This drone image, looking south, shows just some of the static display areas at the WSRA’s STEAM RALLY at Norton Fitzwarren. The Bristol to Exeter main line is visible in the upper left and just inside that is what remains of the former Barnstaple branch, with our Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 standing at ‘Holmes Halt’ with two brake vans in tow. Pictured on Sunday 4th August 2024 by Chris Haig © CC BY-NC 3.0
Looking North-East, this image shows the main display arena with the military vehicles positioned and ready for their parade. Just beyond that, the four maroon Mark 1 coaches of the ‘Quantock Belle‘ dining train are stabled in the bay at Norton Fitzwarren platform. Pictured on Sunday 4th August 2024 by Chris Haig © CC BY-NC 3.0
The WSRA’s STEAM RALLY took place at Norton Fitzwarren on Saturday and Sunday 3rd/4th August and was a BIG SUCCESS with fine weather and plenty of visitors to appreciate the many and varied machines that were put through their paces in the arena, and those that were on static display all around the huge site. Overall, an excellent day out with something for everyone, so WELL DONE to the team at the WSRA for organising such a tremendous event !
The BRAKE VAN RIDES along the remains of the Barnstaple branch were hauled by Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 and were very popular as always, and the shuttle service between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren platform was provided for the use of show-goers and operated by the WSR’s Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU).
For more photos of the STEAM RALLY, click on this link to the wsr.org.uk website.
The WSR’s Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) was in use on the shuttle services between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th August 2024. Pictured from the sought-after front passenger seat position, the DMU was running alongside the GWR ‘Castle’ class HST that is being stored at Westridge on the WSR. Photo by Steven Beale © CC BY-NC 3.0
Elsewhere on the railway, the weekend diesel turns of the BLUE timetable were worked by Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) for most of the Saturday but the locos were changed over at Williton on the last leg of the ‘down’ journey so that sister loco D6566 (33048) could take up the role of Duty Loco and work the Sunday turn, allowing D6575 (33057) to stay at Williton to receive scheduled maintenance.
Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) took over the 16:35 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead service after changing places with sister loco D6575 (33057) during the Williton station stop, allowing the latter to undergo scheduled maintenance. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024 by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0
DIESEL RUNNING DATES
Our locos will next be in use on the weekend of 10th/11th August when Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) will be working the 10:00 departures and subsequent 80-mile diagrams from Minehead on both days.
Mid-week during August, the DMU will be operating the 11:00 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and 15:25 return diesel service under the YELLOW timetable on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the GWR ‘Castle Class’ HST will be operating the diesel service on WEDNESDAYS. It is well worth a visit to ride on these heritage machines – the HSTs are not far off from being 50 years of age and can only be found in mainline use in Scotland, Devon and Cornwall.
We have set another date for Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 to haul the BLUE timetable diesel turn on the Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th of the August Bank Holiday weekend and again on 21st/22nd September, with 80 miles of haulage available each day. We are currently looking into the options for October running and will be sending out a DIESELGEN bulletin ASAP.
Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for details of diesel-hauled public services and sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get advance notice of non-public service running.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS on the WSR (click on the links below for more details):
Saturday and Sunday 14th and 15th September – The Forties event
Click here to go tour DIESEL RUNNING DATES page
Click here to go to our online shop
Thank you very much for your support !
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the dismantling work on the ‘B’ bogie is progressing well, with the first of the 12 brake hangers removed for cleanup and inspection at Williton last Saturday. There is still a huge amount of dirt and grime still firmly attached to the bogies, representing 50 years of accumulation, all of which must be painstakingly removed by our team of once-clean volunteers. This is a dirty job – but someone has to do it !
WELL DONE to all of our volunteers for tackling the dirt and grime and getting this work done !
