RHYL MINIATURE RAILWAY AND THE MARINE LAKE TANK SCHEME
SEPTEMBER 1997 TO NOVEMBER 1998
On this page I'm putting a few photos and observations about the scheme, all of which are personal to me. This was from the beginning a politically driven project, open to enormously differing points of view. It still is.
Background
It helps to understand the basis of the deal. Welsh Water (a subsidiary of Hyder) were looking for a location to build an enormous storm relief tank in Rhyl. A few years ago there were awful floods in the area following a very high tide which breached the sea defences. Such a tank would have to be gravity fed so that it would not become useless in the event of a power cut, and that constrained where it could be sited. The tank would also bring other benefits in helping to clean up the sea water, and as part of the sewerage reprocessing system.
Welsh Water saw the Marine Lake as an ideal spot, having a large acreage and being owned by Denbighshire County Council. A 'partnership' scheme was formulated whereby £300,000 could be used for 'environmental improvements' at the Marine Lake, in return for siting the tank there and being allowed to leave behind a certain amount of spoil that would be extracted, suitably landscaped of course. In Spring 1998 officers of the three relevant departments of Denbighshire, Tourism and L:eisure (Lloyd Conaway), Design Services (Rod Bowden), and Planning (Mark Dakeyne), embarked on a consultation exercise to get the widest possible feedback on the scheme.
This consultation exercise crystallised some widely differing opinions about the future of the Marine Lake. There was a strong lobby of environmentalists who regarded every living organism on and around the Lake as sacricant. There was the dog walking community who just wanted a pastoral landscape where dogs could do what they do when out walking. There was the Rhyl Ski Club who wanted continued access. There were the Rhyl Sea Cadets who, with some political backing, hoped that they could get a new clubhouse built into the scheme. There were residents naturally wanting to minimise nuisance and damage during the construction phase. There were some who seemingly just wanted to smell of roses whatever the scheme entailed. Perhaps that is a bit unfair as nobody likes smelling of the opposite......
Les Hughes and I represented the railway, whose 'leisure' aspirations for the site seemed a minor consideration. It was also the case that some of Welsh Water's needs from the scheme were better publicised than others - drawings were many but how many for instance appreciated what size and location of the new pumping station would need to be, even though Welsh Water later said that it was an integral part of the scheme.
The Railway
The good news from the railway's point of view was that all the parties without exception realised that the railway would still need to be there when the job was finished. It also became clear that a good part of the track would need to be relaid, which would obviously be a virtue providing it were done properly. At one stage we were even promised (off the record) a new shed, and improvements to the station and neighbouring play area looked well within reach, that was until all the many drawings were costed, and it was found that the £300,000 had been well overspent..............
In Autumn 1997 I requested the Project Manager's forecast as to when the railway would be able to reopen, and was promised that they would aim for Whitsun 1998. The early stages of construction ran more or less to time, but things then slipped badly and I didn't get keys until November 1998; i.e. the railway lost a whole season's operation.
When you use the word tank you visualise perhaps part of the central heating system. The word doesn't properly convey the enormity of the Rhyl scheme, which I believe broke some records in the field of civil engineering (best not to ask which ones). The construction team introduced further faces into the equation, led by Dick Kilkelly (project manager), Derrick Barlow (for main contractors Galliford Northern Ltd), Russell Cheetham (Denbighshire Sewerage Agency), Paul Brown (Quantity Surveyor), and a host of subcontractors.
In fairness there were a lot of sensible people among the contractors. They commenced their railway work by marking each section of rail with its location, right round the 1,700yd circuit. They then lifted the rails in all the sections where they expected construction work to take place, and were subsequently able to re-use all the rails and fishplates, undamaged. Only in a few places such as here did construction and railway live in close proximity.
Trees around the site were fenced off for protection. But the arrival of heaps of spoil such as these did make one question how the 'environmental improvements' would work out.
The material to be landscaped on site was billed as 'bunding up to 1½ metres high' to be placed along the west and south shores of the lake. On the west side Janine Beggan, an artistic landscape designer, drew the railway running next to the lake pathway for half the distance, and then turning away to run inside the bund. She said that the bund would give passengers protection from bitter winds such as the one when she had been there surveying!
At this point, late in 1997, the contractors 'overfilled' some of the bunds on the west side in order to store some excess material. This led to scepticism about the 'landscaping' turned to outright mistrust. A demonstration was held by local activists entailing placards and the local MP. This received TV and radio coverage, and not surprisingly led to some reciprocal hostility from the contractors' side. During this time a constructive planning application for additional works the south side of the lake was turned down. This was a pity because in the medium and long terms there would have been no losers from this adjunct to the scheme, and the railway would have gained significantly.
Whilst chaos reigned outside, Clara and the APT have slumbered inside the shed. Matters haven't been helped by an incident in September 1997. This started with vandalism resulting in the shed doors being open, following which some kids decided to play with the knobs in Clara's cab, and unfortunately found the right combination to get her started. They then went joy riding, but decided for some reason to take off her side panel. With the panel on the track they tried to reverse the loco over it, following which she tipped over landing on a neighbouring object which punctured the radiator. The kid that was driving broke a bone and had to be ambulanced away. We've been left to do the repairs.
One minor plus is that after lobbying about the future of the shed the contractors have ended up doing some repairs to the doors and cladding as part of their 'improvements'. This has made security better, although the size and state of the building is still such that determined vandals will gain entry if they persevere.
After many meetings and letters one bit of definite good news was the appointment of Alan Keef Ltd as subcontractors to relay the railway track. They brought onto site 'Skippy', as a works vehicle, along with supplies of brand new sleepers and spikes. And their twenty years of experience in such matters.
Relaying of track took place in two phases. The stretch along the west side of the lake was completed in over 3 weeks in April and May - see the photographs below. The section over the top of the tank was done in September/October.
It was heartening to see the first new lengths of railway track. A sign that after all the uncertainties of the scheme we could now start facing the future with greater confidence.
One thing about the arrival of new track on site was the contrast with some of the old sections to which it was joined! No doubt the contractors reached their own view of the sleepers which they had pulled out of the ground. The section in the foreground above has been relaid in January 1999 in order to make it fit for trains again.
This is what a slumbering miniature railway looks like in 1998. Fortunately the undergrowth makes it look worse than it really is. At this point you have to remember that:
- Half the railway is now laid with new sleepers and ballast.
- The diesel received a new engine not long ago.
- The steam engine has had a new boiler and a mechanical overhaul.
Les Hughes and I can only hope that our commitment to the future of the railway will be matched by all the others who have represented Rhyl Marine Lake's interests over the past two years.
Simon Townsend, January 1999