NORTH WALES COAST
RAILWAY :NOTICE BOARD
Rheilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru: Hysbysfwrdd
25 May 2026
Due to Holidays,
the next update will
be on 22 June.
Forthcoming events
See our Calendar Page for operator details.
Thursday 28 May UK Railtours "The Coast to Coast", Great Yarmouth to Pwllheli. Train to/from Great Yarmouth to Shrewsbury TBC. Network Rail 97's onwards to Pwllheli.
June 2026
Saturday 13 June North West Rail and Transport Collectors Fair
July 2026
Friday 3 July Saltburn Railtours Saltburn to Llandudno (one way, WCRC diesel hauled)
Monday 6 July Saltburn Railtours Llandudno to Saltburn (one way, WCRC diesel hauled)
Sunday 12 July Railway Touring Company "The North Wales Coast Express", Liverpool Lime Street to Holyhead. WCRC steam loco TBC.
August 2026
Wednesday 19 August Midland Pullman "Torbay Riviera Pullman", Chester, Wrexham General, Ruabon, Chirk to Torquay and Paignton. LSL Midland Pullman HST.
29-31 August 2026 Bala Lake Railway Steam Gala
September 2026
19-20 September Bala Model Railway Show
Thursday 3 September Clwyd Railway Circle "Severn Valley Steam" Highlights of 2012 and 2013 Steam Galas - Glyn Jones
Saturday 19 September Northern Belle "Settle & Carlisle Steam Special", Wrexham General and Chester to Carlisle. WCRC steam locomotive over the Settle & Carlisle line. Diesel hauled otherwise.
October 2026
Thursday 1 October Clwyd Railway Circle 'The view from a signal box window' Adrian Bodlander
November 2026
Thursday 5 November Clwyd Railway Circle "40 years of Railway in the Chester area" - Geoff Morris
December 2026
Thursday 3 December Clwyd Railway Circle Ian Mainprize 'German Railway Development'
Belmond have advertised their 2026 three-day Britannic Explorer trips to the sidings in Barmouth, start dates are: 30 March, 13 April, 4/11/25 May, 1/8/15/22/29 June, 6/20/27 July, 3/17/21/24 August, 14/28 September, 19 October and finally 9 November.
Other useful sites:
For up-to-date North Wales information
join the North Wales Trains News group
North Wales Coast Railway website created and compiled by Charlie Hulme
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On 2 April 37 800 hauled 756 105 and 231 009 from Cardiff Canton Sidings to Holyhead for Wheel Turning, Picture by Gary Thomas.
HST Now and Then
HST in Inter-City livery approaching Abergele, 5 May (Greg Mape). Once a daily event on London-bound passenger trains.
Colwyn Bay c.1995. (Charlie Hulme)
News Pictures
60 028 in original Cappagh livery approaches Rhyl on 10 May while working 6D22 13:40 Chaddesden Sidings to Penmaenmawr (Ivor Bufton)
70 801 passes Prestatyn while working 6M33 1423 Llandudno Junction T.C. To Bradwell Up Sidings Colas on 14 May. (Ivor Bufton).
The last few weeks have seen more daily freight traffic along the coast than seen in a long time, thanks largely to stone traffic from , much of it for the construction of the HS2 new line, with occasional appearance of a train of slate from the terminal at Llandudno Junction. The British-built Class 60 locos which have been discarded by DB Cargo are having a new life. The latest to appear is 60 063, which has happily been given the colour scheme that was used when the locos were built.
37 510 Orion passes Rhyl returning 231 002 to Cardiff Canton from the wheel lathe at Holyhead on 1 May (Ivor Bufton).
