LIZZIE DOWN THE COAST: 14 JUNE 2003

A Picture report by the North Wales Coast Railway website team


PART 2: THE RETURN JOURNEY (Back to Part 1)

The train left Holyhead about 20 minutes late for a spirited run back along the Coast.

'Splitting the semaphores' at Abergele. (Larry Goddard)

Heading away from Abergele (Larry Goddard)

Storming through Shotton (Jim Scott)

Arrival at Chester: the train comes to rest in the centre road (up & down main). Picture Laurence Wheeler

The loco and support coach are shunted to the sidings at the north side of the station. (Laurence Wheeler.) It had been decided to detach the steam loco here rather than at Crewe: whether this was planned or a result of the earlier Deltic failure we are not certain.

47 789 Lindisfarne which had been waiting in the parcels bay is attached for the run to Colchester. Coaching stock is set BN91 recently purchased by EWS so it would not always have to hire coaches from other suppliers; its external condition seems rather tatty, but then who would sell their best stock?

6201 was detached from its support coach, and run along the down through, around the triangle, then back along the up & down main to be reunited with its coach. Presumably the loco needed turning before its next job, but not the coach.
Picture by Laurence Wheeler: 6201 (now running tender first) and coach leave for Crewe at about 20:45.

A quick tribute to the other two locomotives which worked to Holyhead on 14 June: 47 737 Resurgent was on the First North Western diagram, see here as the 10:21 Birmingham - Holyhead arrives at Chester.

And here's 47 810 Porterbrook leainng into the crossover at Llandudno Junction as it arrives with the 13:35 Holyhead - London.


Compiled by Charlie Hulme, 15 June 2003. Thanks to all our contributors and as always to all the rail staff of the Coast line.

Comments welcome at charlie@dweb.u-net.com