A Week Away from Home – on the Trains!
If you are expecting a bashing intensive report from me this time then think again. This time it is a week’s holiday away with Mrs KJ where trains will be secondary to sightseeing. We are off to North Wales and have secured a holiday home within two minutes’ walk of a railway station.
On Saturday, we got up at stupid o’clock as we had not finished packing from the night before and had to be out of the house by 07:30 – we were actually out of the door 10 minutes early! A rapid journey to Euston ensued (51525+51717 from Morden to Stockwell and 11093+11094 onwards to Euston). At Euston we had the joy of experiencing the Virgin ticket office as we needed some rover tickets and those are not available from ticket machines. Mrs KJ wonders when the railway will modernise and allow all tickets to be purchased on line. With tickets obtain we head for the platforms – with less than 10 minutes to go, it was not platformed.
We resigned ourselves to a last-minute stampede but before I could even consult RTT for an advanced clue as to which platform we would need to wait near to, the indicator board did the job and pointed us to 390118. Thankfully, we were ahead of most of the herd and secured seats swiftly. A slightly late departure was not helpful but we had a 16-minute connection so not all was lost. Thankfully no further time was lost en route – in fact a few minutes were gained by the time we bailed at Birmingham International. Looking for the Arrive Wales service to the Cambrian Coast, I was surprised to see a 150. Oh dear, they’re not allowed down the Cambrian! But we took a seat in the accompanying 158 and I promptly logged 150245+158835 in The Haulage Book. Between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, I pointed out various sights which we had seen several years back on a canal boat holiday. Before we had left the West Midlands conurbation, the guard came through advising that there would be a set swap at Shrewsbury on account of the 150. Shame as the air-con in the 158 was working. Boo! Hiss!
At Shrewsbury, we all trooped off and were pointed towards a single 158, 158833. This was going to be cosy but everyone squeezed on with passengers for Pwllheli being advised to change again at Machynlleth. Mrs KJ was not particularly happy at the prospect of three changes when the original plan was only one. But 158835 was a long-term absentee from The Haulage Book and 158833 was cleared for 10 miles, the only previous journey being a Bus Stop Bash from Conwy to Llandudno Junction on a previous family holiday in North Wales. Back to the present and 158834 was waiting for us at Machynlleth and we secured decent seats for the trek up the coast passing through numerous (like all) required shacks to our destination of Porthmadog.
While we arrived at our destination on time, this was now three out of three occasions that journeys on the Cambrian had not gone to plan. My first trip (to Aberystwyth) on an excursion from Bristol back in the 1970s suffered a loco failure on the way back. Then, my attempt to get to Pwllheli in 1977 with a class 40 resulted the 40 being ripped at Machynlleth and a 25 staggering as far as Porthmadog. Apparently, a signal box closure prevented us going all the way. And now today’s farce!
While our accommodation was near a railway station, it was not the national rail station. Instead we had a walk across town to our accommodation next to the Ffestiniog’s Porthmadog Harbour station.
Sunday. This seems to be the day that most of Wales sleeps if transport provision is anything to go by but we were determined to get out and about. Our target was the village of Portmeirion which we had visited 30 years ago. We either had the choice of trying to use our tickets on a bus whose operator was not “on the list” or walking across town and using the train. The latter won and we spent all of six minutes travelling on 158841 from Porthmadog to Minffordd. Good choice as this move gave me a shack scratch. The walk to Portmeirion was pleasant and not as far as we had estimated. An enjoyable day was had wandering around William Clough-Ellis’s Italian style village that became famous on account of being the location of the cult 60s TV Show, The Prisoner. A stroll back to Minffordd for 158835 back to Porthmadog.
Monday was primarily a day on the buses with a visit to Llanberis. We thought that we would see if it was possible to get a trip up Snowdon but there was an advertised five-hour wait which expanded to 6.5 hours by the time we got to the ticket office. Instead we went for a spin on the Llanberis Lake Railway with number 1 Elidir. Required track, loco and three shacks in the book. Not bad. Afterwards we headed to Bangor to visit the Cathedral and then we took a wander to Bangor’s Victorian Pier. The latter well worth a visit if you are a fan of Victorian engineering. The Traws Cymru express bus returned us to Porthmadog.
