BR 1965 Crewe-built Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ hauled her first revenue-earning turn on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on Monday 18th July 2022, pictured at Goathland by Martin Fisher © CC BY-NC 3.0
Although not strictly within the period of review of this roundup, the ‘hot news‘ on this hottest day of the year (so far) was made by our Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR‘ who found herself pressed into service on the NYMR due to the very high fire risk and the need to support steam loco operations.
The loco looked and sounded superb as she went ‘out and about’ on the NYMR, and DEPG member and our local correspondent MARTIN FISHER braved the high temperatures to take some excellent shots, one of which is featured above.
The NYMR plan to use the ’47’ on a regular basis from now onwards, with crew training turns mixed in with scheduled haulage operations, so ‘NORTH STAR’ is going to be busy (at last !). MANY THANKS to all involved in making this loco serviceable again.
For the rest of this roundup, we will keep it quick and straightforward, because time is short and temperatures are too high to allow hours of work on the keyboard. Hopefully you will find enough of interest in this abridged edition. Thank you for supporting the DEPG !
Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) took over the scheduled ‘BLUE TIMETABLE‘ turns last weekend, and was pictured at Minehead on the evening of Saturday 16th July 2022 at the head of her train, in preparation for the 10:00 service from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard the following morning. Photo by Mark Ireland © CC BY-NC 3.0
For our next two running dates, Sat/Sun 23/24 July, ‘Hymek’ D7018 will again be hauling the two return services that originate at Minehead, so make the most of this opportunity to enjoy the ‘Maybach Music’ and come along to the WSR and take a ride.
The BLUE timetable applies and can be found by clicking this link or by visiting our new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page. Any additional or updated information will be announced via DIESELGEN as soon as possible. MANY THANKS for supporting this year’s DIESEL RUNNING program on the WSR.
DIESEL RUNNING DATES – we now have a dedicated page on our website and we update it on a regular basis to provide a quick and easy reference to PUBLIC SERVICE diesel running for the whole of the 2022 season. We will be adding the link to all of our most-visited pages soon, but meanwhile the link can be found on our home page or by looking under the DIESELGEN menu header.
The usual caveats of loco availability apply, but we will be aiming to deliver the above program of running with the locos indicated and we will provide as much advance notice of any change as possible, using our DIESELGEN and Twitter feeds, so please sign up to keep up to date.
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER has reached its FIRST ANNIVERSARY and continues to progress well, with both the funds and the progress on restoration moving along at a decent pace. We are in the process of updating the fund contributions and adding the Gift Aid so that we can announce the total for the first year, and we will then refresh the campaign page on JustGiving and open up a few new fundraising sources as well.
WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP, so click on the images to make a donation. We know that times are hard, but please do what you can to help.
The ‘CAMPAIGNER’ team continue their work on restoring this massive and complex locomotive. Although bodywork repairs have progressed well, we still have a lot of rubbing down and painting to do, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
D1010 – the ‘B’ (secondman’s) side of ‘A” end is the worst location on the whole loco in terms of corrosion. The photo show the level of damage to the underfloor structure in this corner of the locomotive. Work proceeds on repairing and restoring strength and stiffness, one piece at a time. Photo taken at Williton on Monday 11th July 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the solid and robust repair to the cab floor support at the front of the loco shows how the repair work is being progressed. Photo taken at Williton on Tuesday 12th July 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – Volunteer Simon B gets involved with bodywork repairs on D1010 to consume the last few hours of his afternoon at Williton on Saturday 16th July 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – Gordon was busy preparing the four nose-end light fittings for re-installation at Williton on Saturday 16th July 2022. 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 !
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is now at Williton to undergo an ‘A’ exam and to also undergo an investigation into reports of coolant leaking into her lubricating oil. This issue was flagged up by regular analysis of the engine oil, and work progresses to find the root cause.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is currently at Minehead and is available for service.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – Leroy and Simon B tackled the disassembly of the air intake system and the fuel systems, paving the way for the removal of the cam box during this coming week. The photos below show the considerable progress, so WELL DONE GUYS !
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – air intake components were removed from the loco and stored alongside at Williton on Saturday 16th July 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – air intake duct close-up view at Williton on Saturday 16th July 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – three of the 16 high pressure fuel injection pumps can be seen lined up for cleaning and inspection at Williton on Saturday 16th July 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco is stabled at Minehead and is next due to perform on the 10:00 and 14:30 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard return services on Sat/Sun 23rd/24th July. Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for updates or join the DIESELGEN email bulletin group (which also includes information about non-public services, where the information is available to us sufficiently in advance).
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – progress continues with work being done on key components before they can be refitted to the frames. Last week saw further progress on braking system components and also on the starter motor, which has been sent to ICS Online in Preston for complete refurbishment. The folks at ICS are AMAZING and they are doing a great job for us.
D9518 – the corrosion that resulted from the removed components getting wet while in storage has made this repair task a lot more difficult. Undeterred, ICS Online intend to return the refurbished unit to us next week ! What an excellent service. Photo by Iain Parker © 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 is still in regular use and performing well on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. Here’s a photo from Wednesday last week:
D9526 – the flowers are in bloom in the Garden of England as D9526 waits with her train at Tenterden Town station on Wednesday 13th July 2022. Photo by Mike Grimwood © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – covered previously – now in regular service on the NYMR.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco benefitted from another wash and brush-up on Saturday 16th July 2022, and was then covered over with a tarpaulin to prevent the fresh paintwork from being damaged by seagull droppings.
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 – sorry, but again we don’t have time for a new book review this week, but we do still have stock of these three books by Anthony P. Sayer – each one is well worth acquiring. The recent visit of Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568 to the WSR has prompted us to obtain stock of the excellent book that was featured in a book review by Neale Long back in August last year. The book review has been posted on our website so please click here to read it and then buy the book from our online store. We are offering this £40 epic for a discounted price of £36 which is the same price as being offered by the publisher. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Neale Long for providing us with a detailed review of this book.
PLEASE NOTE that we can supply any book from PLATFORM 5 or PEN & SWORD or AMBERLEY via our online store. If the title that you want is not listed on our webstore, just email us or use our CONTACT FORM to tell us what you want and we will arrange it, the profit margin on the sale going to the LOCO FUND OF YOUR CHOICE.
Don’t miss these two excellent new titles, the profits from which will go to the D9518 Restoration fund:
ON SHED – apologies but we will need to skip this feature this week.
DEPG NEWS – our Portacabins and storage containers were treated to a fresh coat of ‘chocolate and cream’ paint over the weekend of 16/17 July, courtesy of Graham and his spray gun. What a massive effort in all that heat, well done to Graham, many thanks for brightening up our depot !
The DEPG Portacabins were treated to a fresh coat of ‘chocolate and cream’ paint at Williton on Sunday 17th July 2022. Photo by Graham Perry © CC BY-NC 3.0
The DEPG storage containers were also treated to a fresh coat of ‘chocolate’ paint at Williton on Sunday 17th July 2022. What a difference ! Photo by Graham Perry © CC BY-NC 3.0
Our new online membership system is settling down and we are resolving the anomalies that crept in during the transition from old to new system. If you haven’t done so already, please take a look at your membership record and make sure that it is correct. You will also be able to select ‘paper’, ‘paperless’ or ‘paperless except newsletter’ communication, according to your preference. In the event of any discrepancies, please email Chris Shields using members@depg.org
The synopsis of the last DEPG Board Meeting was emailed to all those members for whom we held a valid email address. The next meeting will take place on Friday 22nd July via Zoom because of ‘Hymek’ driving committments that will affect several of our Board members on the Saturday.
WSR NEWS: the next event on the WSR will be the ‘FORTIES WEEKEND‘ that takes place from Saturday 10th through Sunday 11th September when the DEPG facility at Williton will again be open to the public, complete with ROD SAUNDERS and his model railway sales stand. Please make a plan to come along to this event in support of both the WSR and the DEPG. Timetables for planned diesel running are now being published via our new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and any updates will be shared via our DIESELGEN email bulletin service.
Between now and then, the WSRA will be hosting the long-awaited return of the STEAM RALLY at Norton Fitzwarren, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend what promises to be a very enjoyable event !
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:
