Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 returned to the South Yard at Williton under her own power on Saturday 16th April 2022 after four weeks in the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ during which all 32 coil springs on both bogies and both elliptical springs on Bogie ‘A’ were replaced. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0
The loco shed at Williton was reorganised on Saturday 16th April 2022, resulting in our two main restoration projects – Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – switching places in the loco shed. This involved emptying the shed and moving the major assemblies of D9518 from ‘number 2 road’ to ‘number 3 road’ while taking advantage of the dry weather. This provided an opportunity for the travelling public to see some very unusual sights from the passing WSR service trains.
The ‘Western’ needed to move to allow welding work to proceed on her ‘A’ end (the end nearest the main shed door) and the ‘Teddy Bear’ needed to move to gain easy access to the 10-ton crane for the re-installation of heavy components.
The task involved the use of Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) along with the Williton Fork Lift Truck and a generous helping of volunteer labour. Here’s some pictures:
The rolling chassis of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518, now including the Voith hydraulic transmission, has been hauled out into the sunshine by Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) and has paused on number 2 road. The chassis will eventually end up back inside the shed, but on number 3 road. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ was also hauled out into the sunshine and was shunted into number 1 road, alongside the platform, no doubt providing a curious sight for the passengers on the passing steam-hauled WSR services. This view of the ‘B’ end of the loco shows the extent of progress of the bodywork repairs. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0
The cab of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 was on the move at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022, with motive power provided by (L-R) Colin G, John C (mostly hidden) and Simon. Photo by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0
The revised view of the loco shed at Williton, looking towards the main shed doors – with the Class 14 D9518 now on the left hand side (number 3 road) and D1010 on the right hand side (number 2 road). Pictured on Sunday 17th April 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
MANY THANKS to all who joined in and helped get everything done in one major session. Restoration work can now resume on these two major projects.
VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022. We will be opening our depot to the public on these special event days.
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER continues to deliver funds for the restoration of D1010, so click on the images below for an update of fundraising status or to make a donation:
With the loco being moved on Saturday, the focus of attention this week has been the gathering of the various parts that have been removed from the loco for restoration and organising them into groups so that work can proceed without risk of parts getting lost or mixed up. The vast majority of the welding work at ‘B’ end has now been completed (just some details remain to be sorted out) so attention will now move to the ‘A’ end where a similar amount of work has to be undertaken. The loco was moved from number 3 road because ‘A’ end of the loco was too close to the oil store, so the increased fire risk prevented welding from being performed in that location.
D1010 – the loco was stabled on number 1 road alongside the platform for most of the day on Saturday 16th April 2022 so that the shed could be reorganised. This view shows the ‘A’ end of the loco prepared for the cutting and welding repairs that will be performed by DEPG volunteer Colin F. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the loco was eventually moved back inside the loco shed, but this time on number 2 road – as Ian demonstrates, the loco only just fits into the available space ! Pictured on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the new position of the loco on number 2 road allows easy access to the ‘A’ side which is seen in this view taken at Williton on Sunday 17th April 2022. The array of parts that are undergoing restoration are on the tables alongside the loco. The green rectangular items are the battery boxes from D9518. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.
For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.
See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !
NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is based at Bishops Lydeard and is available to the WSR for contract work or ‘Thunderbird’ work as required. We understand that one of the ‘Cromptons’ will be rostered for some of the diesel turns under the blue timetable in May, and we will send out a DIESELGEN bulletin when the rosters have been finalised.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently based at Bishops Lydeard.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco made a triumphant return to the South Yard at Williton under her own power on Saturday, riding nicely after having all 32 of the coil springs replaced in her primary suspension system plus both of the elliptical secondary suspension springs replaced in her ‘A’ bogie during the four weeks that she spent at the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ at the northern end of the yard at Williton. There is a small snag list to be dealt with before the loco can be inspected and passed for a return to service, but the list is not long and the loco should be available soon, so this is excellent news !
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is now riding on a completely new set of coil springs (32 in total) and has also had the elliptical secondary suspension springs of ‘A’ bogie replaced with good parts from our spares stock. The elliptical springs in ‘B’ bogie were OK and did not need to be replaced. Congratulations to all involved with this intensive effort. Photo taken on Friday 15th April 2022 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change in status but the loco did get moved from number 1 road to the North Yard to make space for the other shunting moves that took place last Saturday. The below view shows the loco being returned to the South Yard, being propelled by Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1) and with the Bishops Lydeard pilot loco Class 09 D4107 (09 019) sandwiched between the two ! More about the ‘gronk’ later.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 is pictured being returned to the South Yard at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022, after a short stay in the North Yard while shunting operations were taking place. The loco is being propelled by Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) with Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) sandwiched in between. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the move-around in the loco shed allowed several large assemblies to be repositioned for further work or for re-installation on the loco, and the opportunity was taken on Friday 15th April to fit the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission back into the frames, thereby achieving another milestone in the restoration process. Well done team !
