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Cambrian coast line 1975


Metro457
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I am puzzled by your description of the signal box as a ground frame. It looks like an ex Cambrian box to me. Dutton?

 

I was in the area on holiday at about the same time. Same compulsory photo from the battlements, but in my case in black and white. Also a lousy photo of a goods train heading north near Barmouth, the last I saw on the line.

 

But re your comment on the view through the cab. One August around then I did a return trip from Barmouth to London and back because we managed to get our house move in the middle of our holiday (don't ask!). For the up journey I was seated immediately behind the cab; I could even read the speedo which was interesting as we climbed towards Talerddig and speed dropped . . . and dropped . . . and dropped. I think we topped the hill at about 19 mph. On the way back I was on the 4.00 am (or thereabouts) from Shrewsbury, along with dozens of mailbags and hardly any other passengers, again just behind the driver. As dawn broke it was a beautiful trip westwards, arriving in Barmouth at about 8.00 for breakfast. It isn't the same in a 158.

 

Jonathan

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Enjoyed the photographs. The Duffryn box is a Dutton 4 built box opened 6rh April 1891, unsure of closure date but late 60s/early 70s. It had a brick base and measured 10' by 8'. I once had a cab ride in a 101 over Barmouth Bridge in both directions, absolutely brilliant.

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There's often confusion in modelling circles about the difference between a ground frame and a signal box, with many believeing it's based on size. It's not. Although most ground frames were small, the fundamental difference is functional. A signal box is a block section, regardless of size, a ground frame merely controls local turnouts and sometimes signals and is not a block section.

 

Although I don't know the station in question I doubt in it had more that 3-4 turnouts, perhaps with locking levers and 2-4 signals depending on whether it had fixed distants, so only a small box would be needed.

 

Perhaps the Signalling Record Society data on their web site would amplify this.

 

Mark A

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I was there a couple of years earlier in 1972. The loop had already been taken out of use. The distant for the level crossing South of the station was moved to the top of the Up Starter post with the removal of the other signals. The waiting room was disused, but the station house may still have been railway property then.

 

Previous thread with a couple of my pictures at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/99372-dyffryn-ardudwy/?hl=dyffryn

 

edited to include link

Edited by Tim V
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Thanks for the response to my questions about Dyffryn Ardudwy station.

 

I was told that someone, somewhere on the RMWeb network will know the answer to almost anything which has proved to be correct.

 

I now see that the signal box is indeed a signal box of Cambrian origin. I was fooled by its similarity to structures such as the ground frame at Watlington,etc, but now see that its dimensions are bigger and that it has a proper signal box type porch. The brown and cream paintwork must have confused me all these years and I assumed it was Great Western.

 

A few days ago I found a topic posted last year about the same staion with photos taken probaby shortly after my visit which were remarkably similar except for being of better quality. I also found more recent pictures of the station on Google. Seems the past 40 years have been reasonably kind to it. At least it still has a train service which in 1975 looked a bit uncertain.

 

One other thing I remember which may have had a bearing on its survival was that our visit was outside the peak holiday season so most of the trains were not full. However I believe there is/was a large secondary school at Harlech which provides edcuation for the whole area. Thus a morning train to Pwllheli and a late afternoon train from Pwhelli were expectionally well loaded. In fact it was far busier than any rush hour service out of Birmingham Moor Street station which was my more familiar territory at the time. I think these two services may have had two 2 car units coupled together as I have a vague recollection of seeing a Park Royal set coupled to the usual Metro Cammell unit one afternoon, the only time I have ever seen one in use. How the train crew coped with all those school children I don't know.

 

I also remember on the way home having to stop at a level crossing somewhere on the Cambrian main line whilst a class 40 and a longish rake of MK1's passed. What price a class 40 hauled excursion on the Cambrian today?

 

Once again thanks for your comments and recollections.

 

Kevin  

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I enjoyed looking at your photos.

I have only made one trip (so far) along the line, an excursion in 1977 from Bristol

the class 40 came off at Machynlleth, I think we were told it had flat batteries, and 25061 went forward to Portmadoc.

 

Here is a faded photo of the return working

post-7081-0-36526500-1454509242.jpg

25061, which has received a recent repaint, waits at Portmadoc with the return 'Cambrian Coast Express' 7/8/77

 

cheers

 

 

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Hi ,

Yes the Park Royal was for the kids - a right happy bunch of thugs !!! In the day crew would doff out thick ears and make use of heavy ticket machines for crowd control - if only the energy was spent in learning stuff a right bright bunch... The schools traffic still runs but with better roads and cheaper coaches along with reduced school size a shadow of its former self.  The DTC was the place to ride/ bounce as it did not have AEC trying to propel the set. In winter always a power car - heaters ok  

 

A friend was a clerk at Mach and recalls the day when pickup goods failed at Criccieth and bits of loco braised back  together in Crown garage and 24 carried on its merry way  with passenger service being sparce   no delays he could recall. 

