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Updated 30th January 2012

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 Speeding along the track



LATEST NEWSLETTER

You can download a copy of our latest newsletter in *.pdf format.

   Newsletter 56 January 2012

Up and Down the Line

Station footfall on the Cambrian grew by 9.2% in 2009-2010

Aberystwyth
Footfall for 2008/2009 was 273,410, compared to 218,498 in 2002/2003.

Work on the station refurbishment WAS due to start "in early 2011"....ahem ahem. As of the end of January 2012, nothing had happened.

Llandre
Consultants employed by TraCC managed to get the backs of the residents of Llandre up with their plan for a proposed station showing the village playground consumed by a station car park. Apparently they weren't consulted about it.

Borth
The Line Liaison Committee were told that Borth's footfall for the first 9 months of 2010 was c61,000. The ORR figure for the year 08/09 was c47,000. Observations from members suggest that fare collection has been more effective recently.

There has been uproar reported amongst the student fraternity some of whom decided to take accommodation in Borth blithely assuming their Young Persons Railcards would get them discount for their daily commute into Aberystwyth. The national terms and conditions have changed some- what: you cannot use a Young Persons railcard before 0930 and can only buy tickets over the value of £12.00 now. However all is not lost for the students who can, as with any other residents of Borth, buy a Cambrian Local Railcard for just £5.00 and use it before 0930.

Work has been completed on the renovation of the offices on Borth Station which opened as a museum in Mid July. The long haul of meetings, planning submissions, estimates and tenders etc., has finally come to fruition and after three years,

The building now houses various collections, including Village History, Railway and Industrial heritage Collections and Natural History and Environmental displays.

The renovation of this building, subleased from Arriva Trains Wales, is being funded from various sources, including Borth Station Volunteers, The Railway Heritage Fund, Cambrian Railways Partnership and the industrial heritage fund known as PLWM.

If you feel you want to contribute to this exciting heritage project, have anything to donate or loan to the collection or wish to join the Friends of the Museum, or think you can help in any other way, please contact George on 01970871850. The Museum is staffed by volunteers.



Tywyn Bus Connections
A revised bus timetable came into force w/e/f 31/10/11 following cessation of Arriva from the Machynlleth/Tywyn/Dolgellau route. Lloyds Coaches have implemented a reduced service in the daytime only, from Machynlleth to Tywyn, with the first and last only continuing to Bryncrug & Llanegryn.

Those travelling to Tywyn by train should note that THERE IS NOW NO BUS CONNECTION FOR TYWYN FROM THE 18.46 TRAIN INTO MACHYNLLETH. There remains of course the train to Barmouth on Fridays only. The last bus from Machynlleth leaves there at 17.15, almost in the shadow of the 17.06 train. [Via Bill Redfern]

Dovey Junction
Footfall for 2008/2009 was 1,494, compared to 804 in 2002/2003.

Surprisingly the Aberystwyth line platform, Numbered 2, has not been split into a & b, given that it will be capable of holding two trains simultaneously.

Machynlleth
Footfall for 2008/2009 was 107,346 compared to 81,219 in 2002/2003.

The Department for Transport has announced under its "Access for All" scheme funding of £1 million to construct a lift and footbridge between the 2 platforms. Further monies will be contributed by Welsh Government to complete the scheme but with continued lack of investment in what the all will be accessing is it really worth the money if trains are still too infrequent or short formed and the fares too expensive to be attractive to the all? SARPA's own disability focus group comes up with the same issues as other passengers on overcrowding, connections etc. Perhaps we should make these a "disabled" issue and see if money is showered?
 An old style BR Totem at Machynlleth


Carno Station:- Business Case (With comment from Sarpa News No 56 by "The Brigadier")
In view of the lengthy investigations and appraisals with which the protagonists of a revived Carno station have been involved, it was interesting to note in "Modern Railways" for January 2012 a column which began "Research suggesting that traditional transport appraisal techniques fail to capture the full economic impact of investing in stations has been published by Network Rail........."

The magazine said that the report, published in conjunction with Steer Davies Gleave had found that stations can act as regional gateways, helping to stimulate economic growth and attract business. Actual benefits associated with station investment greatly exceeded, by between five and seven times, those estimated by traditional transport appraisal techniques. Food for thought?

