After the last two days travels today’s been a much quieter one here at Bigland Towers as I’ve barely moved from home, so it’s a short blog from me tonight. Most of the day’s been taken up with editing and captioning all the pictures I’ve been talking, plus catching up with shots I took in Turkey. You can find the pictures in various galleries. Here’s links to Avanti West Coast, Northern, Trans-Pennine Express and Transport for Wales. There’s also additions to the infrastructure and railway stations galleries plus the UK travel section. The new updates take my Zenfolio website over the 83,000 picture mark – and there’s still plenty of archive material to add, but next up will be a new gallery dedicated to Turkish rail operations.
Now all those are out of the way I can concentrate on other activities although I’m not sure if I’ll be travelling again this week as we’re heading into the next tranche of rail strikes, plus the weather’s looking decidedly mixed. We’ll see. I’ll certainly be out and about next week as I’ve commissions that will take me to Bingley and the Settle and Carlisle line as well as the Nottingham area.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was actually taken yesterday during my visit to Llandudno Junction. This is one of Transport for Wales new CAF built trains, 197002 working 2D69, the 1414 Llandudno to Llandudno Junction. On arrival at the Junction and after a layover, it formed a service East to Manchester Airport.
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Heading East I caught a train as far as Abergele and Pensarn which is another favorite photo location from the 2000s when I spent a week or so staying in the area to get pictures for the first Lonely Planet guide to Wales. God, that seems such a long time ago as so much has changed since. The days when you could make money out of travel photography seem long gone, but at least the rail shots I took have historic value. I’ll add the shots I took at Abergele at a later stage.
08:45.
I’ve escaped the Pennines once again today. After some thought and looking through the list of pictures I need to get for clients I’ve decided to make the most of the good weather and head to the Welsh border and onto the North Wales coast. So, to that end, I’m now on the handy 08:22 from Sowerby Bridge direct to the gateway to Wales – Chester.
Today the train’s formed of a 3-car CAF built class 195 – and it’s busy with people travelling to work in Manchester.
There’s few seats left and we haven’t reached Hebden Bridge or Todmorden yet. I’ve managed to bag an airline seat but I’m hoping to grab a table after Manchester Victoria so that I can set up the mobile office and do some work as we don’t arrive in Chester until 10:00.
As usual, I’ll be blogging on and off throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to – and where…
08:55.
Having stopped at Rochdale where the platforms were surprisingly empty of custom (another service was 10 mins ahead of us) we’re now on the outskirts of Manchester where a depressing number of clouds are muscling in on the blue skies…
09:10.
As expected, the train emptied out at Victoria, allowing me to dive forward and secure a table just behind the driver’s cab. With the laptop plugged in and powered up and a connection to the wifi secured i’m all set up for the rest of the trip to Chester.
As I needed to use the loo – and out of interest – I’ve walked through the entire train to do a headcount. There’s 31 passengers aboard. Judging by the number of folks using laptops many are working. Others appear to be students, and a few leisure travellers (one woman’s carrying a bag full of plants). Interesting, the gender balance is over 80% female. Of the handful of males aboard there’s a retired gent who’s bus-spotter (I know that by the pictures he’s reviewing on his camera) a couple of Asian lads, a businessman – and me.
09:45.
We’ve now called at and left Warrington Bank Quay station where we threaded our way through Arpley yard and stabling point. This was once a thriving place where coal trains from Scotland and elsewhere reversed before heading along the low-level line to Fidlers Ferry power station. Now the power station’s closed and the coal traffic’s disappeared. There’s still some old coal wagons in store here and a few remain in service carrying other heavy loads, but the majority have gone for scrap, leaving the yard much quieter, although DB still had several locos on the stabling point or shunting. To the East of the yards where factories once stood a huge housing estate is rising. I often wonder where people who will inhabit these places actually work, having displaced industry.
10:07.
That was a turn-up for the books! I’d antiicipated having around 20 mins in Chester but after grabbing a couple of pictures I heard the sound of a locomotive arriving at the adjacent platform 4. To my surprise a TfW Class 67 hauling a rake of ex-Grand Central Mk4s (acquired for the abortive Blackpool service killed by Covid) which remain in black but with TfW branding.
