Details announced of Corwen station official opening

Four days of special celebrations will mark the fanfare official opening of the new Corwen station during the first week of June.

A highlight will be the arrival of a special steam train carrying coachloads of VIPs along the line from Carrog to see the formal opening ceremony on Friday June 2. 

There will also be a public gala event, an intensive timetable of services hauled by steam, diesel and railcars over three days, special exhibitions and the unveiling of a special commemorative model.

The opening will bring passenger rail services back into the heart of Corwen after a break of many decades.

It also marks the culmination of years of hard work by volunteers and staff of Llangollen Railway, millions of pounds of investment and the triumph of the heritage attraction over the massive setbacks of liquidation and pandemic. 

The formal opening event on June 2 will be performed by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, chairman of both Network Rail and the Heritage Railway Association.

Trains that day are scheduled to be hauled by Kitson 0-4-0ST “Austin 1” – one of the original Llangollen Railway steam fleet - top and tailed with visiting Austerity No 68067. 

* Kitson 0-4-0ST 'Austin 1', one of the original Llangollen Railway steam fleet, will be on duty on June 2.

June 3 and 4 will see a two-day gala event when an intensive public timetable will operate a three-train service of steam, diesel and railcar workings, each train working two return trips to Corwen a day. 

Locomotives and railcars are expected to be drawn from Austerity 68067, Class 31 No 31271, Class 47 1566 and Classes 104, 108 & 109 DMU. 

A range of attractions are planned in Corwen including model railway layouts in the town's community centre and museum.

Liverpool Model Railway Society will be exhibiting a layout entitled Corwen Through the Ages in the community centre and there is a 4mm scale model of sections of the Llangollen Railway in the museum. 

Dapol and Rails of Sheffield will also be making an announcement about a forthcoming new 4mm scale model that should be of great interest to both Llangollen Railway and GWR fans alike.

There will also be a display of heritage memorabilia in the Henry Robertson suite at Llangollen station across all four days of the event. 

A talk will be given on the evening of June 1 by renowned local archaeologist Fiona Gayle MBE entitled Denbigh, Ruthin & Corwen Railway in the Vale of Clwyd. Approximately 50 tickets at £5 each will be available. 

A vintage fire engine will also be on display at Llangollen station. 

LR Trust manager Tom Taylor said: “We are all tremendously excited at the prospect of seeing Corwen station opened for its first public trains. 

"This represents the culmination of many years of hard work by a small, but extremely dedicated team of volunteers. 

"We are all very proud of what they have achieved through some very challenging circumstances. We are also very grateful to all those who have supported the project financially, including grants from the Welsh Assembly and UK Governments. 

"Our local authorities and MPs have also supported us from the get-go. From June 3 all our services will be running to Corwen and we look forward to welcoming passengers, friends and volunteers to our superb new station as well as putting Corwen back on the railway map, where the town very much deserves to be."

Temporary traffic closure order for stretch of Barbers Hill

Denbighshire County Council has made the temporary traffic order below for a section of Barbers Hill.

Llangollen Ramblers looking for new faces

A few of Llangollen Ramblers enjoying the sunshine on Oswestry Racecourse last week.  

The ramblers say they would love to see new faces, so if you're interested, call Judy on 07905 330788 or email smithdinbren@gmail.com 

Much more to this Volvo hybrid than its comfy seats

Volvo XC60 drive by Steve Rogers

A car company director asked 30 motoring journalists would they buy an electric car tomorrow? Only four put their hands up. Mind stayed down.

The problem is not the cars, the majority of which are innovative and good to drive. The biggest barrier as we move rapidly towards electrification is range anxiety, the fear of not being able to keep the batteries topped up on a long journey.

And the fear is real so much so that the car industry is lobbying the Government to more than double its target of 350,000 charging points by E day in 2030.

Ironically now might be the best time to run an electric car because there are still not that many queues at charging points.

But for the time being my choice is hybrid, part engine, part electric motor, or you can take a step further with a plug-in hybrid which provides more miles on electric only power, just like this XC60 Recharge.

XC60 has a two-litre engine and an electric motor that can be charged in a couple of hours to give up to 48 miles on electric only driving. For some that is more miles than they cover in an average day. The big drawback with a plug-in is the extra cost and if we take XC60 as an example the gap between petrol and plug-in hybrid is all but £8,000.

Volvo is now well established as a premium brand so you are paying big bucks, in the case of XC60, its best seller, anything from £48,000 to £68,000 but it is an impressive car.

My wife is a good sounding board with test cars, she is very picky and rarely impressed but the Volvo charmed her. There were a few things. The glass gear change selector immediately caught her eye, the dashboard layout with its stylish mix of quality coverings and metal surrounds and inserts, but the highest praise was reserved for the seats.

I am with here all the way on this and have been saying for years that Volvo seats are the best shaped and most comfortable of any car I have driven.

So this is looking good, then I select reverse and notice the rear camera definition isn’t up to scratch, all a bit foggy. Very un-Volvo like, yet switch to the 360 degree surround setting and it is pin sharp. Strange.

