LarryG's general album

LarryG

Western Thunderer
I had a ride along the Helsby to Hooton line behind steam - possibly a push-pull train? It must have been the early/mid 1950s because I remember we also traveled most of the Liverpool Overhead Railway on the same trip. My father and I had week long rail rover tickets covering the whole NW England. I would have been 4 - 5 years old and only remember parts of it.
Lovely photos, Larry.
Yes, I was going to mention that the local service from Helsby to Hooton was a push-pull working in steam days. The same type of LNWR open saloons as used on the Delph branch were used up until the early 1950's. You must have had a brilliant week out travelling over the railway with your father at that time Dave.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
45105 entering Chester with the 11.29 Manchester Victoria-Llandudno on 13th September 1985. Crewe lines on the right....
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Pentax SP1000 55 mm Takmar

Brandnew 'Jaffa Cake' with M55545 leading heads through Chester back to Manchester while on driver-training duty on 13th September 1985...
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SP1000 105mm Takumar

Class 47 No. 47227 threads it way through Chester with an MGR train to Fiddlers Ferry power station on 13th September 1985...
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SP1000 200mm Takumar

Contrasts at Chester...
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
'Rats'! I was encouraging my nephew to take up railway photography at the time and it was he who told me the Rodent name had been bestowed upon Class 25 locos by the 1980's generation of spotters. 25311 was passing Chester with loaded Sealions from Penmaenmawr Quarry on 12th November 1985...
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A Class 08 shunter No. 08635 was working the yard on this day and is seen here moving newly built wagons about...
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The sun was setting over Chester as 25145 busied itself making up a tain in the yard on 12th November 1985. This loco was a true 'rat' seeing as the name "Roland" had been stencilled on the side...
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
After buying a 35mm SLR in October 1976 to replace the bus restoration 'hobby', my first serious railway outing didn't take place for another five months. I didnt keep a diary to begin with, but fortunately I put a date on one of my prints....Chester General 22nd April 1977.

Almost all Chester's LNWR signals had gone by 1977, so I was pleased to capture one actually doing its job. This Met-Camm DMU was setting out from the east bay to I know not where...

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A Parcels DMU hauloing extra bogie vans gets the road to Crewe...
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I couldnt resist this shot of an LMS designed 50' parcels van M31142. Note the welded underframe and bogies...
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
At the western end of Northgate Street tunnels, the railway crossed Northgate canal locks. 25283 and 25270 roll towards Chester with a heavy oil train on 23rd May 1977...
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Also heading towards the tunnels are two Class 25's, the second one being 25070. Most of the train was cement wagons. 23rd May 1977...
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I wandered lonely as a cloud... The Class 24's were rapidly diminishing in number at this time, so I was well pleased when 24082 turned up on the same day, 23rd May. There was no warning of what might turn up here and so the manual camera had to be set up ready with correct exposute...
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oldravendale

Western Thunderer
The Northgate Canal Locks brought back a lovely memory of a trip my wife and I made to Chester with my late mother and father. We walked the canal as far as the canal workshop. We stayed near Wrexham. A happy week.

Brian
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Having crossed the Roodee viaduct, the line entered Curzon Park cutting. 40044 was heading away from Chester with the 15.00 Crewe-Holyhead on 20th May 1978. This location was never the same after this pair of tracks were removed...
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Heading into Chester on the Western Region tracks was 6000 King George V on a Hereford-Chester turn, 20th May 1978. These locos were not allowed into Chester in steam days...
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King No. 6000 plodding through Curzon Park cutting, Chester, on the return working. Apologies for lack of details but there is nothing in my diary to indicate what exactly the steam working was all about...
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jonte

Western Thunderer
47187 rounds the curve through Helsby with MGR empties at 17.10hrs on 13th September 1985...


A general view of Frodsham station with the up station buildings and goods shed still extant. A Metro-Cammell DMU departs for Manchester while another is seen in the distance heading for Chester on 21st May 1985. "Indians Head" on the skyline.

Is that the ‘Old Man of Frodsham’ I can see in the background of photo 2, Larry?

25200 and 25190 were putting in maximum effort on the climb through Helby station with a heavy oil train from Stanlow' on 13th September 1985...
View attachment 144998

Class 25 No. 25265 heads Freightliner flats away from Chester General station on the Crewe line at 13.20 hrs on 23rd April 1985...
View attachment 144999

Is that the ‘Old Man of Frodsham’ in the background of Photo 2, Larry?
 

