Trip to Holyhead (Part 1: Crewe to Llandudno)Below are further notes on the railway, in the past and today.
Trip to Holyhead (Part 2: Llandudno to Holyhead)
The Importance of the Port of Holyhead
The significance of Holyhead at least partly results from the Acts of Union of 1800 (one in England, one in Ireland) which formally created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following this Union, Parliamentarians with Irish constituencies regularly travelled between Dublin and London and ease of crossing of the Irish Sea and using roads to London became important. Holyhead gave the shortest sea crossing and it offered a safe harbour. But the roads to London at the time were dreadful and involved a ferrycrossing of the Menai Strait. So Thomas Telford was commissioned to build or improve the road from London to Holyhead. The ferry to Anglesey was replaced by the Menai Suspension Bridge. Here, the Admiralty insisted on 100 foot headroom above the water for their ships. Completion of this bridge allowed the whole road from London to Holyhead to open in 1826. The road also became the route for mail to and from Ireland. With the coming of railways, it was clear that Holyhead, in order to keep its role as the preferred route to Ireland, should be served by the railways.
Development of the Railways in North Wales
Once the Grand Junction Railway had linked the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to the London and Birmingham Railway, Crewe became the obvious starting point for a branch to Chester. The Chester and Crewe Railway Company built the 11-mile branch with Robert Stephenson as the Engineer and Thomas Brassey as the Contractor. Before the line opened in 1840, the Chester and Crewe Railway Company had been absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway.
In 1840, a separate railway linking Chester and Birkenhead also opened.
The political infighting between different railway companies seeking to extend the railway beyond Chester into North Wales delayed the start of work. The Chester and Holyhead Railway prevailed and, with Robert Stephenson appointed as engineer, building started at Chester in 1845. The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, having made a junction with the Chester and Holyhead at Saltney Jn. (less than two miles from Chester) actually ran the first trains on the Chester and Holyhead Railway, using the new line between Saltney Jn. and Chester under an agreement.
An early scheme to haul railway coaches by horse over Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge to reach Anglesey was impractical, so the Chester and Holyhead Railway had to construct its own bridge across the Menai Strait. This presented a number of technical problems (the same 100 foot headroom as Telford's bridge had to be provided). Stephenson developed the idea of a tubular beam with Eaton Hodgkinson and William Fairbairn. The tubular beam was first proved on the Conwy Railway Bridge, which covered a shorter span and only had to provide 18 feet headroom above the water.
With the Up rectangular tube of the Conwy Railway Bridge completed and inspected, the service from Chester to Bangor (just under 60 miles) started in 1848. In the same year, the train service from Holyhead to Llanfair P.G. was started with road coaches over the Menai Suspension Bridge temporarily completing the 'missing link' from Llanfair P.G. to Bangor. The first named train - 'The Irish Mail' - started to run and the Chester and Holyhead Railway's fleet of paddle steamers operated the Irish Sea Crossing. The following year, the Down tube of the Conwy Railway Bridge was completed, leaving only the challenge of the bridge to Anglesey.
The railway bridge to Anglesey - the Britannia Bridge - was designed by Robert Stephenson and, like the Conwy Railway Bridge described above, also used wrought iron rectangular tubes. By October 1850, the 'missing link' was fully commissioned. The cost of the Britannia Bridge had been three times budget and 19 lives were lost during construction.
The cost overruns had made the finances of the Chester and Holyhead Railway difficult. The trains were run by the L&NWR from the start and, despite commercial initiatives by Morton Peto to increase revenue, the L&NWR acquired the whole railway in 1859.
The Route
The gradients on the route from Crewe to Holyhead are not too difficult, as the diagram below shows. From Crewe, the line crosses the Cheshire Plain to Chester, generally descending. Beyond Chester, the line follows the estuary of the Dee and then takes the coastal plain along the North Wales Coast only a few feet above sea level. In places, the railway becomes squeezed towards the sea, requiring sea walls which need maintenance even today. Further west, the railway climbs and there are some tunnels. Bangor station, in particular, is set between two tunnels. At the Britannia Bridge, the railway is over 100 feet above sea level and the route onwards to Holyhead is undulating.
Click here for a larger versionGradient Diagram, Crewe to Holyhead.
Traffic Growth
Under the care of the L&NWR, traffic on the route grew, benefitting greatly from holiday and excursion traffic as the English discovered the joys of the seaside. Double track sufficed between Holyhead and Llandudno Junction and between Chester and Crewe but, to cope with seasonal holiday traffic, by 1914 most of the line from Llandudno Junction to Chester had been quadrupled. Only the sections Colwyn Bay No. 1 - Llandulas and Muspratts Sidings - Connah's Quay No. 1 remained as double track. The 4-track sections are listed below:-
Llandudno Jn. No.1 - Colwyn Bay No.1: US, UF, DF, DSIn general, the 4-track sections were paired by direction but, at Mold Jn. No.1, the lines were transposed to paired by use up to Chester No. 4.
Llandulas - Muspratts Sidings: US, UF, DF, DS
Connah's Quay No.1 - Mold Jn. No.1: US, UF, DF, DS
Mold Jn. No.1 - Chester No. 4: UF, DF, US, DS
Holyhead to Crewe in the 1950s
Holyhead Station in steam days (Photo: 'A Pictorial Record of L.M.S. Architecture' by V. R. Anderson and G. K. Fox.
When I first knew the route, post-war holiday traffic was still healthy and the line was controlled by semaphore signals, manual signal boxes (generally of L&NWR pattern) and Absolute Block working. The signal boxes are listed below:-
HolyheadThere are detailed diagrams for these signal boxes in the 1950s in the excellent publication from the Signalling Record Society 'British Railways Layout Plans of the 1950's' - 'Volume 10: LNW Lines in North Wales, Chester and Wirral areas' (ISBN: 1-873228-12-0).
Valley
Ty Croes
Bodorgan
Gaerwen No.2
Gaerwen No.1
Llanfair P.G.
Menai Bridge
Bangor No.2
Bangor No.1
Bethesda Jn.
Penrhyn Siding
Tairmeibion
Aber
Llanfairfechan
Penmaenmawr
Conway Morfa
Conway
Llandudno Jn. No.2
Llandudno Jn. No.1
Mochdre & Pabo
Colwyn Bay No.2
Colwyn Bay No.1
Old Colwyn
Llysfaen
Llandulas
Abergele
Foryd Jn.
Rhyl No.2
Rhyl No.1
Rhyl Sands
Prestatyn
Nant Hall (Down lines only)
Talacre
Mostyn
Holywell Jn.
Bagillt
Muspratts Sidings
Flint
Pentre Sidings
Rockliffe Hall
Connah's Quay No.2 (closed 1953)
Connah's Quay No.1
Queensferry
Dundas Sidings
Sandycroft
Mold Jn. No.2
Mold Jn. No.1
Saltney Jn.
Crane Street
Chester No.6
Chester No.4
Chester No.3A
Chester No.3
Chester No.2
Chester No.1
Tattenhall Jn.
Tattenhall Road
Brassey
Beeston Castle & Tarporley
Calveley
Wardle
Worleston
Crewe Steel Works
Crewe North Junction
More information on Menai Bridge station can be found in 'LMS Branch Lines in North Wales Volume 1' reference [3].
Llandudno Jn. (and Llandudno) are shown in 'An Historical Survey of Selected LMS Stations' reference [4].
'Recollections of a Steam Era (1950-1966)' reference [2] gives general coverage, particularly in the Llandudno area.
'A Pictorial Record of L.M.S. Architecture' reference [5] has various photographs along the line.
'A Historical Survey of Chester to Holyhead Railway Track Layouts and Illustrations' reference [6] is a comprehensive collection of track diagrams and photographs of stations along the route.
Holyhead to Crewe in recent times
Holyhead Station in 2014. Compare this view with the picture in steam days above.
As car and coach travel grew, the demand for trains reduced. The British also discovered that foreign holidays could provide more reliable sun. The impressive railway infrastructure which had allowed large numbers of holidaymakers to be transported was either reduced or abandoned.
Double track remains from Holyhead to Crewe (apart from about one mile over the Menai Bridge which has been singled).
The number of signal boxes in use has been slashed from 65 in the 1950s to 17 in 2014. In general, however, the 1950s methods of working with semaphore signals, mechanical operation of points and Absolute Block Signalling are still in use. The remaining signal boxes are listed below.
HolyheadFor details of the line in 2014, refer to 'Railway Track Diagrams Book 4: Midlands & North West', Third Edition, published by Trackmaps (ISBN: 978-0-9549866-7-4).
Valley
Gaerwen
Bangor
Penmaenmawr
Llandudno Jn.
Abergele & Pensarn
Rhyl
Prestatyn
Talacre
Mostyn
Holywell Jn.
Rockliffe Hall
Chester P.S.B.
Beeston Castle & Tarpoley
Crewe Steelworks
Crewe S.C.C.
There are brief notes on the remaining signal boxes below.
