Weekly Roundup – 05-Feb-23
Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was used for a shunting practical training session under the watchful eye of WSR Diesel Traction Inspector John Leach at Williton on Saturday 4th February 2023. Sister loco D6575 (33 057) also gets into the picture. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
The south yard at Williton was in use for a shunting training session on Saturday 4th February, during which the five trainee secondmen that are currently undertaking the course were put to work on coupling and uncoupling, learning the proper techniques and most importantly, learning how to ensure that their own safety and that of others is protected.
The training session was part of course that is being run by WSR Diesel Traction Inspector (and DEPG member) John Leach, and the loco driver on the day was our Chairman, Martin Howard. Here’s some more photos that show the trainees receiving instruction from John:
The space between Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) and the ex-GWR ‘Toad’ brakevan provides the forum for John Leach to demonstrate the art of coupling and uncoupling to five trainees, (L-R) Simon, Paddy, Tom and Chris plus Karl in the second row (out of camera) as a practical follow-up to a classroom session that took place earlier in the day. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th February 2023 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0
Trainee secondman Paddy gets ‘hands-on’ with the couplings while his fellow trainees look on. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th February 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Trainee secondman Paddy gets one-to-one instruction and guidance from John Leach while coupling the brakevan to Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) at Williton on Saturday 4th February 2023. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
The secondman training courses start in September each year and include classroom and practical sessions prior to route learning that will take place when the line re-opens in the springtime. Candidates are selected after careful consideration by the WSR Footplate Standards Panel because places are limited and the intense training consumes considerable resources. Luckily, both John and Martin give their time freely to pass on their knowledge and maintain the highest of standards, so MANY THANKS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION !
2023 TIMETABLE NEWS:
Last week, we reported that the WSR had published their 2023 timetable and we updated our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page to include the class of loco that will haul the services that are booked for DEPG loco haulage between now and June. More details will be added as soon as we have agreed the allocations for the services in June and beyond.
Keep an eye on the DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and mark the days that interest you on your calendar, so that you can make a plan to come along and ride behind your favourite type of locomotive. Click on the banner below to go to the page on our website:
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – work on the transmission repair has progressed to the stage where the completed turbine rail has been set aside to allow work on other transmission components to catch up. The reverser assembly and the output shaft assembly are the next two ‘targets’ for Colin F and his team. Meanwhile, Leroy started work on removing the radiator elements from the cooler group so that they can be cleaned and pressure tested. Once prepared, the cooler groups at both ends of the loco will be lifted out for corrosion repair work to be undertaken. The electrical work is being progressed by new volunteer Steve, while Gordon, Ian F and Chris attend to the various bodywork restoration tasks that are needed to get the loco back to her former glory. Here’s some photos:
D1010 – the bolts that secure the first stage turbine runner to the secondary shaft require tightening to a very high torque setting, making it a two-man job. The effort is provided by Tim (L) and Colin F at Williton on Tuesday 31st January 2023. The somewhat easier task of taking the photo was handled by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – after re-assembly of the turbine rail, the final position of the secondary shaft must be measured carefully and checked against pre-determined dimensions to ensure proper axial clearances between the turbines and the impellers. Tim was pictured taking the measurements at Williton on Tuesday 31st January 2023 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – this very unusual view looking down on the bogie from inside the locomotive is only possible because the ‘B’ transmission has been removed, creating a giant rectangular hole in the floor. The bogies will soon be receiving their share of the attention as the restoration project progresses. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th February 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
To continue our rate of progress requires FUNDING and we give our thanks to everyone who has supported D1010 by sponsoring or donating during these difficult times. If you are able to do so, please SPONSOR A PATCH because there is plenty of recently-added metal that still needs engraving. Photographs and certificates of sponsorship will be sent out to all who have sponsored this phase of the restoration work, and we are applying more resources to catch up with this obligation and deliver the documents. Click the image below to sponsor a patch. Thank you in advance for your support !
See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details. We still have a lot of work to do on this massive locomotive, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco was in use for the secondman practical training session on Saturday 4th February 2023, as reported earlier.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco will soon be returning to active duty on the WSR.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – the special-purpose lifting brackets that were used when the loco was lifted from her bogies last year are going to be loaned to the Diesel Traction Group for use on fellow survivor D7029, so to avoid our embarassement, our Publicity Officer Mark Bladwell took on the task of making them look decent before they get shipped to Kidderminster.
