25 March 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
Charter trains and meetings may be subject to cancellation
or postponement. See our Calendar Page
for club, society and tour operator details.
April 2024
Thursday 4 April Pathfinder Reading - Pwllheli via
Crewe
Friday 5 April Clwyd Railway Circle Fond
Memories - featuring some of my favourite times on the
railway over the last 60 years. - Larry Davies
Cancelled
Friday 5 April Midland Pullman Plymouth to
Llandudno
Friday 12 April. Altrincham
Electric Railway Preservation Society David Beilby.
"Transport around the World by GEC and its predecessors". A
joint meeting with the Irish Railway Record Society
Manchester branch.
Thursday 18 April Pathfinder Tours The Cambrian
Coast Express East Midlands Parkway - Shrewsbury - Pwllheli
Thursday 18 April Midland Pullman Wolverhampton -
Chester - Carlisle
Tuesday 23 April Midland Pullman Chester - Aviemore
May 2024
6 May Statesman Woking -
Llandudno via Bath Spa and Crewe for Llandudno
Victorian Extravaganza
Thursday 16 May Pathfinder Tours The Cambrian
Coast Express Cardiff - Pwllheli
Saturday 25 May Railway Touring Company
Manchester Piccadilly -
Llandudno and Holyhead Steam: 5596 Bahamas
June 2024
8 June Vintage Trains Dorridge -
Blaenau Ffestiniog Steam and 47 773 via
Crewe. Diesel on Blaenau branch
21 June Northern Belle - Crewe
Two tours - lunch and afternoon
tea. Round trip from Crewe via pickups at
Chester and Wrexham.
Saturday 22 June Midland Pullman Holyhead - Carlisle
Saturday 22 June North
West Rail and Transport Collector's Fair, Crewe
Alexandra Football Club 10:00 - 3:30
Thursday 27 June Midland Pullman Crewe -
Chester - Wrexham - Paignton
July 2014
Tuesday 16 July Midland Pullman Holyhead -
Paignton
27 July Midland Pullman
Crewe - Paignton
August 2024
14 August Statesman
Telford Central - Carlisle
pickups Shrewsbury, Gobowen, Chirk, Wrexham General,
Chester, Frodsham, Warrington BQ
September 2024
4 September Statesman High Wycombe -
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Thursday 5 September Pathfinder Tours The Cambrian
Coast Express Bristol - Pwllheli
Friday 6 September Clwyd Railway Circle The
Denbigh, Ruthin and Corwen Railway in the Vale of Clwyd
- Fiona Gale
12 September Pathfinder Cambrian Coast
Express Cardiff Central - Pwllheli
Sunday 15 September Steam Dreams 'Welsh Dragon'
steam-hauled London Paddington - Shrewsbury, then diesel
through to Pwllheli. For more on this and this and the
next two entries see the Steam
Dreams website.
Wednesday 18 September Steam Dreams 'Welsh
Dragon' steam hauled Bangor - Crewe, then diesel to Cardiff
via the Heart of Wales line
Thursday 19 September - Steam Dreams 'Welsh
Dragon' steam hauled Cardiff to London Paddington via
Gloucester and the Golden Valley line
21 September - Northern Belle Telford -
Carlisle pickups Shrewsbury, Wrexham General, Chester.
October 2024
Friday 4 October Clwyd Railway Circle Wrexham’s
Second Railway Mania - David Parry
November 2024
Friday 1 November Clwyd Railway Circle Chinese
Steam in 2001 and 2003 - Phil Thomas
(see our
Calendar page for meeting venues)
North Wales Coast Railway website created
and compiled by Charlie
Hulme
|
Saturday 23 March saw engineering works between Holyhead and
Rhyl. Resting at Holyhead were 67 025 (The
loco-hauled to Cardiff doesn't run at weekends anyway) and 197
043. A Voyager in the background. Picture by Stuart
Broome.
Avanti 805s on test
(Someone should invent a name for them?)
805 010 near Penmaenmawr, 10 March (Greg Mape)
805 008 eastbound at Dwygyfylchi, 19 March (Gary Thomas)
805 010 eastbound passing Conwy Castle, 22 March (Gary
Thomas)
805 010 passing a precariously- placed signal at the end of
Colwyn Bay promenade (Greg Mape).
805 010 from Mostyn footbridge (Greg Mape)
Points
Our item about the Class 68s was somewhat in
error. The Transpennine 68s have been modified to work
with the Mark 5 coaches, and if the trains pass to Chiltern
as is predicted, it will be the existing Chiltern class 68
fleet which be looking for work.
The Cancellation of the Shrewsbury to London
service, which is claimed losing one and a half million
pounds per year, seems to be part of a plan involving the
new London Euston to be run by a new open-access company
created by train-builders Alstom which will run several
times per day.
