Friday 7 June - Special Train

Taliesin running round at Beddgelert

We met at Beddgelert station and watched our train arrive and Taliesin ran round. Taliesin is a single Fairlie built new, in effect, in 1999. Beautiful scenery through the Aberglaslyn Pass. 

Aberglaslyn Pass

The cattle were not bothered but the sheep were skittish. Saw a heron on the Croesor river. There were frequent stops to allow everyone to ride the footplate.
There was a quick stop at the location of the junction with the Croesor Tramway.

About to enter Harbour station Porthmadog

Porthmadog

We were allowed to get off and see the train cross the main road into Porthmadog Harbour station.
The visit to Minffordd yard was very interesting as it included areas not usually available to the public. An old double Fairlie firebox showed that there are in fact two fires and two sets of tubes.

Minffordd

A lady came out at Penrhyn and told the driver to move his train because he was putting cinders in the washing.

Penrhyn - the washing is at the top

We visited the signal box at Rhiw Coach and were given a very good explanation by the signalman. After a down train went through I was allowed to set up the road for us to leave.

Rhiw Coch

Rhiw Coch

Dduallt was the location for a double run past around the spiral.

Dduallt

On the spiral

There was a long wait getting into Glan y Pwll where we managed to see Mountaineer, an Alco from 1917 which the crew obligingly pulled out into the sun for us to photograph.

Glan y Pwll

Our stay at Glan y Pwll was lengthened by a failure of a double Fairlie on a main line service. It was brought back to Glan y Pwll and was blocking our exit for some time. 

Double Fairlie with a broken steam pipe at Glan y Pwll.

There was a discussion with Control over what siding the Fairlie was allowed into and it was able to move clear of us. We made good use of the wait as I drove Taliesin up and down the siding. The regulator was easy to use and it stopped easily on the steam brake.
There was a cream tea waiting for us at Tan y Bwlch. It was amazing with an enormous bowl of clotted cream, strawberries, scones, and cake.  The engine crew were changed at Boston Lodge. Network Rail had just passed over the crossing but we were not delayed. I rode the engine from Pont Croesor. The crew were upset at the condition of the fire which had clinkered probably because of the long standing 

periods. Pressure was dropping to around 110 although the boiler was pressed to 250. The fireman was mortgaging the water for steam. I put a few shovelsful of coal on, mainly around the back corners.
We made it to Beddhelert at the end of a very fill and interesting day.

Taliesin back at Beddgelert after a long day.

Click below to see video taken during the day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/sets/72157634557477377/

Thursday 6 June - Caernarfon and Llanberis - a Comedy of Errors

Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

We got on the bus just outside the hotel but the driver took almost 5 minutes explaining why we should get a day pass rather than regular tickets. As a result we missed the connection to Llanberis at Caernarfon which gave us time to get a coffee and use the communal toilet. It costs 20p to get in but there are lots of stalls inside so people line up until there are five or six waiting then all go in at once for 20p.
The bus was a lot of fun. It filled up as we approached Caernarfon, mostly elderly people and mostly speaking Welsh.
The bus to Llanberis duly arrived and lost a lot of time because of road works, the garbage pick up and a sheep with two lambs wandering down the street. The next train to Snowdon Summit was 1630 (it was 1100) so we went across the road just into time to see the train leave for Llamberis Lake.

This is as close as we came to Snowdon - the mountain railway shop at Llanberis

Decided to abort Llanberis and caught the next bus back to Caernarfon being held up at four locations by single lane working controlled by traffic lights - on two of them there was no sign of any work taking place.

Caernarfon

Service here makes Ottawa look good. I find the English spoken here almost as incomprehensible as the Welsh. A large fat lady is sitting on a bench slawming copious amounts of a green slime on her vast flabby legs. They both looked disgusting.

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The tickets are attractive and make excellent souvenirs

We managed to score two tickets back to Beddgelert on the 1430 train. There was great confusion in the booking office when I produced a members card then asked to pay. "But members travel free." "But I want to pay unless you would prefer to take this as a donation." The train came in behind Garratt #87 with South African Railways plates with lots of burnished copper and clean paintwork. It cut off then stopped obligingly to allow the punters to get their pictures.

Caernarfon

The driver was enthusiastic about the Garratts, especially the fact that the coal hole is above the fire hole so the fireman doesn't have to lift the coal. The engine works hard in each direction to the summit and then the fire has to be worked down carefully to avoid clinkering. They have been using Russian coal but have recently switched to Merthyr Tydfyl coal which is hard coal.  

