Here's my trip report!
I used a week long visit to family in North Wales to try out the WAG (Welsh Assembly Government) Express from Llandudno Junction and Cardiff Central. I had taken photographs of the WAG Express before, but I had never been able to travel on it.
My plan was to visit some of the lines around Cardiff. I have been through Cardiff many times, both on scheduled and charter trains but I had never been to Cardiff proper. I bought a “Valley Lines Explorer” at a very reasonable £11.
My train arrived on time at a gloriously sunny Llandudno Junction, propelled by 67002 in Arriva Blue livery. I had opted for standard class tickets on cost grounds, with single tickets each way costing £21 (no railcard) compared to almost £70 each way for first class. I like dining on trains, but that’s quite a difference. I did however use the buffet for a couple of teas.
I was very impressed with the standard carriages, good seats, tables, lighting and power points throughout. The first class carriage was a blue and grey mark 3 with the old Virgin interior. Quite a contrast. It got busy from time-to-time as we went progressed towards Cardiff but never to the point where I had anyone sitting with me in my set of 4 seats. Sadly the sunny weather along the North Wales coast would disappear the further south I got. Shropshire and Herefordshire were misty and the rest of my day in South Wales was cloudy at best. The trip down the border was a bit of a trundle though.
Arrival at Cardiff Central was a couple of minutes down due to an earlier signalling problem that would impact my first move. I had originally intended to take the first train to Penarth, but this and the one immediately afterwards were cancelled (one with 15 seconds notice), so having lost 30 or so minutes my next move was to Barry Island, behind 150257.
Having not had been to Barry Island before I headed for the beach (quite pretty) and an early fish and chips (well I had been up since 5.30am!) – a fair deal at £5.50 for a large cod and a visit to some of the locations made popular in the TV show “Gavin and Stacy”. The fun fare was yet to open that day though.
Barry Island station is typical of so many seaside termini – very unloved. There is potential though, the Barry Tourist Railway occupies the large station building and the island platform. As it was a week day they weren’t running though. Shortly before mid-day I returned “Leyland National” 142074 to Barry.
I then took another 143 (identity not taken) to Bridgend. The 143 had arrived just over 10 minutes late, which made my trip quite nerve racking as my plan was to take the next service to Maesteg. I did however get to see 66206 on a coal train while waited. The “Vale of Glamorgan” line was quite nice in places, though it the view was quite bouncy given the 143. I arrived at Bridgend with just 30 seconds to spare, with 150284 arriving from Gloucester. If I had missed my train at Bridgend I would either have to wait an hour or change my plans.
I then took 150284 to Maesteg and back. I found this line completely unremarkable, though it is clear that there have been many changes since the loss of coal mining in the area. The signal box and branch westwards at Tondu took my interest. I could have taken 150284 back to Cardiff, but instead took a 10 minute break at Bridgend in the hope of a 158 or 175 to take me back east. Sadly I had another 150/2. By now it was after 2pm, so I had to give up plans to do some of the longer valley lines such as Ebbw Vale. My plan was therefore to focus on Cardiff.
My next move was behind cut-short Leyland “Super Sprinter” 153362 to Coryton. I was very impressed with the interior refurbishment. It’s amazing what can be done to something 30 years old. The trip up to Coryton was unremarkable, just a corridor of houses before reaching a terminus that was once a through line. I then took 153362 back to Cardiff Queen Street, a quite unattractive station despite the on-going refurbishment work.
By this time it was raining, so I took a very quick “out and back” trip with 153327 to Cardiff Bay and back. I had hoped to see a view of the bay from the train but never appreciated it would be so over-developed. This line is definitely a good candidate for conversion to light rail in the future.
I was rapidly running out of time before my 17.16 departure Cardiff Central back to North Wales. Luckily I was able to finally get my trip to Penarth in behind 143605 (as well as the delays this morning I previously failed to get to Penarth on a charter due to very late running). I returned straight away, which is a shame as Penarth looked quite affluent compared to many places I’d passed during the day.
My final move was to Radyr – out via Cathays and back via Ninian Park. I had only ever done the former. The only other time I had passed through Radyr previously was on a charter which was routed to Cardiff Central via Ninian Park in both directions.
On returning to Cardiff Central I had 30 minutes to grab a drink and some food, before taking 67002 back home. The 67 arrived a few minutes late to a platform that was very full indeed. Luckily the majority of people got off at Newport. If you’re a local train fan working in Cardiff it must be great to have a loco-hauled trip every day. The train got increasingly empty as time progressed, though did make up time on reversal at Chester. Arrival at Llandudno Junction though was a few minutes late and so ended a long but fun day, reliving my time doing rail rovers as a teenager in the 1980s.
Not gone wells:
- Overcast and cold weather for most of the day;
- Initial delays at Cardiff;
- Diversity of old stock operated by Arriva Trains Wales – I’m amazed they can run a service!
- Not enough time to see Cardiff properly;
Gone wells:
- Quality of loco hauled stock, though it seems a waste to leave it at Canton all day;
- Did most of what I planned to do;
- Good value of all train tickets;
- Wetherspoons immediately outside Cardiff Central station;
I have uploaded photos from the day to my "Railway Herald" account - they're in the process of being moderated now. Click on the link below to see them.