D1010 – volunteer Steve continued the task of scraping the encrusted dirt and grime from the intermediate gearbox of the ‘B’ bogie at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – working on the opposite side of the intermediate gearbox on ‘B’ bogie, volunteer Ian F tackled the details around the inboard output flange. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the brake rigging on the leading axle of the ‘B’ bogie was disconnected by Leroy and the parts marked up for cleaning and inspection. All of the bushes and pins will be inspected and re-used or replaced as necessary. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the leading axle of the ‘B’ bogie with the brake hanger removed for cleaning and inspection. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the brake rigging on the leading axle of the ‘B’ bogie has been disconnected, allowing the leading brake shoe to hang free. All of the removed components will be cleaned then thoroughly inspected and repaired or replaced, as necessary. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
The Neil McCannon Show
We are very grateful to the many volunteers and supporters who have provided us with photos and video footage of D1010’s lifting, and we will be putting these together in a YouTube video on the DEPG channel as soon as we can. Meanwhile, there are five videos available on our public Facebook account, which is visible to all, even to those who ‘don’t do Facebook‘, by simply clicking on the links below (cancel any requests to log in to Facebook by clicking on ‘x’ or pressing ‘esc’):
Video clip 2 : Neil McCannon explains what is going to be taking place
Video clip 3 : Neil McCannon explains what is taking place
Video clip 4 : Neil McCannon explains what has taken place
Video clip 5 : Neil McCannon explains the most important takeaway
All of the above videos were taken from a position of safety by and posted on social media by DEPG volunteer, Natalie Royal.
Please help us with this very important work by making a donation to the D1010 Restoration Fund and support the repair work that is taking place right now. Thank you in advance for your help.
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco is based at Bishops Lydeard and is in regular use in support of WSR activities, including the loading and unloading of visiting locomotives (there has been a lot of that going on recently!).
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – As already mentioned, this loco has now taken up the role of Duty Loco and will be outstationed at Minehead throughout August. This loco will be in use on the BLUE timetable on Saturday and Sunday of this coming weekend, 10th/11th August. See our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for additional dates.
D6566 (33048) – the loco was prepared for action by DEPG media superstar, trustee, volunteer and driver Neil at Williton on Saturday 3rd August 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco has returned to Williton to undergo scheduled maintenance. This loco will also receive attention to her rocker cover gaskets, some of which have decided to leak oil and make a mess on the cylinder heads below !
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco underwent some scheduled maintenance to make sure that she remains in good shape for her next booked duties, which will be on Saturday and Sunday 24/25th August and again on 21/22nd September.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the ‘good spare’ transmission has now been extensively robbed of good parts, and the damaged parts from D7018 have been used to fill the gaps, so we now have a ‘parts spare’ which contains some good parts and some parts that will need repair if they are ever to be used again. Putting them back in the damaged housings allows us to keep all of the parts together and protected for possible future reference or use.
Work continued on the preparation of the parts that will be used for the rebuild of D7018’s transmission, the first focus being to perform dye penetrant testing on the cast steel housings to identify and evaluate any cracks or other anomalies.
No photos this week, but re-assembly has begun and photos will be available next week.
Please help us with this very important work by making a donation to DEPG funds and allowing us to support the repair work that is taking place on D7018 right now. Thank you in advance for your help.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the activities involving sister loco D9526 took some effort away from this project during the last week, but progress was made on the electrical wiring in the cab, with the fitting of the mounting bracket for the Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) and the preparation of the wiring that will attach to the AVR.
The original design of AVR was based on the ‘carbon pile’ principle in which a cylinder of carbon is compressed electro-mechanically to bring about a change in resistance that in turn regulates the voltage from the generator. This technology was not very reliable and is now obsolete, the work now being done by modern electronics instead. The main benefit is that the electrical equipment on the loco is much less likely to be damaged through improper voltage regulation than was the case previously.
The AVR is an example of the few instances where the original equipment on the loco is not being refurbished and refitted to the loco, but this is in the interest of preserving the authentic items of equipment throughout the loco and is DEPG policy. The AVR is mounted on a bracket that is attached to the inside cab bulkhead, so it is not prominent and will not detract from the authenticity of the locomotive when returned to service – but it will make it more reliable and reduce the risk of damage to the electrical equipment on board the loco.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO OUR VOLUNTEERS AND ALL WHO HAVE FINANCED THE WORK ON D9518 !