The crew were changing ends and an enquiry with a Dispatcher established this was a late-running Cardiff- Holyhead service (AKA ‘Gerald’) calling at Llandudno Junction – happy days!
TfW contrasts. A single-car Class 153 rests in the bay whilst 67012 waits to head to Holyhead with the late-running service from Cardiff.
12:50.
Time to catch my breath back after a very quick visit to Holyhead. I hadn’t intended heading this far West but as the weather was so good and the train so comfortable I thought what the hell. Besides, it’s nice to visit Holyhead in the daylight and not preparing to bed down in a rake of coaches in the sidings, which is my usual modus operendi as part of ‘3 peaks by rail’. That will be next month! Besides, the relaid sidings at Holyhead are playing host to ranks of stored TfW class 175s, which is worth a picture.
Off to pastures new soon?
By pure co-incidence and the power of social media I found an old friend was also in Holyhead. Jon Veitch and his wife Tina were in town, so Jon and I quickly met up between trains.
Now I’m on Avanti’s 12:46 heading for Llandudno Junction. This service is operated by an ex ‘Virgin Voyager’ (221117 to be exact). They’re not everyone’s cup of tea but they’re due to be replaced by new trains from Hitachi, which have just gone on test.
14:15.
I’m now at Llandudno Junction to get a few more pics and update on old magazine cover. I’ve ‘fond’ memories of this place as a kid from family holidays to Anglesey where my mum had family. We had plenty of time to admire the likes of Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction and Conwy in those days of the late 60s-early 70s – because we spent so much time in my Dad’s car stuck in miles-long traffic jams, going nowhere fast. Not a problem by rail…
221117 at Llandudno Junction on its way to London Euston. The Holyhead crew will work this diagram out and back.
17:20.
Now, where was I? I really enjoyed my break at Llandudno and wander towards Conwy as the weather’s superb. It’s a place I’ve more recent fond memories as Dawn and I came here a few years ago, aalking along the estuary from Llandudno to enjoy some superb Mussels served on Conwy Quay as part of a food festival. Here’s how things looked today.
17:37.
Right now I’m at Rhyl – another place from childhood memories but not a place I ever remember exploring by either road or rail. It has some family history from the days of ‘Mods and Rockers’ when one of my brothers was very much on the ‘rockers’ side and the place was infamous for pitched battles between the two.
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I’m on my way home after a very busy day testing new trains for RAIL magazine along with an old friend and colleague – Pip Dunn. I can’t go into any detail about what we experienced (obviously) as you’ll be able to read about our findings in future editions of the magazine. We’ve checked out two different versions of the same type of train today. Firstly, the CAF built Class 196s for West Midlands Trains (hence us staying in Shrewsbury last night). We tried out their 4-car trains that have been introduced on the route from Shrewsbury to Birmingham New St. We tried two different class 196s between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton. That job done we moved location. Pip had come by car as travelling to our next destination would have been time-consuming by rail. Instead, we drove through foggy Shropshire to join the A5 to head to Wales. Amazingly, the weather changed en-route. Once we were West of Llangollen the fog cleared, and we were treated to clear blue skies and sunshine all the way to Llandudno. There we swapped the car for a trip on a Transport for Wales 2 -car Class 197 to Bleanau Ffestiniog and back. Despite sharing the same bodyshell, traction package and underfloor equipment the two units were very different internally – as you’ll find out if you read the articles. What I will show you now is a couple of external shots.
The four-car commuter version for West Midlands Railway, seen at Shrewsbury after a run from Birmingham.The two-car, longer-distance version for Transport for Wales, seen at Llandudno. The interior is very different to the unit pictured above. These units are wasted on the Ffestiniog branch as they’re configured for mainline running.
On our return from Ffestiniog I bade adieu to Pip at Llandudno Junction as I was heading home by rail whilst Pip had another little job to do for his other passion – HGVs. I ended up on a packed 2-car TfW (Transport for Wales) Class 158 all the way to Chester. The North Wales Coast line’s very scenic as it hugs the coast. Except when it’s a winter’s evening like today when you can’t see a bloody thing!
