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HAWTHORNE COLLECTION
1: The first Class 20s to haul a passenger train to Blaenau Ffestiniog were Nos. 20153+20165 on July 22, 1979 with a special train from Crewe organised by the North Wales Railway Circle to mark the centenary of the Conwy Valley Line.
They are pictured at the town’s former LNWR North station (opened April 1881), which until April 1964 was unconnected to the ex-GWR Central station (opened September 1883) – but a link was needed to reach the newly-built nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd from the north, as the GWR line south to Bala had closed in 1961. The link line can be seen going off to the bottom left of this photo, and this is still in use today to access the current Blaenau station. Also visible is Type 2 No. 25118, which was needed to help shunt the railtour stock, while a train of 4x2-car DMUs is stabled between their ‘Sunday Shuttle’ duties.
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GARY THOMAS
2: The ex-LNWR North station closed in March 1982 when today’s station opened on the site of the former GWR Central as an interchange with the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog Harbour (its platforms seen to the left in this view). Although there have been occasional visits of Class 20s since 1979, a pair visited on railtour duties again on November 20, 2021 when Nos. 20096+20107 (as D8096+D8107) arrived with Type 3 No. 37667 (as D6851) at the head of Intercity’s ‘Jolly Slateman’ railtour from Derby. The same slate-covered hillside in the 1979 shot can be seen in the background above the leading ‘20’.