Blackpool by rail, Fleetwood and Knott End

On Thursday, 30th June 2022, I made a trip by rail to Blackpool, Fleetwood and Knott End. This was largely a 're-run' of an earlier trip in 2021 described here

I caught the 07:30 bus to Wolverhampton, walked towards the station and, once again, marvelled at the slow progress of the tramway extension to the railway station. For some time, the double tramway track from the existing route stopped at Victoria Square. Then, tracks were laid along railway drive, stopping just short of the destination. Special rail joints were provided either side of the bridge over the Ring Road, presumably to allow for some bridge movement.


West Midland Metro: Flexible rail joint on bridge over Ring Road in Railway Drive, Wolverhampton.

However, recently a number of deep, square holes have been dug adjacent to the tracks along this section, with groups of orange-clad workers often in attendance but the reason for these excavations isn't obvious. Work has also continued with tracklaying on the final section extending to the site of the tram station adjacent to the railway station entrance. This tracklaying is enclosed by two adjacent sets of fencing separated by a narrow walkway to allow public access to and from the railway station. The worksite gates are continually opened and closed as workers and materials move between the two areas.
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Wolverhampton Station: View from station towards the City showing tramway tracks under construction on Railway Drive (Trip to Blackpool)

The obstacle race involved in getting to the station gives an unwelcoming feeling to the area which is compounded inside the building by the bleak internal finish of painted building blocks more suggestive of a prison than a modern transport hub. But I suppose it serves as preparation for the high fares and frequent train cancellations on offer.

The displays showed my train, the 08:37 Edinburgh, as 'On time'. Once on the platform, I used my mobile phone to interrogate Railcam UK (described here) to show the approaching train, reporting number 9S44, near Coseley, but preceded by an all-stations local, terminating at Wolverhampton. As frequently happens, my train was slowed or stopped near Monmore Green, waiting for the local to tuck itself into bay platform 5 before the route could be reset and signal BW4271 cleared for my train to follow into through platform 1, arriving 2 minutes late.

The trainset was an 11-car unit, 390117 named 'Blue Peter', re-liveried since the days of the Virgin Trains franchise but without the re-furbishment carried out by Avanti on some of the sets. I found my seat in coach J near the rear of the train and, as we sped north, I was quickly provided with a cooked breakfast. The staff were friendly and the food was good quality, promptly supplied so I enjoyed the journey. I still consider modern arrangements fall short of earlier standards although my experience of railway restaurant cars only extends back to the 1980s, when many travellers already thought on-train catering a lost cause.

We were back on time approaching Crewe but were brought to a stand briefly at signal CE107 (again, as frequently happens), making our arrival in platform 11 one minute in arrears. Our departure was seven minutes late but I didn't discover the cause. On our journey north with brief station stops at Warrington and Wigan, some time had been made up before Preston where I alighted but I never found out whether I would have made the advertised connection with the 10:09 departure to Blackpool as the platform displays indicated that the train had been cancelled. Following the Covid19 pandemic, typically no apologies are made for frequent cancellations. Fortunately, there was another service at 10:25.

I walked along the straight, broad platform 3 towards the footbtidge admiring, as always, the gabled overall roof. Such structures are often called 'train sheds' which seems a rather mean description. The airiness and sense of space combined with generous admission of daylight I find very appealing. The arched structures at, for instance, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly and York are perhaps better-known but the Preston design is very effective.


Platform 3 at Preston with 9S44 preparing to leave: Trip to Blackpool


Preston platform 3, view looking south from the footbridge with platform 2 on the right: Trip to Blackpool:

The train forward to Blackpool arrived on time from the south comprising two 4-car sets of Class 331 EMU built by CAF in Spain. Although I'd seen Class 331 in various locations this was only my second chance to ride on this class introduced in 2019 (the first was a short trip from Edge Hill to Lime Street described here). The modern interiors are decent standard but I didn't find the ride particularly good on the way to Blackpool. The train formed part of a regular Northern Trains electric service between Hazel Grove (the limit of electrification on the Buxton branch from Stockport) and Blackpool North. My train (reporting number 2N63) had left Hazel Grove at 09:03 and travelled via Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Bolton, Horwich and Chorley before joining the West Coast Main Line to reach Preston. Our arrival at Blackpool North was on time at 10:47.

The pedestrian route from the station to the town remained initially via the rather inconvenient arrangement of narrow ramp and stairs to reach the Talbot Gateway area still dominated by building work. The tram station at Blackpool North was still under construction but, having noted the overhead conductor system had been installed and that the tram signals were lit, I was not surprised as I walked along Talbot Road to the seafront when a tram marked 'Not in Service' passed me. Afterwards, I found out that my visit coincided with a week of testing the new line with empty trams running every ten minutes during the day.


Tram carrying out test running on the new extension along Talbot Road: Trip to Blackpool

There had been a little light rain on my journey along Talbot Road, ignored by lightly-dressed holidaymakers, but this soon stopped as the sun emerged and the day warmed. I joined a few passengers waiting for a northbound tram at the North Pier Tram Station and, after a few minutes wait, one of the fleet of Bombardier 'Flexity' trams arrived. I secured a seat at the front offering a view ahead and, having purchased a return ticket to Fleetwood Ferry from the friendly conductor with a rapid contactless payment, settled down for the eight mile journey punctuated by frequent stops to the northern terminus.

It's just a few yards from the tram terminus across the Esplanade to the ferry and, despite just missing a departing ferry, I couldn't resist wandering around the area whilst waiting for the next departure thirty minutes later, finding one of the 'Heritage' trams awaiting its next trip and then exploring Euston Park, with the North Euston Hotel in the background.


Blackpool 'Heritage' tram on loop line at Fleetwood Ferry: Trip to Blackpool


Euston Park, Fleetwood with the North Euston Hotel background left and the Lower Light background right: Trip to Blackpool

Fleetwood Ferry Port is a substantial square-ended dock which towers over the modern Wyre Estuary Ferry 'Wyre Rose'. A long ramp leads passengers down to board the ferry via a short power-operated gangway mounted on the port side of the ferry.


Fleetwood Ferry Port and 'Wyre Rose': Trip to Blackpool

The ferry is operated by two men - the 'skipper' has an elevated 'pilot house' giving improved visibility, the other looks after mooring, the gangway and collecting fares (cash only, collected in a white plastic bucket).


Wyre Estuary Ferry during the crossing showing gangway in raised position, raised 'pilot house' and white cash bucket: Trip to Blackpool

The crossing takes only a few minutes to Knott End (or Knott End-on-Sea to give its full title) on the far side of the Wyre Estuary where the ferry moors alongside a long concrete slipway leading to the expanded village forming part of Parish of Preesall and Wyre Council. It's an odd mixture of old, not-so-old and modern. There's a cafe and shop aimed at tourists, the Bourne Arms public house and restaurant and a long esplanade looking across the bay with Cumbria to the north but my eye is always drawn to the incongruity of the view of the two nearer nuclear power stations at Heysham.


