CREWE
- CHESTER - BANGOR - HOLYHEAD North Wales
Coast July 2001-2
A visit to the coast on 29th
July and the first target was 1D87 for Holyhead which should
have passed Colwyn Bay at 13.50 but was 30 minutes down. I missed
a shot but did see that the loco was "Royal" 47799.
The next was 1A61 for London which passed at 14.40 dead on time
in the form of an HST which was too fast and close to identify.
29/7/2001
En route for home a stop
at Bunbury locks near Nantwich for a cuppa and a stroll along
the towpath which just happens to be crossed by the Chester-Crewe
line! An unidentified 175/1 crosses the canal in a blur. 29/7/2001
The locks form a staircase
and one can only marvel at the engineering.
Crewe station and 66244 arrive
on a ballast with 66249 on the rear. 87004 "Britannia"
waits to head South for London. 29/7/2001
A smart looking153312 arrived
from South Wales depicting a Dylan Thomas quotation.
29/7/2001
The purple Deltic has moved
at last and 9016 "Gordon Highlander"
could just be seen behind those confounded LNWR screens. 29/7/2001
47799 "Prince
Henry" finally appeared, dead on time, where it
was swapped for "Britannia" - very smart. 29/7/2001
66163 performing a runround
through platform 12 at Crewe in order to head a ballast train
South. 15/7/2001
Presumably waiting for the
13.45 Holyhead - London, 87013, "John O' Gaunt"
was parked up while the shed performed. 15/7/2001
My first Voyager as 220 018
entered platform 12, they look very good. 12/7/2001
Determining which set is
which will not be easy because of the positioning of the numbers
12/7/2001
The 13.43 Holyhead - London
is booked for an HST but today 47737 "Resurgent"
appeared at the head. 87028 "Lord President"
propelled it South. 12/7/2001
It was 15.50 and the Middlewich-Arpley
Enterprise ran through between platforms 5 and 6 which was surprise
enough but to see 37411 "The Scottish Railway Preservation
Society" at the head made my day. The train reversed
and came back past platform 12 and stopped at the North end.
I got half way along the platform and, yes, off it went. This
locomotive was previously named "Ty Hafan"
12/7/2001
66135 had been shunting scrap
class 47's in readiness for their final journey to Wigan .....
....the cortege reversed
out onto the main line before running through the platform 12
loop and away up the West Coast Main Line to oblivion. 12/7/2001
Meanwhile out in the yard,
D6700 had been parked up against 37420 "The Scottish
Hosteller" which still retains its nameplates. 12/7/2001