Click here or on the image below to make a donation towards the restoration of D9518. Thank you very much for your support !
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco was kept busy last weekend at the WSRA’s STEAM RALLY and was in use again a few days later on a goods train working to Minehead. More details on this in the next roundup.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is based at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but has had to be withdrawn from service for a while to allow repairs to made to the corroded silencer. The work is in progress and the loco should be back in service before the end of this season.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – stabled outdoors on number 1 road, this loco is fully serviceable and available for yard pilot duties.
BOOK REVIEW: this week, we have another new book on offer: VOLUME 2 of THE NORTH BRITISH CLASS 22 by Anthony P. Sayer.
VOLUME 1 – Setting the Scene VOLUME 2 – Detailed Insights
These curious beasts were designed and built by the North British Locomotive Company in the late 1950s and soon gained a reputation for unreliability and erratic performance that was not helped by their builder going into liquidation in 1962. Volume 1 tells the story of the origins and development of the NBL Class 22 locos, and covers each member of the class in some detail, in the usual style of the author. Volume 2 delves into their service record and extensive modifications list, ending with details on their final disposal. None were saved.
Highly recommended and offered at £26 per copy via the DEPG online store. Click here or on the image above to get your copy and in doing so, support the DEPG !
NOTE: We can supply many other titles from Pen & Sword or Platform 5 upon request. Please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know what you would like us to be offering from our online store. Thanks !
The DEPG 2025 CALENDAR is now available for mailing, comprising 14 printed pages of A3 (twice A4 size) glossy paper on a spiral wire binder. This calendar features the DEPG’s locomotives, both in service and in preservation, with all of the photos being provided by members and supporters. Click here or on the image below to GET YOUR COPY NOW for £14 plus p&p.
ON SHED: and now for something completely different – the annual Running Day event at the Derwent Valley Light Railway at Murton Park, York, brought several examples of ex-BR and industrial shunting locos out from hiding in their sheds and allowed visitors unlimited rides behind the operable members of the collection. The event was attended by long-time DEPG member and regular ‘Roundup’ contributor NEALE LONG who reported having a very enjoyable time and sent several photos, two of which are included below. MANY THANKS to Neale for sharing his photos with us all.
Class 03 shunter 03079 (D2079, 97805) was built at Doncaster in 1960 and entered service at Thornaby depot in January of that year. This little loco served on BR until 1996, spending 23 years in the northeast before finishing her career at Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Pictured in ex-works condition on the Derwent Valley Light Railway on Friday 26th July 2024 by Neale Long © CC BY-NC 3.0
Drewry DC2164 became WD 37 when sent to Egypt on active service in 1941. This little loco has had a very interesting life – read about it by following this link. Pictured in ex-works condition on the Derwent Valley Light Railway on Friday 26th July 2024 by Neale Long © CC BY-NC 3.0
DEPG NEWS: the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) of the DEPG has been scheduled for Saturday 7th September, to take place at Williton Depot, starting at 1400. We will be sending formal AGM notices to all members during the coming week. Please make a note of this date and please do come along to help, support and guide the DEPG for the long-term benefit of our heritage locos and associated artefact collection.
The DEPG is a charity and is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom give both their time and their money to the continuance of work on the locos in the DEPG fleet. If you have been enjoying the the roundup for free, have you considered joining us for just £1 a month ? You can then add your name to all of those helping out on the above projects and play your part in the future of our locos for a lot less than the price of a cup of coffee!
JOIN US using whichever membership class is appropriate for your situation and means. CLICK HERE or on the image below or use the QR code to get the details.
If you would like to go one step further and come along to help with the work on the locos in our fleet, then please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know that you would like to volunteer and we will respond with more details.
We look forward to hearing from you !
Go to the previous Weekly Roundup post