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Items on this page are no longer ‘Breaking News’ but are still interesting and important to the progress and development of Llangollen Railway

It was the turn of Aled Roberts, the doyen of the Croes Newydd footplate men, to be reunited with the Dukedog today when he was invited for a footplate ride during a photo session.

 Here he is with John Kirwood as they set off from Llangollen.

 To say he was thrilled to be back on a 9000 is an understatement of course and he even offered some poetry to recall previous adventures with the type.

 Croes Newydd had three of the type in their latter days - 9004, 9014, 9018 all withdrawn in 1960 plus 9028 which was there until 1957

George Jones

Pictures of the action at the Autumn Gala ‘Raising the Standard’ taken Left to Right: 80072 and 44806 pass 3802 on Sunday afternoon; 80072 arrives in Glyndyfrdwy Station as 78019 waits for the road; the view from Carrog Signal Box as 78019 approches and 44806 waits in the goods yard.

Photos - John Rutter

Link to Youtube Clip of 80072 and 78019 in Llangollen Station

at 2pm on Friday 11th September 2009

Link to Youtube Clip of the Autumn 80072 Gala filmed at Glyndyfrdwy on Sunday 13th September 2009

Pictures over the Christmas & New Year period by David Wilcock

Have a range of new/near new BR uniforms in their shop at Carrog. Jackets, shirts, coat liners, trousers, ties, sorry no hats.

Thanks for your past support; Charles Cooksley, Llangollen Railway Great Western Locomotive Group

S4C film crew No1 recording a documentary on the history of Eisteddfods on Carrog Station on 30th March. Broadcast Date 27th April.

The Esteddfods became popular because the railway could transport large numbers of people to the event.

Photo John Rutter

S4C film crew no2. The presenters, suitably dressed to explore Victorian ettiquette, 31st March on Llangollen Station. The subject for this episode was ‘How to behave on a train.’ We don’t have a broadcast date for this yet. Look out for yours truly as the porter passing the luggage to the John Vacher, the TTI on the Engineer’s Inspection Saloon, which S4C had hired for the day.

Picture - John Rutter

Also on 31st March. The fabricated and machined dragbox is fitted to the frames of the New-build Patriot Locomotive ‘The Unknown Warrior.’ As the buffer beam is attached at the front end, the dragbox now attaches the frame plates together at the rear end.

The event is being filmed for the ‘Patriot Project’ Archive.

Picture - John Rutter

5952 parked on the low loader on the A5 on its way to Llangollen

Photo David Wilcock

5952 arrives in Llangollen Yard 12th April 2010

Photos Dave Owen

Cogan Hall during a previous sojourn at Llangollen; in the bay platform

Photo - John Rutter

4141 arrives in Llangollen Yard for a ‘Heavy General’ overhaul on 12th May 2010. The loco is expected to be operational again in 18months.

Picture - John Vacher

The Station Staff do a tidy up whilst other volunteers paint the platform edges white , strim the embankments and remove the cuttings. Meanwhile, 80072 is banished to platform 2 so that the new white paint can dry.

All pictures - John Rutter

Corwen Town from the trackbed 1st May 2010

Picture and digital manipulation - John Rutter

 The three day all-steam gala was staged to generate publicity and funds for the Carrog to Corwen extension at the Llangollen Railway and for The-LMS Patriot Project, which is assembling new build Patriot, number 45551 'The Unknown Warrior' at the Llangollen Railway Works. Progress with 'The Unknown Warrior' can be seen at the Works during the Gala.

 Other locos working during the ‘Corwen Patriot Gala’ ncluded newly restored BR Standard 4 Tank, 80072; Black 5 44806; GWR Heavy Freight 3802; GWR Pannier Tank 6430 with 2 autocoaches, and GWR 0-6-2T 5643 which is on hire from the Furness Railway Trust after visiting the Ribble Steam Railway at Preston Docks.

 The LMS-Patriot Project is looking to get 300 new Regular Donors over the next 12 months. Regular Donations from as little as £5/month are being sought.

