Alan Sewell’s visit to Gresford Colliery…
Just north of Wrexham lay Gresford Colliery, sadly infamous for the most fatal mining explosion in 1934 when 266 men were killed. Closed in 1973, a mix of reserve exhaustion and complex geology, the A483 dual carriage way and slewed Wrexham / Chester both hide the surface scars of the long since closed mine…
I recently completed a model of Gwyneth that had been a resident of Gresford before being moved north to Walkden. Alan Sewell kindly shared his visit notes from 1968 with me, and now I’m sharing them with you, and as I do so, I really do feel again that there would be great interest in a sort of ‘enthusiasts’ notebook collection as a book, if you’d like to see such a thing, or would help with publication reach out and it would be interesting to see what interest there is, anyhow, without further waffle from me, over to Alan…
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| Gwyneth, Gresford 1968. Alan Sewell photo. |
NCB North Western Area / Gresford Colliery
Denbighshire
Gauge: Standard
15 August 1968
One loco in steam 0-6-0ST ex WD Austerity Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns 7135 of 1944 being coaled from an internal user wagon by the loco water tower near the screens/washery. This was apparently originally named GWYNETH and came from Calais to the associated Llay colliery in 1947. No sign could be seen of the name at the time of the visit
Outside the shed with one set of rods off was another Austerity Hunslet 3206 of 1945. This was in a dirty green livery and the working loco was in a dirty turquoise
In the shed and on the track behind HE 3206 was THE WELSHMAN 0-6-0ST Manning Wardle 1207 of 1890 being overhauled but difficult to photograph
The NCB branch from the exchange yards is steeply graded going under a bridge used by the narrow gauge stores tramway and finishes at the extensive yard serving the washery. The two track loco shed is at this end of the site with loco coal and water tank about half way down the “fulls” yard towards the washery.
Denbighshire
Gauge: Standard
15 August 1968
One loco in steam 0-6-0ST ex WD Austerity Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns 7135 of 1944 being coaled from an internal user wagon by the loco water tower near the screens/washery. This was apparently originally named GWYNETH and came from Calais to the associated Llay colliery in 1947. No sign could be seen of the name at the time of the visit
Outside the shed with one set of rods off was another Austerity Hunslet 3206 of 1945. This was in a dirty green livery and the working loco was in a dirty turquoise
In the shed and on the track behind HE 3206 was THE WELSHMAN 0-6-0ST Manning Wardle 1207 of 1890 being overhauled but difficult to photograph
The NCB branch from the exchange yards is steeply graded going under a bridge used by the narrow gauge stores tramway and finishes at the extensive yard serving the washery. The two track loco shed is at this end of the site with loco coal and water tank about half way down the “fulls” yard towards the washery.
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| Gresford Colliery 1968. Sketch plan by Alan Sewell |
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| Gwyneth at Gresford, 1968. Alan Sewell photo. |
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| Hunslet 3206 outside the shed undergoing maintenance, Gresford, 1968. Alan Sewell photo. |
Thank you once again for sharing these with us all Alan, I hope you, the reader enjoys these previously unpublished insights into our industrial railway heritage from an enthusiast with a life long passion for the subject. If you’ve enjoyed today’s visit, Alan’s posts can be found under the ‘Alan Sewell’ label on the blog where he has visited locations across the UK and further afield including several from North America. Until next time, more soon…
I would absolutely love a copy of Alan's records as an enthusiast's notebook - having seen some of his other notes and photos on this blog, I already know that you can put me down for a copy, especially if it becomes a joint effort with JH illustrations and page layouts. As for these specific photos and notes, it's not hard to guess why they resonate with me just that little bit more.
ReplyDeleteThanks James, we shall see, and yes I can imagine the connection!
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