At Chester I had time for a swift pint in the pub across the road from the station – which was packed as it’s a Friday evening – before catching my train home. I’m now sat in the lead car of yet another CAF built unit, this time a Northern Class 195/0. Only this one seems to have square wheels! There’s a noticeable wheel flat on the front bogie (which I’m sat over) which is painful at slow speed but bearable at line speed.
Despite the wheel flat I’ve had a productive journey as far as Manchester as I had a table to myself, so managed to get loads of pictures edited. Tat changed at Manchester Victoria where the commuter and Christmas shopper hordes were waiting for my train to take ’em home. Now we’re rammed, so it’s time to sign off for now, but I will leave you with one last shot of rather older traction. The ‘leafbuster’ trains are still very much in evidence due to a late autumn and I caught this over-powered example at Chester yesterday.
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We’ve had a wet evening here in Fishguard and when I woke up and looked out of the window this morning little had improved. There’s heavy grey cloud closing us in and more rain forecast. Just as well that I’m going straight back to Cardiff on the first train! I’m staying down the road from Goodwick station so the plan is to catch the first train from there (the 07:38) into the Harbour station and begin my return journey from the port.
Right now It’s time to enjoy a coffee and pack. See you soon…
08:30.
I’m now traversing Pembrokeshire on the 07:51 from Fishguard Harbour – where I was the only passenger!
The port was deserted and so was the harbour apart from a solitary cruise ship that (judging by the lack of lights) that’s laid up. What was interesting was the absence of any HGVs. Is this a result of Brexit and the fact many ferry companies are now running services that bypass the UK and sail straight from one EU country to another? I watched last night’s ferry unload and there were plenty of cars coming off it, but again an absence of lorries.
My train’s slowly picking up passengers as we head West, a handful at each stop bar Whitland, where no-one joined.
10:33.
I’m on the last leg into Cardiff now and this train’s been rammed since Carmarthen. There’s a huge number of young backpackers around (has there been a festival?) as well as lots of families with several children. Add in the rucksacks and suitcases and there’s little room left – although there are some bikes aboard too! I’m looking forward to bailing at Cardiff and the chance to stretch my legs…
Carmarthen earlier where my train paused to reverse. This give folk chance to grab a coffee or sandwich from the locally run station cafe.
13:30.
My visit to Cardiff was all to brief. My train was late and held outside the starion waiting for a free platform so I missed my planned connection to take me up to Taffs Well, the site of the new TfW tram/train depot. As the weather was mizzly I acted on a whim. Sat in the next platform was ‘Castle’ class short HST bound for Penzance – stopping at every blade of grass on the way. But, it would get me to my next port of call (Bristol) sooner so I hopped aboard.
The ‘Great Western’ lives on in various different ways (and eras) in this picture taken earlier.
After 50 mins of picture taking around Bristol I caught the train I’m on now, the 12:45 Cross-Country service to Plymouth which is worked by one of their HST sets, so that’s two in a row – in 2022! The journey’s proving to be really interesting, but you’ll have to read my articles in RAIL to find out why…
21.45.
Sorry for the gaps in my progress but it’s been another busy day where I’ve often been too busy picture and not-taking to blog. I’m now back in Exeter at my hotel for the night after visiting Plymouth before heading off to Cornwall for a trip on the Liskeard to Looe branch, a route I’ve not traversed for many years. Afterwards I made my way back West via a variety of trains and a stopover in Dawlish to have a look at how the new seawall has changed a famous site for railway photography. Sadly, the weather at Dawlish was lousy for getting anything more than record shots. I’ve had some really busy trains tonight as tourists flock to Cornwall and Devon, and I’ve had some quiet ones heading in the opposite direction. Still, it’s all grist to the mill.
Tomorrow I’ll be heading West and some very different railways. Stay with me to see what I get up to…
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I’ve spent my last night at home for several days. Now I’ve an extra bag to add to my kit as I prepare to head off this morning. As a consequence I’m getting a lift to the station off Dawn as starting off a long day as a hot, sweaty mess is never a good idea!