 Visit www.lms-patriot.org.uk for a Donations and Membership Form, or request one by telephoning 01889 271058, or by writing to: The LMS-Patriot Company Ltd, PO Box 3118, Hixon, Stafford, ST16 9JL, to which Donations may also be sent.

Card donations can now be made at www.lms-patriot.org.uk. (Click on DONATE NOW button).
 Regards,

Andrew Laws -  Patriot Project Marketing and Publicity

Left: Stanier Mogul 42968 at Berwyn Station on 23rd April. Right: 42968 piloted by 80072 approach Carrog during the Corwen/Patriot Gala

Pictures - John Berresford

Progress Report on the Corwen  Transport & Works Order 6th April 2010

 After our Application went public in September 2009, we received six objections, four of which have since been withdrawn. The two outstanding objectors are Welsh Water, who are seeking protection for two water pipes crossing the Railway’s formation, and the Countryside Council for Wales who required much more detailed information than had been included in our environmental statement. CCW have major concerns about the impact the construction and operation of the railway may have on the River Dee SAC and SSSI.

 Two supplementary environmental documents were prepared and sent to CCW. One was an assessment of the potential effects of the project on the River Dee, and the second referred to otter surveys and their distribution. This led to a lengthy exchange of correspondence with CCW, along with a couple of meetings and a site visit. We are pleased to record that a satisfactory settlement has at last been reached between CCW and Llangollen Railway Trust, and the former will now withdraw their objection. We have been advised that an agreement will shortly be made with Welsh Water.

 With the Trust’s Application now being unopposed, it was naturally assumed that the granting of the T&WO would follow. Not so! To our dismay, on 25th March a letter was received from the Department of Transport stating that the Welsh Ministers had decided to require the Trust to submit these two supplementary reports for public consultation. Worse, these two reports had been with the Ministers for five months!

 A public notice will now appear in next Tuesday’s ‘Daily Post’ (6th April), stating that these reports will be available for inspection at Corwen and Llangollen libraries and Llangollen Station. The general public will then have a further forty-two days in which to make any representations. This procedure still has to be complied with, notwithstanding the fact that, having agreed with the supplemental reports, CCW itself is withdrawing its objection.

 On behalf of the Trust, our solicitors sent a letter to the WAG’s department dealing with our T&WO Application. It expressed our great dissatisfaction at the way this matter has been handled, and made it clear that the further delays to be incurred may result in the loss of the WAG grant aid funding package. This grant aid is fundamental towards the construction of the railway extension, and it had a deadline of 31st March for payment. It has taken a full six months of hard endeavour to satisfy the six objectors, and through no fault of the project team, that grant deadline has been missed.

A final extension to 31st August for the grant draw down has been gained with some difficulty, but we still face enormous problems.

By law, work on the extension cannot be started until the T&WO has been approved. The Welsh Ministers’ decision has now added six weeks to the process, and there is scant hope that the T&WO will be granted before 31st August. If we are unable to avail ourselves of the WAG grant aid by 31st August, it is lost for all time to the project. In the current economic climate, it may take many years to achieve the goal of the extension to Corwen.

 Up to now, this whole bureaucratic process of applying for the Order has cost the Railway over £60,000 in legal costs alone, for which there has been no outside financial assistance. In addition there has been £20,000 towards JMP Consulting’s costs. These legal costs are ongoing, until such time as the Order is granted. Without the financial boost of this grant aid, the Railway would have insufficient funding to start work on the project.

 The foregoing makes for depressing reading, the more so to those of us who have been involved in this project for four years and more.  It is made worse knowing that the delays and additional costs involved in the granting of the Order are outside of our control and not of our doing.

 Bill Shakespeare   Vice President, Llangollen Railway Trust

Gordon Heddon    Vice President, Llangollen Railway Trust

Neil Evans            Vice Chairman, Llangollen Railway Trust

LINK TO

The letter from the Countryside Council for Wales dated 19th April 2010

Withdrawing their objection to the Transport and Works Order

The Railway  now has ‘Official’ Facebook, Myspace and Twitter pages for anyone who has a presence on these Networking spaces. In each case just search ‘Llangollen Railway’ to find them.

Llangollen Station Shop

Model Railway Items