 

On day at Pwllhelli driver a driver in keeness to depart omitted to select forward and shunted set into blocks and then calmly selected forward and departed, nobody seemed to mind and no great harm done.  

 

A fine rural line and a survivor worth a ride up and down even on a 158, steam even better but pair of rats or tractor and Mk1s are the thing for rose tinted tours  

Great photos !

Robert 

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I found myself on the Tywyn school train six or seven years ago and was quite surprised at how well behaved they were. They were very lively but, unlike the vast majority of school-aged kids around here, they were capable of getting through a f#!?ing sentence without using the word f#!?ing at least three f#!?ing times. Some of the wisecracks were first class and I witnessed an angelic 14-year-old girl delivering one of the filthiest put-downs I've ever heard.

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Once again thanks for all your comments all the Cambrian coast line. The school train reminds me of scenes from the St Trinians Great Train Robbery film!.

 

I am posting one last photo of Dyffryn station which I didn't put up last week as I thought it was of too poor quality. This was taken from the lane leading down to the beach/holiday camp and slows the majority of the station and its position in the surrounding landscape.  

 

I think it illustrates (if you see through its graininess) the problem railway modelling textbooks and magazine articles often mention about attempting to model actual locations. Dyffryn is a typical small rural station with a passing loop and 2 or 3 sidings in the goods yard but the space it occupies is quite large as the photo shows the station just from the level crossing to the Barmouth end of the former loop.

 

It was worked out fairly quickly that an accurate model of the station would not squeeze into our garage even in "N" Gauge. In fact, I reckoned that a model of Birmingham Moor Street would take up less space -  the next problem back in 1975/6 was the lack of "N" gauge DMU's in ready to run or kit form.

 

However as I am now older and wiser and have a few Hornby Metro Cammell DMU's and a couple of Bachmann type 2's doing nothing at the moment, with this trip down memory lane I wondered if the idea was worth revisiting in some form.

 

On the same roll of film I had a photograph of the power station at Trawsfynydd which as a young keen CEGB trainee I thought obliged to take. If I tried to take the same picture today I would probably get arrested!.  

post-28196-0-13096100-1454778074_thumb.jpg

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You need to be an artist. There is an exhibition at the moment at the Newtown art gallery based on a groups of artists' interpretations of Wylfa power station, including lost of photos. Most from outside the site but I think one was given a pass.

 

Jonathan

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A couple of our family holidays were spent near Borth (alas by car) around 1970 - 71, we used to spend time at the dunes, at Ynyslas, from where the view across the estuary allowed you to follow progress along the Coast line between Aberdovey and Dovey Junction.

 

I remember trains composed of various flavours of DMU twin sets, sometimes up to six coaches (summer time), and the mid-day class 24 hauled daily freight train.

 

A couple of times returning to base camp, in the evening, we passed the gatekeeper operated crossing at Bow St in time to see the early evening class 24 on the parcels (not sure if that was the one that went through to York).

 

Later and old enough to arm myself with Rover tickets, I visited the line several times.

 

Summer Saturday on a Swindon cross country DMU (front seat) we passed the double headed class 24 hauled London train at Talerdigg we also stopped at Caersws, no loop by then, but we were able to pass a late running service by means of backing into a siding, the most rusted over piece of track I reckon I ever travelled over.

 

Also a double headed class 25 day excursion from the West Midlands to Barmouth, they used to run these during the school summer holidays, home in the glorious isolation of a mk1 compartment (to myself).

 

Fast forward to the final days of scheduled summer Saturday loco haulage along the coast, it was possible to take a class 37 hauled train from Birmingham to Llandudno (remember those) then via the Blaenau Branch and the Ffestiniog to arrive at Porthmadog (main line) in time to meat the incoming train from New St.

 

Double headed class 31s, a motley pair of, seen much better days, Bescot infrastructure locomotives.

 

Returning from Pwllheli, after 5 in the evening, towards the end of summer you would get a coach to yourself, not just a compartment, ideal for the epic journey home to New St and hanging out of a droplight most of the way.

 

Stock up with a couple (or three) of beers from the supermarket next to the station and you had all the constituent parts necessary for the best pub in the land.

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Good photos to bring back memories!

 

I was a regular user of the line from about this date, going to and from the Festiniog or other preserved lines, and I well recall two things that others have mentioned:

 

- the c4am train from Shrewsbury, with stacks of mail, and sometimes a CCT/PMV in tow, and the GPO vans at the stations, where they used to drive right onto the platforms, and wait with the doors open for the train to arrive; and,

 

- that very clean Class 25 in 1977. I'd been to the VoR, and was delighted to ride back to Shrewsbury in a three-car train of Mk1 hauled by it, leaving Aberystwyth early afternoon. A proper train!

 

There were also some good through trains from Euston on Saturdays, with 2x25 or, latterly (in the 1980s) 2x37. Leaning at the window-rail in the corridor of a Mk1, watching the costal scenery being paraded past, all the way to Porthmadog was a joy, and the double-shunt that was necessary to get a long train into the passing loop at the summit was fascinating.

 

Most of my return journeys were made fast asleep, having spent at least one night in whatever "tour" I was doing travelling, but I do remember one journey where I managed to (a) fall into conversation with a very attractive American girl at Porthmadog, and (b) stay awake all the way to Wolverhampton as a result. She shared her picnic with me, and left an impression!

 

Kevin

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I moved to the Aberystwyth area in 1971, and for 10 years rented a bungalow on the edge of Borth Bog. Summer Saturdays were enlivened by excursions headed by double-headed Class 25s (I think, I wasn't in to diesels), thundering along the edge of the Dovey estuary a mile or so away. Even into the 1980s Dovey junction on a Saturday could be quite an experience; I can remember 5 trains at once trying to negotiate the somewhat limited facilities.

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Some great photos Kevin, I used to stay in Dyffryn as little one firstly in the chalets then in the pub next to the station, I'd forgotten about the early morning school service full of kids :)

 

Tim has kindly posted a link earlier to my thread I stated on Dyffryn, but like yourself something that seems small in real life turns out quite big in model form.

 

I was there last years and not much has changed apart from there's a crossing keeper an cctv so no chance of a wander up the line like I used to do in the 80's, I remember finding a chair and taking it home, it was pride of place in the garden in my mum and dads.

 

Apparently the station building is up for sale so I'm hoping I really win the lotto this weekend ;) it'd be an ideal home with lots of room for layout or two!!

 

Thanks again for sharing the great pics which have brought back very happy memories.

 

Cheers

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Some great photos Kevin, I used to stay in Dyffryn as little one firstly in the chalets then in the pub next to the station, I'd forgotten about the early morning school service full of kids :)

 

Tim has kindly posted a link earlier to my thread I stated on Dyffryn, but like yourself something that seems small in real life turns out quite big in model form.

 

I was there last years and not much has changed apart from there's a crossing keeper an cctv so no chance of a wander up the line like I used to do in the 80's, I remember finding a chair and taking it home, it was pride of place in the garden in my mum and dads.

 

Apparently the station building is up for sale so I'm hoping I really win the lotto this weekend ;) it'd be an ideal home with lots of room for layout or two!!

 

Thanks again for sharing the great pics which have brought back very happy memories.

 

Cheers

Thanks for the information that Dyffryn station building is currently up for sale - that's something else for my list of things I want but will never be able to afford!.

 

Actually you might have been staying in the same chalets by the station as we did. I remember being able to the see the line from the bedroom window.   

 

On the matter of making a working model of one of the smaller Cambrian coast line station, on the 7mm section (I think) is a topic on the construction of a model of Tonfanu station. The project includes sector plates at either end, an ingenious method of modelling a through station which is giving me some ideas.    

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In 1982 I was passing through Aberdyfi, and saw a notice to a fete at the station, so dropped off to have a look at the building. I was lucky, as things were about to change. The interior had already been gutted prior to being converted into holiday lets, while the canopy, part of which had lost the roof, was shortly to be dismantled, with the ironwork ending up on the Bala Lake Railway at Llanuwchllyn. I took about 10 pics, of which the following two are the most general.

post-26119-0-38026600-1474307705.jpg

 

post-26119-0-36810600-1474307693.jpg

 

Nigel

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By goodness, you can't beat a Welsh fete for fun, frolics, bunting, cake-stalls, donkey-rides, a good brass band, one of those crockery-smashing stalls, a first-class lucky-dip, really good fancy-dress competition ........

 

Oh, hang on minute; I can't see any of those.........

 

It seems to consist of one bored-looking women in a bus-shelter, on a semi-derelict railway station.

 

The Fete of Wales turns out to be The Fate of Wales.

 

Kevin

Edited by Nearholmer
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Thanks for the information that Dyffryn station building is currently up for sale - that's something else for my list of things I want but will never be able to afford!.

 

Actually you might have been staying in the same chalets by the station as we did. I remember being able to the see the line from the bedroom window.   

 

On the matter of making a working model of one of the smaller Cambrian coast line station, on the 7mm section (I think) is a topic on the construction of a model of Tonfanu station. The project includes sector plates at either end, an ingenious method of modelling a through station which is giving me some ideas.

 

Sorry mate only just seen this reply, we used to try and go nearly every year, we stayed in the chalets for a good few years then started staying in the pub. When I visited last year I got talking to the fella who runs the chalet park and he showed us around, it brought back many happy memories and they still have that smell they used to have. I remember one Friday night it was just going dark and a 37 with 4 or 5 carriges in toe all in intercity livery headed towards Pwhelli, great times.

 

I'm just about to update my Dyffryn threads as I've made a start!! Thanks for the info about Tonfanu I'll take a look.

 

Cheers

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