Weekly Roundup – 05-Mar-23
Class 09 D4107 (09 019) occupied number 2 road at Williton Depot while Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) stood on number 1 road in the late afternoon of Saturday 25th February 2023. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
As the preparations for the re-opening of the WSR on Saturday 18th March gather pace, Class 33 D6575 (33 057) has been readied for service and will be in use next Tuesday (14th) on an Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) move from Williton to Bishops Lydeard and will remain there on standby duty. Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 is also available for use at Bishops Lydeard and will cover for Class 09 D4107 (09 019) who will be staying at Williton a while longer for additional repairs.
Meanwhile, Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) has been in use at weekends at Minehead in support of crew refresher training and competency testing. This loco will return to Williton next Friday (17th) and will go straight into the Swindon Shed to undergo a full repaint, retaining the same green and cream livery as previously.
The maintenance work on shunter D4107 (09 019) has included electrical and mechanical items that have been repaired on site at Williton, but one item that will have to be sent to an outside contractor for repair is a leaking oil cooler element. This has been isolated to confirm that it is the source of an oil leak, but must now be removed and sent to APPLIED RADIATORS in Stoke-on-Trent for specialist repair.
Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – behind the radiator shutters at the nose end of the locomotive, two oil cooler elements can be seen bolted to the radiator frame. One of these elements is leaking and must be removed and sent to APPLIED RADIATORS for specialist repair. Pictured at Williton on Sunday 5th March by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – the traction motor blower relay (left) was in need of an overhaul. The refurbished contacts are visible in the photo on the right. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 11th February 2023 by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – the fuel lift pump mountings were failing (left) so they replaced with new mounts (right) at Williton on Saturday 11th February 2023. Photos by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0
WSR PRE-SEASON BRIEFING
The WSR held a pre-season briefing for all volunteers last Saturday 4th March, but as this was a working day for DEPG volunteers, Chairman Martin Howard attended on behalf of the DEPG and then brought the messages back to the yard to brief onwards. Martin has provided the following synopsis of this very useful and informative session, as follows:
Synopsis of a Volunteer Staff Brief given in the DEPG Messroom on 4th March 2023
This was a briefer brief arising from the Pre-Season Brief given to volunteers at Wellington School that same morning. More detailed coverage of the main Wellington brief has been provided to volunteers via the Heritage Operations Processing System (HOPS).
Welcome and introduction from WSR Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt.
- Matt Green, a new Health & Safety Advisor had been appointed by WSR PLC and he will shortly be taking up his post.
- Nic Wheeler has also been appointed as Environmental Advisor to the PLC.
General Manager Kerry Noble looked back at the last five years. This has shown that the WSR has been through a lot but has also come a long way. One clear point is that there is no longer any certainty on what constitutes a ‘normal’ year.
WSR Director Frank Courtney told the meeting that the PLC held a Management Conference at STEAM in Swindon on 25th February. At this event the PLC Board were able to meet and talk directly with senior WSR Management for a frank exchange of views. All felt it was a very worthwhile exercise and should be repeated.
WSRA Chairman Geoff Garfield explained how recent differences had been left behind and good progress was being made on several fronts to support the railway. Chief amongst these are a Landslip Appeal (already halfway to target in 4 weeks), Track Materials Appeal, 4561 Appeal and help with financial assistance for repairs to DEPG’s Goods Shed.
WSRHT Chairman Mike Thompson outlined the progress the Trust was making on their projects to refurbish genuine GWR coaches, improve working facilities and upgrade their museum displays. He also gave an overview of proposals to improve the visitor experience for Bishops Lydeard.
WSR Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt gave details of a recent safety review carried out by WSR Management and gave an overview of improvements that will be rolled out in the coming months, including the adoption of the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) RM3 (Risk Management Maturity Model) safety management system.
General Manager Kerry Noble then gave a short presentation to show some of the commercial initiatives that are being tried this year. Among them are evening photo-shoots where these can be organised economically, additional Diesel Driver Experience Courses (DDECs) and the introduction of a monthly awards scheme to encourage staff performance.
Finally there was the presentation of Long Service Awards. These were backdated to include 2019 due to Covid. The DEPG staff that received awards were:
- Cameron Walker – 10 Years
- Terry Deacon – 20 Years
- Julian Bracchi – 30 Years
- Mike Harris – 30 Years
- Julie Tucker – 30 Years
- Paul Tucker – 30 Years
The Awards were collected on their behalf by Chairman Martin Howard and either already have been, or will be, given to the individuals concerned at a suitable opportunity.
The briefings delivered an effective balance of information and motivation and were well worth the effort. Well done to all involved!
