tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329761583210135212.post4310090748062399235..comments2024-03-26T10:23:12.534+00:00Comments on round the rails we go: Day Two: CoastingScott Willisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02284196034782356946noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329761583210135212.post-64263993501176988412011-05-23T00:22:36.514+01:002011-05-23T00:22:36.514+01:00I'd vaguely assumed that 'Valley' was ...I'd vaguely assumed that 'Valley' was a direct translation of the original place name. <br /><br />Slightly disappointed that it turns out that it's just an anglicised version of 'Vali'. <br /><br />Still, looking at the photos, I don't suppose that there is actually a valley there.Gavin Kincadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329761583210135212.post-24722975933858482892011-05-22T20:37:22.630+01:002011-05-22T20:37:22.630+01:00Two-coach Sprinters are a recent innovation on thi...Two-coach Sprinters are a recent innovation on this route. Not so long ago (until 2000 or 2001) you would get a lovely old-fashioned train with a class 37 locomotive heading up four or five 1960s-built coaches. Indeed, the North Wales Coast became quite an attraction for railfans in the late 90s, as the last place in the UK where "proper" trains could be seen regularly. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwgSQm-w_2Q" rel="nofollow">Example video here</a> - it was filmed in 1998, but could almost have been 1968 were it not for the Regional Railways colours on the coaches.<br /><br />These days the only vaguely "quality" train you're likely to see in Holyhead is Arriva's once-a-day <a href="http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/PremierService/" rel="nofollow">North-South Premier Service</a>, which comes complete with a chef in first class, courtesy of a generous subsidy from the Welsh Assembly Government. :)Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00809380009059539921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329761583210135212.post-81691744880306967212011-05-22T19:16:36.534+01:002011-05-22T19:16:36.534+01:00I can't believe that in the United Kingdom in ...I can't believe that in the United Kingdom in the 21st century there is an open bridge with a sign strongly advising against walking over it! I'd have thought H+S would have shut it down years ago!gottagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11152621735220067381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8329761583210135212.post-86817310549865957302011-05-22T18:41:15.308+01:002011-05-22T18:41:15.308+01:00A cliffhanger! And with me out of the country with...A cliffhanger! And with me out of the country with limited internet access for a week.<br /><br />Cruddy stock on a long-distance service indicates it is a secondary route and people are expected to get the other, better service on the other, better route if they're going the whole way. The train you got will almost exclusively be used for local journeys of less than an hour between intermediate stations on the route. Except for gricers, idiots and Bill Bryson.Jamiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04992989840233745094noreply@blogger.com