The basic structure of the L.M.S. Composite Signal Box with a 100-lever frame remains although the structure has been modernised with double glazing and new access stairs. All sets of points are now power operated using 'Clamplock' drives. Signals remain semaphore.
L&NWR pattern all-wooden signal box whose origins are still recognisable despite modern attention. It has a 25-lever Tumbler Frame. The adjacent road crossing was equipped with Manually Controlled Barriers in 1970.
Orignally, there were two signal boxes at Gaerwen. This box (formerly No. 1) was presumably retained because it has an adjacent road crossing now provided with Manually Controlled Barriers. It's an L&NWR Composite design but, like Holyhead above, with more noticeable modernisation. It has a 20-lever L&NWR frame. I visited the box once in the early '90s (before modernisation) and got to signal a couple of trains.
An L&NWR overhanging box that's received lots of structural attention. I think all the points are now power operated, the signals are now colour light and continuous Track Circuiting allows the box to remotely control the points either side and the single line across the Britannia Bridge. The signal box became simply 'Bangor' after No. 1 box at the other end of the station was closed.
I know that's not a signal box (it's the gaily-painted footbridge at Penmaenmawr). I haven't yet taken a picture myself of the post-war brick-built signal box but there's information on 'The Signal Box' site here.
This is a B.R. Standard pattern which replaced three L&NWR boxes - No. 1, No. 2 and Llandudno Junction Crossing. All points are power operated, all signals colour light and the area has comprehensive track circuiting.
This is an L&NWR composite box which still looks 'right' and retains mechanical operation of points. A 60-lever frame was needed to control the four running lines and sidings but now it's double track, a Down Passenger Loop and a few semaphores.
A large L&NWR composite box with modifications but still impressive. It's also listed Grade II! At the other end of the station, the non-operational Rhyl No. 2 survives, also listed Grade II, looking rather odd covered with ivy.
Not the box but the Up Starter, showing the neat arrangement of the signal and associated equipment. There's a Peter Douglas picture of the modernised box here.
This small L&NWR composite box with a 24-lever Tumbler Frame has been modernised with very ugly modern windows.
Limited clearance between the up and down main necessitated the operating floor overhanging the tall, brick locking room and the provision of complicated wooden access steps. Provided with a 40-lever L&NWR Tumbler Frame. Although a Block Post, this box is normally 'switched out'.Photo: Richard Hoare.
An L&NWR composite construction with a 54-lever L&NWR Tumbler Frame now controls double track with Up and Down Goods Loops. Now blessed with very heavy outside landings.
This prefabricated signal box has an undistinguished appearance.
The 'brutalistic' school of design, sadly copied at a number of locations.
L&NWR composite box with a 25-lever Tappet Frame.
A standard L.M.S. box, with a 30-lever L.M.S. frame.
Yes, the red and white building looking like a B&Q Warehouse is the Crewe S.C.C. Book References
[1] 'Railways to the Coast' by Michael H. C. Baker, published by Patrick Stephens (ISBN 1-85260-058-6).
[2] 'Recollections of a Steam Era (1950-1966)' by H. Rogers Jones, published by David Rogers Jones (ISBN: 0-9539720-0-03).
[3] 'LMS Branch Lines in North Wales Volume 1' by W. G. Rear, published by Wild Swan Publications (ISBN 0 906867 37 1).
[4] 'An Historical Survey of Selected LMS Stations' by Dr. R. Preston Hendry & R. Powell Hendry, published by Oxford Publishing Co. (ISBN 0-86093-330-X).
[5] 'A Pictorial Record of L.M.S. Architecture' by V. R. Anderson and G. K. Fox, published by Oxford Publishing Co. (SBN 86093 083 1).
[6] 'A Historical Survey of Chester to Holyhead Railway Track Layouts and Illustrations' by V. R. Anderson and G. K. Fox, published by Oxford Publishing Co. (ISBN 0 86093 216 8).
[7] 'A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales by Peter E Baughan, published by David & Charles (ISBN 0-9153-7850-3).
Related articles on other sites
Chester and Holyhead Railway (Wikipedia).
North Wales Coast Railway.
North Wales Coast Line (Wikipedia).
Signalling Over Wales
Signalling around the Junction Alan Roberts
'Railscot' Chester and Holyhead.
Related posts in this blog
A Trip to the Seaside.
Track Diagrams: Llanfair P.G..
Trip to Holyhead (Part 1: Crewe to Llandudno).
Trip to Holyhead (Part 2: Llandudno to Holyhead).
My pictures
North Wales Line (Crewe - Llandudno).
North Wales Line (Llandudno - Holyhead).
Holyhead railway station.
