CREWE
- CHESTER - BANGOR - HOLYHEAD North Wales
Coast September 2001 Part 1
Fragonset Class 47 47701
"Waverley" was switched off in platform
12 attached to two Porterbrook vans which sandwiched a MkII Virgin
coach. The locomotive later ran round the stock and was waiting
to leave from the North end as I left the station. 11/9/2001
Dead on the shed was 47758
(formerly "Regency Rail Cruises" which
was recently seen failing on the North Wales Coast Line. This
locomotive was a victim of the Motherwell fire when the burning
roof fell in onto it. The hurried, partial repaint has now produced
different coloured roofs, one red and one black. Close inspection
shows that the engine was quite badly singed. 11/9/2001
The 13.43 Holyhead-London
appeared in the form of 43180 "City of Newcastle upon
Tyne" leading 43067. Seen here leaving for London
it is passing 86435 "Saint Mungo" attached
to Virgin coach 12049. 11/9/2001
They're here.....another
Class 220 "Voyager" passing through Crewe on test,
220 009 this time. I believe that this is the latest set to arrive
from Belgium. 11/9/2001
A visit down to Porthmadog
can never be complete without paying a call on the two railways.
The first was the Ffestiniog Railway where this exhibit, "Merlen
Gymreic, was stuffed and mounted outside the station.
4/9/2001
Inside the station was "Vale
of Ffestiniog", one of the small stud of diesels,
waiting to leave with a train for Blaenau Ffestiniog (header
photo) which later left along the cob. This locomotive bears
a close resemblance to the standard gauge Class 58 design. 4/9/2001
Always the way, I had left
the Ffestiniog site and was walking along the old trackbed near
the Co-op Supermarket when I heard a chime whistle. An unidentified
Fairlie was crossing the cob en route for the station, it is
just about visible between the two bushes. 4/9/2001
Next stop was the Welsh Highland
Railway (the real one!) situated adjacent to Porthmadog main
line station at the opposite end of town. 0-4-0 diesel "Glaslyn"
had just arrived with the last train of the day and was performing
the runround trick. The loco takes its name from the river and
pass that the Welsh Highland Railway traversed en route for Caernarfon.
4/9/2001
It later left for the Gellert's
Farm depot with the empty stock. 4/9/2001
The Welsh Highland has a
great café with very reasonable prices and extremely friendly
staff - well worth a visit even if you have no interest in railways.
The poster on the wall at the back referred to "Eisteddfod
Genedlaethol"! 4/9/2001
I was just leaving when the
road barrier warnings began to sound so an opportune shot of
Central Trains 158782 leaving Porthmadog with the 17.07 for Machynlleth
ex-Pwllheli. 4/9/2001
The usual stop at Colwyn
Bay on the way home produced 175111 leading 175003 en route for
Holyhead. 8/9/2001
A good day for Class 87's
at Crewe where, at one point, there were four locomotives waiting
to leave with trains plus this one basking in the Autumnal sunshine.
87006 "George Reynolds" 1/9/2001
87006 "William
Shakespeare" arrived with 1D87 the 08.00 London-Holyhead
where it was detatched in favour of the necessary diesel haulage
for the onward journey. 1/9/2001
The diesel haulage took the
form of Class 47 number 47785 "Fiona Castle"
which had graced the coast a couple of days earlier.1/9/2001