Besides, the weather’s not particularly good right now – even if it’s beautiful. Tendrils of cloud have infiltrated the valley below, enveloping Sowerby Bridge and threatening rain.
The view from our bedroom window is a window on an ever-changing world…
Now I’m at Halifax station, waiting for my forst train of the day which will carry me to nearby Huddersfield. This service was introduced over 20 years ago now, bringing back to life a disused freight line from Greetland Junction to Salterhebble Jn and providing a direct rail link between Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield. It was hourly but the recent DfT cut-backs have reduced it to two-hourly. This and the fact the train is often cancelled have made it impossible to rely on, damaging passenger numbers and the railways reputation. It’s daft as it saves just a single 2-car train plus Driver and Conductor.
09:00.
Ah – the ‘good old days’ are back. I’m now on a hot, and late 3-car Trans-Pennine service heading for Manchester. We had an extra couple of pax from Marsden. The doors in the front car didn’t open (SDO I assume) but no-one announced the fact so one man and his dog couldn’t get off before we pulled out!
14:00. Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve been a busy bee! Since the last update I’ve passed through Manchester and Liverpool, crossed the Mersey to the Wirral and made my way South into Wales at Wrexham. Right now I’m South of Craven Arms on the Welsh borders heading down via Ludlow, Hereford and Abergavenny to Cardiff. I’ve had a variety of weather on the way but managed to stay dry. Fortunately, the problems Network Rail had yesterday when they were forced to shut this line due to a shortage of signallers have been rectified today. Even so, I’m not taking any chances by stopping off en-route! I’ve a long way to travel to get to my hotel for the night so discretion’s the better part of valour!
21:30.
More apologies for the gaps in the blog. I’m on my final trip of the day right now, the 21:03 service from Carmarthen to Fishguard Harbour and the end of the line until tomorrow.
I made it to Cardiff without incident and spent a couple of hours around the city’s railways, appreciating just how much has changed. The ‘Pacers’ are all gone now. In their place is a real mixture of hand-me-down units. There’s ex-Anglia 170s, Thames Valley Class 165s and even a Northern liveried Class 150/2 on loan. Then there’s the Class 769s, converted from former Thameslink Class 319s. It’s very strange seeing these former 100mph electric units with their pantographs removed and running on diesel power. I tried a trip on one up the bank from Central to Queen street which it made very heavy weather of. Having spent time photographing these beasties I headed for Swansea on a GWR Class 803, then swapped to a pair of Class 153s for the leg to Carmarthen. TfW are the only company operating these in regular passenger service nowadays and they certainly bring back memories. Here’s a couple of pictures from the day.
769002 stands at Cardiff Central earlier today.Double “dogboxes” at Swansea before working the 19:34 to Carmarthen.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Well, what can I say about today that doesn’t read like a teenagers diary (got up, had breakfast etc)? It’s been bloody cold, there’s still snow on the ground and I’ve performed many of the same actions that I’ve performed most days for the past few months. Yep, it’s just another lockdown ‘Groundhog Day’. The only difference being the other members of our bubble (Dawn’s parents) popped over as John wanted to replace an element in our cooker. Like many ‘simple’ jobs, it proved to be anything but – especially as John’s 86 and was doing the sort of job a lot of far younger (and less fit) guys would struggle with! Aided and abetted by his wife Norah they go the job done but we did feel guilty for letting them choosing this way to repay us for the help we’ve been happy to give them.
Meanwhile, Dee and I cracked on with day jobs. Part of mine has provided the picture of the day. I took this shot in Beaumaris, Anglesey on the 26th October 2000. I was touring parts of North Wales at the time ticking off pictures from a shot-list for a forthcoming Lonely Planet guide to Wales. Many of the shots I took were used although this one wasn’t but it still remains a favourite. Partially because I have family connections with the town, but also because I love the light.