We made it to Rhyd Ddu, the last stop before Beddgelert.  We were due to pass another train here but there was a delay and we were eventually told that there was a fire on the line and the other train was still at Beddgelert.  When it arrived here we would go on.  I took out my bus timetable and found that there was a bus at 1609 from the stop on the road next to the station.  We still had our runabout bus tickets so we decided upon a drop dead time and then went out to the bus stop.

Rhyd Ddu

This gave an excellent opportunity to see the Garratt but then the train from Beddgelert arrived.  Our train whistled off and left at the time the bus was due leaving us standing at the bus stop hoping we had made the right decision.

The bus eventually came about ten minutes late and brought us quickly back to Beddgelert where we arrived about 45 minutes ahead of the train. The welcome dinner was fun. Dan May seems a very competent leader and we joked a lot with Rob of Alton, David of Woking and John of Leicester.

Tuesday 5 June - Into Wales

 

Thke GWR still lives - Shrewsbury station

When taking a train for any distance it is necessary to make a reservation (but see below). The train to Machynlleth was pretty crowded. We left on time and turned right at Sutton Bridge Junction under an overcast sky. On this section of the trip I checked out and downloaded a book from the Ottawa Public Library.
The first stop was Y Trallwng or Welshpool - take your pick.
The train is in two parts, one for Aberystwyth and one for Pwllheli, which we want. We had reservations in the Aberystwyth section to Machynlleth and in the Pwllheli section from there. On checking it seems that practically everyone was crowded into the first two cars leaving the Pwllheli cars pretty much empty.
The countryside is very lush with many streams. Fields of cattle and sheep with a few rabbits.
Two ospreys close to a nest on a pole. Dovey Junction is a station with no road access. Rhododendrons, growing wild, are still in flower.
They allow dogs on trains here. There were at least four in our car alone and they didn't cause any problems. VIA would be horrified.
The sky has cleared and the sea is a bright blue. We can actually see the Lleyn peninsular from Barmouth, very unusual.

We arrived at Porthmadog on time and had 45 minutes to wait so we went into the station building which has been turned into a pub.

A good use for a redundant railway station is to turn it into a pub where I watched the end of the British and Irish Lions game against the Western Force in Australia

 The bus turned up as advertized and quickly brought us to Beddgelert. The driver pointed out the Royal Goat Hotel although it would have been difficult to miss.  The weather has turned very sunny with a light warm breeze. What is really amazing is that the rhododendrons are in full bloom with many blooms yet to open.  We are very fortunate.

I never thought I would see a train at Beddgelert

WHR Beyer Garratt #138

My first call was at the railway station where the train from Porthmadog arrived on time behind a beautiful 24" gauge Beyer Garratt #138.  It gave the impression of being quietly competent.  The fireman was busy during the station stop shovelling coal. It looked pretty good with nice sized lumps and no dust.  The shovelling plate from the tender is above the level of the firehole so the fireman doesn't have to lift the coal.  I think all the engines I worked on the shovelling plate was level with the floor which made much more work.

Beddgelert is a small village which makes most of its money from tourists.  The hillsides are covered with rhododendrons at present and there are many areas of bluebells

.

Tuesday 4 June - Chirk

No blood pudding

The Shrewsbury signal box is enormous but is difficult to photograph because it is surrounded by railway lines.

After a full English breakfast (they were out of blood pudding!) we walked into town along the river to visit the castle grounds. They were guarded by a wicked looking duck skulking in the shadows.
Mary's internet connection is not working as the provider's network is down nationally.  We think Mary's juju has brought the whole network down.
The trip to Chirk took about 20 minutes in a pretty full train. Arriva run two car trains from Birmingham International to Holyhead.

Chirk station is well maintained thanks to a local volunteer group which has adopted it.

We walked to see the Chirk Aqueduct built in1801 and still in use. We watched a couple of boats come out of the tunnel and cross the aqueduct. Very impressive to think it was built over 200 years ago and still performing as intended. There was quite a lot of boat traffic in both directions.

This is the view from above the tunnel over the canal basin with the aqueduct further back.  The railway viaduct is on the right at a higher level.

This boat has just left the tunnel and is in the canal basin.

Looking down from the aqueduct we could see several sheep with lambs in the pasture. Their noise was the only sound in the entire  valley
Chirk village did not hold us so we caught the 1200 return train to Shrewsbury.
The Bull had a passable bitter - Hobgoblin, and we had a snack across the street.
A wander across town revealed more old buildings and the market square.  Many people are out enjoying the fine weather.

Some buildings were leaning out precariously.

This was one of the most twisted buildings we found. I wonder what the beer is like?

