Another milestone in the restoration of Class 14 D9518 was reached on Saturday 8th February 2025 when the part-restored cab assembly was re-mounted on the loco frames at Williton using a 66-ton-metre truck-mounted crane and a highly skilled operator, both provided by HEAVER BROTHERS of Exeter. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0
Also on Saturday 8th February 2025, a major step was taken towards the return to service of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 when the repaired transmission was re-installed in the loco at Williton using the 66-ton-metre truck-mounted crane that was provided by HEAVER BROTHERS. Photo by Julie Tucker © CC BY-NC 3.0
A 20-ft ISO container was collected from a donor and delivered to Williton on Friday 7th February 2025 using a 66-ton-metre truck-mounted crane that was provided by HEAVER BROTHERS. Photo by Julie Tucker © CC BY-NC 3.0
Another busy time at Williton with three major lifting activities being carried out with the help of a very capable 66-ton-metre truck-mounted crane and a highly skilled operator, both provided by HEAVER BROTHERS of Exeter. The three lifting tasks took place over two days and were completed with several hours to spare, even though the lifting of the cab assembly of Class 14 D9518 had to be carried out inside the loco shed because our yard shunter, Barclay 578 (ROF 1) developed a starter motor fault and could not be used to haul D9518’s frames out of the shed, as had been intended.
Rather than abandon the lift and have to incur the expense of another crane visit on another day, the crane operator carried out a risk assessment on site and determined that the lift could take place inside the loco shed, taking advantage of the ability of the crane to lift the required load (4 tonnes including the x2 factor of safety) at a radius of up to 16 metres (52 feet). The crane had built-in load and moment sensors and was operated by remote control, allowing precise and safe operation within the confines of the loco shed. WELL DONE to HEAVER BROTHERS and their staff for getting the job done safely, at minimum cost to the DEPG !
These lifts clear the way for our volunteers to make the next steps with both of these projects, and move us significantly closer to the return to service of these two locomotives. WELL DONE TO ALL INVOLVED!
The part-restored cab assembly of Class 14 D9518 was re-mounted onto the loco frames at Williton on Saturday 8th February 2025. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
The repaired and repainted transmission and heat exchanger of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 were re-installed in the loco at Williton on Saturday 8th February 2025. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0
D7017 UPDATE
The repair work continues apace at Minehead, as the WSR engineering team makes daily progress on the replacing of corroded metal with new metal. The additional funding that has been made possible by the tremendous response from members and supporters is being put to good use, ensuring that the repairs are thorough and substantial, and capable of lasting for decades. We continue to receive donations to the D7017 bodywork overhaul fund, so a BIG THANK YOU goes out to all of the 64 people who have donated to this project, keeping it moving forward to ensure that the loco will be back in service in time for the WSR’s Summer Diesel Festival (5-7th June).
As we reported last week, the fundraiser for the bodywork repairs for ‘Hymek’ D7017 has been kept open with a new target of £12,000 with a total of £10,927 being raised so far.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR FANTASTIC SUPPORT !
The new target of £12,000 will cover most of the work being done on the loco, the remaining £3,000 being provided from the DEPG’s general fund. The sub-contract route was taken to make sure that the loco gets repaired during the winter and is able to take pole position in the celebration of 50 years of ‘Hymek’ preservation that will take place in the summer of this year.
The initial target was reached on 1st January 2025, but we are keeping the fundraiser open until the work is completed, to make sure that we have sufficient funding to cover any unexpected costs, and make sure that a thorough and long-lasting repair is carried out. All funds donated via this appeal will be allocated to returning D7017 to service in time for the forthcoming season.
Can you help ? Click here to donate £17 to D7017 !
If you can help with this short-term appeal, please make a donation via our website (click on the icons above or below) or by bank app or by sending a cheque to the DEPG at Williton. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
WSR NEWS
The WSR are heavily involved in training sessions for all operational staff and volunteers, with more training taking place this coming week involving duty loco Class 33 D6575 (33048) between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren. This work is being supplemented by communications days taking place on weekends at Wellington School, where the plans for the year are being presented to all volunteers and the roles and objectives of the support organisations are being outlined. This does deplete the available hours for volunteering at Williton, but it is a short-term loss that is balanced against the need for the railway to perform at a higher level, and we welcome the WSR efforts.