Looking down the pier at Beaumaris across the Menai strait to Snowdonia.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
This morning the wind woke us up before the alarm clock got its chance! Our little refuge is getting a battering from the elements and as I made coffee the rain arrived, drenching the windows, making it difficult to see more than a few metres. A bush on the edge of the property provided a useful wind gauge as I could watch it shivering as each gust hit. I pity any birds planning on nesting right now! Stormy weather no longer seems unusual nowadays, it’s become the norm – a worrying thought.
We’re driving back to Yorkshire today, which might be ‘fun’. The weather forecast has just appeared on the TV news and heavy snow is predicted for the North – and not just limited to high ground. Our plans for doing some sightseeing before we head home may have to be binned…
09:45.
Packing the car in a howling gale was fun but at least the rain has abated and nothing got blown away. We’re now ready to sally forth from the warmth of our little retreat and brave the elements to indulge in a spot of weather-watching. Our first stop was just outside Beaumaris, where we spent some time observing a pair of vessels fishing close to shore in the Menai Strait, which was at high tide. This isn’t a sight you can normally get so close to. Watching them zig-zag up and down over a small area of the strait as they deployed and collected their dredging nets was really quite interesting. We worked out that they were probably after shellfish, but we’d no idea what. It was only when I looked up this trawler on the internet that the answer was revealed. Mussels.
According to internet records, the Belfast registered Mare Gratia is a 43 metre long, 315 gross tonnes mussel dredger built in Holland in 2003. The boat’s been a regular visitor to Wales for many years.
I’d hoped to have got some more shots of life around the Strait and the suspension bridge but the combination of high tide and low cloud didn’t lend itself to the sort of shots that I had in mind. Ah, well – we’re just going to have to come back another time! Mind you, as we’re planning to have a crack at that Penrhyn Quarry zip-wire in the summer…
12:20.
We’ve made our way back through the Ogwyn valley to Betws-y-Coed and boy is it wet! It was bad enough around the town itself, but then we headed North up the Conwy valley to get back to the coast and really hit the flooding. This is the B5106 across the valley to Llanrwst! The valley’s effectively been cut in half as this is one of only two few river crossings between Betwys and Conwy.
Here’s another view showing how badly the river Conwy has burst its banks. The actual bridge over the river is that hump in the road in the distance! Here’s the fields to the left of the last picture. The fields are flooded to a depth of 1-1.2 metres. There’s a hell of a lot of water out there.
18:30.
We’ve made it home with little incident, despite the weather. Once we left the Conwy valley the weather actually brightened up and for a period we actually had some sunshine! Even so, the countryside on both sides of the border was absolutely sodden. I’ve never seen so many flooded fields.
Bowling along the M62 we were fine until we passed Manchester when the leaden skies opened once again. Leaving the motorway at Ripponden the roads resembled lakes as the water was running off the hills in torrents. The only consolation was that the torrential rain had washed away the dusting of snow the area had received first thing this morning. We didn’t see any, which was a relief.
The pair of us are now relaxing at home in the warm, unpacking our kit and grateful the journey back wasn’t as fraught as it could have been.
Tomorrow I abandon the roads (flooded or otherwise) to get back on the rails as I’m heading back to London for the George Bradshaw address tomorrow evening at the IMechE. It’s always a great excuse to catch-up and gossip with friends and colleagues from the rail industry and media and – more often than not – hear from an interesting speaker. I’m staying overnight at the home of a friend, so my trip will allow me to fill some picture requests from clients and catch up with the latest changes to the capitals rail network, which I’ve neglected recently as there’s been so much happening up in the North. At least the weather in my old home’s looking better than it has been here in the North recently so the camera should be kept busy. No doubt there’ll also be time for a rolling blog…
The pair of us have had a relaxing day after last night’s partying but as the weather picked up we took the opportunity to explore. Thanks to Dawn I got to go to places old and new. Places that (as someone who doesn’t drive) I’d never normally get to.
We started off on territory that was very familiar to me because of family connections and childhood memories: Beaumaris. It’s a tiny but tidy little place that’s blessed with a rather impressive Georgian apartment block fronting the Menai Straits that rather sets the scene. Mind you, the old castle which dates from 1295 but was never completed also sets the place apart as a small town that punches well above its weight when it comes to buildings and architecture.