Junk n' Disorderly

Monday 3 June - Travel to Shrewsbury

The 205 bus is a much easier way to get to Euston than the Underground. No steps, no crowds, we had seats and there was a place for our bags
Euston is sterile with 99% of the businesses either selling food or magazines.
Our first class car was right at the bottom of the ramp and the seating was comfortable with seats and tables placed correctly against the windows.
Not a great deal of interest through the window apart from huge fields of bright yellow rapeseed (I doubt if it is called canola over here)
These Pendolino trains were made in Italy from a tilting design that the British couldn't get to work. The train worked fine and the service was excellent but Virgin trains obviously uses Italian communication methods. We got to Birmingham International and the train manager said that he had just found out that the train wasn't going to Birmingham but was going direct to Wolverhampton.  I had already decided to do this and pick up the Shrewsbury train there.
As we ran into Wolverhampton the train manager made his first announcement since Wolverhampton
He apologized profusely for the diversion and finished up
"This is the last stop. If you are leaving the train here please ensure you have all of your belongings with you."
At Wolverhampton the station staff let our train go but there was another leaving ten minutes later.
Our arrival at Shrewsbury was about 20 minutes later than anticipated. The Lion and Pheasant is not far from the station but we had to climb up into the city center and down again to get there.

Lion and Pheasant

The lion and Pheasant hotel is not bad and will be fine for two days.

Shrewsbury was at its best in the bright sun. Everywhere you look there are interesting old buildings, half timbered, stone or brick. Most are well maintained and there is evidently money in the town.

Most of the work is tastefully done.

The Loggerheads had a great selection of beers but I eventually settled for a pint of mild which is not easy to get these days. A man at the bar asked where I came from and was surprised when I said "Orpington".  He thought I was South African.

The quarry or Dingle is a wonderful ornamental garden where we watched and listened to several pairs of robins.

The Dingle

The Dingle, where Percy Thrower, the well-known radio broadcaster, was superintendent for many years.

Several rowing crews were taking their boats out for practice.  We were amazed at how long the eights were.

Dinner was at the hotel and was the best we have had for some time. - Gravlax/Roquefort, pear and walnut salad - Sea trout with Devon crab - the trout was cooked to perfection. - Duck breast as tender as it is possible to get The bar had an excellent light beer. The service was attentive and the whole meal was wonderful.

Sunday 2 June - Family and Taplow Court

The sun was shining brightly on Gods Wonderful Railway this morning.

We would normally visit Pam and Len, Colin's cousins by train to Burnham but, this being Sunday, the railway was running a bus between Slough and Burnham so they came into Slough to meet us there.  It was a quick journey along the Great Western main line and there was time to admire the original station building.  The exterior is well maintained but the ticket area is pretty poor.

It was a lovely clear day and we enjoyed the 20 minute ride back to their place.  We sat, talked and admired the garden where we saw a large woodpecker.  They also see deer and badgers while the family of ducks is expected momentarily.

We drove out to a pleasant, but busy, country pub called the Royal Standard.  The bitter was good as was the Sunday roast lamb special.

How many cousins can you get in a phone box

 After lunch Len had found out that Taplow Court, a stately home in the area, was open for visits which we enjoyed immensely.  It is now used by a buddist group dedicated to world peace and is only open for a few days in the year.  The building dates back to the 1600s but has been added to and improved several times.  The building is exquisitely maintained and the grounds are well manicured.

A short ride back to Slough and we caught a slow train back to Paddington.

Saturday 1 June - Arrival in London

The Air Canada flight was quite relaxed and in the absence of decent movies I managed a couple of hour's sleep. Heathrow was not busy and after picking up a sim card for my phone we took the Heathrow Express into Paddington. A HE employee was selling tickets from a portable machine at the entrance to the Baggage claim area.  Very enterprising and there was a reduction for travelling at the weekend.
Familiar sights
- Hanwell viaduct
- Acton Yard where I came close to being run over by a train.
- Old Oak Common car shops and sidings where there were two class 08 diesel shunters built in the 1950s. I once got one up to 14 mph - the maximum speed was 15 mph!
There are many signs of the work on Crossrail tunnels.
The hotel is just a couple of minutes away from the station and there was some complimentary wine for us as repeat customers.
Lunch was at the Mad Bishop and Bear pub in Paddington station. Not the best bitter I have tasted but the food was good.

Putting money on an Oyster card was as easy as it is difficult for the Ottawa Presto card. Put the card on a reader. Tell the machine how much you want to add then insert your credit card. 
After some down time we went back to Paddington to get tickets for the train tomorrow. I realized that the machine had given me day returns for today rather than for tomorrow but the booking clerk straightened things out.

Kensington Gardens were pretty busy with many quite large groups playing cricket, frisbee or kicking a ball around.  There were lots of picknicers on the grass. Some tourists were trying to feed three cygnets with the cob close by. It is always risky to come too close to swans especially when they have young. The cob was hissing onimously. We also saw some beautiful wood ducks.