Railways

[Cambrian]

Funny Llandudno doesn't seem to feature on the map.

[mull]

All a load of hot air.

When is someone going to authorise electrifying Crewe / Warrington to Holyhead., including Llandudno ?

Should have been done 50 years ago. Would have cost less than was spent tunneling under the Conway for the A55 at the time.
Not saying A55 should not have been improved but think of the difference it would have made. If it was on the continent it would have been done.

Different time, but what a difference it would have made

[Helig]

It is interesting to see they propose to reopen stations at Broughton and Greenfield. Or it could be they are going to build new ones in those locations? I can understand Broughton as the traffic situation is grim round there now. It would serve the factory and shopping development. I am not sure why they would want to reopen Greenfield though. I presume the new station at Deeside would cater for the industrial estate there. As you say, Llandudno does not feature in this, I think the future of the station is doubtful in the long term.

[Cambrian]

I think both Broughton and Greenfield would be new stations.  The original Broughton & Bretton station was on the line to Mold rather than the coast line.  Greenfield would be roughly on the site of Holywell Junction station of which little remains other than the privately owned station building and associated living quarters.

In 2019/20, Llandudno was used by almost 280,000 passengers - even allowing for Covid reduction - so perhaps its future is rather more secure than might be thought.

[Helig]

Thank you Cambrian. I did wonder about this but had forgotten that Broughton and Bretton was on the Mold line. The station buildings are still there but have been converted to residential accommodation.

Disused stations

According to this it now houses a veterinary practice:


I had no idea of the amount of people that used Llandudno station. It is good to know it has a secure future on that basis.

[Bri Roberts]

In 2019/20, Llandudno was used by almost 280,000 passengers - even allowing for Covid reduction - so perhaps its future is rather more secure than might be thought.

I wish I could share your view, Cambrian, especially with my family’s Victorian connection with the line.

However, should our railway line ever become disused then that three mile stretch of land that remains will be highly attractive and sought after by developers.

Thankfully for the time being, we have individuals locally who will never allow that to happen.

[Helig]

I share a family interest in the line too as my mother and grandfather worked for the railway in Llandudno and other stations in North Wales. My gt grandfather started out working in Mold station but went to Holyhead and stayed there until he retired.

[Helig]

Just an addition, my mother worked in Llandudno station in WW2. She met my father when he appeared at the booking office window one day. At one time she worked in Deganwy station and talked of seeing the Mulberry Harbours being built. Very hush hush at the time.

[Helig]

This was my grandfather's brother who also worked on the railways in his short life:

https://sites.google.com/site/holyheadwarmemorial19141918/home/army/harold-o-ackerley-royal-irish-rifles

[Cambrian]

Fascinating social history there guys.  It's a shame that there's such a preoccupation with locos, trains and engineering structures rather than the human stories of the railways.

Incidentally, Helig, just in case you were not aware, Harold joined the LNWR on 18th January, 1915 (at £30 pa!) and was initially at Nantlle Goods.  He transferred to Gaerwen as a junior clerk on 10th January, 1916 with an increase in salary of a princely £5. He then went to the wages staff at Conwy.

Bri - talking of female staff, I think there were a few around here to fill the gaps left by men joining the forces.  You may have seen that a statue has been erected in London to the first black (male) driver.  Llandudno possibly had the first black woman porter, the late Joyce Taylor, who retired around 1967.

[Bri Roberts]

Very interesting, Cambrian.

My family connection is my Gt Gt Grandfather and his family moved into the Railway Cottage at Maesdu well before Maesdu Bridge was built.

As a child, my Gt Grandmother, Elizabeth, used to open and close the crossing gates and developed the nickname Lizzie Crossing.

As a consequence, her sons (my uncles);were eventually nicknamed locally as Joe Crossing and Dai Crossing.

[SteveH]

Freight trains return to North Wales rail line for first time in years after quarry upgrade
A train carrying hundreds of tons of stone recently travelled from North Wales to Liverpool

It was the first train from the railhead since 2012 and the first freight train on the coast line since trains carrying nuclear flasks from Wylfa power station ceased in 2019.

The upgrading work has been carried out as part of Hanson Aggregates’ rail strategy to reduce vehicle movements and cut associated CO2 emissions.

Hanson have invested approximately £300,000 to repair, renew, and refurbish the facility.

This includes upgrades to the railhead conveyor that was last used in 2012, before which the rail link was used on a regular basis to supply ballast to Network Rail.

The first train, operated by GB Railfreight, consisted of 23 wagons which are capable of carrying up to 80 tons of material with each service capable of carrying the equivalent of 110 lorry loads.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/freight-trains-return-north-wales-22722663

[SAJ]

Fascinating social history there guys.  It's a shame that there's such a preoccupation with locos, trains and engineering structures rather than the human stories of the railways.

Here's an interesting bit of social history from 1871. Thomas Barlow was married to Margaret Jones, sister of my Great-grandmother, Harriet who married Robert Thomas. (Their son, John was the husband of Nain Thomas, Cwm Place, known to Hugo).As far as I can determine, Thomas and Margaret had 11 children, at least one of whom died in infancy. There is a further article from the same year detailing his success with his garden potato crop which produced a massive yield. The variety he planted, for any gardeners interested, was “Bovinia”.

[SteveH]

How HS2 could look in North Wales as rail group renews calls to electrify the coast line
Currently the high speed rail service is not set to enter Wales despite the project being classed as an England and Wales project

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/how-hs2-could-look-north-23931179

[SteveH]

Real ale and steam fans will be raising a glass to the return of a popular beer festival which helps put North Wales tourism on the tracks. The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways' ?Cwrw ar y Cledrau? real ale festival is back after several years on the buffers due to the pandemic.

The 'Rail Ale' festival as it is also known, is in its 16th year, and returns to the historic Dinas Station, near Caernarfon, from Friday, June 10, until Saturday, June 11. Originally, the brain child of the Welsh Highland Railway Society, largely organised by volunteers, the festival is run in conjunction with the railway company.

Organisers say, whilst it proves to be "massively popular" with local families the event also give a "huge boost" to Gwynedd and nearby Anglesey's tourism and trade.

The festival provides a vast array of ales, beers and ciders from across, Wales, many from the area's microbreweries, and they are made available in the historic Goods Shed at Dinas Station, which is transformed into a ?tap-room.?

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/ffestiniog-welsh-highland-railways-real-24172181