Corwen station put to the test
Test trains operate to Corwen Central station as part of commissioning process.
THE Llangollen Railway’s Corwen Central station took a further step closer to opening to the public when a steamhauled officers’ special arrived just after lunchtime on Friday, June 17. GWR ‘56XX’ 0-6-2T
No. 5619, which is visiting the Denbighshire line this season from the Telford Steam Railway, hauled resident privately-owned Hawksworth inspection saloon No. 80975.
The train was run to conduct further testing of the platforms and station facilities and allow an important member of the line’s team to be among the first users of the station – Llangollen Railway Trust founding member and President Bill Shakespeare MBE.
Dedication
Mr Shakespeare has been involved in the railway from its inception as the Deeside and Flintshire Railway Preservation Society in the late 1970s. He has given a lifetime’s dedicated service to the railway as a volunteer and served as chairman of the LR Trust between 1976 and 1998. Awarded an MBE for services to the railway upon his retirement as chairman in 1998, Mr Shakespeare continues to support the Trust in an honorary role as president despite being well into his 90s.
Richard Dixon-Gough, project manager for the Corwen Station Project said: “Seeing the officers’ special roll in with Bill on board is something me and the small team of volunteers who have built the station from nothing have been looking forward to for a very long time.
“While this is still part of the testing phase of getting the station ready to open to the public, it is another big step forward. We have got a fair bit more work to do in order to complete the platform buildings – with the roof to finish and the canopy to erect.”
The external brickwork has mostly been completed, resulting in the full enclosure of the steel frame and the removal of all the scaffolding on the south facing wall.
Attention can now be turned to the internal structure and the application of a shallow skillion or single pitch shed roof, which will fit underneath the canopy. All the roof beams are now in place along with the skillion gradient sections, which when fully boarded and waterproofed, will allow rain water to run towards the north side of the building and to be carried away by drain pipes to the grid system at platform level.
The operation of the officers’ special was a culmination of many hours of work on the station and track. After the completion of tamping at Corwen, a final load of ballast was delivered by the permanent way team and spread throughout the platform loop. The aim was to get ballast between the sleeper ends and the platform walls to help anchor the track into place and prevent it moving in towards the platform.
Appeal
To bring the tamping and levelling process to a satisfactory conclusion, a gauging train, consisting of four Mk.1 coaches and the inspection saloon was hauled into the Up platform at Corwen on the evening of Saturday, May 28 by Class 47 diesel No. 1566 (47449).
Donations are being sought from well-wishers for the station’s ‘Fitting out Fund’. At the time of writing, the appeal totalled £1600 – but it is estimated that approximately £10/11,000 is required to complete this. Cheques payable to Corwen Central Railway Development can be posted to: ‘FAO Paul Bailey’, Llangollen Railway Trust, The Station, Abbey Road, Llangollen, LL20 8NS. Contact treasurer Mr Bailey on 01490 450271 or email paulbaileywincham@yahoo.co.uk for details.