No worries, we are off and are then surprised at the overly noisy heating fan even on the lowest setting. Hope this is as far down hill as we are going.

The next bit is not meant to be negative but every time I drive a Volvo I dread using the  touchscreen, the car’s brain centre. Volvo has upgraded the technology to a system powered by Android with Google mapping and access to Google apps. All the car’s functions are stored in a series of swipe files and in many ways the system is brilliant and can be mastered, it just takes a lot of patience. How can a grown man be intimidated by some highfalutin car tech?

Fortunately a super efficient voice control system will deal with everyday functions like selecting a radio station, heating settings, finding a navigation destination or searching the web. Software updates come in over the air. Cool, or what?

Everything in the cabin might be high tech but the classy Scandinavian design finishes are easy on the eye and create a relaxed atmosphere. Volvo is good at doing that.

With the help of the electric motor XC60 is quick, a good deal quicker than the Audi Q5 reviewed here a few weeks ago, with a huge surge of power when overtaking, but nowhere near as fun to drive as its German rival.

The suspension set up is fairly neutral, airing on the side of comfort, but even though it does not possess German handling credentials it will not let you down when pushed through twists and turns.

Official economy figures seem far fetched but are based on many miles of electric driving. Once the batteries are drained you should be able to achieve high thirties to 40mpg on petrol only power, a reasonable return given XC60s size and performance.

As you would expect from the safety conscious Swedes the car is equipped with every driving aid known to man, the latest addition is the excellent cross traffic braking which can avoid a collision when reversing.

The Volvo and the Audi came close together and although I loved the tearaway nature of the Q5 I am going with the more economical, yet very swift XC60.

Fast facts

XC60 Recharge T6 AWD Plus

£60,550 (range starts £47,460)

2-litre petrol+electric motor; 350bhp

0-62mph 5.7secs; 112mph

256mpg combined

30g/km. 1st tax £10

Boot: 468 litres

Insurance group 40

Eisteddfod puts out call for stewarding volunteers

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has put out the call for volunteers.

In a post on its Facebook page it says it is looking for people to join its stewarding team  who enjoy working in the "wonderful atmosphere of music, dance and colour."

The jobs of stewards is to man the pavilion entrances throughout the day during Eisteddfod week, check tickets, be on duty inside the pavilion during concerts and competitions and help visitors with any questions or enquiries.

For those interested there's an email address and a phone number for applicants to get in touch for further details.

It is known that like many organisations the Eisteddfod has suffered from the affects of the pandemic on volunteering. 

Police witness appeal follows fatal road collision in Cefn Mawr

North Wales Police have put out an appeal for witnesses to a fatal road traffic collision which took place in Cefn Mawr earlier today (Sunday).

They say: "We are currently investigating a road traffic collision in Cefn Mawr in which a man has died.

"The incident involved a silver Ford Mondeo and a 60-year-old male pedestrian, and occurred shortly before 1am on Sunday, 23 April on the High Street close to the King’s Lane junction.

"Officers and an ambulance crew attended the location where, sadly, the male pedestrian was pronounced deceased.

"The man’s next of kin have been informed and the coroner has been notified.

"A 51-year-old man has been arrested for causing death by careless driving and remains in police custody.

"Our enquiries into this incident remain ongoing and we are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, to contact us on 101 or via the North Wales Police website.

"Please quote reference A058968 in all correspondence relating to this incident.

"Please note - This is a live investigation. Any footage or photos in relation to this incident should only be shared with police for investigation purposes and not on social media."

Sailors press-gang audience into evening of salty fun

* The Old Time Sailors embark on an unforgettable evening at St Collen's.

St Collen's Church resounded to a tidal wave of wild shanties and jigs when a motley crew of musicians known as The Old Time Sailors tied up for a gig to help kick off this year's Llangollen Fringe Festival in style last night (Saturday).  

Theirs is a unique flashmob-style musical show designed to press-gang the willing audience on an unforgettable trip back to the 19th century.

What ensues is a couple of hours and more of foot-tapping fun when people can't resist singing and dancing along to the fiddly-diddly rhythms of numbers from the far-off days when sails had to be hauled at sea or jack tars sang of the old Emerald Isle as their ships were bound for America or Australia.    

Members of the audience receive a copy of the Sunday Sailor, the group's own newspaper-shaped programme which includes the lyrics to all their songs so they can join in.

Beards, bowlers and period clothing abound as the 20-odd-strong band of matelots and matelettes, who look liked they've stepped right out of a novel by Herman Melville, make sure you have a whale of a time with numbers ranging from The Mermaid and Haul Away Joe to McAlpines Fusiliers and Galway Girl.

By the time the Sailors set sail on their final set of the night the whole thing takes on an air of controlled mayhem as the audience are swept out to sea by songs like Wild Rover, Whiskey in the Jar and the timeless Black Velvet Band.   

Those who have seen the Sailors and joined in with their amazing act will never forget the experience.