The Cambrian Coast Express is an old named passenger train of the Great Western Railway (GWR), and later British Rail, running from London Paddington via Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli over the Cambrian Line.
The Cambrian Coast Express is an old named passenger train of the Great Western Railway (GWR), and later British Rail, running from London Paddington via Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli over the Cambrian Line.
Prior to amalgamation with the GWR in 1923, the line beyond Buttington Junction near Welshpool was owned and operated by the Cambrian Railways and passengers from England normally changed to a Cambrian Railways train at Shrewsbury. But in July and August 1921, the GWR ran a daily through express from Paddington to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli.
The first official use of the name Cambrian Coast Express was in 1927 when the train ran only on summer Fridays and Saturdays. By 1939 the through train was running only on summer Saturdays. It left London Paddington at 10:20 with calls at Leamington Spa, Birmingham Snow Hill, and Wolverhampton Low Level which was reached at 12:44. Here, owing to weight restrictions over the Cambrian line, the GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 locomotive was changed for two GWR Duke Class 4-4-0 engines or for a GWR Manor Class 4-6-0 for the non-stop run to Welshpool using the Shrewsbury Abbey Foregate curve (to avoid a stop and reversal of direction at Shrewsbury). Beyond Welshpool, calls were made at Machynlleth, Dovey Junction and Borth to reach Aberystwyth at 15:55, a total of 5 hours 35 minutes for the 235-mile (378 km) journey from London. In the reverse direction the journey was 25 minutes longer, at six hours; departing Aberystwyth at 10:00 with an additional stop at Newtown, but with otherwise unchanged station calls, and locomotive change at Wolverhampton. The train became the 14:00 departure from Birmingham to arrive at Paddington at 16:00. [1]
After World War II, the Cambrian Coast Express was re-introduced on Saturdays only and its seasonal operation continued under British Rail, usually with through coaches to both Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. By 1957 it was running every day except Sundays all year round. During the summer timetable, it was usually hauled by a "King" class locomotive as far as Wolverhampton where there would be an engine change, usually to a "Castle" class locomotive which took the train on to Shrewsbury where there was a second engine change as Castles were outside the loading gauge for the Cambrian line.
Two engine changes in such a short distance was obviously inefficient and following gauge testing with 6006 "King George I" in the spring of 1958, a King worked the train through from Paddington to Shrewsbury from the start of the 1958 summer timetable. At Shrewsbury the train would be split into two sections, one for Aberystwyth and one for Pwllheli. The King would return to Paddington with one of the regular Birkenhead-Paddington expresses later that afternoon.
In the up direction, the two sections would run independently as far as Wolverhampton, with the Pwllheli section using the Abbey Foregate triangle to omit the stop at Shrewsbury. The two sections would then be combined at Wolverhampton. The motive power for each of the two sections was usually a "Manor" class 4-6-0 or "Dukedog" 4-4-0, the latter of which were often double-headed.
The winter timetable arrangements were similar, except that following the arrival of the King with the down train at Shrewsbury, some coaches would be detached and the train taken forward as far as Machynlleth before being divided. These arrangements were mirrored for the up train with a Castle taking the train through from Shrewsbury to Paddington. [2]
The train last ran in 1991,[ citation needed ] by which time it had long since transferred its London terminus to Euston, operating as an extension to the regular-interval service over the West Coast Main Line between London and Wolverhampton. In the winter 1989-1990 timetable, it left London at 15:40, arriving Aberystwyth 21:00; the return working left Aberystwyth at 07:13, arriving London Euston at 12:24. There were no longer any through coaches to the northern part of the Cambrian Line: passengers for stations to Pwllheli had to change at Machynlleth. [3]
The Cambrian Coast Express name was revived in summer 2006 by Arriva Trains Wales, as a tourist steam service which ran from Machynlleth to Porthmadog or Pwllheli. In 2007, it was taken over by West Coast Railways and rebranded The Cambrian. In 2010 it was cancelled by Network Rail due to the installation of a trial signalling system ERTMS.[ citation needed ]
The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.