Class 231 'Flirt' number 231 010 was hauled from Cardiff Canton to Holyhead by 37 501 on 14 May, 231 010 is the 5th member of the class of 11 to go to the Holyhead wheel lathe. Above, 37501 hauling 231 010 as 5Q40 10:19 Cardiff Canton to Holyhead MD approaches Prestatyn on 15 May (Ivor Bufton)
History Notes by Ivor Bufton
37 501 has carried a variety of numbers, liveries and names during its life, originally numbered D6705, then under Tops renumbering it became 37 005. Refurbishment in mid 1986 saw it become 37 501, whilst further modifications for Channel Tunnel sleeper work saw it become 37 601. (The service never began). It has recently been repainted into a modern version of a livery once carried as 37 501 and renumbered back to 37 501.
With regard to names carried whilst originally numbered 37 501 it was named Teeside Steelmaster at Thornaby depot in April 1986, then in September 2010 whilst in DRS ownership it was named Class 37 - Fifty, this was to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the class 37 locomotive. After transfer into the ownership of Europheonix it was named Perseus, After its recent repaint, it has been renamed Teeside Steelmaster. Whilst it has visited North Wales on numerous occasions as 37 601,
My records (I am happy to be corrected) show that the only time it came down as 37 501 before this visit was on the Crewe Works test train on 22 April 1986 as seen in Dave Sallery's photograph above.
Looking Back: With 37 501 working down the coast on Thursday 14th with the latest Cardiff to Holyhead unit drag, thought you might like this view of the loco taken nearly 40 years ago. Around 8 months after its re-paint, a rather work-stained 37 501 Teesside Steelmaster in its British Steel blue version of BR large logo blue stands at Doncaster Works on the 3rd October 1987 (Garry Stroud).
66 773 Pride of GB Railfreight land 66 735 Peterborough United stabled during weed killing duties at Rhyl, 5 May 2026 (Dave Sallery).
70 805 on the Llandudno Jct - Longport stone passes Rhyl Marine Lake, 6 May 2026.
Britannic Diverted - report by Graham Breakwell
All services between Telford Central and Wolverhampton were cancelled from the evening of 5 May. This is due to the derailment at Oxley Up Goods Loop of the loaded stone service 6F05, the 19:31 from Coton Hill to Wellingborough. A full explanation can be read here
Consequently, the Britannic Explorer leg from Shrewsbury, 1Z73, due to terminate at Oxford Up & Down Passenger line after dropping passengers off at Kingham, was diverted via Hereford, Severn Tunnel and Didcot North Junction to reach Kingham at 2258h, 113 minutes later than originally planned. However, further issues must have arisen as it terminated at Oxford North Junction, then 40 minutes later set off as 1Z74 to spend the night at Honeybourne Staff Hut!
66 748 was due to return to Shrewsbury from Bescot, where it been serviced and stabled overnight, via Telford but the derailment meant a diversion via Crewe.
The images of 66 748 St Michaels Mount pulling away from Sutton Bridge Junction with 66744 Sarah Coles dead on the rear, maybe needed to manage operations of the single track Cotswolds line?
New Timetable Time
The diagram shows the altered pattern of services starting in 17 May. The Manchester Airport trains now go to Holyhead instead of Llandudno, and trains from Liverpool Lime Street go to Llandudno using the the single-track chord between Frodsham and Runcorn which was rebuilt some years ago. Thus the section between Llandudno Junction and Chester has three trains per hour each way, at least most of the time.
TfW say: 'Safety remains a shared priority for Transport for Wales and Network Rail. Ahead of the North Wales Coast timetable uplift, Network Rail has delivered a series of level crossing safety improvements, including temporary closures and diversion routes at Sandy Lane and Beverley Drive, seasonal crossing stewards at Pen Uchaf and Ty Gwyn, new Miniature Stop Lights at Flint Marsh, and further upgrades at Stokyn Lodge and Fishpool Farm crossings.'
In other words, the promised footbridges have not yet been finished.
For more detailed information use TfW's website timetable
A rare capture - by Ivor Bufton
Out and About
The travelling 'Inspiration' train was berthed in Platform Zero of Stockport Station in early May, so 'the town 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.'
Our picture shows loco GBRf 66 719 Michael Portillo. 66 710 Karen Harrison. was at the other end.
London Marylebone on 11 May: 68 030 is waiting for departure on the 11:02 service to Birmingham Moor Street. The coaches are the eleven sets originally built for TransPennine now transferred to Chiltern Railways. We transferred at Banbury to a CrossCountry train to avoid the chaos of changing at Birmingham New Street with our luggage.
At Shrewsbury on 13 May Greg Mape found 61036 Mayflower on the Welsh Marches Express arrived. It had taken over at Bristol of from a pair of LSL's Class 47s which had worked it from Bournemouth.
The loco was stabled at Coton Hill sidings, after the train was turned on the Shrewsbury Triangle. An empty stone train had arrived for loading from Tonbridge with 66 687 and also in the mix, 197 010 working 1W94 13:22 Cardiff to Holyhead. The loco number is not a misprint: the 66 6xx for a number of GBRf 66s that have its motor gearing to enable heavier loads.
Looking back: August and September 1971 - by David Pool
On 5 August 1971 St Helens (Shaw Street) Station was only being used for trains between Liverpool and Wigan, the services to St Helens Junction and to Rainford Junction having closed in 1965 and 1951 respectively. A Class 108 unit was working the 13;05 Lime Street to Wigan, with only two platforms in use. The area has since changed considerably, with new roads and the disappearance of the tall chimneys. I regret never having visited the other station at St Helens, as the Central Station was closed in 1952 when passenger services from Lowton St Mary’s were withdrawn.
The electrification of the West Coast Main Line and the ending of BR steam made any visits to Crewe much less tempting for photography. The Class AL6 Electrics were on most of the trains, such as E3164 on the 0922 Lime St. to Euston on 28 August 1971. This locomotive later became 86 225 Hardwicke.
Across the Pennines in Halifax the railway scene was rather depressing. The station was still open for trains from Bradford, but most of the platforms were out of use, and presumably there were no funds available for any work to tidy the site. A Class 110 unit was on the 11:10 Leeds to Southport on 4 September 1971.
Moving on to Haworth there was much more evidence of support for railways. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway had the space to take a variety of steam and diesel motive power which had been purchased or donated by those who recognised the need to preserve our railway heritage. Some of the first acquisitions were Railbuses, originally intended for use on short branch lines, but made redundant when these closed. I had seen two at Haworth in 1968, E79962 and E79964, built by Waggon- und Maschinenbau and used previously in East Anglia. On 4 September 1971 one of these had been repainted in lime green (I think it was 79962), and the two industrial steam locomotives in my shot were Harlaxton, Andrew Barclay 2107 (1941) from Harlaxton Ironstone Mine, and Hudswell Clarke 1369 (1919), No. 67 on the Manchester Ship Canal Railway.
Hunslet 2699 (1944) was the first diesel locomotive bought by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB No.32), on whose lines it operated until 1970, being used as a replacement for a fireless locomotive. It arrived at Haworth in 1970, and was photographed on 4 September 1971.
Passenger trains on the KWVR were being worked by the Standard Class 4MT 80002, seen leaving Keighley. It appears to have a 68D shedplate and “Beattock” on the front bufferbeam. Although these locomotives were used for banking at Beattock, I have no confirmation that 80002 worked there in BR days, and would be interested to hear whether this was correct or a “might have been”.
The 11:55 Morecambe to Leeds passed through Keighley shortly after, being hauled by 5112 (later 24 112).
The KWVR was of course famous for having been the location for “The Railway Children” film in 1970. The “Green Dragon” was outside the shed at Haworth, being the L&Y Barton Wright Class 25, currently running as 52044 in BR livery and due to appear as a Rapido model.
My favourite Peckett 1999 (1941) was at Haworth in 1971, having arrived from the Gasworks in Southport. A few years later I saw it again at Steamport, illustrated in the Notice Board of 1 July 2024.
Photography at Mytholmes tunnel near Haworth is difficult if the trees are not cut back, but 80002 was in sunlight and made a nice subject with a telephoto lens.
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