Rowan and I arrived at Llandudno Junction in plenty
of time to see The Slate Miner charter arrive from Crewe 7 minutes
ahead of schedule behind BR Standard tanks 80079 and 80098.
As is the custom, the tanks arrived bunker first, no turning facilities being
available here.
It's very unusual for a charter to pick up North West Wales residents, many
special trains come here but the relatively sparse population makes it uneconomic
to start in these parts. So when we found out that the organisers, Past Time
Rail, were giving locals the chance to travel up the scenic Conwy Valley Line
for ten pounds each we made sure we would be on board.
As soon as the train arrived brisk shunting ensued, with the support coach dumped in a siding and the remainder split into two four-coach trains.
80079 left at 13:05 as scheduled with its four coaches.
Before long 80098 was watered, backed onto its stock on platform
1 and off we went. All went well until we stopped at North Llanrwst box for
the token. It transpired that 80079 had failed to climb the bank up to Pont
y Pant and was stuck near milepost 19. So we pulled into the platform
for an unscheduled photo stop, then our loco sped off to help its classmate
while we wandered round Llanrwst.
