The Gaerwen Grid Railtour
20th January 2020
Saturday 10th October 1992.
56097 on arrival at Blaenau Festiniog. The narrow gauge lines are to the left.
145 miles of Class 37 haulage to Crewe in the morning was the prospect today, followed by two different Class 56 "Grids" into North Wales and back. This was a tour that juts had to be done. At the time I had not travelled the North Wales line to Holyhead, let alone the Llandudno and Blaenau Festiniog branches, so a lot of new track was a bonus too. The usual early start from home to get to Bristol was normal, the only way to get on these trains ever since the days of F&W, which often started from Plymouth. I think I must have driven to Taunton to pick up the coach connection that Pathfinder used to put on.
I did not record timings on this trip so cannot say for sure what the time keeping was like, but I am fairly certain that things ran more-or-less as they should, so likely we set off from Parkway at around 06.15. Class 37 no. 37425 "Sir William McAlpine/Concrete Bob" was our loco, at the time wearing the triple grey Trainload livery. Our route was direct to Birmingham, via Lickey, thence straight up to Crewe over the WCML. 37425 was removed here and Class 56 no. 56069 was our train engine for the leg to Chester and Llandudno, spausing for around 20 minutes at Abergele & Pensarn station for a photo stop.
Photo stop with 56069 at Abergele.
We arrived at the seaside resort of Llandudno at around 11.30 and had at least half an hour or more for a quick look around before setting off back down the branch. I managed to get a shot or two of the Great Orme Tramway before we left: from the bottom, not the top!
56069 at platform 3 - Llandudno.
It was at Llandudno at 56069 was left behind as another "Grid", no. 56097 had arrived light engine to take us on the Blaenau Festiniog and Holyhead legs, and 56069 later met us at Chester on the return journey. 56097 would make history for the class today - the first-ever "Grid" down the Blaenau branch! We had a spectacular trip, twisting and turning, passing through tiny settlements and their simple halts, before the huge grey mountains of slate came into view and we knew that Blaenau Festiniog and our destination, was close by.
New arrival 56097 ready to leave Llandudno.
It was a brief stay here, just enough time to run-round 56097 and take us back to Llandudno Junction. So brief that no narrow gauge train of the Festiniog Railway was seen, just the track! There was the option to get off and stay here, and travelling the Festiniog Railway, and rejoin later at Llandudno Junction, but that would mean missing the track to Holyhead, and more "Grid" haulage, so that wasn't really an option today! That railway would have to wait until another day.
56097 running around the stock at Blaenau.
56097 used a short section of the Trawsfynydd branch to run round. I noticed that a sleeper had been placed across the track slightly further down, confirming that the branch from here was closed, the nuclear power station having closed the previous year in 1991. But subsequent tours have been down the branch, so it was not quite over for that section yet. It's just a shame that we could not go further, and I never did cover that part of the branch.
No trip to Trawsfynydd with 56097 today!
56097 took us back up to the Junction, and straight on to the main line heading west, bound for the Isle of Anglesey. We passed the cliche that is Llanfair P.G. (no, I won't spell it out here - look it up!), over the Menai Straights and past the junction for the freight-only line to Amlwch at Gaerwen Junction (hence the name of the tour), another branch that evaded me. On arrival at the ferry port of Holyhead we had over an hour before departure, and apart from taking a few pictures of the train I cannot imagine, or remember, what else we did in that time. There is something different about these places, something lonely, desolate even, and certainly not comforting; the extremities of civilisation where the only apparent reason for their existence is to be the place that you arrive at in order to leave for your next adventure as quickly as possible. Holyhead, and others like it (such as Penzance, Fishguard, Stanraer) are not places that you would chose to go to, let alone stay, unless you had to be somewhere else! Fast.
Let's get out of town quick! 56097 and train at Holyhead.
Anyway, our motive power, Class 56 no. 56097 knew that it had to take us back out of tone, so in good time we left, at around 16.40, after an hour and twenty minutes, or so, contemplating our departure. A spirited run along the North Wales main line sped us eastwards, and after around an hour and a hlaf we were at Chester, where 56069 was waiting to take over. Goodbye 56097 and we are on our way again, this time the "Grid" taking us back to Birmingham New Street, by way of Wrexham and Shrewsbury, Telford and then the WCML at Wolverhampton. Meanwhile, "Concrete Bob", our Class 37 no. 37425, had been sent light engine from Crewe to meet us, and duly took over from 56069 for the final leap back home to Bristol Temple Meads. Arrival back at taunton was after midnight. A long day out, but one that I enjoyed immensely. Lots of "firsts": first time to North Wales, first time to Holyhead, Llandudno and Blaenau Festiniog, and the first Grid to that destination.