Class 67: Deutche Bundesbahn are offering for sale
some of their Class 67 locos, not including those on hire to
TfW. It will be interesting to see if any are sold -
Preservation groups are unlikely to be interested ...
or are they?
News pictures
The 'Real' New Measurement Train visits again on 21 March,
seen near Abergele with 43 062 leading 43 013
(Greg Mape).
A rare daylight appearance by a 67-hauled train, seen
running eastbound Old Colwyn at 10:52 (Greg Mape).
This was 5Z67 10:06 empty stock from Holyhead depot to
Crewe; a set of coaches had been stabled at Holyhead for
some days (see last issue).
Holyhead sidings on 23 March: 175 113, 114 and another 3-car
(110?) awaiting their fate (Stuart Broome).
On 24 March 37 800 Cassiopeia passes
Montague Bridge, Shrewsbury with 175 010 in tow from Swansea
Landore to Central Rivers depot ...
... on the rear, 37 901, one of four 37s fitted with
a Mirrlees engine in 1986, part of a project to build a
modern medium-power loco to replace the 37s - which never
happened (Graham Breakwell).
A North Wales Day Ranger, 13 March - by Paul Hajdasz
I took a trip using the North Wales Day Ranger ticket on
Wednesday 13th March which cost £27.70 with my senior
railcard. I had quite an eventful day as you will see
in the narrative!
I turned up at Shrewsbury railway station hoping to travel
on the Cambrian line to Aberystwyth or Pwllheli, but I was
told that it would be a bus service beyond Machynlleth due
to flooding. So I decided to take an alternative journey to
Holyhead and down to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Whilst waiting for my first train I saw 6Q97 Freightliner 66
548 from Donnington rail freight terminal to Crewe
carriage sidings hauling 197 125. This was
approximately 95 minutes earlier than scheduled (top
picture).
My first passenger train, however, arrived about 40 minutes
late at platform 3 - 1W91 07.17 service with 197
007 from Cardiff - this was due to apparently the only
onboard toilet not working and having to let people off at
certain stations along the route so they could use those
facilities. They continued to use this train to Chester
where it terminated about 35 minutes down.
Waiting at platform 7 was a Merseyrail service to Liverpool
with one of the new 777s in use: 777 020.
I caught 158829 / 158836 from platform 2 on the TfW 1D12
Shrewsbury to Holyhead service ( photo 4).
I alighted at Llandudno Junction, where I transferred to the
2D15 service to Blaenau Ffestiniog with 197 011. I
love the beautiful scenery along this route.
However, we only got as far Dolgarrog when the train stopped
just outside the station and it was announced that it would
be turning back as, again, the line ahead was flooded. We
pulled into Dolgarrog station to wait about 30 minutes for a
rail-replacement bus service. As I just wanted to get back
to Llandudno Junction I waited a further hour before it
departed at its scheduled return time.
As I was a glutton for punishment, from Llandudno Junction I
took TfW 1D14 14:31 from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, this time
arriving on time with 158 819.
I travelled back from Holyhead to Shrewsbury on the return
service for my final leg of my trip, alighting at platform
7. It was a long, but enjoyable day.
The Glyn Valley Tramway - report by Martin Evans
On 16 March I managed to call in at the Glyn Valley Tramway
in Glyn Ceiriog and took a few pictures. Above, perhaps the
oldest Glyn Valley Tramway item, a 2-ton jib loading crane.
In the museum, which is in the original (and grade 2 listed)
old tramway engine shed, a Restored Ballast Wagon...
... Replica Slate Wagon
A Ruston Diesel ...
... which was originally sold by Ruston & Hornsby for
work in the Netherlands.
Quoting from the Trust website: 'We are The New Glyn Valley
Tramway & Industrial Heritage Trust, a charity dedicated
to preserving the heritage and telling the stories of the
Glyn Valley Tramway and the industries it once served in the
Ceiriog Valley.' The Trust has a well-made
website which give details of the history of the line
and visitor information.
The site is at the original terminus of the line in the
village of Glyn Ceiriog, which is around six miles from
Chirk Station. There is a two-hourly bus service (Route 64)
from Llangollen, calling at Chirk Station and Glan Ceiriog
village.
Another, apparently uncollected, named The Glyn
Valley Tramway Trust has, for some time, been
working on restoration of the line at the Chirk station end.
A disappointing journey - by Joyce Whitchurch
On 16 March I travelled on the 08:30 from Manchester
Piccadilly to Cardiff, which is advertised as a loco-worked
service with restaurant service. Here's what happened.
What turned up at Piccadilly was a single Class 158 unit.
Two carriages, no 1st Class, no restaurant, no explanation,
no apology. There was at least a catering trolley with as
much tea, bara brith and Welsh cakes as anyone could
manage. Surprisingly it wasn't that busy, except for the
section between Cwmbran and Newport, when a few people ended
up standing.