In the meantime, (The Brigadier says) we've all heard about business cases: we're often told that a particular scheme hasn't got one or occasionally we hear that a scheme such as High Speed 2 has. However once and a while the nitty-gritty of how they're worked out is made available, and in the case of Carno station a distinctly sour taste is left in the mouth. TraCC commissioned consultants Capita Symonds to look at the business cases for reopening Carno and Bow St Stations and some funny results fell out the woodwork, exposing the inputs chosen for the methodology as suspect. The success or not of schemes appears to be rigged by what's chosen as its inputs.

You'll remember that the estimated benefits of a particular scheme expressed in monetary terms are divided by the estimated cost of providing the scheme. The greater the resultant ratio is in the positive the more chance the scheme has of being approved. Historically getting a ratio somewhere near 2.0 was seen as in the green light zone, i.e. the cost of doing it was around about half the cost of the benefits. Sounds great doesn't it? Carno's station came out at a sickly 1.15 - nowhere near green light status. Carno Station Action Group obtained the report and found the following suspect assumptions used by the consultants:
  • 1. Nearly 4000 existing journeys per annum will no longer be made on the line. The two minute slowing down of the schedule to stop at Carno will put these folk off travelling according to the consultants and the lost revenue was counted as a cost: c£25K.

  • 2. The annual maintenance cost of the station would be a staggering £35K.

  • 3. The station car park would need to be raised 1.5m out of the floodplain at a cost of c£250K.

  • 4. Vehicle operating costs saved i.e. the cost saved by folk not driving assumed petrol prices rise at 0.2% per annum.

It's not too hard to question these. Will 2 minutes in the schedule really have any difference on someone making the decision to travel from Aberystwyth to Birmingham? Is the station to have its own full time caretaker with a generous paint allowance? No one who lives in the village can recall the allocated field for the car parking flooding in living memory. Is raising it therefore necessary? Petrol costs have risen by an average of 3% per annum for the last decade, and are expected to continue in this vein, therefore the real savings would be far higher than the consultants' assumed value and so beneficial to the case. It looks like the good old fudge - find additional costs and knock down the estimated benefits to make sure the scheme you don't like doesn't have a business case. CSAG calculate that assuming no passengers are lost, a sensible maintenance cost, no rising of the car park and using real petrol costs, the BCR is around 1.7. (See also this link to Department for Transport website)

Still not good enough? Well consider this: the Western Mail reports that the cost of the Welsh Government's (WG) own favourite pet transport project, the dualling of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road, has risen so much since the BCR for it was first estimated, that if a reassessment was made today which included the reality of falling traffic levels and hefty rises in insurance and petrol the scheme wouldn't even hit a BCR of 1.0!

WG didn't even deny it: a spokeswoman said "Dualling this road will help improve safety, shorten travel times for commuters and businesses and contribute to the wider regeneration of the region," adding that benefit-to-cost ratios (BCRs) formed only part of the decision-making process. "The overall appraisal needs to take account of all of the costs and benefits of schemes, such as their economic, environmental and social impacts." As anyone with any common sense knows (which clearly the silly girl in the press office doesn't) these are already factored into the BCR calculations!

Which makes you wonder why BCR is used at all, if you're in control it seems you just plough ahead with your 35 year old out of date and irrelevant Welsh Office roads masterplan, even if scores of railway station reopening proposals are whopping your business cases backside.

Caersws
New "Customer Information Screens (or "Train Describers" to those of a certain age) were due to be installed towards the end of 2011.

The manually operated level crossing gates and signals plus associated wiring rods and levers were removed on 19th March 2011 ready for ERTMS operation and the crossing keepers made redundant. The box at Caersws had been opened under Cambrian Railways ownership in 1891 built by Duttons of Worcester. Until 1987 it controlled a crossing loop and block sections either side to Talerddig and Newtown, prior to 1965 the sections were to Moat Lane Junction West and Pontdolgoch.

Caersws Community Council is looking to set up station adopters.

Moat Lane Junction
From a briefing given to the National Assembly for Wales Enterprise and Learning Committee in January 2011 by Professor Stuart Cole, Professor of Transport, Wales Transport Research Centre, University of Glamorgan Business School: "Re-opening of the Moat Lane junction to Builth Road section primarily for freight operation to enable increased use of both the Cambrian and Heart of Wales lines for freight movements between South Wales and North West England and give some relief to the congestion in the Cardiff - Newport areas". We presume that Professor Cole will understand that after the introduction of an hourly service, the route could only be used at night because of the line occupation on the Cambrian.

