Crewe To Holyhead Via Chester (north Wales Coast)

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by Olaf the Snowman, Apr 9, 2020.

  1. Olaf the Snowman

    Olaf the Snowman Well-Known Member

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    Note: I’m taking threads which have very little information and expanding on them. I’m making a new thread so more people are able to see it.
    https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/north-wales-coast-merseyrail.21590/


    General route information

    Crewe to Holyhead via Chester is approximately 105 miles. Therefore this isn’t going to be possible in one go as routes are typically 40-50miles. Possibly Crewe to Llandudno Junction may be more feasible as it is 65 miles long and you still get to see the amazing scenery as you run parallel with St George’s Channel which is ultimately the Irish Sea. In the distance, you can also see Snowdonia National Park. Beautiful route with no overhead wires to ruin the view with wonderful scenery as well as the nostalgia of semaphores (absolute block signalling) still in places. Also, the iconic Conway castle and Conway Railway bridge is apparently a wonderful piece of engineering as I’ve seen it on one of these documentaries on TV- I think it was called “Engineering wonders” or something along those lines.


    Traction

    Avanti West Coast run Class 221s from London Euston to Chester/Holyhead. If you want older traction, Virgin Trains (the precious franchise holder) used to use HSTs at one time and also Class 390 hauled by Class 57 for a bit. When it used HSTs, it had the old Paxman Valenta engines.


    Transport for Wales use various traction including Sprinters (Class 15x), Class 175 and they even have a loco-hauled service using a Class 67, Mk3 coaches and DVT (soon to be Mk4 coaches).


    Maintenance depots

    Crewe LNWR depot just South of Crewe is used by Avanti West Coast for Class 221s

    Chester TMD is used by TFW for sprinters and Class 175s

    There are sidings at Holyhead for overnight storage of trains


    Features
    • Beautiful scenery of the coast and Snowdonia National Park
    • The route has been re-signalled recently but there are still some semaphores and signal boxes. Certainly a lot of distant/stop signals as well as foot and level crossings.
    • Maximum speed is 90mph which is not exactly high speed but still high for a scenic and relatively nostalgic route
    • Class 221s and Sprinters are frequently for asked on this forum and this route can fulfil both
    • Chester and Crewe are big stations with plenty of opportunities for shunt moves
    • Might make a new thread for Class 221s but it is a good modern traction to have- a nice big cab compared to the Class 377 and turbo. Opportunities to do coupling at Chester; Automatic guard operation would be more than ever welcome as even though the driver closes the doors, the guard tells the driver when to do it via the bell buzzer; opportunity to develop a proper and fully functional TMS; opportunity to get the rules of rheostatic braking working properly with regards to the brake cylinder pressure gauge; don’t need to worry about TASS (tilt, speed supervision) as it is not operational on this route; auto shut down engine sequence when there is no cab activated in order to be more eco-friendly; fully variable power brake controller and just interesting sounds of the engines as it is a diesel-electric.
    • Reminds me of the North Transpenine route which is popular but just a modern version of it. Still opportunities for locomotives as mentioned previously including Class 57s, Class 67s/DVT and HSTs with Paxman Valenta engines

    Pictures
    1. Map of route
    2. Class 221 passing through Conway castle (Virgin Trains/Avanti West Coast)
    3. HST at Holyhead (Virgin Trains)
    4. Class 57 hauling a Class 390 (Virgin Trains)
    5. Class 67 hauling mk3s and DVT alongside Welsh Coast (Arriva Trains Wales although Transport for Wales still operate them)
    2357213C-4EC4-4F24-A032-7C99D2FB6C95.jpeg 3E37B0A9-EC19-4541-BF9B-97F74F3DD3B1.jpeg 214A0C08-466D-4D54-A031-B9F8FE2A7A95.jpeg E4BC2CC4-AF0A-4CB8-949D-0F1192F8E596.jpeg 11E5F81A-3C6D-4CAB-A9E6-B3F7FD70B442.jpeg
     
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  2. Reeonix

    Reeonix Member

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    I've always thought about suggesting this for TSW but it just seems too long for what we're use to from DTG with TSW. You could in theory go from Chester to Llandudno which would cut some mileage of the route but otherwise you risk them just ending the route at a random station in between Chester and Llandudno. I personally would love to see some Welsh content for TSW (hence my valleys suggestion). Conwy Castle could also look impressive in TSW and that area could be perfect for screenshots if done correctly. If we got this I'd expect it come with either the 175 or 158 and the voyager. Depending which one isn't there (175 or 158) they could be substituted in from another welsh route maybe like the SWC.
     
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  3. GhostHunter0554

    GhostHunter0554 New Member

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    Yes I was also about to suggest this as it’s one of my favourite routes to be on when I go for my holidays. Anyways, I believe it would be a great route as the variety of scenery is outstanding. Cutting it down to Chester to Holyhead reduces about 20 miles making it about 85 miles. Still a long route but an enjoyable one.
    This link is a video of Chester to Holyhead in a class 175:
     
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  4. Oo7 BELL 7oO

    Oo7 BELL 7oO Active Member

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    I would love to see something like this but from Crewe to Swansea.
     
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  5. Reeonix

    Reeonix Member

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    Crewe to Swansea is a LOT of track so I doubt we'd see that. We might see the Cardiff Central - Swansea section one day though given it's only 34 miles (https://www.thetrainline.com/train-times/cardiff-central-to-swansea). I think thetrainline works out distance "as the crow flies" but that shouldn't be an issue since TSW does that too :).
     
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  6. Oo7 BELL 7oO

    Oo7 BELL 7oO Active Member

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    I said Swansea as more of a limit because I wasn't sure of any hubs other than Shrewsbury And I thought that itwould be too short if it went just to Shrewsbury.
     
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  7. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    As the whole of this route is too long, I’d suggest the section between Holyhead and Llandudno Junction as being the most interesting section, and include the short line to Llandudno. This would be an excellent route.
     
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