Steel Steam and Stars III

Thats the thing, surely there should be some flexibility built in the tt to make time up, like moving crossings etc

 

Is the signalling such that eastbound trains can't use the platform at Deeside? I seem to remember from the gala a couple of years ago there was a lot of sitting around in the loop waiting for trains to pass. That's one of the reasons I didn't want to go this year. Half hour to travel one direction, 2 or 3 times longer to head back again!

 

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Sunday, especially once the rain stopped! Riding the freight behind 5199 was great, even when the steam was coming into the Queen Mary brake in Berwyn Tunnel! I wish more lines offered the chance to ride this way. Looking forward to seeing the Presflo on a freight some day too. OK, there were delays but I'll be back next weekend with the old man for his first visit to the line. Thanks to everyone.

 

The loop at Deeside is signaled for eastbound trains only, whereas (I think?) the platform road is bi directional. So, when trains cross, the eastbound one has to use the loop.

I know what you mean about sitting at Deeside. That's one thing I remember about SSS1 - SSS2 wasn't as bad. The problem is that the section from Deeside to Llan Goods is longer than the others, and has a station in the middle of it.

 

Well only the Welsh could organise a Scottish theme day on St Georges Day !!

Apart from that - The trains ran to time today !!- It stopped fine !!- The beer was great !! trains well loaded and I had a great day out.

Only complaint was the amount of time waiting around at Carrog & Glyn ****** for the next train back, but it gave time to look around the exhibits at both stations and get a beer and a look around the sheds at Llangollen, an extra service train or the auto train would have been nice.
engines today 828, 70000 & 44801
Hope to be back at the weekend

John

Ps collection to follow later

 

I stayed at the Chainbridge Hotel that year too. I remember the whistles going on well into the night.

I have two abiding memories of staying at the Chainbridge:

1. The look of disgust on the face of the manager when I arrived to check in. I'd been on the freight, in the Toad immediately behind the engine. Danny Hopkins (ex editor of Steam Railway) had persuaded the steward that we could stay out on the balcony going uphill through the tunnel if we wanted to. You can imagine what we all ended up looking like.

2. They did damn good breakfasts!!

 

Currently sitting in the beer festival good beer and company, good times

 

They still do, I managed 5 sausage Sunday morning as well as the rest.. Worked up an appetite on Saturday !

They locked me out Saturday night, I hitched a ride from Llangollen to the Chainbridge... When I realised the 1925 beerex wasn't stopping at Berwyn, so I went on the Tornado night run... Returning at midnight to Llangollen.
At 1230am I had to rouse a guest to open the hotel front door and let me in !

On a different note... Tornado after dark... Moving with the under frame lights on, and it's high beams on the front.. Gives a whole new perspective view of the engine at night !

My favourites of the weekend...

Seeing 1744 next to 828.. That's a colourful line up that reminds you of how railways were meant to be back in the begining..
44806 is now unlined black... Wasn't this how they really were ?
44806+70000 double header looked quite the bill.
58926+49395 unexpected on the freight !.. And the passenger

But most of all.
my little 18mth girl got her first steam ride... Behind 60163 and got to cab 828..and stand on the drivers seat.

And seeing her excited face like never before when standing on my knee, hands on the drop light making noises at the passing sheep... She made a point of doing this and running the entire length of the train for most of the day!.. Despite what mum says she's a steam fan.
that makes it priceless.

 

Rubbish. SSS2 watering was considered for all services, and locos were diagramed to what was within their capabilities. A water pump was provided on the Corwen extension to assist those that required it, and instructions were issued along with the WTT to tell crews if they need to use Glyn or Carrog. Time was built into SSS2 timetable to allow for this.

 

SSS3 Tickets | Betton Grange 6880

Just been on the website to look to see if there are any updates on evening ticket prices and I Have noticed the updated timetable is just another list.
Have they not learnt, or do none of them read Nat Pres and other forums ??
The list created negativity last time, why cant they just publish a proper timetable ?

 

Buy the brochure in advance, type the timetable out/photocopy it/rip it out and leave the brochure at home! Works for me!

£22, well it was £20 without gift aid and in advance for me, and I'm not complaining. My friend and I did just the one Llangollen-Bonwm return and managed to get behind 70000, 49395, 58926 and 828! We had planned on doing a Llangollen-Carrog return later but due to the delays couldn't as we had to get back to catch our train home, but never mind. Depends what you're after I guess though, we do a mixture of lineside and riding so anything over a round trip is generally a bonus. £20/22 for a gala of this size these days is a bargin. Also had you ordered the brochure in advance you could have planned the day out and maybe got a bit more out of the day.

 

I didn't get the programme until the day of travel, but I count my money's worth as at least riding behind all guest engines, which I did; it only took five minutes of glancing at the programme and writing down a few connections. The result was three round trips to Carrog, one auto to Bonwm, and the equivalent distance of another round trip between Glyn and Carrog. The main thing is to remember that despite delays, in general the trains WILL run in the order mentioned in the timetable, but be prepared for something completely different to start by 15:00! It all adds to the fun at the fair. As I was on the 70000/44806 BeerEx, I didn't really notice 70000 much photography-wise. The only loco I didn't ride behind was 5199, which was no real loss for me. I would have liked either 80072 or 7822 running instead of 5199, but then again, I'm not organising the event.