Newtown
Footfall for 2008/2009 was 110,034, compared to 80,540 in 2002/2003.

The scaffolding that has covered the Royal Welsh Warehouse/Pryce Jones building next to the station has at last been removed after over 12 months work. The owners with grant aid have spent £2 million renewing the roof, windows and sand blasting the exterior. The external condition is the best it's been for a number of decades. Stonework on the front reveals the buildings links to the railway with a stone carving of an LNWR "Alfred the Great" Webb Compound locomotive clearly on view. The Warehouse was built in 1879 and extended in 1886/1887. A further building on the other side of the road known as Agriculture House completed in 1902 according to several sources though the building bears 1895 in large lettering on it.

Newtown draper Pryce Jones started the World's first mail order business in 1859 and his company provided a thriving parcels trade that the railway dealt with. The goods were shipped in LNWR built vans with Pryce Jones lettering and marked "Return to Euston". It was taken over by larger concerns in 1938 and subsequently had several name changes. The upper floors of the building were operating as a catalogue call centre up into its closure in January 2011. The 1979 working timetable for the line showed a parcels train running down to Newtown in the morning and returning empty to Shrewsbury. Conversations with older members of the community reveal it was being used as a returns centre for Kays Catalogue at that time. What happened to the returned goods? The buildings still house several retail companies and members of the public can walk in and browse. The top floors of the original building are not accessible and the call centre is still there with desks and computers in situ. Shop Direct apparently have the lease until the end of March 2013 and seem to have mothballed the facility.
 A passable represntation of a Webb 4 Cylinder Compound
.

Welshpool
Footfall has now passed 100,000, compared to 60,538 in 2002/2003.

No work has yet been been done with regard to repairing the station footbridge, although we learned during 2011 that the matter was supposedly in hand and the intention was that work would have started "in June". We believe this information originated from Welshpool's Town Clerk, though as far as we are aware, he did not state which June he meant. In the meantime that doyen of accurate and impartial information the County Times published a piece at the end of October claiming that the station footbridge will be resurfaced. Ah yes. But WHEN?

Since the introduction of full ERTMS working in March, the Down platform has remained largely out of use unless trains are required to cross at Welshpool. .

A customer information screen has been installed and was due to be operational by the New Year. However, at the end of January and 2 months after installation, it was still advising passengers to ring 08457 484950 for train information, something which really could have been provided by a mere poster! So far not a lot of use, then, though it does display the correct time.

It was claimed by a County Times (30/12/11/) columnist that a mother and young toddler had been refused access to a train due to overcrowding and left to wait on a following bus in freezing cold conditions. No date or time was given.

Buttington
From November 2011, piles of steel sleepers have been noted stored ready for use by Network Rail on the site of the station at Buttington.

Middletown
We are pleased to note that the veritable forest growing out of the overbridge at Middletown, adjacent to the site of the station (closed 1964) has been cleared.

Shrewsbury
Footfall for 2008/2009 was 1,595,812, compared to 1,258,246 in 2002/2003.

Severn Bridge Junction signal box, built by the LNWR in 1903, is set to continue in service until at least 2030. It is now the largest lever-operated box in the world, with 180 levers.
 Severn Bridge Junction Signal Box
Severn Bridge Junction Signal Box, seen here in May 2006, with some serious motive power using the triangle to turn. The box has since been repainted in the full LNWR livery of buff and brown.

Shropshire County Council have now officially dropped its campaign to build the so called North West Relief Road, conceding that getting the £100 million plus funding was unlikely in the current climate. Instead they are backing a £30 million package of traffic calming and control measures, including the building of the long mooted Shrewsbury Parkway station - on the Wolverhampton line near to where the A49/A5 roads split/join.

The current A49/A5 bypass around the town dates from the early 1990's, an earlier bypass just involving the A5 was built in the 1930's avoiding the town centre. It should be noted that a bypass on a bypass has not resolved traffic congestion in the centre of the town. It should also be noted that an arrival into Shrewsbury station around 0830 in the morning from the Cambrian would take traffic off the A458 road.



Cosford Station
Cosford station is to be rebuilt in a £2.1 million project. There will be new platforms and waiting shelters, new lighting and customer information screens. The work started on 31st October and is hoped will be completed by the end of March 2012. During reconstruction the station will be closed, and road transport provided from Albrighton station.