In parallel with this, the WSR Infrastructure team are hard at work renovating and repairing at multiple locations along the 23-mile line. The signalling is being overhauled at Blue Anchor and the down line is being re-laid at Crowcombe Heathfield, to name but two of the activity areas. This work is often a joint effort between WSR staff and volunteers, and is to be applauded.
The Infrastructure team are hard at work re-laying the down line through Crowcombe Heathfield station. Pictured on Thursday 6th February 2025 by Brenden Hill © CC BY-NC 3.0
The WSR have now published their running calendar for 2025 on their website and social media channels, and we have updated our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page including provisional loco allocations, some of which are subject to change to align with the availability of the locos and the crews. As the information becomes more refined, we will update our page and send out a DIESELGEN bulletin with the clarification. Click here or on the banner below to view the provisional allocations:
Click here or on the image below to visit the WSR’s timetable page:
The WSR’s SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL has been confirmed as being Thursday 5th through Saturday 7th with a Mixed Traction Day on Sunday 8th of June 2025.
Click here to go to our 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’ – with the focus on other projects at Williton last weekend, the D1010 team were content to keep out of the way and progress some simpler tasks, with Ian F continuing his never-ending paintwork challenge and Gordon tackling the 50-year accumulation of dirt that has attached itself to the underside of the loco. The focus in the coming weeks will be on evaluating and recording the condition of the various bogie components, so that the repair work can be arranged along with the necessary replacement parts.
D1010 – the ‘A’ cooler group is still undergoing welding repairs, but it had to be moved out of the loco shed to make way for the crane on Saturday 8th February 2025. Pictured at Williton by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – one of the fans from the ‘A’ cooler group had to be removed to allow the motor to be repaired, but this has now been done and the fan is being prepared for re-fitting to the motor shaft. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 8th February 2025 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
Our appeals for MORE VOLUNTEERS are working because we have had another new volunteer join us in the last week, which is great news, but WE STILL NEED MORE HELP to get this huge loco back on the rails, so please get in touch by using our CONTACT FORM if you are able to join the team.
As mentioned before, apologies to those D1010 sponsors who have yet to receive the photos and certificates for the patches that they have sponsored. The bitterly cold weather is preventing us from spending outdoor time on the engraving, so we will need to leave this work a little longer, at least until the temperature is back in (positive) double digits.
Rest assured that every sponsor will receive their certificate and the details of where to find their sponsored patch. We will be making a further push for funds soon, because we have some big ticket items for refurbishment, including the remaining cardan shafts and 32 springs from the suspension system.
MANY THANKS to all who have sponsored and supported the RESTORATION of D1010 !
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – the Oleo hydraulic buffers have been overhauled by a specialist subcontractor and are on their way back to Williton, which is great news and quite a relief, given that we are running out of time to keep this loco at Williton. The list of outstanding repairs and maintenance tasks is diminishing, the latest success being the solution to the slow operation of the Driver’s Safety Device (DSD, sometimes called the ‘deadmans’ handle or pedal), this issue being traced to a stuck valve underneath the floor of the loco. After dismantling and cleaning the valve, the DSD system now works as it should.
D4107 (09019) – winter maintenance and repair works are almost complete, although the repaint will have to wait until next year. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 8th February 2025 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D4107 (09019) – the delinquent valve is pictured as mounted under the cab floor. Photo dated Sunday 9th February 2025 by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0
D4107 (09019) – the delinquent valve was disassembled and cleaned up at Williton on Sunday 9th February 2025, solving the issue with the DSD. Photo by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco has now returned to Williton and will receive some scheduled maintenance while also enjoying some rest and relaxation in the confines of the yard.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco has now become the Duty Loco, after moving to Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 18th January. This loco will be in use between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren for crew training purposes on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th February.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – in addition to the bodywork overhaul that is taking place in the loco shed at Minehead, volunteer driver and loco manager Neil has been investigating the issue with the driver’s droplight (side) window and has found that corrosion has caused the underlying framework to swell, resulting in distortion of the guide channel which then gets in the way of the window glass. The solution is to remove the former BR(WR) Automatic Train Control (ATC) equipment from the cab side wall and expose the window mechanism so that the corroded section can be cut out and fresh metal welded in. This fairly simple issue will take many hours of work because of the difficulty accessing the work area. Although the ATC equipment is redundant, it is kept for authenticity and reflects the equipment fitted to these locos throughout their working lifetimes, so quite a bit of patience is required to get this job done. Well done to Neil for taking on the task !
D7017 – the driver’s droplight window needs attention so the equipment mounted on the cab side wall had to be removed to allow access. What a task, and there is more to be removed before the welding repairs can take place! Pictured at Minehead on Wednesday 5th February 2025 by Neil McCannon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D7017 – the BR(WR) ATC equipment is mounted on the cab wall on the driver’s side, which then makes access to the window mechanism extremely difficult. Pictured at Minehead on Wednesday 5th February 2025 by Neil McCannon © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco is getting closer to her return to service in this, the 50th year of ‘Hymek’ preservation. This loco was the last of the Class to be switched off, being withdrawn from service at Old Oak Common on 16th March, 1975. For more details, get a copy of our booklet ‘HYMEK D7018’ by clicking on this link.
As the transmission team were in a holding pattern after completing their preparations for the transmission to be re-installed, they demonstrated their talents by resolving an issue that had marred the looks of the loco for some time, namely the bent handrail on the Secondman’s side at the ‘Minehead’ end of the locomotive !
The team set about removing the handrail for straightening, then welded it to rectangular plates, and then welded those plates to the loco body from the outside. This was necessary because of the lack of access from the inside. However, the team did mange to get a few coats of paint onto the repaired area from inside the cab, ensuring that the repair will last as long as the rest of the loco. Well done team !
D7018 – the damaged handrail had been removed by Geoff and Colin F on the previous day, and straightened out before attaching it to two rectangular plates, with corresponding cutouts made in the loco body panel. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 4th February 2025 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D7018 – after welding from the outside and applying red anti-corrosive primer, the repair is now ready for completion by the painting team. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 4th February 2025 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – as previously reported, the cab assembly has now been remounted onto the loco frames and the work of bolting it down and re-attaching the various parts can now proceed. This will also allow the wiring work to be completed. The engine overhaul is proceeding in parallel, and we will bring more news on that in the next roundup.
Quality work needs to be funded, so we will continue to appeal for funds to support the work, right up to the point where the loco is completed. Any surplus will then be used to ensure her proper care and upkeep. If you like what we are doing, please make a donation via our website (click on the icon below) or by bank app or by sending a cheque to the DEPG at Williton. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT !
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco celebrated her 60th birthday on Monday 6th January, as announced in an earlier post (click here for the post and for a video clip of her most recent engine run). This loco will enter the loco shed some time in the spring and will undergo engine maintenance and receive a paint refresh in time for her appearance at the WSR’s SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL 2025.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is based at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and we look forward to seeing this loco being in regular use during 2025 !
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – although this loco had been very busy in connection with the re-location of the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust’s carriage collection from Williton to Washford and had demonstrated her reliability and usefulness, she let us down totally on Saturday 8th by failing to start when we needed her to move D7018 and D9518 ! The issue appears to be a failure within the starter motor, so we are investigating that and trying to find a solution that will allow the loco to be started and moved out of the way while we get a spare motor overhauled. Such is life !
Barclay 578 (ROF1) was marooned on number 4 road in disgrace after failing to start on the morning of Saturday 8th February 2025. The issue with her starter motor is being investigated. Pictured at Williton on the 8th by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
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: many thanks to those who have already ordered this new book, and apologies for the delay in shipping, but we now have the books in stock and shipment commenced on Saturday 8th. Thank you for your patience!
This is a new release from Pen & Sword, another in the series of locomotive studies by ANTHONY P. SAYER and no doubt destined for similar positive reviews, as has been the case for other publications from this author (click here for details). His target this time is the short-lived Class 23 ‘Baby Deltic’, a rare example of a product from the English Electric stable that did not deliver on it’s promises. Anthony digs deep into the background and presents the story in his usual style, complete with fine detail.