Knott End-on-Sea: View looking north showing Heysham Nuclear Power Stations with Cumbria in the background (Trip to Blackpool)

A nearby postbox carried a 'postbox topper' celebrating crimefighting in Lancashire, which reminded me of my last sighting of these knitted adornments in Wallasey (mentioned here).


Postbox Topper 'You can run but you can't hide' celebrating Lancashire Constabulary in Knott End-on-Sea (Trip to Blackpool)

I decided not to explore beyond the esplanade with its modern apartment buildings facing the sea so, having recorded the Bourne Arms, I made my way back to the Knott End Cafe and indulged in a vanilla ice cream cornet.


The Bourne Arms, Knott End (Trip to Blackpool)

Although I was well aware that Knott End had formerly been connected to the West Coast Main Line via a single line railway to Garstang, it wasn't until I started to write this report that I realised the Knott End Cafe is actually on the site of Knott End Station. I believe the disused station buildings served as Knott End Cafe for some years before being rebuilt and expanded into the current structure. Refreshed by the ice cream, I hurried to the slipway, just in time to catch up with the last of the passengers boarding the next ferry for the short return trip.


View in 2021 from Knott End Slipway showing Knott End Cafe and H. M. Coastguard

At Fleetwood Ferry, a modern tram was waiting at the terminus, with the crew enjoying the warm sunshine on the adjacent pavement. After exchanging a few friendly words, I secured a seat at the front for the return journey and we set off almost immediately. Although we didn't have to stop at every tram station, plenty of passengers boarded and alighted on the way back to Blackpool.

As we neared Blackpool, work in setting up the annual Illuminations (sometimes called 'The Lights') was in progress. The website for the 2022 Illuminations (2nd September 2022 - 2nd January 2023) is here. The major displays are largely mounted on substantial long steel tubes mounted vertically in prepared foundations in the margin on the seaward side of the tramway, held in place by wooden wedges. At least some of these tubes appeared to be re-purposed supports for the tramway catenary or similar. We passed a Blackpool Council articulated flatbed lorry at work, fitted with a serious-looking Atlas crane (probably from their 'medium' range). Atlas manufacture in Germany but there's a UK website here.


Blackpool Illuminations being erected (Trip to Blackpool)

A few of the large displays were already in place, featuring Sooty and friends (who were appearing at Blackpool North Pier in 2022).


Blackpool Illumination 2022 being erected (Trip to Blackpool)

I left the tram at North Pier and, spotting another Heritage Tram waiting in the loop at North Pier, went across to take a picture. It was a rather attractive open top, 'Gondola' style tram with a driver, conductor and a couple of passengers on board.


Heritage Tram, open top, 'Gondola' style, waiting in the loop at North Pier (Trip to Blackpool)

The tram didn't seem about to move so I then spent a short time on the pier, taking yet one more picture of Blackpool Tower viewed from the pier.


Blackpool Tower, viewed from North Pier (Trip to Blackpool)

It was so warm, I'd ended up carrying my coat. I'd intended to travel home on a 'Pendolino' from Blackpool later in the afternoon not requiring any changes but knowing I could travel an hour earlier with a single change at Preston and starting to get tired and feeling warm, I crossed to Talbot Road and started walking towards the station. The walk took longer than expected and, for a moment, I wondered if I'd catch the earlier train but all was well. As I hurried through Blackpool station, I noticed that the later, direct train I'd intended to catch had been cancelled so I gratefully flopped onto the 14:28 Blackpool North to Hazel Grove, another Class 331. This made stops at Leyton, Poulton and Kirkham. The reporting number was 2H00. On arrival at Preston, I crossed to platform 4 and found a station seat, having around half an hour to wait for my connaction.

The connection was a 'Pendolino', reporting number 9M56, timetabled to depart Preston 15:18, Wigan 15:30½, Wigan 15:41½, Crewe 16:01½, getting to Wolverhampton at 16:33½. The train was a few minutes late into Preston and, with plenty of passengers boarding and alighting, the computer logged departure as 8 minutes late. I settled myself in First and there was amusement when the catering lady came to take 'orders from Preston' as we each recognised the other from the Down journey that morning. After I'd left the train at Preston, trainset 390117 'Blue Peter' had continued to Edinburgh and returned on its London-Edinburgh-London diagram to pick me up again. The service was friendly and attentive, although I found the afternoon menu rather limited. I'm afraid I didn't pay a lot of attention on the journey. The Openrail computer logged us 8 late at Wigan, 5 late arriving Crewe (we'd been brought to a stand outside Crewe North Junction) and I made us 7 late into Wolverhampton. The earlier than planned train home meant that I was in time to catch the last bus to Brewood (at 17:10!). The warm weather and the walking had left me tired but I'd had a very enjoyable day.

Garstang and Knott End Railway

Although I never saw the railway operating, I made one brief visit by road some years after closure of the line. For a rather obscure railway, I was surprised how much history was readily available on the internet and I list a few sites below:-

Garstang and Knot-End Railway
The Garstang and Knott End Railway – Part 1
The Garstang and Knott End Railway – Part 2
THE GARSTANG & KNOTT END RAILWAY
Disused Stations Site Record: Knott End

Related posts on this website

Previous trips to Blackpool are linked below. Note that the dates below are posting dates, not the date of the events described.

Halfex to Blackpool 5-Jul-2008
A Trip to the Seaside 17-Jan-2014
Railways around Blackpool 18-Jan-2014
Return to Blackpool and Fleetwood (part 1) 19-Feb-2016
Return to Blackpool and Fleetwood (part 2) 15-Oct-2016
Blackpool by Train 17-Feb-2019
Blackpool by Electric Train 28-Aug-2021


My pictures

Pictures taken on this trip:- Blackpool Trip


All my rail transport pictures showing areas passed through:- West Midland Metro
West Midland Railways
Stafford Area rail
Crewe Area rail
Warrington Area rail
Wigan's Railways
Railways around Preston
Blackpool's Railways
Blackpool Trams


All my Blackpool, Fleetwood and Knott End pictures:- Blackpool and Fleetwood


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Old Locomotive Committee Annual General Meeting, 2022

The Covid19 pandemic resulted in cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 Annual General Meetings of the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO). The 2022 A.G.M. was held on Saturday, 7th May 2022 at the Museum of Liverpool.

Getting there

I travelled on the same West Midland Trains service from Birmingham to Liverpool Lime Street that I'd used a short time before for my New Brighton trip (described here). This train leaves Wolverhampton at 08:21 but on Saturdays there is no bus early enough to get me to Wolverhampton, so I next considered catching the train at Penkridge, where the 08:21 calls on weekdays but, I discovered, not on Saturdays so instead I travelled by car to Stafford to pickup the train there.