We sought advice in the Travel Centre at Cardiff Central,
but the lady couldn't tell us what might be working later
on, they just don't get that kind of real time information
there. She was expecting "hot food" though on both the 16:49
Cardiff - Manchester and the 17:14 Cardiff - Holyhead.
We had a couple of pints in the city centre, and a ride down
(up?) to Cardiff
Bay and back (Class 153 on a working even more boring for
the driver than a funicular), and headed back to Cardiff
Central for the 16:49, which was still being advertised on
Real Time Trains as "hot food":
This time we got a Class 197. Two carriages (where's all the
spare stock that
would normally be running between Shrewsbury and Birmingham
which line was closed due to a landslip?). No 1st class, no
restaurant, no explanation, no apology. And no trolley. No
bara brith. No tea. No water. Only one lavatory. Three and a
half hours is a long time to spend on a train without food
and drink. I had brought a sandwich and a flask but used
those both on the morning train.
Oh, and the Holyhead got the same Class 158 that we'd ridden
on from Manchester. Don't know if that got a trolley
or not but at least it had two lavatories. Finally got home
at 20:56. Managed to get a pie in the chip shop
before it shut for the night.
The New Barmouth Bridge - report by Graham Breakwell
I walked over Barmouth Bridge on 16 March having alighted at
Morfa Mawddach and was so impressed with the results of all
the restoration work, superb quality. Here are some images
which speak for themselves.
Looking towards Barmouth.
The spans have been faithfully replicated; the rivets are
fakes!
Payment of £1 to the 'Troll' is voluntary.
I returned from Barmouth to Newtown where platform 1 is out
of use while the surface is replaced and all services. This
is 158 832 and 158 822 on 1I:24 the 15:30
Aberystwyth and Pwllheli departing from platform 2 for
Shrewsbury – all services on to Birmingham were suspended
following the landslip at Oakengates with bus replacements
in place.
Mold Junction 2000 - images by Tim Rogers
Four views taken on 21 March 2000 at Mold Junction. Above.,
43 155 and 43 069 with 1D87 08:40
Virgin Trains Euston to Holyhead. (20 mins late) 43
155 was to be found on one of Great Western's 'Castle Class'
units and named Rougemont Castle. It was withdrawn
in December 2023. 43 069 was scrapped in 2022 after being a
spares donor for the GWR Castles.
Perhaps surprisingly, The HST power cars, built between and
1975 and 1983, were the oldest of the four traction units
here. Of the other three, the two DMUs are still working
hard , but not to be seen on North Wales. 37 401 still
exists in working in order, and is on sale by its owner DRS.
158 753 working 1H38 10:38 First North Western
Llandudno to Manchester Piccadilly. The houses on the riight
were built for the staff of the ensgine shed which stood
here.
150 141 First North Western 1D38 10:16
Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno.
37 401 Mary Queen of Scots on 1D67 10:07
Birmingham New Street to Holyhead.
From Dave Sallery's archive
37 131 deputising for a 47 leaving Rhyl on the 08:50
Holyhead- London service, which it hauled as far as Crewe.
17 July 1998. In 1999, after a few more days on the
Coast, 37 131 was taken out of service and stored. In 2005
it was purchased for preservation and taken to Peak Rail at
Rowsley, where it was neglected and in 2007 it was moved to
Barrow Hill and then to Booth's scrapyard where it was cut
up.
37 407 passing Holywell Jct on an Up service, 2 March
1995. The loco had just been named Blackpool
Tower, its previous name Loch Long having been
removed when it went into works for an intermediate
overhaul. It worked many passenger duties, the last being a
stretch in the late 1990s in East Anglia while in the DRS
fleet. At the time of writing, it is for sale along with all
other 37s owned by DRS.
The driver of 37 408 Loch Rannoch looks out
for the ''right away from the guard at Chester, 16 August
1995. This was the last of the 37/4 sub-class to
retain the 'large loco' livery, while others were subject to
a variety of schemes over the years. By 1985 it had
lost the 'scottie dog' logo applied to 37/4s when allocated
to Scottish duties.
37 420 at Chester on 7 September 1995. It
carried the name The Scottish Hosteller and the
triangular unveiled on 28 June 1984 by Tom Weir of the
Scottish Youth Hostel Association to celebrate the
'twinning' of the YHA with British Rail. This
'Mainline' passenger livery (not to be confused with the
short-lived Freight company) was applied to most of the
37/4s, only to be replaced on some that were
transferred to the Freight Sector.
Looking back: Lakeside and Haverthwaite - by David Pool
The Furness Railway built a branch line from Plumpton
Junction (near Ulverston) to serve the industries near
Haverthwaite which were based on iron ore and coal
deposits. In recognition of the growth of visitors to
Lake Windermere, the branch was extended to Lakeside,
opening in 1869. Eventually the profitable freight
traffic declined, and the line was only open for passengers
in the Summer season. Regular passenger trains were
withdrawn in 1965, and the closure of Backbarrow Iron Works
saw the line close in 1967.
At that time a newly formed Lakeside Railway Estates Company
was hoping to run trains between the newly purchased Motive
Power Depot at Carnforth and the Lakeside branch, using two
2-6-4T locomotives (42073 and 42085) being stored at
Carnforth. Initially BR refused to sell the branch,
and the A590 road at Haverthwaite was to be rerouted across
the line. The Lake District Planning Board also
objected to the proposal. After many meetings and
negotiations, objections were withdrawn and the Lakeside and
Haverthwaite Railway Company was formed in 1970, buying the
line from BR.
The two locomotives from Carnforth together with some
rolling stock were then moved to Haverthwaite by rail,
shortly before the line was severed in 1971 by the A590, at
the West end of the tunnel to Haverthwaite Station.
Passenger services resumed on 2 May 1973 to Lakeside
Station, with a Halt at Newby Bridge. On 5 May 1973 I
visited Haverthwaite, where 42085 was then numbered
2085 in a Caledonian blue livery, keeping company with a
Fowler Saunders diesel Fluff, built in 1937.
(above).
The train leaving Haverthwaite for Lakeside on that day was
being worked by 42073, also in a non-typical livery
and numbered 2073. Preserved railways did not run BR
steam locomotives in BR livery and BR numbers after the end
of steam in 1968, but it is unclear whether this was a
voluntary decision.
Rachel was built by Motor Rail in 1924, and is
powered by a 40hp Dorman petrol engine. It worked at
Burneside Paper Mills near Kendal, until the arrival of a
Ruston diesel in 1951, when it acted as a standby
locomotive. It came to Haverthwaite in 1973, and its
current status is “operational”. It was
photographed on 13 November 1979.
The Furness Railway Trust acquired its first locomotive in
1973. Built by Hunslet in 1953 (Works No.3794) for the
Longmoor Military Railway, it was then stored there.
It eventually moved to Bicester and then to Shoeburyness,
but had done little work before it arrived at Haverthwaite,
where it became Cumbria. For many years it was
the locomotive of choice for the trains, and has run well
over 100,000 miles on the line. My photograph at
Lakeside was taken on 21 June 1981.
The L & H Railway could always find use for a diesel
electric shunter. LMS 7120 was a locomotive of
the type which became a Class 11 in BR days, the forerunner
of the familiar Class 08, but was scrapped in 1969. So
what was the locomotive at Haverthwaite I photographed on 9
April 1998? Apparently two orders for English Electric
diesels to an LMS design were placed with Derby Works in
1945, being 6 for the LMS and 14 for the War
Department. The LMS diesels were 7120 to 7125 and the
others were WD 70260 to 70273. The first 10 of the
latter went to the Netherlands, and 2 went elsewhere in
Europe, leaving 2 in the UK at Longmoor (70271 and
70272).
The history now gets confusing, as names and numbers kept
changing. 70272 became Chittagong and then Basra,
while 70721 was Bari. It is reported that 70271 (WD
877) was involved in an accident, and scrapped in 1957, but
a WD 876 (then named Bari) lasted until 1969. Basra
became WD 878, then was renumbered AD 601 before being moved
to Bicester in 1968, eventually arriving at Haverthwaite in
1980 and repainted as LMS 7120. I understand it is now
AD 601 again.
Furness Railway No.20 was pictured in our issue of 13
February 2024, and is owned by the Furness Railway
Trust. It is currently at the Ribble Steam Railway,
but on 24 August 1999 it was at Haverthwaite. The
reconstruction of the A590 resulted in the railway losing
much of the station yard, and the photograph illustrates the
congestion on the site. Alongside No.20, ESJ 609 The
Lion is a Diamond T Recovery Vehicle of the type used
by the US Army, carrying the name of Hudson Engineers
(Sandside).
On my way to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway on 6 May
2018, I called in at Haverthwaite, where two locomotives
were ideally placed for photographs. Bagnall 2996
(1951) Victor was very familiar to me, having been
used on the West Somerset Railway when it reopened from
Minehead in 1975. It was at first owned by the Steel
Company of Wales, then moved to the Austin Motor Company at
Longbridge. After several years on other preserved
railways, it came to Haverthwaite in 2009.
The other locomotive was Repulse, Hunslet 3698
(1950). This had been lucky to survive, since its
working life had been at National Coal Board sites in the
North West, finally at Whitehaven, where it was about to be
scrapped in 1975 when it was purchased for preservation,
arriving at Haverthwaite in 1976. It had been fitted
with a Giesl ejector, but had no vacuum brake, and there was
much restoration to be done before it entered service.
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