CREWE - CHESTER -- BANGOR - HOLYHEAD  MONTHLY REPORTS DECEMBER 2005 - PAGE ONE

Colwyn Bay station and the first day of the return of the Manchester-Holyhead, loco hauled service - The Irish Mancunian. The locomotive is 57314 "Firefly" seen here just arriving. 9/12/2005

A brief stay and then off to the Junction and Holyhead. Not the impressive take-off that were the 37's and 47's but far better than 175's! 9/12/2005

I left the station completely forgetting that the Pendolino drag was due and was just able to see it from the pier end. All the Summer clutter is prominent and work continues on the launching slip. Just to make matters worse, as I drove back along the promenade, the recently reliveried 175110 passed me en route East. 9/12/2005

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57312 "The Hood" was parked up adjacent to platform 12. 03/12/2005

Crewe station in December - not the best place to be, especially when you have braved the bitter winds and driving rain to see a 47 hauled charter that didn't exist! Anyway, may as well take some shots while I was there. This is 150245 in ARRIVA livery coming off the Shrewsbury line. 03/12/2005

This is 158818 in similar livery. 03/12/2005

A Super Voyager entered platform 12 from the Chester line and terminated. It sat for the best part of an hour with its five diesel engines running.........

.........before returning to the North Wales coast and Llandudno. The unit was 221107 "Sir Martin Frobisher". 03/12/2005

Now well established on the Birmingham-Liverpool runs, class 390 number 390109 enters the station en route for Liverpool. I may have said it before but these units are so quiet and wow! can they accelerate. But why do they make that ridiculous chiming noise? 03/12/2005

66086 passed through centre road heading North with a train of empty EWS hoppers. NOT the best of days at Crewe but probably a sign of the times. 03/12/2005

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A murky day at Crewe as a Pendolino waits to depart from platform 6 en route for Glasgow. 1/12/2005

The sound of a diesel engine and 47853 "Rail Express" crept to a halt in platform 11. 1/12/2005

It was only when I saw a tail lamp being attached that I realised what was happening - there was one on the rear and the train was going out the other way. 1/12/2005

A quick (!) dash down platform 12 to hear a roar and two 47's went charging out - the first one was, I think, 47839 with 47815 "Great Western" tucked in behind. Both locomotives were under power. 1/12/2005

Still parked on the former diesel depot was 47829 in police livery. 1/12/2005

Also in the yard looking very sorry for itself was 37889 with 56077 to its right. 1/12/2005

Pendolino 390024 came out of the gloom en route for London Euston. 1/12/2005

And the times they are a changing as 153323 left Crewe for Chester on shuttle duty. 1/12/2005