Driver's Eye View - Class 144 Pacer - Cambrian Heritage Railways - Oswestry to Weston Wharf

Whilst visiting the 'Welshpool and Llanfair Railway' we learned that trains were going to be running that evening on the 'Cambrian Heritage Railways' line between Oswestry and Weston Wharf where passengers could leave the train to visit the Stonehouse Brewery for a craft beer and a BBQ meal. As we knew very little about this railway and had nothing else planned we called into Oswestry station where we were greeted by two friendly volunteers who told us a little about the line and showed us some of the museum exhibits, they also confirmed that we were in time to catch a train to Weston Wharf. Having bought our tickets we ventured out onto the rain soaked platform to watch a recently acquired Pacer DMU arrive, the railway kindly allowed me to place a camera in the driving cab and the driver told us about his involvement with the railway along with outlining some of the obstacles to be overcome before the railway could extend passenger workings. This is a railway in the early stages of its development with an exciting future ahead that will attract visitors to the town and surrounding area, benefiting local cafes, shops, pubs and guest houses. As my knowledge of the railway is limited I have relied heavily on the Wikipedia entry about the railway for information.
Located in Shropshire, England, the 'Cambrian Heritage Railways' is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and the newly restored Oswestry railway station. In 1864, the Cambrian Railways was formed through the merger of a series of regional railway companies on the England/Wales border. The LNWR sponsored a connection with its station at Gobowen enabling Cambrian Railways and LNWR trains to run from the Northwest and North Wales into Mid Wales and beyond. This gave the LNWR an alternative route to the GWR mainline for its trains between the coal and steel industries of South Wales and the industrialised Midlands and Northwest England. Merged into the GWR on grouping all services were concentrated on the CR/LNWR station, after nationalisation in 1946 it became part of the Western Region of British Railways, in 1963 it moved to the London Midland Region. This was followed by a sharp decline in services, with the final DMU passenger service running in 1968. Occasional quarry trains continued to run to Blodwel until 1988, after which the track was left in place but abandoned by Network Rail.
In 1972, a group of enthusiasts established the Cambrian Railways Society (CRS), which obtained a lease from BR for the former Oswestry goods yard and Oswestry South Signal-box. The CRS established a museum in the former goods shed and acquired either directly, or through members, a number of steam and diesel locomotives plus associated rolling stock. In 1997, BR agreed to allow CRS to run trains under a Light Railway Order to Middleton Road, over a track length of about 300 metres (980ft). The CRS then purchased the freehold of Weston Wharf goods yard and shed with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund. After quarry trains finished in 1988, the CRS obtained a further agreement from BR to run occasional works/inspection trains (i.e. non-passenger carrying, non-revenue earning) over the line to Blodwel.
To read the rest of this article please click on the following link - en.wikipedia.o...
To visit or to book your own Cambrian Heritage Railways adventure, please click on this link - cambrianrailwa...
Rail Gauge - Standard Gauge 4ft 8 1/2 ins.

[@carljohnson3989]

Nice ride!! Love the rain and the pretty countryside, well done video !! Thanks !!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it 😊☔.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Like their predecessors the Railbuses, the Pacers have finally found their forté on heritage lines!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

They are cheaper to run, in reasonable condition and suitable for this kind of operation, it makes good sense to use them and they already have a cult following.

[@levelcrossing150]

@@Timsvideochannel1 It looked as if it was running very smoothly along the track too.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@levelcrossing150 The ride was OK, the stabilisation on modern GoPro cameras is much improved and it does tend to make the ride look smoother than is actually the case.

[@fenners1290]

So nice to see this line being used and the future sounds incredibly positive.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

I look forward to visiting again in the near future, hopefully to travel over the next extension to passenger services.

[@conceyullena]

Like 16 beatiuful video, greetings 🚂👍👋

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride 😊.

[@martinmarsola6477]

Another satisfying trip on the train. Very calming and pleasant! See you on the next. Cheers mates! 🇬🇧🙂👍🇺🇸

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride and I look forward to sharing my next video with you. 🍺😊.

[@neilforbes416]

Obviously you'll be making further visits to this line in the future, Tim!

[@Timsvideochannel1]

I love to see heritage railways grow and develop "Yes" I'll be back.

[@bentullett6068]

I have been on this railway. We had the Ruston diesel shunter (seen by the signal box on this video) with the suburban coaches. I would recommend visiting this railway as the brewery/restaurant at the end of the line is serves lovely food and drink.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hello Ben, I wish I'd arrived earlier to sample the food and drink at the Craft Brewery, now I know what to expect I'll make a point of staying longer for a pint and a meal.

[@Bigbro28]

Another enjoyable journey. Love the sound of the jointed track at the beginning of the video. For my part, it is sad to see it being replaced by welded track. 🐨🇦🇺

[@TheHoveHeretic]

A former flat of mine backed onto London Road viaduct in Brighton and so far as the big railway is concerned, I beg to differ!! Do rather miss bullhead rail on heritage lines, seemingly vanishing as replacement comes due.

[@bentullett6068]

I know some preserved railways here in the UK including the one I volunteer at, which is the Severn Valley Railway, now have continuously welded sections of track due to this type of track only being available new from suppliers. Although most of the places you find this rail is in the built up residential parts of the line and fast sections. Sectional track is still found near stations or slower parts of the line.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

I'm glad you enjoyed the ride, like you, I love the sound on a train on jointed track.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

It's a nice touch that most heritage railways use traditional bullhead jointed track in station areas to keep the authentic look.

