Backtrack - Railways of North East Wales - what editions? - ANSWERED

[Alex TM]

Hi folks,

 

Backtrack have run a series of articles on the Railways of North East Wales, of which I have part 3.  Despite searching their site I cannot find reference to either of the first two parts.  I understand from elsewhere that the first part was about the 'Prestatyn & Dyserth, and that is the one that I would really like to get hold of, though having both would be good.

 

Could anyone point me in the right direction?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Alex TM
Updating status of question.

[MartinWales]

Any info in particular you're after?

[Alex TM]

Hi  MartinWales,

 

Yes, there are some specific bits.  I've been told the 'Prestatyn & Dysterth' one has colour images of some of the area; everything I currently have is monochrome.  The other thing I am trying to find is one particular view of Dyserth goods shed; I have plenty of images of the ends, and one side, but none showing the side where goods would be loaded onto waiting road vehicles.

 

The good news is that I have been pointed toward the two volumes, and order them this morning.

 

Thanks for taking the time to look.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[MartinWales]

You're welcome!

 

Don't forget the Prestatyn & Dyserth Branch Line-Stephen. P. Goodall-Oakwood Press 160

 

Also Trefor Thompson wrote a similar book in the 80's, but this is probably long out of print

 

[MartinWales]

Oh, and before I forget!!

 

Scale Trains had a series of articles entitled 'Layout On a Paste Table' in the early 1980's which incorporated elements of the Dyserth plan, expanded in Scale Model Trains during 1984, entitled Felindre

 

Hope this helps

[Alex TM]

Hi again,

 

Thanks for all of that.  I have both of the books, thanks, and they are worth reading.

 

As for the Scale Trains and Scale Model Trains articles, I remember the former.  I tried a number of years back to try to get complete years of those magazines but with no luck.  I used to buy it as a teenager and would love to revisit it, though now with the resources to build some of the ideas they contained.

 

Again, thanks.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[MartinWales]

Scale Trains December 1982

 

Also Model Trains International 37, November/December 2001

 

May be useful to you as well

[Alex TM]

Hi again,

 

Thanks for those additional magazine references.  Unfortunately all of my past attempts to get a collection of those came to nothing,  I used to buy 'Scale Trains' in its various incarnations but never held on to them.  Don't think I saw more than a couple of copies of MTI before it went to subscription only.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[Alex TM]

Hi again,

 

I just wanted to add that as a part of the process of ordering the magazines I had an email and telephone conversation with Michael, the editor.  He was very helpful in making sure that I got exactly the editions with the articles I was looking for.  I would happily order directly from them again.

 

Disclaimer: I have no connection with Pendragon, etc, other than as a satisfied customer.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[john new]

On 01/04/2020 at 13:27, Alex TM said:

Hi  MartinWales,

 

Yes, there are some specific bits.  I've been told the 'Prestatyn & Dysterth' one has colour images of some of the area; everything I currently have is monochrome.  The other thing I am trying to find is one particular view of Dyserth goods shed; I have plenty of images of the ends, and one side, but none showing the side where goods would be loaded onto waiting road vehicles.

 

The good news is that I have been pointed toward the two volumes, and order them this morning.

 

Thanks for taking the time to look.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

Could you post the answer here please. I have the articles as I buy Backtrack, but the pile of magazines is unindexed and unsorted. Knowing which to search for will be a help. 

Edited April 22, 2020 by john new

[Alex TM]

Hi John,

 

Forgotten Branches of North East Wales

 

Part One - The Dyserth Branch - December 2018 (vol. 32, no. 12) - pps. 748-753;

Part Two - The Kinmel Camp and Foryd Harbour Branch - July 2019 (vol. 33, no. 7) - pps. 441-444.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[john new]

1 hour ago, Alex TM said:

Hi John,

 

Forgotten Branches of North East Wales

 

Part One - The Dyserth Branch - December 2018 (vol. 32, no. 12) - pps. 748-753;

Part Two - The Kinmel Camp and Foryd Harbour Branch - July 2019 (vol. 33, no. 7) - pps. 441-444.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

Thanks, big help in time saving. 

[HKG Steve]

Hi Alex

 

I'll have to keep an eye out for the Backtrack issue covering the Dyserth Branch, as I've had a fascination with the line ever since buying Trefor Thompson's book just after it was published in 1978 - I think I must have paid by Postal Order as I was still in short trousers then!. 

I too have been wondering about the other side of the goods shed and also the hidden side of the Clwyd Farmers Co-op warehouse as well and after many years of planning, procrastination, lack of space, living overseas etc have finally got round to building my layout using  a "what if" scenario based on the Dyserth station complex.

 

The pictures below are my interpretation of the goods shed  (the roof is temporary as I need to construct the roof trusses and skylight) and also early stages of the build of the warehouse.

 

In my alternative universe the Castle quarry been moved closer to the station and is the main source of traffic providing aggregates and ballast,  a run round loop has been created in the station, the platform has been rebuilt higher, the coal yard has some additional sidings and is shared with a small P Way depot (hence the prefab office!), the spur into Dyserth quarry is abandoned and overgrown, but somehow the branch has survived into the 1980s/1990s!.

 

HKG Steve

[Alex TM]

Hi Steve,

 

I 'discovered' the branch only a few years after you, but in a magazine.  As for the edition of Backtrack, a quick call to the editor should enable you to purchase a copy.  If I remember correctly I paid £5.50 including p&p.

 

Does your layout have a thread on the forum?

 

I like what you've done with the goods shed, especially with the addition of the office block.  Your interpretation of the 'extension' to the shed makes an awful lot of sense of the photos.  I had tried to find images of the equivalent side of the former shed at Meliden; as it's been refurbished and repurposed I had a look on the Council planning dept. website hoping to find planning drawings, but with no luck.  I had wondered of the two buildings would have been similar.

 

In an alternate universe it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had the extension to the line been built.

 

Again, thanks for pitching in.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[spamcan61]

Somewhat on topic, Backtrack indexes of contents covering the first 30 years are available to download from here:-

 

http://www.pendragonpublishing.co.uk/html/25-year_index.html

 

[HKG Steve]

I don't have a layout thread on here - yet . Maybe something to consider.

 

I found the planning drawings for the Meliden shed conversion on the Denbighshire council planning web portal - the reference is 43/2016/0156, and searching on *Pen y Maes* will provide some other related applications including  a photo survey. I used them to work out the roof detail/ slope angle and wall thicknesses, on the basis that Dyserth would be similar

There are some internal photos now appearing on the web during and after the conversion which also helped.

 

Funny you should mention the extension - I've also included it on my layout , but in my history it was this section that closed in the 1970s and is going to  modelled as an overgrown track bed, with the level crossing erased from history

 

[5050]

Kinmel camp and Forydd Harbour eh.  Fascinating.  I remember going over the road bridge by the harbour when I was a lad and seeing the skeletons of wooden hulled boats slowy rotting away in the mud.  This would have been over 60 years ago so I suppose they've completely  gone by now!  Kinmel Camp - I also remember my dad parking up at the roadside once on a day out to visit family friends in Prestatyn, it was next to the gate providing rail entrance to the quarry across the road from the site of the camp and, with my mate who was with us, jumping/climbing the gate and wandering around the tracks serving the quarry.  Again 60+ years ago so can't say if the rail service had ended by then or not.  What a pity I didn't have a camera!

[john new]

On 22/04/2020 at 20:15, john new said:

Thanks, big help in time saving. 

Sadly, shortly after this query was answered the research colleague I was hoping to loan my copies of BackTrack to passed away after a long fight against a terminal illness. RIP Keith. 

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