Tuesday was to be a red-letter day for me. After a leisurely get up, we wandered across town to the national rail station where it was not long before 158829 showed up, bound for Pwllheli. At long last, almost 40 years after the first attempt, I was set to make it to the remotest part of the Cambrian Coast Line. Twenty minutes or so after boarding 158829, we were alighting at Pwllheli, the track having been secured and another shack duly scratched. We then defected to the buses to visit the seaside village of Aberdaron. The village had a cute seaside church and a couple of gift shops that received our patronage. Returning to Pwllheli, it was a case of “What Next?” There wasn’t a train out for well over an hour so we stayed with the buses and made for Criccieth.
The castle at this coastal settlement was in our sights and we duly bagged another Welsh castle to add to our growing list. A walk along the short promenade afterwards failed to produce any establishments selling ice cream so we had to make do with the remnants of the day’s picnic. I’d had enough of the buses so politely suggested that we make for the train. There were no objections on the part of Mrs KJ and we soon found Criccieth station. Given that there was a short wait for the next train, we admired the artwork that had been done by local primary school kids a few years back as part of Arriva Wales’ safety campaign. Before long, 158822 appeared and we clambered aboard but not bound as you might expect for Porthmadog. I was in the mood for shack scratching! As we were heading west, it made perfect sense to bag the request halt of Penychain which in its former glory days served the Butlin’s Holiday Camp. We had some time to kill at Penychain and I hit on the idea of getting Abererch in too – we did not have enough time to walk so what about the bus? In theory, it was do-able but we were thwarted as the bus was late and could result in failure as we were not 100% sure where we were going. Instead we wandered around the area for a while before catching 158822 back to Porthmadog.
It’s Wednesday and already the holiday was into its second half. Time goes fast when you are having fun! The only use we made of our rover tickets today was to secure a very worthwhile 50% discount on the fare to Caernarfon on the Welsh Highland Railway. Loco NG143 (NGG 16 class Beyer-Garratt) was out motive power over this impressive line and again it was a case of required track all the way, required loco and shack scratch (Caernarfon). Not the cheapest of lines but highly recommended for scenery, 25 miles of steam thrash and general enjoyment. The train stopped at Dinas where we joined the trackbed of the old Afonwen branch [Ed: Memo to self – read up on the Afonwen branch as we know absolutely nothing about it!] There were various diesel locos hanging around the sheds and station area – I wonder whether they ever produce on passenger workings?
What do you do though when in Caernarfon? Go and visit a castle of course! It took us well over two hours to get around and even then, we did not see everything. Then followed a quick inspection of the town, seafront and market place before it was time to return to the WHR and board the last train off the day back to Porthmadog.
The WHR are in the throes of building a new station building so the station site is a bit of a building site but it still is sufficient to cater for those needing Porthmadog – just less facilities and most of those are just down the road in temporary accommodation. It was left to another NGG 16 Beyer-Garratt, Belgian-built number 87, to become the second loco hit of the day with a return climb up to Rydd Ddu before coasting downhill all the way to Porthmadog through the spectacle of the Aberglaslyn Pass.
Thursday dawns and we off across town to Porthmadog national rail and again we are heading west with low-mileage 158830. This time we bail at the required shack of Abererch so completing all shacks at the remote end of the Cambrian cleared with the remotest one now being Penrhyndeudraeth. Of course, I need all of the other 18 between Machynlleth and here too! There’s not a lot to say about Abererch apart from it being the 102nd least used station on the national network and the least used on the Cambrian coast. We had a quick look at the coast before making for the main road as we wanted to get to Pwllheli and did not fancy a two-hour wait for the next train. A word of note for other shack bashers attempting to deal with Abererch by bus, the bus stop is not on the main road and there’s no official stop until Abererch village for Pwllheli-bound buses. Nevertheless, we managed to persuade the driver to stop.
Most of the rest of the day was spent going to Abersoch which seemed to be an up-market version of Aberdaron visited two days earlier. Up-market comprising a posh boatyard and loads of expensive clothing shops and equally expensive coffee shops. Once we had returned to Pwllheli we set about checking out the local shops there. After walking out to a deserted seafront, we were rather hungry so retreated back to the town centre and patronised the local Spoons. The Pen Cob was a winner for me and with it being a Thursday, we simply had to have a curry! The day’s activities finished with my first ever departure from Pwllheli by train with repeat offender 158829 providing the traction for the journey back to Porthmadog.
Friday and it’s our last full day in Porthmadog. We not seen a lot of the town so the morning was spent wandering up and down the High Street nosing in various shops but not spending a lot. That was until we reached the Purple Moose Brewery’s shop where I splashed out on several bottles of their excellent “adult beverage” along with a suitable drinking vessel. I looked in Porthmadog’s only bookshop and was pleased to see that they had a secondhand section. However I was simply astounded at some of the prices being asked for secondhand books; I would not be leaving any cash here!
We’d not been on the Festiniog Railway (only the Welsh Highland) despite our holiday accommodation being literally yards from Porthmadog Harbour Station. So, it was a case of back to the accommodation, dump our bits of shopping and grab the pre-prepared sandwiches etc. and make for the next train out. I knew from earlier observation that we’d be having winning loco Merddin Emrys, the oldest operating Double Fairlie on the railway. With two heavily discounted returns to Blaenau Ffestiniog in our hands we took up station towards the front of the train as with most of the journey being up hill, there was thrash to be sampled (and of course, as we were in holiday mode, scenery and the like to be viewed). Merddin Emrys did not disappoint and we had a most enjoyable trip up to Blaenau. Last time we did the Ffestiniog, it was seven years ago and in pouring rain so a clear day made for a much more enjoyable trip this time around.
We opted to stay in Blaenau for a couple of hours and again discovered a bookshop which must have been taking its cue from the Porthmadog one. Not only were the prices sky-high but they did not even look after their books! Again, my cash stayed safely in my wallet. After a tramp around the town we returned for the next (and last train of the day) down the hill to Porthmadog. Not as much thrash this time but Earl of Merioneth was still enjoyable traction for the return trip. I’d had the Earl before – that was back in 2010 on a round trip from Blaenau Festiniog to Porthmadog. My thoughts kept on revolving around how the serious shack-scratcher would get some of the more obscure halts in the book given their remoteness and or location halfway up a mountainside with only a few trains each way except in high season. But all too soon, we were back at Porthmadog and with the final day almost over, we set about packing and tidying up the accommodation.
Saturday and it’s time to start the long trek home. First of all, we have the walk across town with what seems to be more luggage than we came with [Ed: Must be all those purchases from the Purple Moose Brewery shop and thank goodness, the bookshops were charging rip-off prices as otherwise you’d be even more overloaded!] 158833 rolls up on time bound for Birmingham International. A healthy number of folk alight only to be replaced by an equally healthy number of travellers. We proceed slowly along the coast, calling at the vast majority of the request halts. Loadsings were such that the guard found it difficult to get round everyone to collect their fares. Despite this, we arrive at Machynlleth bang on time. 158841 follows up behind so the formation becomes 158833+158841 forward. The guard announces that there will be a slight delay as a train had been in an altercation with a tree earlier in the morning somewhere around Newtown and was limping back to the depot. A few minutes late we were on the move and while there was a 158 moving around the depot yard, there were not any noticeable bits either hanging off or missing so hopefully more a precautionary measure. The train fills out and by Shrewsbury, there were few seats left although most of our carriage alights there. After the reversal, we carry on having recovered the delay on departure from Machynlleth. Then at Telford I see something that I did not really want to see – 170508, my last LM 170. That’s the second time I’ve seen it and not been able to do anything about it!
We press on to Wolverhampton and through the West Midlands before alighting at Birmingham International only to discover that Virgin had gone into meltdown with widespread cancellations and late running! Allegedly, the next Virgin train to London would be at least 50 minutes away so I start checking whether there are any other options – the quickest wat seemed to involve taking the next London Midland service to Rugby and picking up a Trent Valley stopper from there. So we bailed onto a wedged 350247 but by then I discovered that there was the prospect of a late running Pendolino behind us. Just as we arrive at Coventry, RTT was able to confirm that this was indeed correct so we bailed at Coventry. 350247 remained in the platform, awaiting a guard while the Pendolino caught up. With both platforms 1 and 2 at Coventry blocked by trains (the Nuneaton shuttle was joining the party) we had the unusual pleasure of leaving from Platform 3 with 390115 bound for Euston. With a clear road all the way up the West Coast, no further time was lost so the train ended up arriving Euston some 50 late. To complete the trip, 11091+11092 took us down to Stockwell where we swapped over to 51673+51674 for the journey south to Morden and back to the delights of home after a week away.
So what of the week? The weather could have been kinder to us but that’s the penalty for holidaying in one of the dampest parts of the UK. But the upsides were a plenty. Two more castles in the book and an excellent week with Mrs KJ for company. The rail front was not neglected with five new shacks suitably scratched (plus some narrow gauge ones), four new narrow gauge locos and best of all, another annoying piece of passenger track on the national network now suitably highlighted in the Bakers.