D9518 – the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission was re-installed between the frames of the loco at Williton on Friday 15th April 2022. Another milestone has been achieved in the restoration of this loco ! Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the brake frame (which includes the compressor) is ready to go back onto the loco at a convenient time, having been restored back in 2020. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the cooler group is also ready to go back onto the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the engine that was removed from D9526 needs to be overhauled before it can be installed into D9518, so the first step was to remove the flywheel and the mountings, so that the engine can be mounted in the turnover frame (to the left). This frame allows the whole engine to be rotated in a safe and controlled manner, to provide access to the various components. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0
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 continues to be in regular use on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. By agreement between the DEPG and the K&ESR, this loco will now be staying at the K&ESR for the rest of this year to cover for sister loco D9504 which is undergoing a heavy overhaul.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, awaiting re-opening of the line so that she can move to Grosmont to enter the loco works for completion of some overhaul tasks. The loco is expected to be readied for entering service in the summer of this year.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – a busy weekend for this loco, with three of the previous photos showing this very useful loco at work. Here’s a view of this loco and her sister number 579 (ROF 2, now based at Minehead), crossing the M5 at Puriton, just north of Junction 23, which will be of great interest to all who spent a few extra hours crawling along the M5 between Taunton and Bristol during Easter weekend. Those were the days !
Andrew Barclay 578 (ROF 1) and 579 (ROF 2) were pictured hauling a lengthy train of Speedlink wagons over the M5 to the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) at Puriton, Somerset, just north of Junction 23. The lack of traffic on the M5 is notable!!! Photographer and date unknown, but kindly provided by Keith Giles © CC BY-NC 3.0
An unusual visitor to Williton at the moment is Bishops Lydeard-based Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) which is with us for battery replacement and electrical testing. The loco arrived on Friday 15th April 2022 and has had the old batteries removed and the battery compartment cleaned up. The new batteries are due for delivery soon and the loco will be dispatched back to Bishops Lydeard as soon as possible. The work is being performed by Ian and Tom, both pictured below:
Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) was built by BR in 1961 and saw service in Carlisle and in the southeast before making her way to West Somerset. The loco was pictured at Williton on Sunday 17th April 2022 as Ian and Tom refit the battery box side panel after removing the batteries. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Another view of Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) on number 2 road at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 with ‘Hymeks’ D7017 and D7018 alongside. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0
If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.
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 – this week, we have a book review that was prompted by volunteer Jon Tooke who pointed out that the loco pictured on the cover of this book, D1024 ‘WESTERN HUNTSMAN’, showed similar damage to that which affected D1010 in 1972. We are curious to learn how such damage occurred and we would very like to hear from someone who might have first hand knowledge of what happened to D1010 and where the accident took place. Can you help ?
Here’s Jon’s book review:
Book Of The Westerns – British Rail Class 52 – by Norman Preedy. ISBN 0906025036. First published in 1977.
An A5 size softback book covering the entire fleet of BR Western class locomotives from D1000 to D1073 in superb black and white photographs which are all crisp and clear complete with names, dates and locations. Most of the photos are of the normal front three quarter view type of shot but there are a few sidelong pictures as well.
Photographic locations range from most well known ones on the BR(W) region such as Swindon Works, Laira depot in Plymouth, but also include Reading and Gloucester. Many of the locomotives are shown in the later BR-blue era with full yellow ends and double arrows colour scheme, but there are some from the earlier period as well.
A great little book for the enthusiast and the modeller alike, especially if you are trying to capture the overall railway scene back then.
When originally published this wonderful book sold for the princely sum of £1.50 but slightly more expensive examples may well be found today on well-known on-line auction websites!
Many thanks to Jon for this book review and for raising the question about the bodyside damage. Can you help us find the answer ?
ON SHED – this week, staying with D1024 ‘WESTERN HUNTSMAN’ as shown on the cover of the book above, Jon has provided us with a photo that shows the loco carried her scar until the end of her days. Being only just over 10 years old, D1024 was an early casualty and is pictured on the scrapline at Plymouth Laira depot for parts recovery before being sent to Swindon for cutting up.
A sad sight at Plymouth Laira depot on 22nd November 1973 when five or more of the Class 52 ‘Westerns’ had already been moved to the scrapline for parts recovery before their last journey to meet the scrapman at Swindon Works. Second from the right is D1024 ‘WESTERN HUNTSMAN’ showing the same bodyside scar as in the photograph on the cover of Norman Preedy’s book. Photographer unknown, via Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
DEPG NEWS – the next Board Meeting is due to take place at Williton at 1030 on Saturday 23rd April, so if you have questions that you would like to have raised at the meeting, please reply to this email or send an email to Ian Robins via secretary@depg.org
Have you bought your tickets for the DEPG EASTER DRAW yet ? The draw will take place at Williton on the afternoon of this coming Saturday, 23rd April.
Tickets are available from our ONLINE STORE. If you have received paper tickets and wish to purchase them, you can buy online and enter your ticket numbers into the ‘NOTES’ field when checking out. Alternatively, please mail a cheque with your purchased ticket stubs to the address on the ticket (return envelopes were provided but will need stamps).
All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY RAFFLE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !
WSR NEWS: the next big event will be the ‘SPRING STEAM GALA’ from Thursday 5th through Sunday 8th May when the DEPG facility at Williton will be open to the public. Please make a plan to come along if you can, and have a tour of the depot.
The WSR has posted several vacancies online as it seeks to strengthen its commercial activities. These moves are welcomed as the WSR tends to be underpromoted and has a lot more to offer to its visitors. Let’s hope that these appointments will enhance the vsitor experience and result in more patronage and more running opportunities for our heritage diesels.
The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:
