NORTH WALES COAST etc.
CREWE - CHESTER - BANGOR - HOLYHEAD
OCTOBER 2001 - PART TWO

Link to Part One
 Today was the day of the green machine with "Freightliner" Class 66 locomotives seemingly appearing everywhere.
Top - 66502 "Basford Hall Centenary 2001"
Centre - 66516 ran from bay 8 onto the LNWR depot.
Bottom - 66520 entered platform 12 with an empty car carrier train. The loco was preparing to run round when I left. 29/10/2001

 The sight of a dead class 37 in "Transrail" livery and newly painted yellow end, being towed into the diesel depot yard brought to mind that 37402 was due out today. A quick gallop(!) down the platform revealed 37896 with 37712 in charge being moved around the yard. Ah well! maybe tomorrow. 896 is a veteran of the French campaign and is actually resurrected from the dead. 29/10/2001

 The 9.19 Holyhead-London arrived about 10 minutes late behind double heading class 47's, 47734 "Crewe Diesel Depot, Quality Approved" and 47806. The reason is unknown. The train eventually left about 20 minutes down with 90011 "West Coast Rail 250" attached to the rear. 29/10/2001.

 Middlewich diversions day and "Hippo" 175106 crawls past Heys Chemicals as the 15.50 fro Llandudno Junction. This train should have appeared after the 13.07 Virgin train from Holyhead but there were no 47's of HST's to be seen. 28/10/2001

 106 disappeared into the distance at a snails pace, having received a yellow at the last moment. 28/10/2001

 A yellow light announced the arrival of "shed" 66110 on a ballast maintenance train. 28/10/2001

 The apparent speed restrictions on the line enable several shots to be taken as the locomotive crawls past. 28/10/2001

 47814 arrived from Holyhead with the 9.19 Holyhead - London 24/10/2001

 Soon afterwards 47798 "Prince William" arrived with a Northern Belle charter. 24/10/2001

 The locomotive posed for a while in platform 12. 24/10/2001

 87020 "North Briton" was waiting to take over the Holyhead - London train and attached to the rear as usual. However, the DVT was faulty and the AC electric had to unhook and run round to attach to the front. 24/10/2001

 In bay platform 8, 37038 was ticking over. 24/10/2001

 It later left in a hurry with much clag. 24/10/2001

 I had earlier seen a class 37 towing a class 47 and another 37 down the WCML. Annoyingly it dived down into the "muckhole". Eventually the trio surfaced in the form of 37057 "Viking"......

 ...which was caught by the sun reflecting off a parked car. 24/10/2001

 The class 47 was 47784 "Condover Hall" and the other 37 was 37682 "Hartlepool Pipe Mill". Quite a time for 37's. 24/10/2001

 But there were more, 37712 (also above through the LNWR screens) was dead on the diesel depot yard while at the rear of the shed 37707 was shunting class 47 corpses. 24/10/2001

 Eventually 37712 was started up, later to chase off up the West Coast Main Line. 24/10/2001

Listing

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Link to Part One