[@Dincar8]

Gracias amigo, Saludos desde Valencia (Spain) 🙋🏻

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hola, es un placer saber de Valencia y me alegra que hayas disfrutado el vídeo 😊.

[@Dincar8]

@@Timsvideochannel1 Placer el mío,me gustan mucho los trenes, gracias por los vídeos amigo 😅🙋🏻

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@Dincar8 De nada, me alegro que te haya gustado el vídeo 😊.

[@kellyashfordtrains2642]

I'm a member of the railway, and due to become a volunteer so I can make the one dream I've been chasing, since I was 4-years-old, a reality: to become a standard gauge steam engine driver.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hi, maybe I'll see you on my next visit to the railway and I hope you achieve your lifelong dream 😊.

[@levelcrossing150]

A great video down the line.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed the ride.

[@Grid56]

What are the 2 aws ramps for, i couldn't see a signal or a speed restriction ?

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Is that the ramps at 02:40 and 12:16 ? I can only guess that they are positioned at the shunt limit for each station.

[@Grid56]

@Timsvideochannel1 Yes, there are two early on, then another later, but that one is next to a distant signal, which is what I would expect. I never thought of shunt limits, and I have never seen the white cross on blue background sign either. In fact, AWS on a heritage railway is unusual to me.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@Grid56I wonder if the use of AWS has something to do with the railway’s desire to be a community service providing trains for the local population as well as the heritage movement?

[@Grid56]

@Timsvideochannel1 Ah maybe. I haven't seen any on our local KWVR.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@Grid56 I don't think I've seen any AWS ramps on local heritage railways either - The Mid Hants and the Bluebell Railway

[@greigs9384]

How did they get from Gobowen to Oswestry? Road or a one off rail trip?

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Judging by the undergrowth covering the rails, I can only guess that the Pacers got there by road. You might find this article interesting - www.therailwayhub.co.uk/11694/pacers-delivered-to-gobowen-for-cambrian-heritage-railways/

[@by_feram]

TOP ! BRAVO & LIKE

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Thank you 😊.

[@xaiano794]

I drove this train for years. These things were like mobile greenhouses in summer

[@Timsvideochannel1]

It must seem strange to see them running on heritage lines so soon after their last mainline turns, considering they were built as long ago as 1986, they have done well to last this long, many still in reasonable condition. They provide a suitable alternative to steam trains on preserved lines for the first and last train of the day, hopefully allowing some preserved railways to extend their operating day.

[@xaiano794]

@@Timsvideochannel1 You're right, it is - I mean I was driving them only what, 4 years ago? I can see the attraction for preserved railways as they were cheap to buy, cheap to run - I imagine it's the entire reason they were kept in service this long. I'll admit though, the only thing I miss about the 144s was the cab heaters, those are great.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@xaiano794 Thank you, it's nice to hear from someone with real life experience of these units from their days on the mainline.

[@johannperaus6890]

Hi Tim! Who is this line? Best regards from the Mühlviertel 👍🍻🇦🇹.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hello Hans, this is one of the lesser known UK heritage lines, although it has been in existence since the late seventies, it has only just started to run trains to Weston Wharf. In previous years it has secured the route for future operations between Goboew, Pant and Blodwell junction, today trains run over two short sections of the route, please click on this link for more information - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_Heritage_Railways The railway itself is located close to the border between Wales and England. 🍺 Tim.

[@johannperaus6890]

@@Timsvideochannel1 Many thanks Tim for this informations and the links 🍻🎄.

[@Kieran-m7f]

It's nice to see them doing something with the old railway remember playing on it as a kid

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@Kieran-m7fHopefully the railway will go on to be as successful as other nearby heritage railways, such as the Llangollen Railway and the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway.

[@u2bear377]

'Cambrian' in the title sounds like 'fossil'. :)

[@Timsvideochannel1]

The Cambrian period lasted for lasted 53.4 million years, it was established as "Cambrian series" by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for 'Cymru' (Wales). I can see where you got that impression from, in this case the Cambrian Railways are a much more recent development, no fossils yet 😊🦴.

[@TheHoveHeretic]

I'd reckon you'll be thinking of the Precambrian Railways there !

[@Timsvideochannel1]

@@TheHoveHeretic 😊😊😊.

[@sellier-bellot22]

Not so good weather for walking a dog ??? LOL😄😄

[@Timsvideochannel1]

The dog accompanying my daughter and myself on this trip doesn't mind the rain so long as it gets a good walk 🐕‍🦺☔.

[@robertcoleman4861]

Nice railway thanks Tim, Is there plans to go further? & are the pacer & the sprinter similar, Love your Arnie quote to Neil "I'LL BE BACK" i use that quote myself cheers Bob.😁

[@bentullett6068]

Last time I visited the volunteers said they couldn't go any further past this current point due to getting permission to cross a main bypass road. But at the station at the start of this video they will be going the other direction to a planned other halt before another main road level crossing.

[@Timsvideochannel1]

Hello Robert, there are plans to go further at a future date, please click on this link for information - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_Heritage_Railways The pacers are compatible with the all variants of the sprinter family in that they can couple and work together, although they have different top speeds. The pacer is a bus body mounted on a fixed four wheel platform and was intended for branch lines and shorter journeys whereas sprinters run on bogies making them more comfortable on longer journeys.