daifly

Western Thunderer
King No. 6000 plodding through Curzon Park cutting, Chester, on the return working. Apologies for lack of details but there is nothing in my diary to indicate what exactly the steam working was all about...
According to Six Bells Junction (search 'The Railtour Files" by date) this was a 16.30d from Chester back to Hereford as part of railtours for the Sussex Committee for S.R. Homes plus another unidentified group.
Dave
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Is that the ‘Old Man of Frodsham’ in the background of Photo 2, Larry?
I've only known it as Indians Head. Me dad called it that from the very early 1950's when we used drive to the caravan in North Wales and stop "to give the car a rest" near Frodsham. Doing that was pretty routine in those days of resurrected pre-war cars.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
6201 Princess Elizabeth on the GWR Shrewsbury - Chester mainline near Saltney heading a Hereford-Chester special on 20th May 1978.
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A panned shot of the 'Lizzie' leaving Chester through curzon Park cutting on 20th May 1978...
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Bullied Pacific No. 35028 Clan Line heads through cuirzon Park cutting towards Chester the 'The White Rose' railtour on 9th Septemeber 1978...
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Changes were coming in during the early 1980's, nevertheless 1981 was still a time when you didn't dare walk away from the trackside in case something interesting turned up. I never expected this though! BR's experiental railbus LEV1 was crossing the Dee Bridge, Chester at 11.45hrs en route to Llandudno Junction where it would be tersted on the Conwy Valley branch the following day (Sunday 28th June 1981)...
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A view from Chester city walls of an unidentified Class 40 working the 09.35 Llandudno-Crewe on Saturday 27th June 1981. This was the end of the 4-track section by this time...
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Class 40 No. 40006 passing over the simplified track in Curzon Park cutting with the 08.55 york to Llandudno on 27th June 1981. A front cover shot in its day...WEB Chester 44C.jpg
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
I have abou a dozen photos of the inaugural railtour visit to Chester taken by my late Father. This shows the almost total lack of HSE, can you imagine this happening today. I particularly like the bod lying prone on the signal bracket!
It was a different country back then. Although BR trackside passes were not beng renewed, I got a lot of assistance in North Wales. I havent seen most of the pictures before that are appearing on this thread, so it is interesting scanning them and seeing what is on the negative or tranny.
 
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Shadows were expected with being on the wrong side of the sun, but at least there was a better view of the trains so long as the exposure produced a manageable negative. No. 40184 was one of the last batches of Class 40 and passes Northgate Locks with the 09.45 Manchester- Bangor on 14th August 1982...
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A case of a rock and a hard place comes to mind seeing as the opposite side of the tracks was also full of shadows! One of the early Class 40's No. 40012 Oriol runs through the Autumn shadows between Chester's City walls with the 10.45 Manchester Victoria-Bangor on 14th August 1982... It was time to go somewhere else...
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That somewhere else was Curzon Park Cutting on the outskirts of the city. This general view of the location shows one of the Western Region Cross-Country units passing with a mid-afternoo train to Wolverhampton on 14th August 1982. It left the North Wales line at Saltney Junction...
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Double-headed Class 25's seemed to be quite common around Chester. Here, 25221 and 25202 were working bogie tank wagons over the Roodee Bridge bound for Shrewsbury on 28th October 1982...
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A parting shot of Chester. Class 40 No. 40012 Oriol had just passed Saltney Junction with the 15.17 Holyhead-Manchester. The train was neatly framed by a cattle crossing bridge on 14th August 1982. Try this shot today and you would be stood in the middle of a thick forest...
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Before leaving Chester, mention should be made of the Class 33's, which 'invaded' North Wales on Cardiff-Bangor trains for a couple of years commencing in mid-May 1985. 33015 was crossing Roodee viaduct with the 11.15 Crewe-Bangor on 24th May 1985 passing a Met-Camm unit on a Llandudno-Crewe working...
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Out in the country near Sandycroft airport, Class 45 No. 45150 was working the 11.15 Bangor-Newcastle on a bitterly cold 16th February 1985. This was the last remaining section of quadruple track on the C&H route...
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Better weather for Class 25 No. 25176 working the 14.30 goods off Glan Conwy Yard at Llandudno Junction on 24th May 1985. Diesel loco variety had never been better on the North Wales coast line at this time with Classes 08, 20, 25, 33, 37 (on test) 40, 47, 45, 46 and 56 putting in appearances. It was a final fling before "Sprinterization"...
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Stepping back a little, I missed out Saltney Ferry, better known as Mold Junction. 47646 speeds under Saltney Lane Bridge with the 09.05 Euston-holyhead 'Irish Mail' on 15th August 1987. On the right is Mold Junction MPD. These negs have never been printed before, so its the first time I've seen these images too...
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I was standing on BR's Mold Junction spent-ballast dumping ground for these photos. The 11.40 Llandudno-Liverpool Lime Street 8-car DMU was passing on 15th August 1987...
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Further along the quadruple track section with Mold Junction in the distance, we see 47456 with 'The Welshman', the 13.00 Cardiff-Holyhead on 4th August 1987
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Fast approaching Sandycroft was 47445 with a down Freightliner bound for holyhead FLT at 18.31 hrs on 4th August 1987. It was quite rare to capture a train using the Down Slow track, but I did once on colour transparency...

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Swinging round, Sandycroft signal box was the lone surving building after the wooden platforms and buildings were removed. There had been a brick-built booking office on the side of the embankment. Lineside bushes were already becoming trees by this time! An 8-car Derby set was on an Up working at 15.55 hrs on 4th august 1987. The outer Slow lines were little used by this time beyond Sandycroft. They served Dundas Sidings..
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