Holyhead Station

The station at Holyhead had platforms in a 'V' shape, on either side of the Inner Harbour.

24133 24085 Holyhead 24/04/76 (if03.jpg)

Ian Fleming has sent me a shot of the "Class 24 Farewell" railtour at Holyhead on 24th April 1976, as the locos run round in Platform 4. This railtour (organised by the North Wales Railway Circle) started at Crewe and ran to Holyhead and Blaenau Ffestiniog. As things turned out, it was a farewell only for 24085, stored the following month, as 24133 remained in service until 1978, working several other "last" railtours, and the last Class 24, 24081, wasn't withdrawn until 1980. Photo courtesy of and copyright Ian Fleming © 2006.

40084 at Holyhead 25-07-76 (s0623.jpg)

25th July 1976, and a classic Holyhead location. 40084 is seen in Platform 4 whilst running round its Freightliner train, out of sight behind the camera. Notable sights are the disused station hotel, the coaching stock in Platforms 2 and 3, and the connection to the container terminal diverging to the right. 40084 was an Eastern Region engine, allocated to York at this time.

47486 at Holyhead 25-07-76 (s0624.jpg)

On the same day, 47486 waits to leave Platform 2. The length of the train means that it is blocking the access to Platform 3. These two platforms shared a starting signal - the diminutive ex-LNWR lower quadrant signal seen alongside the loco. It is on short post so that it is visible through the road bridge, but this meant that it had to have a very short arm to avoid being hit by trains on the adjacent track. 25th July 1976.

47100 at Holyhead 22-04-78 (s1659.jpg)

47100 in Holyhead's platform 1 on the 22nd April 1978. The station's hotel building still stands, although long out of use. To the left, new carriage sidings are being created. Also visible is the ramp that once led up to a bridge across the lines. This was used to drive cattle between the pens opposite the engine shed and the boats. Cattle traffic ended in the early seventies.

08814 at Holyhead 12-04-82 (s2594.jpg)

08814 shunts stock in Platform 1 on 12th April 1982. By this time the station hotel has disappeared allowing a sight of the ferry moored in the Inner Harbour, and conveniently placed for transfer from the train. The ship is the Leinster, belonging to B&I Ferries, who had started a Holyhead-Dublin service 6 days earlier, replacing their Liverpool-Dublin route. The breaking of the Sealink monopoly at Holyhead was not welcomed, with a protest blockade of the Holyhead harbour in March bringing retaliatory action at Dun Laoghaire.