Disruption at Chester 2nd January

[40fan]

On tuesday 2nd January I travelled on 1A62 1448 Holyhead to Euston which I boarded at Chester. This train could not run through to Crewe because the line was flooded. It eventually returned to Chester. I assume that the train was turned back at Beeston Castle signal box, but I am not sure how far along the line I went. Can anyone comfirm how far along the line the train got to?

Arriving back at Chester the rail replacement buses had not turned up. They were caught up in road congestion in the Chester area, and passengers were advised to travel to Crewe via Warrington.

The staff at Chester were excellent in managing the disruption and kept passengers informed. I just wish staff at all stations would do this.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The usual trouble-spot on the Chester-Crewe line is east of Calveley, before the canal crossing, where there is a lot of water runoff from fields to the north.
There's only the box at Beeston to regulate traffic, so I imagine that's where you reversed.

In the "good old days" your Voyager from Chester might then have gone via Warrington (reverse), or even via Delamere-Northwich-Sandbach, to Crewe.
Virgin used both of those routes on occasion, but it wouldn't surprise me if those options are considered "too hard" these days.
Virgin used the Northwich route even when ATW cancelled all direct trains and ran buses, to maintain a through link with the coast.

 

[Krokodil]

In the "good old days" your Voyager from Chester might then have gone via Warrington (reverse), or even via Delamere-Northwich-Sandbach, to Crewe.

Apparently Middlewich has now gone from the Driver route cards at those depots that signed it. TMs still sign the route (no idea why). I was diverted that way once.

Chester-Warrington could only be done with a Preston crew. Diverting Anglo-Scottish trains via Chester used to be a common occurrence in loco-hauled days, including the use of the triangle to make sure that the set still faced the right way. Of course it was easier when it was just a matter of coupling a 47 on the front. These days there's now an electrified through route between Manchester and Preston so that's preferred.