56097 on arrival at Blaenau Festiniog. The narrow gauge lines are to the left.
145 miles of Class 37 haulage to Crewe in the morning was the prospect today, followed by two different Class 56 "Grids" into North Wales and back. This was a tour that juts had to be done. At the time I had not travelled the North Wales line to Holyhead, let alone the Llandudno and Blaenau Festiniog branches, so a lot of new track was a bonus too. The usual early start from home to get to Bristol was normal, the only way to get on these trains ever since the days of F&W, which often started from Plymouth. I think I must have driven to Taunton to pick up the coach connection that Pathfinder used to put on.
I did not record timings on this trip so cannot say for sure what the time keeping was like, but I am fairly certain that things ran more-or-less as they should, so likely we set off from Parkway at around 06.15. Class 37 no. 37425 "Sir William McAlpine/Concrete Bob" was our loco, at the time wearing the triple grey Trainload livery. Our route was direct to Birmingham, via Lickey, thence straight up to Crewe over the WCML. 37425 was removed here and Class 56 no. 56069 was our train engine for the leg to Chester and Llandudno, spausing for around 20 minutes at Abergele & Pensarn station for a photo stop.
Photo stop with 56069 at Abergele.
We arrived at the seaside resort of Llandudno at around 11.30 and had at least half an hour or more for a quick look around before setting off back down the branch. I managed to get a shot or two of the Great Orme Tramway before we left: from the bottom, not the top!
56069 at platform 3 - Llandudno.
It was at Llandudno at 56069 was left behind as another "Grid", no. 56097 had arrived light engine to take us on the Blaenau Festiniog and Holyhead legs, and 56069 later met us at Chester on the return journey. 56097 would make history for the class today - the first-ever "Grid" down the Blaenau branch! We had a spectacular trip, twisting and turning, passing through tiny settlements and their simple halts, before the huge grey mountains of slate came into view and we knew that Blaenau Festiniog and our destination, was close by.
New arrival 56097 ready to leave Llandudno.
It was a brief stay here, just enough time to run-round 56097 and take us back to Llandudno Junction. So brief that no narrow gauge train of the Festiniog Railway was seen, just the track! There was the option to get off and stay here, and travelling the Festiniog Railway, and rejoin later at Llandudno Junction, but that would mean missing the track to Holyhead, and more "Grid" haulage, so that wasn't really an option today! That railway would have to wait until another day.
56097 running around the stock at Blaenau.
56097 used a short section of the Trawsfynydd branch to run round. I noticed that a sleeper had been placed across the track slightly further down, confirming that the branch from here was closed, the nuclear power station having closed the previous year in 1991. But subsequent tours have been down the branch, so it was not quite over for that section yet. It's just a shame that we could not go further, and I never did cover that part of the branch.
No trip to Trawsfynydd with 56097 today!
56097 took us back up to the Junction, and straight on to the main line heading west, bound for the Isle of Anglesey. We passed the cliche that is Llanfair P.G. (no, I won't spell it out here - look it up!), over the Menai Straights and past the junction for the freight-only line to Amlwch at Gaerwen Junction (hence the name of the tour), another branch that evaded me. On arrival at the ferry port of Holyhead we had over an hour before departure, and apart from taking a few pictures of the train I cannot imagine, or remember, what else we did in that time. There is something different about these places, something lonely, desolate even, and certainly not comforting; the extremities of civilisation where the only apparent reason for their existence is to be the place that you arrive at in order to leave for your next adventure as quickly as possible. Holyhead, and others like it (such as Penzance, Fishguard, Stanraer) are not places that you would chose to go to, let alone stay, unless you had to be somewhere else! Fast.
Let's get out of town quick! 56097 and train at Holyhead.
Anyway, our motive power, Class 56 no. 56097 knew that it had to take us back out of tone, so in good time we left, at around 16.40, after an hour and twenty minutes, or so, contemplating our departure. A spirited run along the North Wales main line sped us eastwards, and after around an hour and a hlaf we were at Chester, where 56069 was waiting to take over. Goodbye 56097 and we are on our way again, this time the "Grid" taking us back to Birmingham New Street, by way of Wrexham and Shrewsbury, Telford and then the WCML at Wolverhampton. Meanwhile, "Concrete Bob", our Class 37 no. 37425, had been sent light engine from Crewe to meet us, and duly took over from 56069 for the final leap back home to Bristol Temple Meads. Arrival back at taunton was after midnight. A long day out, but one that I enjoyed immensely. Lots of "firsts": first time to North Wales, first time to Holyhead, Llandudno and Blaenau Festiniog, and the first Grid to that destination.