Llangollen Railway

The rigs caused traffic chaos in town, as they had to turn round by reversing onto the river bridge by the station, then blocked Abbey Road for a while , causing further traffic queues.

Bob.

 

Haulage of locos by rail often cause chaos, especially in narrow streets. The tv programmes do not show it.

 

Oh on the contrary, I think they love to show it! It definitely featured in the NYMR programme, and the channel 4 carriage restoration show too. There was a whole series following Alleley's, no doubt it was noticeable all the time there as well.

 

They have never showed the chaos on Kings Ash Road, Paignton (a very busy narrow road) when coming and going to the DSR! All I have ever seen on tv is a few vehicles queued up not a grid lock!

 

We must have missed the fun as one rig was in the yard and the other parked in Abbey Road when we arrived. We travelled on the 15:10 and the two rigs departed as we walked back to our car.

Presumet went via the A539 as we would have got stuck behind them if they'd gone over the river to the A5 (guess they might well have been too heavy to go that way when loaded).
No sign of any TV cameras so probably won't see the move on a future episode of Train Truckers!

 

The loaded rigs are too heavy to cross the bridge. They normally use the A539 to Ruabon , then onto the A483 north or south.

Bob.

 

Thanks, do you know / are allowed to say where 92212 was going?

 

I don't know, but probably Crewe. The boiler was going to Crewe anyway.

Bob.

 

It isn't at crewe

 

I'll ask when I get there tomorrow.

Bob.

 

Correct, Margate. At least, I’ve heard exactly the same.

 

A flying visit on the way home from North Wales, good to see steam in the Dee valley again.


Winding by the River by Phoenix Images, on Flickr


Long term guest 31271 heads away from Carrog back to Llangollen. by Phoenix Images, on Flickr

 

Just stopped off at Corwen, on the way home from a week away. Whist the station is still some way from completion, I was stunned by the location - right next to the main town centre car-park and a two minute walk to the pubs and cafes etc.

For some reason, despite all the posts on progress, I had formed the opinion it was going to be very much 'Corwen Road' and not a 'Corwen Town'. So given the LR's recent difficulties, I hope they can get it open for 2021 - I'll be making point of visiting if they do.

 

While what you say is true, and it is a very good location, and great for people who want to visit Corwen (I hope that in a few years time it will be better than it is now, you could argue that its actually detrimental to the railway as people will jump on at llan, go to Corwen, spend their money elsewhere in cafes and pubs, jump on the train back and then visit Llangollen gift shops etc. There are loads of pros and cons for things, but only time will tell if the extension will be good or bad. While there is always an initial increase in passengers (normally enthusiasts wanting to do an extension) once that dies down, will the addition of Corwen attract enough passengers to pay for extra maintenance. Hopefully it will, but for many the attraction of the Llangollen railway is the Dee Valley being picturesque, and the honeypot of Llangollen. Corwen isn't "Broadway" on the GWSR.

 

If, as you say, Llangollen is the honeypot, will that mean more people starting their journey at Corwen for a day/afternoon trip to Llangollen?

 

Possibly, however most of the large centers of population are closer to Llangollen, so you would be driving past llan, 20mins further, to have a timetable that starts it's day at llan meaning you would have less journeys to be able to work with, and then having to drive the 20 mins back again to get home. By the time you have done that, parking in llan doesn't seem too bad.

 

Opening is planned for March.

Bob.

 

I’ve always liked the Llangollen, a pretty line, interesting stations each with a different character, various other tourist attractions nearby and hotels, guest house, camps sites etc in close proximity. It’s ideal for families like mine who like a nice steam train ride but need other curiosities to interest them too. Personally I think the extension will be positive for the railway and for Corwen too, it’s a nice enough little place! If the railway can survive Covid and consolidate its gains, I can see the potential for future developments at Corwen, an impressive GWR station building perhaps with community rooms and facilities to weave it in to the fabric of village life?