinton - York - Middlesbrough - Wilton.
67 010 passing over the top on the Styal Line with diverted 1W57 10:53 Cardiff - Manchester Piccadilly train on 16 August. The diversion continues until 22 August: photographs welcome!
Inspiring
The 'Inspiration train', will be visiting Llandudno station from 15 November – Tuesday 18 November. 'Sporting an eye-catching livery, visitors young and old will go on a journey of discovery exploring the railway’s 200-year story of innovation, brought to life by interactive exhibitions and hands-on activities.'
To visit the train you need to 'Register Your Interest' and later book a place is there are any left. All the details are at the
Britannic non-happenings
Our attempt to publish the timings of this luxury train in Wales came to nothing. Realtime Trains recorded the departure from London Victoria to Haverfordwest, then ... blank. Not 'cancelled' but nothing. Oh dear, I thought they are keeping it secret to prevent the passengers being harassed by photographers, but we are now told us that the train was cancelled due to those pesky door problems again. Britannic Explorer has yet to make it to Wales with paying passengers. The dates have also changed, show the 3 day tours of Wales from London Victoria which start on 18, 25 August; 1, 15, 22, 29 September; 20 October and 10 November.
The itinerary for the six-day trips to Cornwall and Wales and Lake District and Wales seem to involve a return to London Victoria half way through, so these are now really two three-day trips back to back.
From Dave Sallery's Archive
A class 16xx pannier tank in store at Croes Newydd shed, Wrexham in 1965.
47 540 with a Crewe to Holyhead train at Mold Junction, 21 April 1984.
67 026 with a down excursion at Prestatyn, 4 April 2015. This loco, which has been in store at Toton by owner DB cargo, has recently been purchased TfW as a source of spare part and will never run again.
Wickham trolley, Llanuwchllyn, August 2015. Originally built for Southend Council in 1975 for the 3' 6" gauge Southend Pier Railway. Now on the Bala Lake Railway.
Looking Back: Diesels and Electric 1969 - by David Pool
1 June 1969 was a Sunday and the lines through Runcorn were closed. Trains to Crewe and Chester were being diverted through Earlestown, the 09:43 from Lime Street to Bangor being an unidentified Class 108 unit.
The 10:15 to Euston followed shortly after, headed by D1744. This locomotive later became 47 151, then 47 648 and finally 47 850 before it was withdrawn and scrapped in 1997.
The Merseyrail electrics on the Southport line were all Class 502 units on 7 June 1969, when M28366 was heading the 11:40 from Southport to Liverpool Exchange, the shot being taken from the road bridge at Five Lamps, Waterloo, the name used to describe the location of the War Memorial nearby.
A Class 104 unit comprising M50450, M59142 and M50500 was leaving Uttoxeter on 19 June 1969 with the 09:40 Derby to Crewe. There seems to have been some signal failures, as the driver had just spoken with a signalman and passed the main signals at danger.
The branch line from Cambridge to St Ives in 1969 was looking rather neglected, and on 19 June 1969 a Class 100 unit newly transferred from the Scottish Region was about to leave St Ives with the 16:36 to Cambridge, comprising E51115 and E 56307. Passenger services were withdrawn in 1970, and a plan to close the freight line and convert the trackbed to a guided Busway was eventually accepted, but the cost overrun was massive and the construction suffered serious delays. The predicted reduction in traffic on the nearby A14 was not achieved but nevertheless the service has been kept going. The article on Wikipedia makes interesting reading.
On 20 June 1969, the branch between Epping and Ongar was still operated by London Transport, using 1962 stock. A train is leaving Epping with the Ongar shuttle service, while another similar train will be heading back on the Central Line. The Epping Ongar preserved railway now operates on most of the line, but the rail access to Epping station has not been permitted, and a vintage bus service from Epping and other locations is provided to access North Weald station on the preserved line. I continued to North Woolwich on that day, where a Derby Class 125 High Density unit was arriving from Stratford Low Level.
The options to cross the Thames for foot passengers in 1969 were the nearby pedestrian tunnel and the Woolwich Free Ferry. The latter was being worked by the James Newman, one of three vessels built in 1963 for the service. All three were withdrawn in 2018 and replaced by new vessels, but in spite of various schemes for a road bridge or tunnel none has found favour. The Docklands Light Railway provides another cross river service through a new tunnel. The ferries are required by an 1885 Act to continue and be free, so the operating cost cannot be offset by any income. It seems unlikely that the present services with limited opening hours will continue indefinitely, but meanwhile ferries can still be seen at Woolwich.
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