The 8-car Siemens 'Desiro' Class 350 gave us an uneventful and on-time journey to Liverpool Lime Street where I transferred to the underground Merseyrail station for the short journey to James Street by one of the elderly Class 507/508 3-car sets which are due to be replaced by Stadler Class 777. Back at ground level, it was sunny but rather windy as I walked to the Waterfront. The ten o'clock Mersey Ferry had just left Pier Head but my attention was drawn to the adjacent Cruise Terminal where Tui cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 3' was moored.


Cruise ship 'Mein Schiff 3' visits Liverpool: OLCO A.G.M. 2022

I then walked to the Museum of Liverpool, housing the 1838 locomotive 'Lion'. The museum is home to some interesting artefacts but I will never forgive the 'dented shoebox' architectural design of the building, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 (my report is here). A few years earlier, in 2004, Liverpool had achieved World Heritage Status from UNESCO for the "outstanding universal value" of its waterfront. But this was withdrawn in 2021 (only the third site in 50 years to lose the coveted status) because of "significant loss to its authenticity and integrity" caused by the host of ghastly redevelopments including the museum itself.

'Lion' was on display in the Great Port Gallery, but it was disappointing to find most of the display screens provided to interpret 'Lion' and the Great Port Gallery were out of use. There's a short post here describing the arrangements commissioned in 2011. I understand that, such is the pace of technological change, maintenance of these systems is becoming problematic.


'Lion' on display at the Museum of Liverpool: OLCO A.G.M. 2022

Informal proceedings started around 1.00 p.m. as the Chairman, John Brandrick, described the David Royle Archive of ‘Lion’-related documents held by OLCO and displayed a number of drawings for examination. There was then a special illustrated talk about the Museum of Liverpool Transport Collection given by Transport Curator Sharon Brown which was very vell received.


OLCO A.G.M. 2022 (Photo: Sharon Brown)

The formal A.G.M.followed. In his report, the Chairman particularly thanked the editor of the OLCO Magazine 'Lionsheart' for informing and entertaining the membership during the Covid Pandemic when face-to-face activities were not possible. It was noted that Rapido Trains are introducing an 00 gauge model of 'Lion', based on John Hawley's drawings of the prototype, which should be viewed as an opportunity to expand OLCO's activities. [Progress on this project is shown here]. A full report on the A.G.M. has been circulated to OLCO Members.

The A.G.M. finished at 16:20. The weather was glorious but, already tired, I was not tempted by further exploration. I walked back to James street and caught the next train to Liverpool Lime Street.


Class 508 entering James Street station, inbound to Liverpool before traversing the Liverpool Loop and becoming an outbound train: OLCO A.G.M. 2022

I had intended to catch the next hourly West Midland Trains service back to Wolverhampton but I discovered that there was an earlier Avanti West Coast train to London which called at Stafford. Having confirmed the validity of my ticket on this train (Train Operating Companies seem obsessed with having very complicated and irritating restrictions on which trains different tickets can be used), I had a decent journey by 'Pendolino' to Stafford, with only a few minutes to wait there for a connection on to Wolverhampton.

It was good to meet my OLCO friends face-to-face after being restricted to remote communication for so long.

Related posts on other websites

The Titfield Thunderbolt 70th Anniversary Range (Rapido Trains UK)

Related posts on this website

Royal Visit to the Museum of Liverpool
Audio Visual Installations at the Museum of Liverpool

To find all my posts about the Old Locomotive Committee and the locomotive 'Lion', click here or select 'OLCO' under 'Labels to select a blog topic'.

My pictures

OLCO A.G.M. 2022
The Old Locomotive Committee and Lionsmeet (All my OLCO Collections)


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Manchester by rail

On Friday, 8th July 2022, I made a trip by rail to Manchester area to visit a friend.

Over the years, I've made many trips to Manchester, particularly when I was a volunteer at what was then called the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. My previous trip on the route, as far as Stockport, had been in November 2021 and that is described here.

I caught the 07:30 bus to Wolverhampton, then walked to the railway station passing the West Midlands Metro extension where numerous workers in high visibilty clothing and hard hats swarmed over the new construction. I made my way to platform 2 for the 08:14 train to Manchester. I used Railcam UK (described here) to confirm that my train, reporting number 1M18 had been scheduled to depart Southampton at 05:15 that morning, leaving Birmingham New Street at 07:57, Wolverhampton 08:14½, Stafford 08:28½, Stoke 08:44½, Macclesfield 09:01½, Stockport 09:14½ and arriving at Manchester Piccadilly at 09:23. On that day, the train was reported three minutes late leaving Birmingham. When the train arrived, I had some confusion identifying the correct coach for my reservation as, although the passenger information display on the platform indicated the marshalling of the two 4-coach 'Voyager' sets was with the two First Class areas in the centre of the train, on that day, the leading set was in reverse. Anxious to get the train away, the platform staff advised "just get on and walk through". However, the nearest door was blocked by what I assumed was an assistant guard who only relectantly let me use 'his' door. We left two minutes 'down' and I walked through the leading set to reach my booked seat. That seat was already occupied but a number of adjacent seats were available so I settled down for the journey.

After our Stafford stop, we were only one minute late departing, passing a Down train of sand in bogie vehicles headed by 66160 waiting on the goods line next to platform 6. Departing from our Stoke stop, we were two minutes late as I noted the Northern Electric Multiple Unit reporting number 2H82 in platform 3 ready to work the all-stations to Crewe. As expected, we picked up a crowd of commuters at Macclesfield, leaving three minutes late. We left Stockport two minutes late and I didn't note our arrival time at Piccadilly but the leisurely timings specified combined with the reserves of power provided by the eight Cummins QSK19 diesel engines on the train offer plenty of scope for recovering lateness where local speed limits permit.

I'd travelled early to allow a visit to witness some testing in Stockport before visiting my friend but, at the last moment, the testing was cancelled so I had some time free. I'd decided to make a visit to the former Manchester Museum of Science and Industry which is now part of the Science Museum with the logo 'SCIENCE+INDUSTRY MUSEUM' with a website here. I'd started volunteering at the museum back in 1988 and you can find the posts about my involvement here. Back then, my travel to the museum from home would either be by car door-to-door or by train to Manchester Piccadilly. Sometimes, I'd walk from here to the museum, just over a mile away. If I was lucky, I could cross to platform 14 and catch a local train to Deansgate, leaving a walk of only 0.3 miles to the museum. Not all trains stopped at Deansgate so an alternative was to alight at Oxford Road and walk the 0.7 miles from there to the museum but I rarely adopted this strategy. In 1992 the Manchester Metrolink trams started running from Piccadilly to Deansgate Castlefield tram station and then on to Altrincham, offering another method of reaching the museum.

On 8th July, I decided to use the tram so I descended into the undercroft at Piccadilly, part of which forms the tram station. A tram for Altrincham arrived after a few minutes and I boarded for the journey to Deansgate Castlefield tram station. The tram runs at street level through Piccadilly and St. Peter's Square but then climbs above ground approaching Deansgate before continuing on part of the Castlefield Viaduct which originally carried the approach tracks to Manchester Central Station which was the Manchester terminus of the Cheshire Lines Committee and featured a remarkable arched train shed, listed grade II*, now re-purposed as Manchester Central Convention Complex ('GMEX'). When this tram station first opened, there were just two lines passing through but, since it serves 'GMEX', it has been expanded to three platform tracks with facilities for reversing trams.


The expanded Deansgate Castlefield tram station in 2016

In a welcome improvement, the original fearsome steps between the tram station and ground level have been supplemented by a lift so I was able to descend to Deansgate itself in comfort and then walk to Liverpool Road.


Manchester: Deansgate, looking north from the junction with Liverpool Road.

The museum didn't open until 10:00 so I spent some time in Castlefield Urban Heritage Park which displays remains of Roman Castlefield and a quite nice re-creation of the appearance of the North Gate of Mamucium Roman Fort. My attention was drawn to the set of stairs leading from Beaufort Street to the approach to Castlefield Viaduct which serves as Collier Street Car Park which is now joined by a nearby lift I didn't remember. This prompted a bit of searching which revealed that the National Trust is converting a 300 yard section of the listed viaduct structure into a 'Urban Sky-Park', presumably inspired by New York's High Line. Public viewing, I read, should start at the end of July 2022.

The museum frontage on Liverpool Road was completely obscured by scaffolding and hoardings proclaiming 'REVOLUTION IN PROGESS'. Additional signage read 'A multi-million-pound restoration programme is underway at our globally significant industrial heritage site to carry out crucial restoration work and reveal new spaces and perspectives for all visitors to enjoy, play and learn in.' The museum entrance is in Lower Byrom Street, with a separate entrance to a ground floor cafe which already seemed quite busy. The museum itself was still quiet but a young member of staff confirmed, after checking his watch, that they were open. Years ago, I made some useful purchases in the large retail shop but, on this visit I found only overpriced rubbish, I'm afraid. Because of the 'revolution in progress', most of the museum areas were closed. There was a large display of textile machinery I found interesting but the explanatory text was rather limited. On the first floor the 'Discovery' section introduces young children to various scientific principles. I found the alternating light levels between 'fairground primary colours' and sepulchral gloom rather irritating. The large first floor bistro was still closed. I didn't take in the temporary special exhibition of black and white pictures of Amazonian tribes but I was amused to see another temporary exhibition - one of Rowland Emett's eccentric steam train creations called 'A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley' but I didn't return later to see the demonstration of the 'kinetic sculpture' moving.


'A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley' by Rowland Emett: Science+Industry Museum, Manchester

I appreciate I didn't see the museum at its best, but the contrast with my happy memories of working at the site made me rather sad. Looking along the derelict Pineapple Line towards the new bowstring bridge on Network Rail's Ordsall Chord line which has truncated the site emphasises that offering the experience of real steam train rides in the future at the birthplace of passenger railways would be very difficult.


Now-derelict Pineapple Line looking towards the girders of the new bowstring bridge on the Ordsall Chord line which truncates the site: Science+Industry Museum, Manchester

I left the museum and retraced my route to Deansgate tram station, pondering my next move. I decided to catch a tram one stop back towards Piccadilly, alighting at St. Peter's Square and walking to Manchester Art Gallery, which seems to have resisted modernising revolution fairly well and I relaxed sufficiently to enjoy an orange juice in the Gallery Cafe before touring as many of the rooms as time permitted. The Gallery website is here. My lunchtime appointment was in Altrincham so I left the gallery in sufficient time to walk back to the St. Peter's Square tram station and catch the next service back through Castlefield and then on to Cornbrook, continuing on the former Manchester South Junction and Altrincham route.

The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway opened in 1849 using steam traction. Following the 1923 Grouping, ownership and operation passed to the MSJ&AR Committee representing the L.M.S and L.N.E.R. An electric service using 1500 volts d.c. third rail started operation in 1931, using standard 3-car electric trains of a design already in use on the L.M.S. In 1971, a modernised service was introduced on the line, after conversion to the British Rail standard of overhead 25 kV a.c. electrification. This continued until the end of 1991 when the line was closed to allow Manchester Metrolink to take over much of the line. Many of the existing overhead supports were retained as part of a new 750 volts d.c. scheme. Towards Manchester, significant re-routing was necessary and the Metrolink trams now use part of the abandoned C.L.C. route as far Deansgate tram station before descending to street level and finally passing through the Undercroft of Piccadilly main line station. For more about the early history of the line, see the Wikipedia article here; for more about the line as part of Manchester Metrolink refer here.

Whilst running at street level, the speed of trams is fairly low but once on the dedicated former MSJ&AR route, the line speed limit increases to 80 km/h, allowing some spirited running between the original stations.


View from tram approaching Deansgate Junction, where the double-track Metrolink becomes single towards Altrincham: Manchester Metrolink


Manchester Metrolink, Altrincham: View from platform 1 looking south.

I arrived in platform 2 at Altrincham in plenty of time to walk to my friend's home. Together with my friend's daughter and her husband, we enjoyed an excellent salmon lunch and spent the afternoon chatting. Because of the pandemic, it was our first face-to-face meeting in three years.

I'd not pre-booked my return journey but knew that there was an hourly Northern Service from Altrincham to Stockport which then continued to Manchester Piccadilly. I'd first used this route in 2014, as described here and again in 2018, described here. I walked back to Altincham Interchange and booked a ticket to Stockport. As in 2018, the journey was in peak hours so the train was crowded and it was again raining heavily but at least the dreadful 4-wheeled 'Pacer' units had been upgraded to 'Sprinters'. At Stockport, I anticipated enough time to obtain a ticket for my onward journey to Wolverhampton: I had not anticipated that the ticket office would already be closed so I had to tangle with an unfamiliar design of automatic ticket machine with a large vertical touch-screen display. More by luck than judgement, I managed to purchase the appropriate ticket and proudly headed to platform 2 to await the Manchester to Bournemouth 'Voyager' service which would return me to Wolverhampton.

As I anticipated, there was a fair crowd awaiting the train which was already quite full when it arrived from Manchester Piccadilly. A number of passengers were content to remain standing in the vestibules at each end of the coaches but I managed to find a seat. Our first calling-point was Macclesfield, where a number of passengers I assumed to be regular commuters to Manchester left the train. I managed to secure the use of a pair of seats for the rest of the journey but I'm not a fan of the rather cramped seat layout in the 'Voyager'. I didn't pay much attention on the rest of the journey but approaching Stoke-on-Trent I caught a glimpse of a freight train attached to a Class 66 in the sidings on the Up side near Longport. Railcam UK suggested this was reporting number 6Z76 which had left Redcar at 21:20 the previous evening, arriving at 'Colas Longport' at 06:20.

On my arrival in Wolverhampton, I walked to the taxi rank and completed my journey home after an enjoyable, if tiring, day.

Related posts on other websites

Science and Industry Museum
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
Altrincham Line
Manchester Art Gallery

Related posts on this website

Note that the dates below are posting dates, not the date of the events described.

To Stockport by Rail 14-Nov-2021
The Cheshire Lines Committee 2-Oct-2014
The Cheshire Lines Committee Routes Today 7-Oct-2014
To Altrincham via the former C.L.C. 27-Aug-2018

My pictures

All my rail transport pictures showing areas passed through:-
West Midland Metro
West Midland Railways
Stafford Area rail
Manchester Area Rail
Manchester Metrolink
Altrincham Station

All my Manchester pictures:- Manchester

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Retrieving my Camera

My day trip to Llandudno in April 2022 (described here) was marred by leaving my camera on a London-bound West Midlands Trains service on my return. West Midlands trains staff at Wolverhampton explained that their lost property is now dealt with through a website called MissingX.

MissingX (https://www.missingx.com/) is an international database of lost property covering the transport sector including airports and railways. It was started in Norway in 2000 to provide an easy method of reporting lost property and claiming found items. I found it easy to enrol online and I was invited to enter details of the loss and where it occurred. There's a separate section of the database with the details of found items. For a few days, nothing appeared in the 'found' section and I was fairly certain that the camera (with all my pictures of the trip to Llandudno which the camera does not backup automtically) was lost. Then, a description of a camera located at Euston appeared in the 'found' section so, as instructed, I made an online claim and printed a copy of the details. The website informed me that I would then be contacted by the location holding the item.

So far, very encouraging. But after another week I'd not been contacted so I found a general West Midland Trains customer support telephone number where a friendly gentleman offered to send a chasing email to the team at Euston. After another week, I tried customer support again. A different gentleman diagnosed that the chasing email had indeed been sent but to the wrong recipient. He said he's speak to the appropriate person and get them to phone me directly.

A couple of hours later, I received a call from the West Midlands Trains Duty Manager at Euston who confimed that they were holding what seemed to be my camera in their high-value property store. Unfortunately, although I was happy to pay for carriage and packing to return it to me, they seemed to lack a mechanism for that. After some negotiation, I decided I'd have to go to Euston myself to collect the camera, so I booked a 'quickie' trip to London just to retrieve the camera. I was able to book Advance tickets there and back for Friday, 20th May 2022, allowing a little under two hours at Euston to actually make the collection, anticipating that matters might not be completely straightforward.

The journey to London on 20th May followed the pattern of my earlier trip on 8th April described here involving bus, Cross Country 'Voyager' service to Stafford then an Avanti 'Pendolino' service non-stop to Euston. This time, I travelled First Class so was able to have breakfast on the fast journey, distracting me from studying operations too closely. As before, my train was preceded by a West Midlands Trains service to Euston (reporting number 1U22) but we overhauled this train at Tamworth as it made a station stop when on the Up Slow. I noticed (using Railcam UK)that we were being followed by a Birmingham-Euston Avanti 'Pendolino' just a few minutes later. My arrival at Euston found me in an optimistic frame of mind, although the weather which had been dry at Stafford had deteriorated as we headed south and our arrival at Euston had neen accompanied by drizzle and overcast skies. We were routed into platform 16, on the Down side, close to the works for the new HS2 terminus but black hoardings limited views of the advancing works.


London Euston: HS2 works viewed from arriving train showing bulk storage silos

I'd been given directions to make my way to the ticket Gate Line for the suburban platforms and ask the staff there for the West Midlands Trains Duty Manager, who was summoned by radio. This seemed to create some interest among the staff and we had assembled a group of four employees chatting by the time the Duty Manager arrived. I was admitted through the gate to wait on the platform whilst the Duty Manager despatched a West Midlands train service then I explained my mission. He then telephoned another person who had the key to the high-value property store and asked me to wait for her arrival before leaving to carry out other tasks. As I waited, another West Midlands Trains electric multiple unit arrived and crowds of passengers swept past me towards the ticket gates. A little later, the lady with the key arrived, examined the copy of my online claim form and asked me to wait whilst she fetched the camera from the store which was located at the far end of the platform we were on. After a few minutes, she returned with the camera, intact with its case and spare batteries. A quick check showed that the pictures on the memory card were those I'd taken in April so the camera was returned to mr. Expressing my thanks, I was passed through the ticket barrier again.

I'd just under an hour before the departure of the train I was booked on to return. During my earlier trip in April, there had been no Tube service from Euston via London Bridge to Moorgate because of major engineering work at Bank station to improve the platforms. Realising that the line had re-opened a few days before, I decided that I'd time to travel to Bank underground station to look at the improved facilities, so I hurried across the concourse at Euston towards the underground station. As I've commented before, this transfer has been re-organised and now involves briefly going outside before re-entering the building by a separate entrance. I discovered it was now raining quite heavily, revealing the disadvantage of the altered arrangements. I made my way to the Southbound Platform on the re-opened City Branch of the Northern Line and was soon noisily speeding towards Bank, where we arrived at the wide, straight new platform which has replaced the narrower, sharply curved earlier arrangement.


Bank Northern Line: New Southbound Platform

Looking at my watch, I was a little alarmed at the time so, after a very cursory examination of the revised access from the surface, I moved to the Northbound platform so as to return to Euston. The Northbound platform, which appeared unchanged, is straight but much narrower than the new Southbound platform.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52087451527_49841d54c4.jpg

After a short wait, a Northbound Northern Line train arrived and I returned to Euston, discovering as I transferred from Tube to 'Heavy Rail' that it was still raining. My journey back to Wolverhampton was booked on the 11:43 'Pendolino' service to Blackpool North via Birmingham which was displayed on the Departure Screens, but without a platform number showing. This normally meant that the incoming train was late arriving and cleaning was still in progress prior to boarding. I amused myself by using Railcam UK to try to identify which platform was holding the trainset which would form my train. I'd just drawn the correct conclusion when the platform number appeared on the Departure Screen so I joined the mass of passengers heading for ramp to the indicated platform. Unless at trainset has become 'reversed', First Class is normally near the entrance ramp so I only had a short walk to my seat where (using Railcam UK) I identified our train reporting number as 9P65.

Our departure was 5 minutes late and we were routed on line 'X' which allows trains leaving from low-numbered plattforms on the 'Up' side of the station to cross under the other lines approaching Euston (lines A -E) so as to emerge on the 'Down' side, minimising conflicting movements. This re-purposed 'fly-under' was originally built to facilitate the removal of empty carriages from arriving services for attention at a carriage shed. Nowadays, with more intensive use of rolling stock, limited cleaning and replenishment between workings is carried out at the platform, deferring other work until arrival at the Traincare Depot at the end of service. Once again, I had limited views through the rain of the HS2 work in progress.


London Euston: HS2 works viewed from a departing train on Line 'X'

We'd lost a further minute by Bletchley, apparently because we were following a West Midland Trains Euston to Crewe via the Trent Valley Line stopping service (reporting number 1U33). When this train made its scheduled stop at Milton Keynes, I thought we might be allowed to overtake but, in fact, the stopping train continued to precede us, making us 9 minutes late leaving Milton Keynes. Three minutes of this was 'pulled back' by Coventry but, once in the congested West Midlands area, there seems to be little opportunity to make up lateness except by reducing 'dwell' time at stops like Birmingham New Street where this is possible.

My last leg, from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton, was particularly frustrating as we seemed to be following an 'all stations' to Wolverhampton (reporting number 2W28). On our arrival at Wolverhampton, I walked quickly to Lichfield Street hoping I'd still catch the bus home I'd planned on. I needn't have worried - the bus was ten minutes late arriving.

Not only was my camera retrieved intact but all my pictures taken on my trip to Llandudno were safe. I consider myself very fortunate that I had such a happy outcome. Mission accomplished!

Related posts on this website

Llandudno in April
Return to Croydon

My pictures

Northern Line
London: Euston Station

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Llandudno in April

Following the success of a recent day trip by rail to New Brighton (report here), I decided to make a trip to another favourite destination, Llandudno. I booked any Anytime Return online and decided on First Class. This was a questionable decision, since all Transport for Wales (TfW) trains are standard class only, apart from the Premium First service between Cardiff and Holyhead I mentioned in my post here). In addition, Avanti have a 'Voyager' service, currently between Holyhead and Crewe which has a First Class section. Although we are in the phase of 'Living with Covid', railway timetables are still not back to normal and services are liable to disruption at short notice.

Getting there: Friday, 22nd April 2022

I took the customary 07:30 bus to Wolverhampton, discovering that the £2.60 single fare has risen to £2.80. The pedestrian approach to the station still entails an ever-changing obstacle course as work continues on the modest yet late-running extension of the West Midlands Metro tram service from the current terminus at St. Georges to the railway station.


Wolverhampton Station, showing continuing work on the Metro extension, with the railway in the background (Llandudno trip)


Entrance to Wolverhampton Station with yellow arch and name displayed (Llandudno trip)

I had a few minutes to wait before my train, giving me a chance to study the fire alarm map showing the odd-shaped, vaguely triangular site which the new, unloved building occupies. My train 9S44, a 'Pendolino' service from London Euston to Edinburgh via Birmingham arrived on time. Although this train is only allowed 29 minutes to Crewe, the friendly staff in the First Class section found time to provide a glass of orange juice with two rounds of toast and preserves so that I arrived at Crewe in good spirits. Checking Railcam UK on my 'phone (see post here), I discovered that the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) in the north end bay platform 9 would form train 1D82 to Chester at 09:51, but the passenger information displays showed an earlier departure from platform 11 at 09:17. A quick check on Railcam UK showed train 1K33 already approaching platform 11 from Chester. A fair number of passengers got off and a reasonable number boarded but the refubished Class 153, operating as a 2-car train provided plenty of space. I noticed extensive tree-cutting as we made the usual speedy run to Chester, arriving in bay platform 1.

Then I was a little unsure of the best train forward. There seemed to be three departures in the next 30 minutes which would all take me to Llandudno Junction but that day arrangements seemed a little disarranged. When in doubt, I normally take the first available service, particularly remembering I needed a connecting service from Llandudno Junction to take me to Llandudno itself. I took the first departing DMU, from platform 3 which I think was 1D33 from Manchester to Holyhead, quite well turned out in TfW livery, well-patronised but not crowded. Chester Power Box controls the line up to the vicinity of the short (99 yards) Rockliffe Hall Tunnel beyond which there is a section of modernised signalling controlled from a Railway Operating Centre (ROC).

The Wales ROC, situated just west of Cardiff Central station opened in 2010 and in 2018 added the North Wales Desk with a single workstation for the Rhyl area, controlling the section from the Chester Power Box boundary in the east to the Llandudno Junction boundary in the west. The control code for signal numbers in the Rhyl workstation area is 'FH', which I assume stands for Fflint-Holyhead.

We made the usual progress, bursts of high speed running alternating with frequent station stops where a flurry of passengers boarded and alighted. During our stop at Fflint (a station I'd travelled from a few months earlier, described in the post Rail Travel in January 2022), I took a couple of pictures showing the well-proportioned station building on the Down side, presumably a relic of the Chester and Holyhead railway company.


Fflint Down Side Station Building (Llandudno trip)

Near Fflint, we passed an Avanti 'Voyager' on the Up line - the 08:55 Holyhead to Crewe, reporting number 1A23. We were under the control of Llandudno Junction's colour-light signals by the time we stopped at Bae Colwyn, which was still known as Colwyn Bay when I was growing up. At that time, like Rhyl, it was an important destination for holiday-makers using the railways, as testified by the broad steps of the footbridge


Colwyn Bay station footbridge, Down side (Llandudno trip)

At Llandudno Junction, we used platform 3 which is one face of the through platform island and, as I hoped, I found the connecting shuttle service to Llandudno waiting in plaform 2, the remaining terminal bay let-into the west end of through-platform island 1 and 3. In steam days, there were two adjacent bays let-into this island, with a similar island platform on the Down side now simplified to a flanking platform 4. As I waited for our departure, a Down train quietly rolled into platform 4, paused briefly and then noisily set off towards Conway. The train was Mark 4 Driving Van Trailer leading a train of Mark 4 coaches and being propelled by a Class 66 diesel electric. It was clearly one of the TfW Preium First services from Cardiff to Holyhead but it was a while before I realised it must have been the 06:45 from Cardiff, running late.

My train was a Class 175 with just a handful of passengers, quite attractive inside, carrying Covid warning signs with pictograms advising mask-wearing, distance-keeping and regular hand washing. We left on time at 10:59 for the short journey through Deganwy, with views of Conwy castle and the estuary of the Conwy river, to Llandudno.


TfW 3-car Class 175 in platform 2 (bay) at Llandudno Junction


Conwy castle and the estuary of the Conwy river

On arrival at Llandudno station, I walked across the booking hall of the modernised station building, through the automatic glass doors and headed along Vaughan Steet to the sea front. The appearance of the sea front betrays its Victorian origins. A broad, pedestrian promenade around the curving bay is flanked by a road with attractive hotels on the landward side with the bulk of the Great Orme to the west and the Little Orme to the east. The weather was dry and reasonably warm but overcast, rendering the offshore wind farm virtually invisible.


Llandudno beach, showing the Pier and the Great Orme (Llandudno trip)

I took the promenade west past the bandstand and, once past the shingle, continued along the sandy beach for a time, returning to the promenade before choosing my next target, either the pier or the Great Orme Tramway. I decided to look at the tram so I crossed to Church Walks, the fairly steep approach to the lower terminus of the tramway, passing hotels and boarding houses on both sides along the way. I discovered that the tram was operating so I purchased a ticket to travel to the summit and back.

