We left at 17:44, 15 minutes late. The sprint across Anglesey recovered three
minutes of the delay and 6233 had won back another minute by Bangor. We were
now at the very end of the train so positions by the vestibule droplights
were easier to acquire. The train stretched ahead as far as I could see, with
an occasional red glow from the fire in the distance. I gazed out to the north
where the darker grey distinguished Puffin Island from the clouds and the
sea, like a Turner seascape in the twilight.
A very slow run in to platform 1 at Llandudno Junction
lost two minutes, arrival time being 18:39 against the scheduled 18:26. This
was possibly due to the large crowd on the platform with lots of young families
in evidence. A collection was held for the Duchess’s upkeep, a good idea to
extract some cash from those who only go near the railway when free entertainment
is on offer.
The following is reproduced from the Trust's leaflet
Princess Coronation Class Locomotive No 6233 Duchess of Sutherland was built in Crewe Locomotive Works by the London Midland & Scottish Railway Co. Ltd. and entered service in July 1938. She was one of only five locomotives to be built as non streamlined in the early production batches. For the first six years of her service life she was allocated to Camden depot in London from where she worked the principal trains from Euston on the West Coast main line. In 1944 she was transferred to Crewe North depot and between 1944 and 1960 alternated between the three depots of Carlisle Upperby, Crewe North, and Camden. Her final home depot was Liverpool Edge Hill where she spent her last service days until being withdrawn from traffic in October 1963. In 1964 Sir Billy Butlin bought her for static display at his Ayr Holiday Camp and after that she moved to Bressingham Railway Museum, Norfolk.
The locomotive was offered to The Priness Royal Class
Locomotive Trust and was promptly bought in February 1996. 6233 was moved
by road to West Shed, headquarters of the Trust in Derbyshire. The Trust applied
for and was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £342,508. This, together
with a contribution from the trust itself, allowed the locomotive to become
part of the Trust's collection and for her to be restored to full main line
working order. The overhaul commenced in October 1998 and was completed in
Spring 2001. In excess of £500,000 was spent with major boiler work consuming
a large proportion of this. The locomotive will see mainline work until 2007.
For further information write to
PRC LT, PO Box 6203, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1 WW
Visit the Trust's website on www.prcit.co.uk
For another passenger's view, read Travelling with a Duchess by John Myers
Christine returned from London in the evening courtesy of 47 827, seen here after arriving 25 minutes late at Bangor
Sunday 21st October 2001
A week later 6233 repeated its trip with the same timings, seen here bursting
out of Bangor tunnel, running a minute early with an amber ahead. 1D87 was
running 35 minutes late so the charter was allowed to proceed as timetabled.
Even better than the view from a 101! If you've £225 to spare then this
is the way to travel.
Return to Bikes and Trains
North Wales Coast page
Return to Bikes and Trains main page