Here’s the description text that has been provided by the publisher, Pen & Sword:
“The British Railways ‘Pilot Scheme’ orders of 1955 included ten English Electric Type 2 diesel-electric locomotives deploying Napier ‘Deltic’ engines. These locomotives, more colloquially known as the ‘Baby Deltics’, were introduced into traffic during 1959 for use on the Eastern Region of British Railways. This book looks at the history of the Class 23s, making extensive use of available but previously unpublished archive material, covering their introduction, technical idiosyncrasies, appearance design and performance. Issues with the original ‘Deltic’ engines were ultimately dealt with via a major rehabilitation exercise during the 1963-65 period; whilst various re-engining options were considered , including a new ‘U’ series English Electric high-speed engine design, the original Napier engines were ultimately retained. The work involved in the whole rehabilitation process is discussed in detail using internal English Electric archive material and forms a central focus of research. The fleet survived intact until 1968, when withdrawal commenced as a direct result of declining traffic levels across the UK, with successive National Traction Plans progressively selecting the less successful, non-standard and ‘numerically-challenged’ classes for removal from traffic. All ten locomotives were withdrawn by March 1971. Individual locomotive histories, allocations, fire and accident incidents, liveries and detail differences, storage and disposals are provided for each locomotive.”
Price £32 – NOTE: RRP is £35 so save £3 by buying from the DEPG !
Click here to obtain your copy of this new book.
Other books in this popular series are also available from the DEPG online store (classes 14, 17 and 22)
Four new books have just been added to our online store – click on the images below for details:
ON SHED: in July of 2024, we featured a photo of Class 52 D1069 ‘WESTERN VANGUARD’ at Cardiff Canton depot carrying the headcode ‘2V48’ and this raised some questions about what Class 2 service the ‘Western’ would have been working prior to arrival on shed. The discussions over the last two weeks about Class 52 ‘Westerns’ working the 18:12 Fridays Only (FO) from Paddington have caused DEPG founder member Clive Burrows to make a plausible connection that would explain the ‘2V48’ headcode on a loco that quite possibly made its way to Cardiff on a Class 1 service from Bristol, while still showing the ‘2V48’ headcode at the trailing end of the loco. Here’s the information that Clive has provided:
“Several months ago you published a picture of a Class 52 with a Class 2 WR headcode (2V48) with a question about the interregional service that was involved. That reminded me that the 18:12 FO from Paddington was often hauled by a Class 52 up to the end of April 1976 as it was diagrammed for Mk.1 vacuum braked stock, even though all the other weekday services on the route had migrated to ETH stock. The locomotive off the 18:12 FO then worked the Saturday afternoon 16:xx Bristol to Weymouth and the 19:xx return, which is likely to be where the 2Vxx headcode came from on the Class 52 in your photograph.
The final destination of the18:12 FO from Paddington to Bristol was actually Taunton, but the locomotive would have brought the empty coaching stock (ECS) back from Taunton to Malago Vale before going on to Bristol Bath Road depot. Looking back at my records, on 1st November 1974 I caught the 18:12 FO from Paddington to Chippenham that was hauled by D1046 and then the following day (Saturday 2nd November 1974) I caught the 16:00 Bristol TM to Weymouth that was also hauled by D1046.
Rather strangely, I caught the 18:12 (FO) from Paddington to Bristol one evening several years later during an industrial dispute when it was load 11 coaches hauled by a single Class 33 with a Westbury based crew. I rode on the footplate with the Westbury crew and noted that the power controller only had two positions, open and shut!”
Many thanks to Clive for providing this information. Does anyone have an alternative theory about the mysterious ‘2V48’ headcode ? If so, please let us know by using our CONTACT FORM.
Class 52 1069 ‘WESTERN VANGUARD’ stands at the head of a line of locos at Cardiff Canton shed on a gloomy day in December 1974. This loco was delivered new to Cardiff Canton on 21st October 1963 and immediately put to use on the Paddington express workings, to relieve the ‘Hymeks’ on these heavy turns. Evidently reduced to Class 2 workings by 1974, this loco was withdrawn in October of the following year. Photo by the late Mike Evans © CC BY-NC 3.0
DEPG NEWS – the February edition of the quarterly DEPG Newsletter has been produced on schedule by editor Mark Bladwell and has been mailed or emailed (according to member preferences). The paper copies were mailed last weekend, but an issue has arisen where an effort to save cost has backfired ….
The labels used were old stock and have lost their ‘stickyness’ and some are becoming detached in the post, resulting in the newsletters being returned to the sender without address labels. Unfortunately, we don’t know who has received their newsletters and who hasn’t !
So, if you are a member and want a paper copy of the newsletter and haven’t received it by the 19th of February, please get in touch by using our CONTACT FORM and we will get another copy in the mail for you. Apologies for any delay !
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 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 !