The Great Orme Tramway

The Great Orme Tramway ascends on a route about one mile long from Victoria Station to Summit Station at the top of the Great Orme headland in two, completely separate stages requiring passengers to change between lower and upper trams at the Halfway Station which includes the Engine House controlling the cables for both sections. Both sections follow the geography of the land, with changes in gradient and variable curvature. It is a type of cable railway called a Funicular where descending and ascending cars are linked by cable, reducing haulage power requirements.

As built, haulage was by winches operated by steam engines located in one Engine House at Halfway Station. On the lower section, each car was connected by cable to a winch at the Engine House with two cable drums so that as one car is hauled uphill, the other descends. The Upper section is similar but, because the powered winch is at the lower end of the section, a third cable links the upper end of the two cars via an Idler pulley at the Summit station. Electric winches finally replaced the steam engines in 1957. For more information, see Book Reference [1].

Around 2000, funding from the Lottery, the European Union and the Local Authority allowed comprehensive modernisation. There's more information on the Great Orme Tramway website here together with Book Reference [1] and Book Reference [2].

The lower terminus is called Victoria Station because it is built on the site of the former Victoria Hotel. It was some time before the incongruity of this single-track station sharing its name with the rather larger terminus in London (briefly described here) struck me.


Llandudno: Victoria Tram Station in 2014

There are normally three tram departures an hour (although additional services can be added in very busy periods). The tram station was bustling with people and I failed to board the first tram but the overcast was giving way to blue sky and bright sun so I was content to wait for the next service which took me to Halfway Station.


Tram No. 5 ready to leave Victoria Station with a full load.

The lower section shares the route with a public right-of-way for most of its length and uses 'inset' track to provide a level road surface. The haulage cable is below road level with a slot between the rails allowing each car to be connected to the cable. A passing loop is provided at the midpoint of the lower section with the line below the loop arranged as '2-rail' and that above the loop as '3-rail', as explained in the Wikipedia article here). Although the line from the lower section loop to Halfway Station is classed as '3-rail', there are actually 4 rails, with the middle two close together.


Great Orme Tramway: View of passing loop on the lower section from an ascending tram, showing the descending tram approaching the loop.


Great Orme Tramway: View of lower section tramshed at Halfway Station. Note two tracks, side-by-side ('3-rail') as far as the lower passing loop.

At Halfway Station, a brisk walk through the Engine House with the other passengers took us to the waiting upper section tram which departed once we had all boarded.

The upper section passes through unfenced moorland using sleepered track with stone ballast. The haulage cable is above ground, supported on a variety of pulley wheels. A passing loop is provided at the midpoint of the upper section and the line both above and below the loop is arranged as '2-rail'.


Great Orme Tramway: View of the upper section from an ascending tram, with the passing loop visible on the left. Note the level crossing. On the upper section, exit from the loop to either 'uphill' or 'downhill' sections is via a 'trailable' set of points allowing a car leaving the loop to force the points to the correct position. A special Tumbler mechanism then holds the points in that position, so that the returning car is directed to the correct side of the loop. For more information about the 'trailable' points and the Tumbler mechanism, refer to the report on an accident which occured in 2009 here.


Great Orme Tramway: View of upper section passing loop from ascending tram nearing exit points. Note extra 'crossings' to accommodate the cable joining the trams via the Idler pulley at Summit Station


Llandudno: Great Orme Tramway: This small building at Summit Station houses the large Idler pulley on the third cable which connects both upper section trams. Winding for both the Upper and Lower sections is from Halfway Station.


Great Orme Tramway: View of Summit Station and Museum. Note the telecommunications tower

The Summit area was quite busy when we arrived and the car park was well-patronised. There's a large restaurant, various amusements and small museum next to the tram station which outlines the history of the Great Orme. The haze had largely cleared and it was pleasantly warm. I walked for a while taking in the sea views and re-visited the museum but, with limited time, I boarded the next descending tram.


Great Orme Tramway: View of 'top hat' cable pulleys from descending tram on upper section. Note cables clipped to sleeper ends

At Halfway Station, windows give a view of the winch gear as you walk through the engine house to board the tram for the remaining section.


Great Orme Tramway: View of upper tramway cable haulage motor (blue) and gearbox (white) with twin winch drums visible in the background at Halfway Station


Great Orme Tramway: View of lower tramway cable haulage motor (blue) and gearbox (white) with twin winch drums just visible in the background at Halfway Station

On the lower section, there's a road/tram crossing with conventional traffic lights for road vehicles and the usual row of white lights applying to the tram (horizontal row: stop, vertical row: proceed). I believe that a magnet under the tram should ensure that trams always receive a 'proceed' signal: if not, the tram attendant issues an 'emergency stop' and winching (of both cars) halts until the system is reset which I'm told involves a 'magnet on a stick'.


Great Orme Tramway: Road signal (red) and tram signal (proceed) viewed from descending tram on lower section

Llandudno Town

Rather than retrace my steps back to the promenade, I turned into Mostyn Street, the town's major traditional shopping area. Encouraged by the good weather, the street was quite busy. I called in a one shop selling discounted new books, but refrained from making a purchase. I remember trams running along Mostyn street because trams operated along an eight mile route to Colwyn Bay until 1956. There's a Wikipedia article here.

Already fairly tired by my adventures, I determined to have lunch before making the return journey home so I turned into Vaughan Street to reach the promenade and the Imperial Hotel where I enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the enclosed terrace restaurant with panoramic views of the sea.


Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, viewed from the promenade in 2011.

Suitably fortified, I spent a few more minutes on the promenade enjoying the sea air and the sun before walking back to the railway station to start my return journey.

The Return Journey

That's the point at which things started to go wrong. I'd intended to catch a shuttle to Llandudno Junction, connecting with an Avanti 'Voyager' to Crewe. Then, an Avanti London service would take me to Stafford where West Midlands Trains would complete the journey to Wolverhampton. At Llandudno, I walked confidently up to the automatic glass doors and was surprised that they failed to open. Undaunted, I moved to the adjacent manual glass doors and found them locked. Then I noticed a small paper notice secured to the glass giving station closing times. It appeared the station had closed ten minutes previously. Through the glass, I could see the train I intended to catch in the platform and I was temporarily bemused. A kindly pedestrian passing by had seen this little pantomime played out and called "When it's locked, you have to go round the side and through the little gate". Thanking him profusely, I hurried to the car park at the side of the building and found the gate giving access to the platforms, in time to see my train depart.

I was anxious to be on my way but the next train to Llandudno Junction was not for an hour. Before the pandemic, taxis could frequently be found waiting outside but, with a reduced timetable in use post-Covid, the station was very quiet. Then I noticed a taxi office at the far end of the station building. The street door of the taxi office led to a waiting area and an internal door led to a counter behind which a base station radio operator was visible. I ordered a taxi to take me to Llandudno Junction which, to comply with the company's 'Covid Safe' rules, was done by shouting details from the waiting area. I waited in the street for about ten minutes for the taxi to arrive and the cheerful driver quickly drove me to Llandudno Junction station.

