NORTH WALES COAST RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD

Some pictures

Twin Yellow:  Infrastructure Monitoring Trains

From contributions by Ivor Bufton and Russell Withington.

From  Dave Sallery's archive

Looking Back: A July 1970 assortment - By David Pool

150 YEARS OF THE 'IRISH MAIL' 1 AUGUST 1998

The first train to carry the mails from London to Dublin left London on the evening of 31 July 1848; the railway to Holyhead was not complete at the time so the mails were transferred to a road coach at Bangor. On the night of 31 July/1 August 1998 the same events were re-enacted as the Irish Mail, now operated by Virgin Trains, made its journey to Holyhead and back. A naming ceremony took place at London Euston before the departure of the train at 19.10 on Friday, no. 43 101 being named as shown below. For those not willing or able to make nocturnal journeys, some further celebrations centred on Virgin's Holyhead to London train the next afternoon.

I decided to attend these Saturday events, and made my way via Crewe (where my train passes the 'Ribble Nibble' railtour from Swindon with 37 293 and 37 040 on its way to traverse the Sandbach - Middlewich line) and North Western Trains' 10.06 Birmingham - Holyhead, seen below on arrival in Platform 3 at Holyhead with locomotive 37 421. The train was very crowded, especially east of Rhyl; due to NWT's financial difficulties this year it is apparently impossible to add a fifth coach as has been practice in previous summers.

Alan and Rowan Crawshaw had been there somewhat earlier, so over to Alan : "We travelled on the 12:22 from Bangor, which was bang on time, and at Holyhead took a look at the London-end power car, which was adorned with "Irish Mail 150 years 1948-1998" painted in Virgin style on a Virgin-liveried 43 101. There didn't appear to be a lot going on but were told a plaque would be unveiled on the station concourse. So we hung around until a group of Anglesey councillors and Virgin employees came along. Apart from a couple of boys with their father we appeared to be the only unofficial onlookers. The deputy mayor made a short speech, pulled the curtain to reveal a small plaque in Virgin corporate red and that was that.

When I arrived, the councillors and rail managers were clustered around the locomotive, beginning to disperse as I took the picture and a group of backpackers from the Dublin ferry loaded their worldly goods into the loco's baggage area.

The name itself is a curious affair: Virgin seem to have abandoned the traditional nameplate on these HST power cars in favour of vinyl extravaganzas like this. Barely legible behind the name 'The Irish Mail' is a rendering in Welsh, and the '150 years 1848-1998' is made up like the postmark on a letter. Very trendy, but also very ugly in my personal opinion.

Below is a portrait of 43 101 and its train about to depart (when the last stragglers from the ferry had loaded their mounds of luggage.) At the rear of the train was 43 165, in old BR Intercity livery and looking generally scruffy. The train was very crowded, so I decided to sit in the first class ('Weekend First') coach adjacent to the buffet car, and pay the supplement when asked. In the event, I wasn't even asked for my ticket! I noticed that the whole of the adjacent first class coach was reserved, presumably for the VIP party, but not many of them seemed to board the train.

I treated myself to a strange repast of ploughman's sandwich and micro-chips washed down by Virgin Cola - still no vegetarian hot food on West Coast even though Virgin Cross Country can do it - and was entertained by a family from the West Midlands who boarded at Rhyl. refusing to believe that this was not the Birmingham train (due immediately afterwards) despite being told by me, other passengers and a member of Virgin Trains staff ... most of the passengers remained unaware of the train's celebrity status, although copies of the Railway Magazine's special supplement written by Peter Baughan were available in the buffet car.

At Chester, a huge crowd of anniversary celebrants greeted the train: they seemed to be expecting the guests from Holyhead, but all they really got was me stepping out of my first-class carriage right in front of the assembly of Guilds and Freemen of Chester in their blue robes.. "Are you Richard Branson?" someone asked. "Wish I was" was all I could say in reply. Some had joined in the spirit of the occasion by donning 1848 garb (above right), even the great Chester engineer Thomas Brassey made an appearance. Some youngsters craved, and were rewarded with, a visit to the locomotive cab.

That's the new Virgin Trains logo by the way, as seen on 43 101: what do you think of it?

Below is a the general scene at Chester once the crush had cleared slightly: you need to imagine the brass band playing on the opposite platform.The clock reads 15.29, the train should have left at 15.18. I joined the following Birmingham train, hauled again by 37 421, and made my way home to Stockport via Crewe. The 'Irish Mail' was still at Crewe when we arrived!

Finally, here are a few more unusual sights from the journey home. A southbound freight train of four-wheel vans hauled by 56 132 appeared in Crewe station at 16.00: no such train listed in Freightmaster, so I assume it was delayed by the flood damage to the West Coast main line near Lockerbie the previous night.

Direct Rail Services' 20 305 and 20 302 were also on view at Crewe, stabled in the station. At Stockport at 17.00, 322 485 backs into the carriage sidings, having worked a London - Manchester Airport duty. 322s and 309s can often be found here, but tantalisingly behind a wall!

An enjoyable, if crowded and somewhat anti-climactic, day: thanks as ever to the staff of the North Wales railways for getting me there , to Alan and Rowan for the contribution (and to Colin Marsden of Railway Magazine for sending further details. very special thanks to Mr Branson for the free ride.

Created by Charlie Hulme, 1 August 1998 23:40.

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