Telford:- RE-OPENED RAIL LINE BETWEEN STAFFORD AND TELFORD?
Rail chiefs in Shropshire have unveiled ambitious £230 million plans to re-open the Telford to Stafford railway line creating a direct link from Shrewsbury to London in under 2 1/2 hours. Shropshire, Telford & the Marches Strategic Rail Group has voted to lobby the government to back its bid to fill the gap left when the Wrexham and Shropshire Railway ceased operating in January. The group, which includes members of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire councils, believes that there is no room for expansion at Birmingham New Street and that a route via Stafford is the quickest, cheapest and most realistic option for re-establishing a direct link to the capital.

The rail group wants stations at Donnington, Newport and Gnosall to be re-established along a dual line that would roughly follow that which existed until the 1960s. Members have travelled in a bus along the potential route and were pleasantly surprised by the lack of work that would be needed, with only a small detour required at new houses in Donnington. They have already held meetings with Network Rail and Association of Train Operating Companies about the proposals. - Stafford Railway Circle website.

Gowerton
We noted in the railway press that the Swansea-Llanelli redoubling is likely to go ahead to reverse the singling of approximately six miles though Gowerton in 1986. This now places a serious constraint on service frequency and recovery from delays for West Wales services, including hourly workings from Milford Haven or Carmarthen. Loughor Viaduct which is on the route is said to be now too weak to support the loads associated with reversion to double track. Funding for a new viaduct was said to have been earmarked just before the May elections for the Welsh Assembly.

Meanwhile the obfuscation with regard to the Chester-Wrexham redoubling continues, with silly proposals for dynamic loops instead of double track thoughout. The reason? The existence of 2 single track bridges built in the 1980s, one over and one under the A483 Gresford - Pulford bypass. It would of course be very difficult to imagine a road scheme for a dual carriageway being contstrained in such a manner by the existence of a single carriageway bridge over a railway! Interesting too that the Gowerton redoubling is in South Wales. Double standards or what?!

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Other News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Archive Newsletters
We have now included an archive of previous newsletters on this site, right back to 2001. These are *.pdf files and they have an added advantage over the photocopied originals in that you can see all the photographs in full colour.

You can access the archive by
Clicking Here.

ERTMS
Since the new ERTMS signalling went live on the entire Cambrian network at the end of March 2011, there have been some teething troubles and some nasty delays, though the consenus is that things are improving! In the old days of BR, when there was a research department at Derby, any new signalling system would probably have been developed there and not foisted on long suffering passengers before it was fully perfected.

Arriva Trains Wales, meanwhile are of the opinion that the system is still not quite satisfactory, saying "It has never done anything unsafe but reliability in other ways continues to cause us concern."

If you actually look at the ERTMS website, you could be forgiven for thinking that this signalling system was the most wonderful thing since the Apollo Space Program (and some may say the most expensive), with railways the World over keen to get a slice of the action.

The system has been proposed for use on the electrified GWR main line between London, Bristol and South Wales.

Engineering Work on the Arriva Network
From 28th March, the ERTMS signalling went live and the recent programme of engineering on the Cambrian in connection with this should have been completed. There is still a substantial amount of work due to take place on Arriva's network during 2011. Passengers travelling to Birmingham from the Cambrian may be affected at weekends owing to line improvements taking place between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton. For further information, please use this link to look at the map..



Railtours from Aberystwyth in 2012

The followng railtours will run from Aberystwyth in 2012. Motive power will be the inevitable Network Rail Class 97s. The operator is Cheshire Cat Railtours and for full details, please see their website:- www.cheshirecattours.co.uk
  • 14 April Aberystwyth to Carlisle via Settle.

  • 20 October Aberystwyth to Bath and Salisbury


Timetable Changes and Hourly Service Update
We met with our assembly member, Russell George in January and he said he would ask questions regarding the proposed hourly service in the Assembly. We include here the complete transcript with the replies from the minister, Carl Sargeant. . We leave it up to people to make their own minds up........... We gather that some of our members are Not Very Impressed with the responses!

WRITTEN ASSEMBLY QUESTION FOR ANSWER BY THE MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES ON 24 JANUARY 2012

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): What considerations led the Minister to defer the implementation of a daytime hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury beyond 2011, in contradiction to the commitment made in the National Transport Plan. (WAQ59579)

Carl Sargeant: In May 2011, I announced that I would prioritise the remaining interventions in the National Transport Plan. This meant that every project not already started was subject to review. The Plan was published on 7 December 2011.

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): What are the Welsh Government's perceived barriers to the introduction of the hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. (WAQ59580)

Carl Sargeant: Network Rail has commissioned its new ERTMS signalling system on the Cambrian Line. This was delayed by a number of different technical issues, which led to reliability problems with train services. It also led to a delay in our planning for an enhanced timetable as we were unable to establish the train running times that could realistically be achieved with the new signalling system and enhanced infrastructure.

The train services are now more reliable although there is scope for further improvement. There are still some infrastructure problems affecting reliability, and we have made it clear to Network Rail that it needs to address these quickly at its own cost, which it is doing. These infrastructure issues also prevent the introduction of an enhanced service pattern.

When Network Rail addresses these infrastructure issues we will have a clear understanding of how an enhanced timetable would work. A number of different timetable options have been prepared, and my officials are discussing these in detail with Network Rail and Arriva Trains Wales. Following this, my officials will provide me with detailed advice, and I will consider the introduction of additional services when Network Rail completes its remaining work.

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Does the Minister intend to introduce the hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury as soon as possible in 2012. (WAQ59581)

Carl Sargeant: I refer you to my answer for WAQ59580 which explains the barriers to the introduction of additional services on the Cambrian Line. I will consider the introduction of additional services when Network Rail has ensured that the infrastructure is robust.

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): With regards to the rail service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury, what preparatory work in terms of timetable drafting and crew diagramming has the Welsh Government commissioned from Network Rail and Arriva Trains Wales respectively. (WAQ59582)

Carl Sargeant: We have commissioned our own preparatory work, which has formed the basis of our discussions with Network Rail and Arriva Trains Wales. We have asked Network Rail to model the robustness of the train running times on the new infrastructure and to identify where it needs to make improvements so that an hourly daytime service can be achieved.

Russell George (Montgomeryshire): Has Arriva Trains Wales been asked to quote for the cost of the extra service and if so, what was the specification for these extra services and what was the final quoted cost. (WAQ59583)

Carl Sargeant: I refer you to my answer for WAQ59580 which explains the barriers to the introduction of additional services on the Cambrian Line. Arriva Trains Wales has provided us with costs, however, these cannot be finalised until the infrastructure issues are resolved by Network Rail.

Arriva buys Grand Central
Grand Central, an open access operator, has been added to Arriva's portfolio of Arriva Trains Wales, Cross Country and Chiltern Railways franchises, and their concessions to operate the Tyne and Wear Metro, and as a joint venture, London Overground.

PLANS TO PUT PASSENGERS AT THE HEART OF RAIL REGULATION
Plans for the rail regulator to be given more powers to protect passengers' interests are the subject of a joint consultation by the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The consultation, ‘A greater role for ORR regulating passenger franchisees in England and Wales', seeks views on the potential for an expanded role for ORR so that it can put passengers at the heart of regulation. Under the proposals, which would see the Government step back from rail regulation, new licence conditions would enable the independent rail regulator to ensure passenger complaints are handled properly as well as to take on responsibility for monitoring train performance and service standards. The plans aim to simplify the landscape of regulation in England and Wales to make the rail industry more efficient, cost effective and transparent. The closing date for comments is 2 Mar 2012. Details here. - rail-reg.gov.uk
 Seen on a Southeastern unit at Canterbury
Health and Safety to extreme or really desparate commuters? Stating the obvious, really. Seen on a Southeastern Unit at Canterbury East in November 2011



Train Stay Save:- Stay in Wales and Save Money
We would like to take the opportunity for a brief reminder regarding the TRAIN STAY SAVE promotion which affords visitors who travel by train a 10% discount at accommodation across the Mid Wales region. You can download a copy of the promotional leaflet by clicking here.


Its a Health & Safety Video!
It is clear that railway administrations in other parts of the World take a rather more robust view with regard to health and safety issues than we do here in the UK, where in recent years, increasing paranoia has led to a dramatic hike in costs. This video clip was sent to us by an acquaintance of the webmaster who hails from Romania. Beyond that we know nothing about it except that it features an astonishing scene in a Bangkok market. One presumes that the route concerned doesn't have an hourly service yet either, "promised" or actual. And not a yellow jacket to be seen anywhere!

