Snowdon Mountain Railway

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Diggers are being used to clear snow drifts from the railway track up Snowdon in a bid to reopen the summit visitor centre and cafe in May.
The building, Hafod Eryri, is always shut over the harsh winter months but this time workers admit the clear-up is even harder than usual.
After the digger shifts the snow, a blower is used to remove the last icy traces.
The new improved ^8.4m Hafod Eryri building opened in June last year.
Doug Blair, the senior engineering manager with the Snowdon Railway, said the clear-up this year was "a challenge". "It is work which has to be done very carefully along the edge of the Clogwyn cliff face," he said. "Once we use the excavator to clear the snow we then have to blow the snow out of the rack and if any bad weather reappears, and there's more snow, it ruins everything we've done," he said.
The object was to open Hafod Eryri in "one swoop", he added. "Then if the building is cut off it can survive on its own for a bit," he said.
Apart from the snow the track can also be damaged by ice and frost, he added. "I sometimes look at people who run railways on the flat and think they have it easy", he said.
The target is to reopen Hafod Eryri by early May, according to Jonathan Tyler the railway company's marketing manager. "Many people have been inquiring about going to the summit and hopefully the weather will be okay," he said.
John Ifor Jones has worked for the railway for 30 years, and he said conditions had been "pretty bad" this year. "We come prepared, with plenty of clothing, and you get used to working here," he said. "Drifts can get up to 15 feet deep. We need plenty of sunshine, and also rain and mist which eats away at the snow," he added.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Snowdon Mountain Railway has started taking delivery of new carriages for the first time since the current ones were introduced in the 1920s.

The first arrived on Monday and three others will take their place before the railway - which takes passengers to the Snowdon summit - reopens in the spring.

General manager Alan Kendall said they offered extra comfort and enabled more passengers to be carried when required.

The Welsh government has provided funding towards the total ^1.2m cost.

"The existing carriages have had lots of additions in terms of repairs and glass, and they date from around 1923," said Mr Kendall. "They have been kept in service since that point. The four new ones carry 74 passengers instead of 56 and that will look after demand for the majority of the year. We can carry people in more comfort with better visibility and they can feel a bit warmer or cooler [depending on the temperature]."

He said the new carriages would be used with diesel locomotives, which power the majority of passengers to the summit. However, he said the old carriages would continue to operate with the steam service.

Sunday was the last day that the railway will run this year as it closes for winter. It will reopen, complete with the new Derbyshire-built carriages, in mid to late March depending on the weather.

"It's fantastic. It's a big thing for me personally because this has been a long time in the making," said Mr Kendall. "I've been with the business for about 10 years. You come in and identify what needs to be done and with the age of the rolling stock, that was a big priority for me."

He said that along with the opening of the new visitor centre in June 2009, it would help give the business a "sustainable future".

"We're building a carriage for this century really but paying due respect to what's gone before. It's going to be in keeping with that," he said. "Welsh tourism is about improving quality pretty much everywhere and that's what we're trying to do."

[TonyK]

A bit of video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20202764

[grahame]

https://snowdonrailway.co.uk . One of these years ... I really must take a trip on the Snowdon Mountain Railway.   Rather put off by the £29 return fare on a "traditional" diesel service of £37 for a stream return trip of under 5 miles each way and the lack of encouragement on their plan-your-visit page ( https://snowdonrailway.co.uk/plan-your-visit/ ) to get there by anything other than car.

How long has it taken for the diesel service to become a "tradition" anyway - what does traditional actually mean in this case?

[bobm]

I have coupled a visit to the Railway with a trip round the Dinorwic Power Station which is built inside a mountain at Llanberis.   I used the bus from Bangor to get to the village and stayed at the Royal Victoria Hotel.

There is also Llanberis Lake railway if you are looking for a third "attraction".

[Oxonhutch]

There is also Llanberis Lake railway if you are looking for a third "attraction".

And the Slate Mine Museum - don't miss that one out.  The workshops and foundry are wonderful.  What's more, it is free.

[johnneyw]

I have coupled a visit to the Railway with a trip round the Dinorwic Power Station which is built inside a mountain at Llanberis.   I used the bus from Bangor to get to the village and stayed at the Royal Victoria Hotel.

There is also Llanberis Lake railway if you are looking for a third "attraction".

During it's construction my parents had a tour round Dinorwic as dad was working in the electricity generation, then distribution industries at the time. It seemed even more cavernous then and they described it as like a Bond supervillain lair. My only regret is not being there for a photo wearing a grey suit with a long haired white cat. 😀

[bobm]

It was a fascinating tour, although cameras are prohibited so I have no photos to show.   

[martyjon]

If you want to see a power station hacked out of a mountain you want to visit the West Arm Power Plant hacked out of the Southern Alps on the edge of Lake Manapouri in the South Island of New Zealand. To build it the New Zealanders had to reverse the flow of the Clutha River and its tributaries back into the lake. This they did by building a hydro electric dam at Balclutha on which there is a public road. A tourist trip round the West Arm Power Station commences with a Cruise across Lake Manapouri from Manapouri's Pearl Harbour. Arriving at the Power Stations landing stage tourists board one of a fleet of luxury coaches for a tour of the station and out into Doubtful Sound which when I was there was the only way to see the landscape other by sea. The bulk of the output from this power station is used by the aluminium smelter at Bluff near Invercargill. Ever get the opportunity to visit New Zealand go, its beautiful especially the South Island and whilst there try the Maori Champagne, Sparkling Kiwifruit wine, mmm.

[broadgage]

https://snowdonrailway.co.uk . One of these years ... I really must take a trip on the Snowdon Mountain Railway.   Rather put off by the £29 return fare on a "traditional" diesel service of £37 for a stream return trip of under 5 miles each way and the lack of encouragement on their plan-your-visit page ( https://snowdonrailway.co.uk/plan-your-visit/ ) to get there by anything other than car.

How long has it taken for the diesel service to become a "tradition" anyway - what does traditional actually mean in this case?

IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), diesel services can be traditional if old enough.

Traditional---------Slam door coaches hauled by a BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) era diesel locomotive. Slam door DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)

Non traditional----Sprinters, pacers, Turbos,158s, 159s IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train), class 66 locos or anything newer.

Arguable either way----HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train), class 59 locos, and anything newly built but in ye olde style.

[bobm]

Well the diesel service on the Snowdonia is provided by a Hunslet loco - like this one built in 1992



and coaches built in 2013

[broadgage]

The diesel loco pictured is IMO^▸ (in my opinion) traditional despite being of relatively recent construction.
The coaches are somewhat traditional, but look "foreign" in some hard to define way. Very suitable though.

[trainer]

The coaches are somewhat traditional, but look "foreign" in some hard to define way. Very suitable though.

Perhaps 'modern', 'clean', and 'stylish' are words that could help define 'foreign' in this case.

Certainly fewer right-angles than much current British narrow gauge stock. I think both have their merits aesthetically.

[johnneyw]

They do remind me of continental light rail stock.

[grahame]

I suppose "traditional" may be loco and coach(es) - LHCS^▸ (Locomotive Hauled Coaching Stock) (Loco Hauled Coaching Stock) or in this case LPCS (Loco Pushed ...). Noting the comments they look continental, yes, they do. But then there is no precedent for coaches for severly sloping lines in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)!   

Personally, I still feel that "traditional" is marketing over-hype ...