Our Hymek lifting brackets received a clean-up and re-paint courtesy of Mark B at Williton on Tuesday 31st January 2023. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – there are a number of tasks outstanding on this loco and all will be tackled in good time for the start of the new season. One point of detail is that some of the pressure gauges in the cab are modern equivalents of the original style of gauge, because the original style supplied by LAYCOCK-KNORR are unavailable. When the ‘Hymeks’ were withdrawn from service, many parts were acquired by souvenir hunters, some of which may still exist today. So, in the interests of authenticity, we are asking DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE GAUGES THAT YOU COULD OFFER FOR USE IN D7018 ?
D7018 – the driver’s desk includes two pressure gauges that were supplied by the Original Equipment Manufacturer LAYCOCK-KNORR. The extract shows the two authentic gauges in more detail. The left-hand gauge displays the main reservoir pressure, the right-hand gauge displays the bogie brake pressures and is a ‘duplex’ gauge having two needles, in this case one on top of the other, one painted red for ‘A’ bogie, the other being white for ‘B’ bogie. Photos by Paul Tucker © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the progress continues on multiple fronts as we march onwards with this project. The materials for the refurbishment of the cab are being placed on order so that work can start on this major sub-assembly as soon as sufficient space is available inside the loco shed. Here’s some photos to tell the story:
D9518 – the disassembly of the Paxman 6YJXL V-6 diesel engine that last ran in D9526 is progressing. In this view, Nick is removing the exhaust manifold that occupies the centre of the ‘Vee’. The engine has been rotated in the ‘turnover rig’ to allow easy access. Pictured at Williton on 31st January 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the engine governor is a very important piece of equipment and will be overhauled before further use. Pictured in Terry’s careful hands at Williton on Tuesday 31st January 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the dent that was previously visible in the curving corner of the end frame has been carefully rectified by Colin G and now carries a further coat of paint. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th February 2023 by Andy Royal © 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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco has been rostered to work the 80-mile ‘BLUE’ timetable services on the WSR on the following dates:
- Sunday 16th April
- Sunday 21st May
- Saturday 3rd June
- Sunday 4th June
More dates for later in the year will be added in the near future. Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to DIESELGEN email bullletin service to get the information as soon as it becomes available.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and will undergo winter maintenance to prepare her for what should be a very busy season on the NYMR. We will provide more details about the maintenance program in a future roundup.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – the maintenance work on this loco continues to progress in the capable hands of new volunteer Tony, the next step being to flush the fuel system with fresh fuel and ensure that the contamination issue has been resolved. The oil filter replacement issue is also progressing and should be resolved in the coming week, which will allow a start-up attempt to be made immediately after completing the oil change.
If you can help by donating your time to any of these projects, 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 collection of all ten volumes of the ‘Diesel Enthusiast’s Pocket Guide” published by Bradford Barton in 1981, all of which are in very good condition. These booklets have been donated by a supporter and will be sold AS A COMPLETE SET for the benefit of the DEPG loco of your choice, so send us a bid via our CONTACT FORM if you would like to add these to your collection.
The titles in this series are:
- Eastern Region South
- Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
- Northern England
- L M Region South
- L M Region North West
- Wales and Borders
- Thames – Cotswold
- Wessex and West Country
- South and South East
- Scottish Region
If you want to donate to the DEPG loco of your choice and get some interesting books in return, use our CONTACT FORM to send your bid.
ON SHED – with the news last week that D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ had moved from the National Railway Museum (NRM) at York to the Didcot Railway Centre for a 5-year stay, it seemed fitting that we feature an image of this loco this week. The photo below shows D1023 in the last year of her service life, when she was relegated to secondary services and heavy freight work and before she was ‘spruced up’ for her railtour role. Many thanks to Kelvin for sharing another of his photos with us all.
Requiring all its tractive effort from its two mighty Maybachs, D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ hauls its heavily-loaded stone wagons around the tight curve into the reception sidings at Westbury. Pictured in the summer of 1976 by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0
DEPG NEWS – the synopsis of the recent Board Meeting is being prepared and will be emailed to all members for whom we hold a valid email address, hopefully later this week.
The next DEPG Newsletter is in the works and will be distributed towards the end of this month. Please make sure that your membership is up to date so that we can continue to send you a copy of this quarterly newsletter (via email or post at your choice). The newsletter will include detailed updates on the plans for our two restoration projects (D1010 and D9518), plus other information that is specific to DEPG members.
If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via MEMBERMOJO.
KEY DATES for your diary:
WSR DIESEL GALA : Thursday 8th through Saturday 10th June 2023
DEPG 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS : Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd September 2023.
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