As I have previously said, the Coal Tank/Super D double-headed freight was OUTSTANDING on Saturday, and I was lucky enough to be in the front verandah of the Queen Mary getting slowly covered in soot. I wasn't complaining... I could see why they got us in for Berwyn Tunnel, too (I seem to remember staying on the verandah throughout in SSSII). The verandah of a Queen Mary is far enough from the locomotive for sparks and clinker to fly into it. There certainly was a bit of a firework display! The night-time cameos at Llangollen make me want to do an all-night steam bash on the SVR (and probably fail miserably in the process)...

No, as I have suggested, next time the stickers should be replaced with colour-coded paper wristbands, which have a better chance of withstanding the Welsh weather. In any event, it is worth the effort, and as with everything, you only get out what you put in!

 

A selection of my photos from the SSSIII Scottish Day are now online here - Mick Rogers Photography | Scottish Day 23rd April 2012

I'll be in the Dee Valley for the rest of the week, and further updates will become available on a regular basis.

Thanks,
Mick

 

I bought the brochure as soon as I arrived and had worked out my "moves" for the day before the first train departed....

09.00 Llan-Bonwm-Carrog 70000+49395
10.50 Carrog-Llan 58926
12.05 Llan-Berwyn 58926+49395
12.31 Berwyn-Llan 60163
13.20 Llan-Carrog 828
14.35 Carrog-Glyn 828
14.50 Glyn-Bonwm-Carrog 6430
15.50 Carrog-Llan 1744
16.40 Llan-Glyn 828+49395
17.30 Glyn-Llan 44806+70000

Quite pleased with that as it gave me a full Llan-Carrog (or vice versa) trip with each of the visiting locos (except Tornado, which I wasn't bothered about - much prefer it on the mainline), plus 44806 and 6430 and two trips to Bonwn (1 top'n'tail loco hauled, another on the auto), finishing at Llan at 17.55 - plenty of time to catch the last no 5 bus to Ruabon at 18.30 and fairly generous "connections" everywhere (no sprints between platforms at Llan, Glyn or Carrog).

In the event I caught the auto at 10.21 from Carrog instead of waiting for 58926 to give more time to look around the field at Glyn, but by the time I left Glyn on the "11.00" to Llan with 58926, my 35 minute "connection" at the end of the day was already starting to look dodgy. I wanted a trip behind 44806 and 1744, so it now appeared that to do that I needed to be on the 15.50 from Llan to Berwyn (44806's first train of the day) and back (with 1744). Oh well, it did mean that I could have a full round trip on 828, but my day would now finish on the "16.25" arrival at Llan as the 16.40 departure was not scheduled to stop at Berwyn, and going through to Glyn and back was now too dodgy to catch the 18.30 bus.

Then came 828's problems and the cancellation of the 15.50 ex-Llan, at which point it appeared that I wouldn't be able to do anything else. (15.10 scheduled arrival to catch the 18.30 bus!), but I spoke to one of the station staff, pointing out the the 15.50 was scheduled to call at Berwyn, but the next train, the 16.40, was not and after some discussion they did they sensible thing and arranged for the 16.40 to stop at Berwyn. I thought that my chance to ride behind 1744 had gone as it was scheduled to arrive at 16.25, but in the event it was held at Deeside to cross the 16.40, so I did get to ride behind it back from Berwyn, arriving at Llan fairly close to my originally planned time of 17.55, albeit on a train that was scheduled to arrive 90 minutes earlier!

Finished off by catching the top secret free bus service back to Ruabon - it appeared whilst I was waiting for the no 5 bus, which was lucky as there was no indication of bus times (or even the fact that it was running) anywhere.

So, in the end my day was as follows...

09.00 Llan-Bonwm-Carrog 70000+49395
10.21 Carrog-Glyn 6430
11.00 Glyn-LLan 58926
12.05 Llan-Berwyn 58926+49395
12.31 Berwyn-Llan 60163
13.20 Llan-Carrog 828
14.35 Carrog-Llan 828
16.40 Llan-Berwyn 44806+70000
16.16 Berwyn-Llan 1744

Yes, I got a ride behind all of the locos I wanted, but what I was able to do was somewhat less than I had planned.

 

Midweek After School Ticket (Valid after 15:45)
Adult £10
Child £6
OAP £10
Family £25

Weekend Evening Ticket (Valid after 17:00)
Adult £10
Child £6
OAP £10
Family £25

 

Is there an opportunity to see the work on 6880, at the shed?

Thanks
Alisdair

 

Yes. Saturdays and Sundays sheds are open from 1030 until 1800 ish.
Monday to Friday they open similar times but access is more restricted due to the full time staff being in.

 

Many thanks......

 

Thats sensible and what I do on a GCR visit. Some people just 'wing it' and then complain when they don't bash as much as they like and on what, however I much prefer to order timetables in advance so I know whats happening and can make the best of the day.

Yeah the free bus wasn't advertised at all. Why not? I would have caught it and saved £4 in the process...