The Cambrian Line, also known as the Cambrian Main Line and Cambrian Coast Line, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the western terminals of Pwllheli, Gwynedd, and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, with the eastern terminal at Shrewsbury, Shropshire as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. The railway line is regarded to be scenic, as it passes through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales, Snowdonia National Park and along the coast of Cardigan Bay.
The Welsh Marches line, known historically as the North and West Route, is the railway line running from Newport in south-east Wales to Shrewsbury in the West Midlands region of England by way of Abergavenny, Hereford and Craven Arms and thence to Crewe via Whitchurch. The line thus links the south of Wales to north-west England via the Welsh Marches region, bypassing Birmingham. Through services from south-west Wales, Swansea and Cardiff to Manchester and from Cardiff to Wrexham, Chester, the north coast of Wales and Anglesey constitute the bulk of passenger operations on the route.
The Wolverhampton–Shrewsbury line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington; it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and four tracks through Wellington station.
Dovey Junction is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in Wales. It is the junction where the line splits into the line to Aberystwyth and the Cambrian Coast Line to Pwllheli. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales. There is a single island platform.
Shrewsbury railway station is in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969.
Sandwell & Dudley railway station is on the Birmingham Loop of the West Coast Main Line, on the outskirts of Oldbury. The name of the station is somewhat misleading; the station is actually located between Oldbury and West Bromwich, and not near Dudley. The nearest station to the town of Dudley is Dudley Port.
Pwllheli railway station is a railway station serving the small coastal town of Pwllheli on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. It is the terminus of the Cambrian Coast Railway.
Newtown railway station is a railway station serving Newtown, Powys, Wales.
Welshpool railway station on the Cambrian Line in Powys, mid-Wales, serves the town of Welshpool.
Machynlleth railway station is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the town of Machynlleth. It was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway (N&MR), and subsequently passed into the ownership of the Cambrian Railways, the Great Western Railway, Western Region of British Railways and London Midland Region of British Railways. It is notable that there is a distance of 22 miles (35 km) between this station and Caersws, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.
Aberystwyth railway station is a railway station in the town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. It is served by passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales: it is the terminus of the Cambrian Line 81+1⁄2 miles (131.2 km) west of Shrewsbury. It is also the terminus of the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.
Harlech railway station is located at a level crossing on the A496 in the centre of the town of Harlech in Gwynedd, North Wales. The waiting shelters were installed to cater for the high numbers of schoolchildren commuting to and from the adjacent secondary school, Ysgol Ardudwy.
Abererch railway station is located at a level crossing on the minor road from the beach to the village of Abererch on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales.
Barmouth railway station serves the seaside town of Barmouth in Gwynedd, Wales. The station is on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services to Harlech, Porthmadog, Pwllheli, Tywyn, Aberdovey, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury. Between Morfa Mawddach and Barmouth the railway crosses the Afon Mawddach on the Barmouth Bridge.
Aberdovey railway station serves the seaside resort of Aberdyfi in Gwynedd, Wales. The station is on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services every two hours calling at all stations between Machynlleth and Pwllheli, including Tywyn, Barmouth, Harlech and Porthmadog. Passengers can connect at Machynlleth for trains to Aberystwyth or Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International.
The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales.
Shrewsbury TMD is a railway traction maintenance depot (TMD) situated in Coleham, Shrewsbury, England. The TMD forms part of Coleham Depot, a permanent way depot operated by Network Rail. The code for the TMD is 'SB'.
The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was a British railway company that built a line between Oswestry in Shropshire and Newtown Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The line opened in stages in 1860 and 1861. It was conceived to open up the area to rail transport, when local opinion formed the view that the trunk railway companies would not do so. Subscription money for the construction proved very difficult to generate. It was the action of a contractor partnership, Davies and Savin, in agreeing to accept shares as the majority of their payment for construction work, that saved the company from failure.
The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was a railway company in Wales. It built a line from a junction with the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway near Caersws to the market town of Machynlleth; the line opened in 1862. Newtown had become the hub of railway lines in the district. Machynlleth was an important town, and extension from there to Aberystwyth and to the coast northward was in the minds of the promoters.
