NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD 

TfW troubles - Press Release 14 August

News Pictures

The Crewe Works Test Train - an  enquiry by Daniel Pearson

Miscellany

Still we were keen to try the new rolling stock : 'Our Club En-suite rooms offer a private space where you can relax .... before drifting off in comfort to snooze your way to your destination'. What we got is a space so small at there is no room to swing a kitten, and the the door of the En-Suite had a broken door which swung about all night with no way to shut the door.  The coaches are by CAF, so riding is rough, and the ladder to the top berth is vertical and fixed position, unlike those on many of the sleeping cars we've used around Europe.  Passengers have been releasing the ladder, so the company has had to use special screws and put up a sign. We didn't sleep at all.  Be warned.

From Dave Sallery's Archive

58 009

From Richard Snook's collection

Looking Back: 1972  part 2 - with David Pool

A returning excursion to Longton had left Llandudno at 18:00 on 2 April 1972, and was approaching Deganwy with 217, one of the earliest of the English Electric Type 4s.

Visiting Crewe on 8 April 1972, my first shot was the Ulster Express. This had left Heysham at 0650 for Euston, with another English Electric locomotive 449. This was the last of what would become the Class 50 locomotives. It may be worth clarifying the background to these locomotives, since their family tree can be confusing. A prototype locomotive with two Napier Deltic marine type engines had been built in 1955. This was DP1, which was probably Development Prototype 1 or Diesel Prototype 1, and was lettered DELTIC on the body. Meanwhile British Railways was operating various lower powered diesels, such as 10203 on the Southern Region.

The bogies and power train on the first Type 4 (Class 40) locomotives were based on those on 10203, and appeared in 1958. The Class 40s were adequate for most trains, but the Deltic power was needed for the faster trains planned for the East Coast Main Line. Another prototype was produced in 1962 with an engine a little more powerful than that in the Class 40s, being designated DP2. The body shell was similar to that on DP1. More locomotives based on the DP1 design were built, becoming known as the Deltics or Class 55. The engine in DP2 was then specified for a new class of diesels which would have a flat fronted body – these were the Class 50s, numbered 400 to 449 and built in 1967 and 1968. Locomotive 449 was named Defiance in 1978, then was temporarily fitted with regeared bogies for trials on freight trains, being renumbered 50 149. The trials were not sufficiently successful to warrant further conversions, and 449 regained its original number 50 049. In Preservation this locomotive has appeared in a variety of liveries, such as GBRf dark blue and BR large logo blue, the latter being its current livery on the Severn Valley Railway.

The next named train arriving at Crewe was the Emerald Isle Express. This had left Holyhead at 06:34, also heading for Euston. A Type 4 would be the usual motive power on the North Wales Coast, on this occasion 220. I thought at first the film had been scratched immediately above the locomotive, but looking more closely it appears to be part of the catenary. Can anyone suggest what this is?

I then joined the Wirral Railway Circle’s Railtour to Pwllheli departing from Crewe at 09:10. This started with Class 24s 5080 and 5056, but the latter failed and was replaced at Welshpool by 5062. After a photo stop at Barmouth (shown on the notice Board dated 26 May 2020) we continued North. The location of my next shot will not be familiar to many of today’s photographers, and there is little visible today at Afon Wen.

My final shot on the Railtour was on the climb to Talerddig. The lighting was superb, and the two 24s were working hard.

The weather had changed on the following day, a Sunday. A BR diesel locomotive was not a common sight at a Wirral Electric Depot, but 1841 (later 47 191) was at Birkenhead Central.

The Gateacre branch finally closed on 15 April 1972. Getting to Liverpool City Centre from my home by train would involve a mile walk to Gateacre Station, then a half hour journey. The other choice was a bus stop about 100 yards from my house with buses every 15 minutes or so to the City Centre, which took 20 minutes. Getting up early, I was at Gateacre for the 08:15 departure, a Class 108 unit M51417/M56213.

Photography at the remains of Liverpool Central Station was difficult, and my shot of the unit returning to Gateacre at 09:00 shows a scene of neglect. In fairness, the later extension of the line from Liverpool Central Low Level Station and the electrification to Hunts Cross is now a valuable part of the Merseyrail system. (dp3388).

I later photographed the Class 108 unit at Otterspool, returning from Gateacre. The station here had closed in 1951, and was never reopened.

The next station was Mersey Road, now known as Aigburth Station, with the 11:00 from Liverpool Central arriving. The siding beyond the bridge is interesting, and I don’t remember seeing any wagons there. It could possibly have been used for the construction of Otterspool Promenade – any information would be welcome.