Maybe it is in fact a possible solution to the barmy idea of moving the station at Aberystwyth some distance eastwards as part of the so called "Master Plan" for the town. Retailers could occupy the tracks under normal circumstances, being moved out of the way to permit the passage of trains as shown in the movie.


Journey Check
Journey Check is a new initiative launched by Arriva Trains Wales and is an improved real time train service information system. This enables you to instantly see that the train you intend to travel on is running according to schedule, or should problems arise, if delays are expected. JourneyCheck is a dedicated website page which displays all current service and line running information including:
  • Services running on time & to schedule.

  • Details of any disruption to your selected route or train

  • Station arrival and departure times

  • Reported incidents impacting on services

  • Planned disruption caused by Network Rail track engineering works impacting the Arriva Trains Wales network.

It gives you all the real time service information you need on your intended journey, helping you to make the best decisions to arrive at your final destination in good time & by the most convenient route. Arriva Trains Wales Journey Check is a FREE service that is available to everyone. There is no need to register - To get up to the minute updates on your favourite Arriva Trains Wales services.simply visit:-

www.journeycheck.com/arrivatrainswales



NEW - Journey Check iPhone App
It goes further....! Arriva Trains Wales have launched a new way for customers to obtain train running information with the introduction of a FREE iPhone App providing live updates of train services on the Arriva Trains Wales network.

It gives an immediate impression of the status of all Arriva's routes, with each of the 24 lines showing either Good Service, Minor Disruption or Major Disruption. In extreme cases the status could also be Amended Timetable, Road Replacement Transport or No Service. Travellers can also see details of individual trains e.g. if they are on time, delayed, cancelled or are subject to any alterations.

The details are consistent with the train service information available on the Arriva Trains Wales Journey Check website and in addition to providing real time updates, the App can be navigated to discover more details about a particular delay or line problem. Information available via the App includes:
  • Any train service disruption including cancellations, significant delays and alterations to the scheduled service.

  • Line problems which are causing disruption on one or more routes - including updates on the likely extent of any delays and disruption.

  • Also available are details of any planned engineering works that are scheduled to affect services on each route.

  • Where services are running normally an indication of 'Good Service' to provide reassurance to customers.


iPhone users can download the free App by searching for ATW Journey Check in the App Store. The App is also compatible for the iPad. Download it to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch NOW and get access to the latest and best Arriva Trains Wales service information where ever you are, whenever you want.


RAILWAY INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY COMPETITION
The answer was......

Gas fillng points for railway carriages of which there are still four between the tracks in Machynlleth station, marked "GWR Oil Gas" on round cast iron covers. The technology was Pintsch Oil Gas for Carriage Lighting made by the fractioal distillation of mineral oil. When it was abolished, the risk of fire in a collision was greatly reduced. Notable collisions where the effects of fire from gaslit coaches were all to evident and terrible included Aisgill, Hawes Junction, Quintinsill and Charfield. There were also several others.

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Steam News

 A Welsh Higland Beyer Garratt hard at work
One of the Welsh Highland Railway's Garratts hard at work on 6th August, heading towards Porthmadog with the 1500 ex Caernarfon

This year the SARPA summer trip took in the Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. We left the Cambrian via the 0730 departure from Aberystwyth, due Shrewsbury at 0925, travelling on North Wales Day Rover tickets. Owing to the delights of timetable planning, we had an hour to wait there for our connecting train onwards to Bangor. It was interesting that this service managed to drop 6 minutes for no good reason at all onwards from Chester along the North Wales Coast.

Travel over the missing section (closed under the Beeching Axe in 1970) between Bangor and Caernarfon was accomplished with the assistance of an Arriva bus, on which our rover tickets were also valid, though this is not the case for other operators. Arrival at Caernarfon gave an hour for lunch before the departure of the Welsh Highland train to Porthmadog. All the same, whilst the bus interchange at Bangor station could not be faulted, it was quite a lengthy walk to the railway in Caernarfon, so it was as well we had time in hand.

The Welsh Highland station is situated on the trackbed of the former LNWR standard gauge route to Afon Wen, which was swept away completely after closure in 1964, though notably the tunnel Northwards under the town has been utilised for a sparsely used road. The new station essentially consists of a series of portacabins, basic but adequate. A healthy discount was also available when we presented our North Wales Day Rover tickets. Departure for Porthmadog was at 1500, prior to which our Beyer Garratt locomotive was serviced. No doubt the engine crews will appreciate the luxury of a pit when the railway finally gets around to installing one. Raking out a substantial ashpan whilst kneeling in a pile of wet ash is hardly state of the art in the way of steam traction facilities!

Immediately after departure it becomes apparent that the Welsh Highland is a very impressive operation. Substantial work has been carried out to resurrect this line, which has been the beneficiary of much funding from Welsh Assembly Government The first part of the route utilises the trackbed southwards of the former standard gauge Bangor-Afon Wen section as far as Dinas, thence the railway runs over the Welsh Highland proper on to Porthmadog. It is on this latter section that the scenery becomes really impressive.

Our Garratt locomotive appeared to have no difficulty in coping with a long and well loaded train, though it was notable that the engine was throwing out a fair amount of unburned fuel as it climbed up into the mountains, so one couldn't help but wonder what might happen in a really dry summer. The flexible gangways between the coaches on this line are not made perfectly weathertight and in consequence it was not long before a carpet of ash had collected in the end vestibules, which turned to gritty filth in the rain. It would seem that the locomotives have not yet had any treatment which would bring them more up to date in this respect, like the Lempor exhaust or gas producer firing. This is a pity as no doubt the railway would notice the financial benefits of improved performance from its steam locomotives and the carriage cleaners would be delighted to have less work to do..

After a journey over an absolute breathtaking railway, arrival in Porthmadog was some 15 minutes down, mainly owing to poor station work en-route, which seemed to be characterised by an extraordinary amount of fiddling about. Also, it appears that the last section of the Welsh Highland to be renewed, between Beddgelert and Porthmadog is subject to a 15 mph speed restriction, maybe to allow the track to bed down but all the same, certainly no aid to timekeeping.

Arrival at Porthmadog is preceded by a short trip along the main street, where the railway and road share the same right of way. Porthmadog Harbour station as yet has no dedicated platform face for Caernarfon bound trains, so a reversal is necessary to gain that for the Ffestiniog line. A diesel was waiting to drag us back into the station and our Garratt continued light engine across the Cob to Boston Lodge, none of which procedure does much for a prompt arrival. After all this it was time to hot foot it across the town to the main line station for the last Up departure for Machynlleth and stations to Shrewsbury.

All in all a fantastic day out with a visit to an equally fantastic new railway. That being said, attention to timekeeping would be a help. So would ending the long running disagreements between the new Welsh Highland and the Welsh Highland "heritage" operation based in Porthmadog as this railway operates from a site adjacent to the main line station; cross platform interchange with Caernarfon bound narrow gauge trains would be possible at a site near Pont Croesor. It would save a large wedge of shoe leather and would encourage patronage from rail based visitors.

Attention to locomotive matters would help too, in the way of bringing the machines up to 2nd generation steam (sgs) standards as outlined by Dante Porta and David Wardale, with consequent improved efficiency and hauling power. This should no doubt include servicing facilities as there is no excuse for laxity here on what is essentially a brand new railway.

NO STEAM ON THE CAMBRIAN MAIN LINE THIS YEAR

The Cambrian steam service operated between Machynlleth to Porthmadog and Pwllheli by West Coast Railways did not run last year, owing to the introduction of the new ERTMS signalling system and there has been no mention of the service for 2012. This is a great disappointment as the train was beginning to be used by people who travelled to the area by car and would not normally use the railway. Indeed, an interesting pattern of usage was developing as if the steam service was a new manner of service train, with many people travelling for part of the route between the intermediate stations. Some travelled outwards by steam and returned by Arriva diesel and vice versa. No doubt the towns on the route will miss the valuable extra trade brought in by the steam train too.

Haulage during the last year of operation was by a Stanier Black Five, No 44871. We understand that this locomotive underwent some manner of testing with ERTMS equipment in August of 2010.

In the meantime, steam traction is set to appear in Shrewsbury on 17 March (GWR King 4-6-0, 6024); 27 April (LMS Rebuit "Scot" 4-6-0, 6100); 7 May (LMS Black Five 4-6-0s, 44871 + 45407); 12 May (Eastern Region A1 4-6-2, 60163 and also 44871 + 45407 again with a special over the Heart of Wales line)

Full details of all steam traction on the main line can be found at http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs12.htm




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