This property is a grade 1 listed building and a property here can set you back around £600,000! That said, for that price you will get 6 bedrooms and a Butler’s pantry!
We discovered something a little more to our tastes and price bracket in the narrow streets behind where we found the Little Chilli shop. It’s an Aladdin’s cave for those who love chilli’s and the myriad culinary uses they can be put to. It’s well worth a visit and we came away with a variety of chutney’s and jams.
After popping in to say hello to the party crew from last night we headed off to Red Wharf Bay which has a stunning beach that’s well worth visiting. Whilst we were there I encountered this avian critter which was a bird I’d never seen before. After posting the picture on Twitter I found out why. Apparently, it’s a Snow Bunting. You don’t get ’em in my neck of the woods as they’re coastal birds that nest way up North and the UK population isn’t exactly massive.
The bay’s a huge expanse of beach that’s very popular as it’s ideal for a long stroll, beach-combing, bird-watching, walking the dogs or simply enjoying the sea air and the great outdoors.
Moving on we decided to explore the coast further North and drove as far as Amlwch, a place I’d never visited before. The landscape here features the remains of an industry I’d never even knew had existed on the island – copper mining. Amlwch was an old industrial centre that boasted a small harbour and a freight only railway line that carried freight to/from the Associated Octel works until 1993 when the traffic transferred to road. Despite being unused since, the line remains mostly intact. There’s been talk of it reopening as a tourist line for many years but nothing’s ever come of it. Here’s some pictures of what’s left.
Here’s where the railway crosses the A5025 in central Amlwch. There’s several flat crossings in the town. ‘Eliseg’ an old 40hp Fowler built Diesel shunter from 1939 and an LMS Brake van sit rusting at Llanerchymedd, where the old railway station’s been converted into a community café. The locomotive was acquired from the Llangollen Railway in 2008 but it was in an unserviceable condition due to frost damage to its engine. Moss covers the rusting rails at the old station in Llangefni which has been converted into a private dwelling. All the stations on the line were single platforms like this.
We’ve had a hugely enjoyable time here on Anglesey but tomorrow it’s time to leave and head home, so I’ll end this blog for now and update it with some more information as soon as I can and links to the rest of the pictures I’ve taken during our visit. Weather permitting, we’ll take our time getting home tomorrow, so there should be more pictures to add…
I’m not sure how far I’ll get with a rolling blog today but nothing ventured nothing gained. The stormy conditions we experienced yesterday abated overnight. When we pulled back the curtains this morning it was to a view of clearing skies and sunshine breaking out across the island. From the elevated height of our airBnB we can look out across the Menai Strait across to the mainland and Snowdonia. As usual, the mountains maintain thir own microclimate and remain shrouded in dark cloud, leaving them looking forbidding, rather like something out of Tolkien but even there the wather seems to be changing – which is just as well as we’re going to be heading out that way in an hour or two. Let’s see what happens…
Here’s a long-lens shot taken from where we’re staying. In the foreground are the roofs of Beaumaris whilst across the Menai Straits you can see Penrhyn Castle poking out of the woodland.
11:25.
We’ve had a lazy morning enjoying an unhurried breakfast whilst admiring the views from our accommodation and watching the weather change yet again. The early promise of sunshine has disappeared. Now the winds have returned along with the clouds, but we’re not going to let it get in our way or spoil the day, the sunshine was a bonus anyway as the forecast was always ‘iffy’. We’re about to venture out and enjoy exploring for a few hours before the party this evening…
14:40.
Back on the mainland we’ve popped in to ‘Zip world’ just outside Bethesda. Here in the old Penrhyn quarry is the UK’s longest zipwire and I have to say it looks both impressive – and fun. The pair of us want to have a go, but in much better weather than today.
Here’s the shorter zipwire with four people having the experience
We’d ventured back onto the mainland to head to Betwys-y-Coed and the many outdoor shops the village contains as competition’s cut-throat and there’s normally a bargain to be had. True enough, I managed to get a new pair of Brasher walking boots with over £40 knocked off the price. We’ve not been back to the place for several years, so we were both surprised to see that several of the outdoor shops had closed down. The place seemed tattier and far less busy than on our last visits, but then I suppose it is only February.
The journey there was gorgeous as the old A5 trunk road passes through the rugged and scenic Ogwyn valley, a place I’ve fond memories of going back to the late 1970s. In those days a farmer would let you stay inn his barn for 50p a night. It was minimal facilities but maximum privacy and the ideal place to take adventurous girlfriends – although the walk to the many pubs in Bethesda was a killer – especially because by the time you’d walked back you’d pretty much sobered up!
Here’s how the head of the valley looked today.
Right now we’re back in our refuge on Ynys Mon, preparing for the day’s second chapter – our friends birthday party.
Postscript.
It’s now the morning after the night before and a fab time was had by all.
Today we’re exploring Anglesey, so I’ll add a blog and pictures later.
I’ve been busy these past few days scanning more old slides. It feels like a never-ending job as – despite how many I get done – the pile never seems to decline much! There’s still thousands to do, but here’s a look at the latest batch.
Back in May 2000 I left London for a few days to spend time on the North Wales Coast and Anglesey exploring the region taking travel pictures as that was my main focus in those days, the railway stuff was just incidental. Now, looking back I realise just how much has changed since 2000. The irony? The railways were on the cusp of a major change then, as some of the first new trains following privatisation were being introduced in the area. 27 Class 175 DMU’s were being built by Alstom for First North-Western whilst Class 170s were being supplied by Bombardier to Central Trains. Meanwhile, the ‘old guard’ in the form of Class 37s and Metro-Cammell Class 101 DMUs soldiered on operating services along the coast. Now, in 2019 even the trains introduced in 2000 are going to be replaced! The new Transport for Wales franchise will be saying goodbye to the Class 175s in the next couple of years, just over 20 years since they were introduced! Gone are the days when steam locomotives were still in service 100 years after introduction, although in another irony, the Class 37/4s have been reintroduced into Wales as a stopgap, this time into the Welsh valleys once more.
Here’s a small selection of the photographs I took on the trip.
DRS class 20s at Chester whilst working 7C40, the Valley-Kingmoor nuclear flasks.A First North-Western Class 158 working a service to Holyhead passes Conwy Castle. This is one of the classic photographic locations on the North Wales Coast.37415 approaches Conwy castle whilst working 1D60, the 08.17 Crewe – Holyhead. 37429 passes Conwy castle with 1D62, the 08.08 Birmingham New St – Holyhead. A seagull uses a Class 101 DMU as a perch at Llandudno Junction. Unit 101678 was made up of vehicles 51210 and 53746. These Metro-Cammell units stayed in service until 2003.New Class 175 number 175003 is seen sitting on the Down Main next to Abergele and Pensarn signalbox whilst on test runs along the coast. 37429 powers away from Abergele and Pensarn whilst working 1K67, the 12.51 Holyhead – Crewe. Also seen at Abergele and Pensarn is this classic shot from a nearby footbridge showing the unusual semaphore arrangement on the Down line as 150133 passes on the 12.16 Manchester Piccadilly – Llandudno. These signals lasted until Easter 2018 when they were replaced as part of the £50m resignalling scheme that saw the traditional signalboxes between Colwyn Bay and Shotton abolished.37415 runs round its train at Holyhead before heading back into England as 1D99, the 18.22 to Birmingham. 37415 rolls past Holyhead signalbox whilst working 1D99. The North Wales featured a fine array of signalboxes. This is the one at Mold Junction which lasted until 2005. Class 101s stabled at Chester station. From left to right is 53746, 51210 and 53256. Virgin trains Class 47 number 47818 stands at Chester whilst working the 17.30 Euston to Holyhead.Brand new Bombardier built Class 170 number 170635 is seen at Chester whilst on test. Waterman Railways Class 47 number 47705 named ‘Guy Fawkes’ stabled at Chester. In 2003 the locomotive was rebuilt as part of the Virgin Trains ‘Thunderbird’ programme and become 57303.
Paul Bigland 