I hastened over the footbridge to platform 1 which was crowded with passengers supervised by two well-built security men as an already well-loaded DMU arrived. It took a little while to fit all the waiting passengers together with the security men onto the train and I settled for a cramped standing position next to a door. It appeared that there had been some prior dislocation to the services but I never discovered the details. Using Railcam UK on my mobile phone, I found out that I'd caught the 14:34 from Holyhead to Cardiff, reporting number 1V97, and that we were being closely followed by the 14:50 Holyhead to Crewe Avanti 'Voyager' service, reporting number1A53, so I came up with a plan to disembark at Rhyl and transfer to the 'Voyager'. The surge of passengers and bicycles getting off and on at Rhyl meant that I was trapped at the wrong side of the vestibule and, as the doors closed, I resigned myself to continuing to stand until Chester.

But I was disappointed when we were brought to a stand at Saltney Junction where the former Great Western Line from Wrexham trails in from the right. Railcam UK showed the line ahead clear to Chester but there was a Cardiff to Holyhead service, reporting number 1W94, approaching from Wrexham. "Surely", I thought to myself, "they won't cross this in front of us?". But they did, so we sat there, sardines in a tin, whilst I watched on screen as 1W94 made what seemed its agonisingly slow progress in front of us to Chester and 1A53 waited a block behind us. I can remember when there was quadruple track, paired by use, from Saltney Junction over the Roodee Viaduct and through the tunnels into Chester which allowed two trains to simultaneously approach the station. The arrangements were simplified by British Rail to a simple double-track junction with only two lines over the Roodee Viaduct and additional slow lines (this time paired by direction) commencing nearer Chester which was the arrangement inherited by Chester Power Signal Box in 1984.


Chester: West end of Roodee Viaduct in 2014. Note Guard Rails between Running Rails over the bridge.

My screen showed train 1W94 being crossed to bay platform 2 so, once he was clear, I was not surprised that we were routed into the adjacent through platform 3, leaving through platform 4 available to handle train 1A53 behind us. Once off the crowded train, I made my way over the footbridge to catch 1A53, the Avanti 'Voyager' to Crewe, which was 8 minutes 'down' on departure. There was plenty of space in First Class and I managed a welcome cup of tea on the journey before we arrived in bay platform 9 at Crewe, having lost a further minute on the short journey.

The late running destroyed my chance of connecting with Avanti 'Pendolino' service 9M84 from Blackpool to London via Birmingham which would have returned me to Wolverhampton in style. Instead, I disconsolately watched this train depart from platform 5 whilst I was still heading to the footbridge from platform 9.

Whilst I was trying to work out the next departure towards home, another 'Pendolino' arrived in platform 5 from the Manchester line and the public address announced that it was not in service so, intrigued, I sought more information from Railcam UK which revealed an Empty Stock working, reporting number 5T25 from Longsight Carriage Maintenance Depot to Widnes Transport Technology at Ditton Junction. Longsight is Alstom's centre for bogie maintenance and Widnes Transport Technology is the 13,000 square metre train modernisation and repainting facility opened by Alstom in 2017.

I decided to catch the West Midlands Trains 17:33 stopping train to Euston, reporting number 1U40, alighting at the first stop, Stafford. I made myself comfortable in the rear First Class section of the 8-car Siemens 'Desiro' Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) in bay platform 7, awaiting departure. We were 4 minutes late leaving, awaiting the arrival of a late-running Shrewsbury-Crewe DMU in adjacent bay platform 8 because bays 7 and 8 share a common 'throat' track.

As we passed the remodelled junctions at Norton Bridge (outlined in the post here), we passed a Class 66 hustling a container train north on the Down Slow. Railcam UK revealed this as the 09:32 from Felixstowe via the Northampton Loop due at the O'Connor Freightliner Terminal, Ditton at 19:41.

By now rather tired, I just managed to get off at Stafford platform 1 before the doors closed and the train left. There was a Wolverhampton service expected on platform 4, so I hurried across the passenger bridge, grateful for working lifts.

I was puzzled to see the signal at the end of platform 4 displaying a single, flashing yellow, since I'd never seen a flashing yellow displayed at that location before. Railcam UK clarified that the approaching train was not a passenger but a fast freight: the 15:49 from Garston Car Terminal to Dagenham Dock Reception Ground Frame, due there 23:10. This train, reporting number 6L48, is routed via the Crewe Independent Lines, thr Trent Valley, Northampton Loop, Camden. Stratford and Ripple Lane. This train is allowed to travel at 60 miles an hour and was certainly shifting as it swept through the platform with a Class 66 heading a long train of empty 'Carflats'.

The public address then announced a platform change for the expected passenger train to platform 1 so all the passengers trooped across to platform 1, either using the stairs or the lifts. By the time I was back on platform 1, I realised I no longer had my Canon camera with me.

At first thinking I'd left it on a seat on platform 4, I decided to miss the approaching Wolverhampton train and return to platform 4 to search but I found no camera. Then I became certain that, in my haste to leave the Euston train at Stafford, I'd in fact left the camera on the train seat which was speeding towards London.

I then took the next service to Wolverhampton (a Cross Country 'Voyager from Manchester, reporting number 1O68) and made a report to the West Midlands Train staff at Wolverhampton. The supervisor at Wolverhampton explained that West Midland Trains use a third party website called MissingX to deal with lost property enquiries, although he didn't display much confidence in the arrangements. So I finally caught a taxi home after a mixed day of good and not-so-good experiences.

Book References

[1] 'Great Orme Tramway: The First 80 Years' by R.C. Anderson (Light Rail Transit Association)
[2] 'The Great Orme Tramway: Over a century of service by Keith Turner (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch 2003) ISBN 0-86381-817-X
[3] ‘British Railways Layout Plans of the 1950’s - Volume 10: LNW Lines in North Wales, Chester and Wirral areas’ (Signalling Record Society) ISBN: 1-873228-12-0
[4] ‘A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales’ by Peter E Baughan, published by David & Charles (ISBN 0-7153-7850-3) [2].

Related articles on other websites

Great Orme Tramway
Collision on the Great Orme Tramway 15 September 2009
British Rail Class 153
British Rail Class 175
Funicular (Wikipedia)
Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway



Related posts on this website

Llandudno by Train
Rail Travel in January 2022
A Trip to the Seaside (Part 2)
Trip to Holyhead (Part 1: Crewe to Llandudno)
Llandudno (2014)
Return to Llandudno
A Trip to the Seaside (Part 1)
Llandudno Railway Station
The Holyhead to Crewe Railway Line
Watching The Trains Go By
Return to Manchester (Norton Bridge remodelling)

My pictures

Llandudno trip (This trip)
North Wales Line (Crewe - Llandudno) All pictures
Crewe Area rail All pictures
Great Orme Tramway All pictures
Llandudno Earlier pictures

Depending on the display device, the right hand edge of pictures may not display. To see an uncropped image, click on the picture. Alternately, you can find the image by following the 'My pictures' links and display or download the image in various resolutions.