[South Wales] Rhymney Valley SBs

[DaveHarries]

Evening all,

According to a poster seen on a platform today at Cardiff Central, engineering work is to be carried out between Cardiff and Rhymney and between Radyr and Cardiff over the weekend of 07th and 08th September. The poster said that the work is to "replace old equipment".

Resulting revisions to Valley services are as follows:

- Services between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay will be suspended on both days. Advise is to use Cardiff Bus services instead (Service 6 - the "baycar").

- Services between Coryton and Cardiff will be suspended on both days. Rail tickets will be valid on Cardiff Bus routes 21, 23 & 27.

- Services between Rhymney and Cardiff will be suspended with rail replacement buses in operation.

On Saturday 07th September:
- Services between Treherbert and Cardiff Central will run at different times and will not call at Llandaff, Cathays or Cardiff Queen Street. Replacement buses will be provided between Radyr and Cardiff which will serve those stations.

- Services between Aberdare & Barry Island will also run to a different timetable and will not serve Llandaff, Cathays, Cardiff Queen Street or Cardiff Central. Passengers for Cardiff Central please change at Grangetown for trains to Cardiff Central.

- Services between Merthyr Tydfil and Penarth are rerouted via. the City Line and will run to a different timetable. Trains heading from Penarth to Merthyr will not call at Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street, Cathays or Llandaff. There will be no direct services Merthyr to Bridgend on the Saturday.

- An hourly service will run Cardiff Central to Llantwit Major

- Services between Cardiff Central and Barry Island will only run every 2 hours.

- An hourly service will run Radyr to Penarth not calling at Cardiff Central but serving all City Line stations.

On Sunday 08th September:
- Services between Aberdare & Barry Island will not serve Llandaff, Cathays, Cardiff Queen Street or Cardiff Central. Rail replacement buses will be in use Radyr to Cardiff calling at the unserved stations.

- Services between Treherbert & Barry Island will not serve Llandaff, Cathays, Cardiff Queen Street or Cardiff Central. Rail replacement buses will be in use Radyr to Cardiff calling at the unserved stations.

- Services between Merthyr Tydfil & Bridgend will not serve Llandaff, Cathays, Cardiff Queen Street or Cardiff Central. Rail replacement buses will be in use Radyr to Cardiff calling at the unserved stations.

Anyway it looks as if the weekend of 07th & 08th Sepetember will see the abolition of the panel box at Heath Junction as well as the mechanical signalboxes at Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed so get your photos in: you haven't got long!

HTIOI,
Dave

 

[anthony263]

Good thing I am off on a valley lines bash on thursday then aint it : )

 

[DaveHarries]

Anthony, a word of hint. Ystrad Mynach SB is not the easiest box to photograph and it can't be seen from the station. Have a good trip though.

Dave

 

[anthony263]

Yes I know about Ystrad Mynach.

I used to visit the Rhymney line regulary when we still had the class 37's. Anyway I am hoping to go tommorow depending on the weather

 

[PHILIPE]

We had similar Timetable over 2 weekends back in July.

 

[rftorf]

We did.

Here's a picture of a class 150 on diversion traversing the normally freight only curve between Ninian Park and Grangetown on a Radyr to Penarth service due to signalling work between Cardiff Queen Street and Radyr back on 29th June.


150229 Ninian Park to Grangetown 290613 by robfrowen, on Flickr

 

[anthony263]

A photo from yesterdays trip on the Cardiff Vallley Lines Network.
Taken at Bargoed a sight sooon to disapear into history.

They area is certainly more quiet than it used to be especially with the class 37's now gone

 

[Pacerpilot]

Had many a brew up in the box waiting for a late runner to come off the branch, before collecting the token.
It's actually the signalbox's second home. It was previously at Cymmer in the Afan valley prior to it's closure.
This type of box seem somewhat nomadic. Whitland's box is the same design and was previously located at Dan y Graig on the Swansea docks line.

 

[DaveHarries]

I paid calls to both Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed this afternoon, obtaining a total of 51 photos, including token exchanges at Bargoed.

However a quick heads up for anyone thinking of heading to Ystrad Mynach tomorrow (Friday 06th September). The signalman who was on duty when I called today (Thursday 05th) said that he has had plenty of people coming to get photos. He made it known - and told me I was free to pass on - that he will be happy to assist anyone wanting photos tomorrow afternoon, as will the bloke working tomorrow morning. However the said signalman did not say whether or not he knew if NR employees - other than the signalmen - would be on site tomorrow during the day.

For anyone who wishes to do so but does not know how to get to the box, the back of the box can be reached by travelling along Twyn Road - which is a turnoff from Caerphilly Road: if you are heading South then the turning you want will be on your right and there are signs for the local College) for its full length: it becomes a lane and passes under the railway line. When you get to the garden centre at the end fork (pun not intended ) right. I guess that, to get the signalman's attention, you might have to contend with trying to get his attention by calling up to him from the bottom of the steps while standing on the entrance side.

Good luck, and be aware that the weather forecast for at least part of Friday is not good.

Dave

(PS: I am only quoting what the signalman said: if you are unlucky - and I hope you won't be - then please don't blame me: I am only the messenger. Also don't trespass: the signalman at YM said that some of the finials from the semaphore posts have been going missing late at night! If you trespass and are caught then you will get what you deserve.)

 

[Gwenllian2001]

I paid calls to both Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed this afternoon, obtaining a total of 51 photos, including token exchanges at Bargoed.

That must have been you that I passed on the Rhymney at approx 1445.

 

[DaveHarries]

That must have been you that I passed on the Rhymney at approx 1445.

I don't think it was but where? I have no photos earlier than 1511hrs but you may have passed me.

Dave

 

[Gwenllian2001]

I don't think it was but where? I have no photos earlier than 1511hrs but you may have passed me.

Dave

It was at Ystrad Mynach. Someone with a cameras was standing at the top of the steps.

 

[DaveHarries]

Sounds like it was me then, and if the person you passed had a striped shirt on then it was me. I walked through the woods afterwards and through the housing area to the lane up to the Garden Centre so that might account for the earliest photo being timed for 1511hrs.

Dave

 

[welshpax]

Spent most of my childhood in those boxes talking to the old GWR signalmen, boy did they have some stories, of course this is pre-privatisation when you would be welcomed in the boxes by most signalmen. In the late 80's must have had a go at working every boxes in the Valley's )

 

[Gwenllian2001]

Sounds like it was me then, and if the person you passed had a striped shirt on then it was me. I walked through the woods afterwards and through the housing area to the lane up to the Garden Centre so that might account for the earliest photo being timed for 1511hrs.Dave

Definitely a striped shirt.

 

[PHILIPE]

Line closed today when Proms in the Park taking place in Caerphilly.

 

[DaveHarries]

Well the start of a new working week and new signalling controlled from Cardiff. As I write this there are problems, according to ATW's JourneyCheck page, with lineside equipment at Cardiff Queen Street and Llandaff while the JourneyCheck page of Arriva Trains Wales also says that there are emergency engineering works at Cardiff Central.

www.journeycheck.com/arrivatrainswales

BBC Wales, however, says that the problems at Cardiff Central are to do with lineside equipment, not emergency engineering works.

Dave