Newtown Television have produced this interesting video, which provides an excellent account of the sights and sounds from the weekend. Ignore the goon who’s being interviewed in the cab of 6940 though, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about! ; )
Our visiting loco arrived safely at Llangollen on Wednesday 25th August. Photos by Simon Searle, taken Thursday 26th, showing D9521 keeping D6940 company on shed.
Our visiting locomotive for 2010, Class 14 No D9521 will be arriving at the Railway ahead of schedule. All being well, she will leave the Gwili Railway today (Tuesday 24th) and be with us by Wednesday.
As a reminder, her scheduled running days at the Railway are:
Friday 10th & Sunday 12th September, GWR175 Steam Gala featuring steam visitors Pitchford Hall & City of Truro as well as 5 home fleet steam locos in use over the 3 day event.
Saturday 18th September, 4 trip diesel running day. £11 a ticket. Depatures from Llangollen will beat 10:30, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00. Full timetable details here: http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/ttnextyear.html
2nd & 3rd of October. Diesel weekend. Also starring D6940, D5310, a shunter shuttle and possibly D1566, if repairable.
D9521 is also hoped to feature in a midweek September photo charter with D6940 (date TBC) and a driver experience, depending on demand. Please contact us if interested in either of these first-of events!
After spending most of the last 12 months in store, a working party are looking at our Class 47 today with a view to effecting short term repairs to the coolant system so she can be available for use at the diesel weekend on 2nd & 3rd of October. Updates on progress to follow….
D1566 at Carrog with a Thomas working on 12th February 2008.
Hopefully it won’t be too long before these 3 are lit up again:
Here’s your chance to own a piece of former LDG machine 25313. This small and rather crusty part of one of the diagonal body braces around the cooler group area has been cut from the loco to be replaced with new steel. All proceeds go to the guys at the Wensleydale Railway who are restoring her. The ebay auction for this surely priceless rat trinket can be accessed here
Just think, with a small piece of Mk1 table top for a plinth you’ve got yourself a Rat Bashers award!
I’m very pleased to announce that the Growler Group and ourselves are jointly organising a 6 return trip charter day with D6940 on Saturday the 16th October.
This is in addition to the BR Blue EE Type 3 working at our diesel weekend. Nearly 100 miles of haulage are on offer. A real ale bar and refreshmens are likely to be available on train from lunchtime, along with a sales stand from both Groups. There will also be an on-train raffle with the first prize of a cab ride in D6940 on the day (please note that for obvious reasons admission is at crew discretion, we will not be able to admit anyone under the influence of alcohol to the cab).
We look forward to welcoming Growler Group members to the Railway and would very much like to thank them for their support in booking this charter with our locomotive.
Prices are as follows:
Ticket Type Advance Booking On the Day
Members (All Day) £15.00 £17.50
Members (Half Day) £7.50 £10.00
Non Members (All Day) £20.00 £25.00
Non Members (Half Day) £10.00 £12.50
Times are:
Llangollen depart 0800, 0935, 1125, 1325, 1525 & 1725
Carrog depart 0845, 1020, 1230, 1430, 1630 & 1815
Members fares available to members of the GG or working members of the Llangollen Railway. To book a place or find out more please download the flyer by clicking on: Glyndyfrdwy Growler Should be a good day! In true railtour style, it’s an early start! Local accommodation can be recommended for those staying. Try The Squirrel B&B, the Wynnstay or Gales of Llangollen, there are also many others locally. Llangollen Tourist Information office can be contacted on 01978 861345.
Call Pete Waterman and let’s get her on X-Factor!
Hot on the heels of a very successful 1960′s weekend which saw a very shiny D6940 return to traffic in splendid form, I am pleased to provide some information about our diesel weekend in October.
We are delighted to announce that there will be a visiting loco and it will be hydraulic power in the form of Class 14 No D9521, usually based at the Dean Forest Railway.
Ted on tour – and it will soon be at Llangollen ! Photo by Nick Weedon.
Thanks to the owner’s generosity, the locomotive will arrive at the Railway at the end of August and stay with us until just after the gala. This is the first time a 14 will have worked on the railway, although two unrestored machines were based on the Railway many years ago.
The little Type 1 should find Berwyn Bank an interesting challenge and there’ll be something a little different to sample thrashing through the tunnel. The loco is likely to debut to traffic at our 18th September running day, may star in the largely steam GWR 175 weekend, be available for a driver experience day and star in an atmopsheric WR photo charter (subject to their being sufficient advanced bookings).
Resident 2010 fleet stalwart BRCW Type 2 No D5310 and freshly overhauled EE Type D6940 will also be at work over the weekend. If possible we will also attempt to resurrect D1566, subject to being able to get the loco water tight enough to run reliably for a trip. If anyone can help us source some 12LDA cooler group elements, even on a loan basis, then please contact me off-thread.
We also hope to offer much-awaited shunter haulage with EE shunters 08195 and Davy top and tailing a brake van shuttle to Goods Junction and back. This attraction is subject to timetabling and LR approval as we do not own 08195 and it is in busy daily use working the MPD yard.
A real ale bar is also being considered, perhaps with a band – seeing as both seemed to go down so well at the 60′s weekend.
The timetable is in progress and more details will be communicated as they become available. As usual, please keep an eye on our regularly updated website for details. A Diesel Weekend page has been created and will be kept up to date with developments. As ever, bookmark us and keep checking back!
The Group would like to offer our sincere thanks to all who supported the event. We had a great time and hope you did to! Both D5310 and D6940 performed well with their steam and unit companions. Initial indications show that the event did very well, so we are hoping to be able to repeat the fun again next year.
The livery of 6940 was completed on Friday, with a touch of detail work and the application of vinyls, supplied by Rail Traction Supplies. Below we see Colin applying them:
And here’s the finished machine, looking great on a freight at Glyndyfrdwy:
You can see a public Facebook gallery of a lot of my photos from the event here
And our regular ’Welsh snapper’ Richard Jones has some simply superb shots that capture the atmopshere of the event brilliantly here. Many thanks Richard.
Some photos from Bryn Jones showing the finishing touches of preparation on D6940 and D5310 for the weekend ahead.
Mark, Bryn and Iain stand proudly with a very shiny 37!
Bryn models the refurbished number 2 end cab of 6940:
Pete hoses down D5310 in preparation for a wash and a brush up
And Iain attacks her with a sponge:
