Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) was one of the locos that was open to visitors from the 1st Williton Beaver Scouts troop on the evening of Monday 15th November 2021. The children had a great time and hopefully took away an increased knowledge of railways and a raised awareness of safety. Many thanks to Tom C for his role as tour guide. Photo by Emma Powell © CC BY-NC 3.0
The DEPG was host to the 1st Williton Beaver Scouts troop on the evening of Monday 15th November 2021, and a group of youngsters (boys and girls) attended at Williton Depot to take a look at the locos and learn a thing or two about railways. The cabs of D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and D6575 (33 057) were opened up, with the ‘Western’ being manned by Mark Ireland and the ‘Crompton’ being manned by Tom Courtney. The little Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) was also a fascination for the children and they all visited each of the cabs and participated in a group photo at the end of the event.
Throughout the evening, the children were reminded of the risks of being close to a railway and hopefully they will have taken away some of that messaging, along with an enormous amount of enjoyment as a result of their visit. Many thanks to the Beaver Scout leaders Emma (Capa) and Jay (Meeko) for their work with the Beaver Scouts and for their donation to DEPG funds. Thanks also to Mark and Tom for being on hand and for answering hundreds of questions !
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – outdoor activities were curtailed by drizzly rain on Saturday so efforts were focused on tasks that could be performed in the loco shed. Gordon and Leroy did some maintenance work on the ‘B’ engine to keep it in good condition (we are unable to run it while the transmission is out of the loco) and Andy continued his work on the temporary disconnection of multiple underfloor cable runs, so that welding repairs can be progressed on the cab support structure.
Colin F was assisted by Richard in the task of trial fitting the newly-refurbished valance sections and ensuring that the edges and curves lined up, and the result at ‘B’ end was fantastic, with a very nice blend from section to section. The photos tell the story. The same work was also carried out at ‘A’ end, but previous repair work on the ‘A’ cab, either in BR days or when at Merehead, had resulted in some deviations from drawing and some adjustments will need to be made to ensure that the new valances line up as they should. Colin is on the case, so the ‘A’ end valances will be adjusted and will soon be completed. Many thanks to Colin for such excellent work !
D1010 – the restored valances were trial fitted at ‘B’ end at Williton on Saturday 20th November 2021 and the result was excellent, thanks to the careful and authentic work by Colin F. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – on the other side of ‘B’ end, the restored valance sections were trial fitted and after some small adjustments, everything was worked out and fitted nicely. Pictured at Williton on 20th November 2021 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 was restored to her normal, dignified appearance by the trial fitment of the refurbished valance sections at ‘B’ end of the locomotive at Williton on 20th November 2021. Many thanks to Colin F and the team at Williton who used materials bought using the funds generated by the D1010 Restoration Appeal to complete this work in a matter of weeks. What a fantastic effort ! Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
On completion of the bodywork repairs, the loco will be repainted into the colour scheme that she wore when she first entered service in October 1962, overall maroon with a yellow buffer beam. The loco ran in this livery until March 1963 when the more familiar small yellow warning panel was added and the bufferbeam changed to black. D1010 last wore this livery in 2001 – for more information on liveries, see our booklet ‘D1010 – FROM MEREHEAD TO MINEHEAD‘.
This loco is the subject of a fundraising appeal so please follow this link to find out more. We need your help ! In addition to funds, we also need plenty of HANDS. If you love the ‘Westerns’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is going to return D1010 to full operational condition.
Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) – this loco is the duty loco at Bishops Lydeard and has been operating in support of the ‘Winterlights‘ trains that started on Friday 19th November 2021 in ‘top and tail’ mode, with steam haulage on the outward journey and diesel haulage on the return leg.
Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) – this loco is at Williton undergoing planned maintenance tasks that will include an engine oil change and a thorough inspection to ensure that she remains in good shape and is soon able to resume her support duties on the WSR.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – no change this week.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – major progress was made on this loco on both Tuesday and Saturday as the component parts that will become the rolling chassis were re-fitted to the newly-painted frames. The efforts culminated in the late afternoon of Saturday 20th November when two of the six springs were re-fitted to the frames, taking us much closer to the key milestone of re-uniting the frames and wheels to create the rolling chassis. Many thanks to the whole team on D9518 and special thanks to Colin, Simon and Terry for their massive effort !
D9518’s newly painted frames in the blue and black colour scheme of the National Coal Board (NCB). This livery was worn by the locomotive when she worked her last coal train at Ashington Colliery in 1986. The superb paint finish is the result of many hours of work by the whole team and by Colin G in particular. Pictured at Williton on 20th November 2021 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518’s refurbished springs, 6 in total, ready to be re-installed on the locomotive frames. These springs are exactly the same specification as those for a BR Class 08 or 09. Pictured at Williton on 20th November 2021 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 springs are very heavy, so assistance was provided in the form of the Williton fork lift truck driven by the WSR’s Liam Pope, who was able to manoeuvre the truck in a tight space and get the spring into the right position – with a bit of help from Colin G. Pictured at Williton on 20th November 2021 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518’s newly painted frames now carry two of the six springs that will soon allow the re-fitting of the wheels and the creation of a ‘rolling chassis’. Great work by all ! Pictured at Williton on 20th November 2021 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
All of this progress has been made possible by the efforts of volunteers and the donations of the many ‘Teddy Bear’ supporters who have contributed to the D9518 Restoration Appeal. Thank you all very much !
This loco is the subject of a fundraising appeal so please follow this link to find out more. We need your help ! In addition to funds, we also need plenty of HANDS. If you love the ‘Teddy Bears’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is going to return D9518 to full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is based at the Kent & East Sussex Railway for the rest of this year and is receiving regular use on Permanent Way trains, which is good for the loco and good for the DEPG. The loco is likely to remain at the K&ESR until older sister D9504 completes her heavy overhaul and is returned to traffic, so it could be some time yet.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco remains stuck at Bishops Lydeard waiting for instructions for her move to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco received some more attention to her paintwork from Roy and Carol, but there is a lot more paintwork to be tackled so we need volunteers to step forward to work on this little loco during each of the next few weeks. Please come along and join the effort to complete this work (no prior experience required, just regular DIY skills will be sufficient).
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) received further attention to her paintwork at Williton on Saturday 20th November 2021, but there is plenty more to do so come along and help ! Photo by Emma Powell © CC BY-NC 3.0
Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !
BOOK REVIEW – we have been hearing great things about a recent 128-page book by Andrew Vines entitled ‘DIESEL HYDRAULICS – a colour retrospective’ and published by Wild Swan. We will include a review of this book next week and hopefully provide more insight into the contents and the quality, but if you can’t wait for that, go ahead and grab a copy from the Western Locomotive Association by clicking this link or clicking on the photo below (note – this is an external link and will take you to the WLA website).
And speaking of new publications, if you haven’t obtained your copy already, experts are predicting that our DEPG 2022 CALENDAR is GOING TO BE IN SHORT SUPPLY so ACT NOW to get your copy WHILE STOCKS LAST !
Here’s a summary of the 12 high-resolution photos that have been so kindly donated by our members and supporters this year and are now presented in this 12-page A3-size glossy heavyweight calendar:
There is an animated video on our website that steps through the calendar month-by-month, so CLICK HERE to view the animation.
We have been able to keep the price the same as last year, so the calendar will again cost the princely sum of £1 per month, so we think that is a bargain that is not to be missed. Click here to order your copy while stocks last.
ON SHED – On Saturday 4th December, the DEPG will participate in the RAILWAY STUDIES AND MODELLERS SHOW that takes place at Newton Abbot library, during which their extensive collection of railway photographs and documents will be showcased. The railways made an important contribution to the town in the years 1846 through to 1970, and at their peak, the railway works employed 1,000 people and covered a massive area. All that changed when the works closed in 1970, although some parts of the works site remained in use as a stabling and refuelling point until 1981, in fact several of the surviving ‘Westerns’ including D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ were stored in the old Works from late February/early March 1977 until dispersal to their new owners. Here’s a photo from the days of the stabling/refuelling point days, with at least two ‘Westerns’ on shed plus at least one of the ubiquitous BR-Brush Type 4, Class 47s. Many thanks to long-term member and supporter Prof. Will Powrie for sharing this photo with us.
Class 52 1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ stands at the stabling point at Newton Abbot on 8th August 1976 with engines that were probably long overdue for attention. This loco went to the National Collection upon withdrawal from service in February 1977 and now resides at the NRM in York. Photo by Will Powrie © CC BY-NC 3.0
The library in Newton Abbot became the custodian of the many railway documents and photographs from the area and they are putting on a show to widen the awareness of their Railway Studies Collection. We are pleased to confirm that the DEPG will be in attendance !
Put the date of Saturday 4th December 2021 in your diary if you are within travelling distance of Newton Abbot, and come along and explore the resources of the Railway Studies Collection.
DEPG NEWS – the next Board meeting will take place on 27th November 2021 at Williton.
DEPG WEBSITE – we have added three new products to our webstore, all of which have a seasonal bias, so click the photos or the links below to find out more !
OTHER NEWS – after our previous reports of progress being made at Okehampton, we are very pleased to see that the line has indeed re-opened and has got off to a great start, so let’s hope that patronage continues to grow and the line becomes a great success !
GWR Class 150 ‘Sprinter’ diesel-hydraulic multiple unit number arrives at the newly-reopened Okehampton station with the 0632 from Exeter St. Davids on Saturday 20th November 2021. Photo by Network Rail
WSR NEWS: The ‘WINTERLIGHTS‘ services have got off to a great start, with BR(WR) 4-6-0 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR leading the train and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) at the rear on the climb from Bishops Lydeard to Crowcombe Heathfield, where the train reverses. All of the railway charities are working together with the WSR to support these services and ensure they are a success, which is exactly how it should be !
The BR(WR) 4-6-0 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’ brings the ‘WINTERLIGHTS’ special into Crowcombe Heathfield station on Saturday 20th November 2021. Photo by Harry Morris © CC BY-NC 3.0
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