Terry Deacon (left) was presented with his 20 years of Service Award at Williton on Saturday 4th March 2023 and Mike Harris was presented with his 30 year Award, dating back to 2019. Congratulations and many thanks to both volunteers for their massive (and continuing) contribution to both the DEPG and the WSR. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
2023 TIMETABLE NEWS:
The WSR have announced the lineup for their SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR event which will run from Friday April 28th through to Bank Holiday Monday 1st May and will include three ‘MANORS’ and a ‘SAINT’ plus the rest of the home-based fleet ! For details, click this link to the WSR website.
The first scheduled diesel-hauled service for 2023 is booked for Friday 7th April and will feature haulage by one of our Class 33 ‘Cromptons’. 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’ – progress continued on multiple fronts last week, with Gordon at work refitting the wood trim around the side windows at ‘A’ end while Ian F continued his diligent work on the ‘B’ bodyside. At the opposite end of the loco, Andy and Natalie worked under the floor at ‘B’ end, removing the life-expired conduits and cabling and preparing for new wiring where necessary, while Leroy was busy assessing the radiator elements. The transmission overhaul team (Colin F and Geoff on Mondays, Colin F and Tim on Tuesdays) made further progress with the fully separated components parts of the ‘B’ transmission. Here’s a few photos covering some of the activities:
D1010 – evidence of the German origin of the ‘B’ transmission’s internal components, the filling pump drive pinion clearly shows the manufacturer as KLINGELNBERG, a company still in business producing bevel gears (amongst other things). Pictured after re-tapping the oil injection port at Williton on 20th February 2023 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – each component from the ‘B’ transmission has now been separated, cleaned and inspected. Geoff was pictured while using the cleaning system at Williton on Monday 27th February 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the many component parts from the input and output shafts of the ‘B’ transmission were laid out awaiting the delivery of new bearings before reassembly at Williton on Monday 27th February 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © 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 has been in use for crew training at Minehead and will be returning to Williton on Friday 17th March for a re-paint.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is at Williton and will move to Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 14th March to take up the role of duty loco.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – no change this week.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the cardan shafts are approaching readiness for re-fitting with just the final coat of paint required before they are hoisted into position. The splined joints have been checked and re-greased and the universal joints have passed inspection and been filled with fresh grease, so these heavy and expensive parts are still fit for use after all these years. Good quality stuff !
D9518 – the longer of the two cardan shafts fits between the engine and the transmission. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th March 2023 by Mike Evans © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the shorter of the two cardan shafts fits between the transmission and the final drive gearbox. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th March 2023 by Mike Evans © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – brand new flexible hoses are ready for fitting to the transmission heat exchanger. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 25th 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 is rostered for crew training duties during the next few weeks.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is waiting for delivery of the new oil filter and housing that are being specially made by BRITISH FILTERS in Plymouth to be directly compatible with the original Vokes type.
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 – our attention has been drawn to the latest in the DIESEL DAWN series of booklets that are published by Mortons Media Group, and we have ordered a batch of VOLUME 7: WESTERN REGION CLASS 14 DIESEL-HYDRAULICS for re-sale via our website for the benefit of the D9518 restoration fund. PLEASE BUY A COPY to support D9518 !
We can also supply any of the previous six volumes, so please let us know via our CONTACT FORM if you would like to purchase any of the volumes in this interesting series. Please also take a look at our webstore for NEW BOOKS and PRE-OWNED BOOKS, the profits from which will go directly towards the upkeep of our loco fleet. Thank you very much for your support !
ON SHED – last week, we featured a photograph that was discovered at our Williton depot recently and depicts our very own D1661 (47077, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ on shed somewhere, sometime. We asked our readers for their thoughts on where the loco could be, and within seconds we had a response from well-known author and DEPG member Roger Geach who stated that the photo was taken at Landore Depot (87A) in Swansea. We then had a response from DEPG member and former volunteer Paul Mear confirming the same. The date can now be narrowed down to between November 1969 and April 1973, during which time she was allocated to ’87A’. Any additional information would be welcomed. Many thanks to Roger and Paul for responding so quickly.
D1661 (47077, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ on shed at Landore (Swansea), some time between November 1969 and April 1973. Can you help narrow down the date range? Photo from the DEPG archives © CC BY-NC 3.0
DEPG NEWS – a Board Meeting was held at Williton on Saturday 25th February and a synopsis is being prepared and will be sent out with the forthcoming Newsletter mailing (or emailing, depending on your stated preference in ‘Membermojo‘).
The next DEPG Newsletter is running late (apologies for this delay) and will be distributed towards the end of next week. 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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