Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 made a fine picture as she lifted a train of vans out of Swithland Sidings on the Great Central Railway on Tuesday 28th October 2025. The full day of goods train workings using D7018 was arranged as a photo charter by David Williams and Timeline Events. Photo by Andrew Royle © CC BY-NC 4.0
Reminiscent of the days when ‘Hymeks’ worked the Geest banana trains from Barry Docks, D7018 looked the part as she hauled a train of vans past Kinchley Lane on the Great Central Railway on Tuesday 28th October 2025. Photo by Cameron Walker © CC BY-NC 4.0
Cameron’s video clip of D7018 working in this location can be found on YouTube by clicking this link.
The double and quadruple-tracked sections of the Great Central Railway provided an excellent backdrop for our Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 while performing on Tuesday 28th October for a photo charter that was organised by David Williams and Timeline Events. The ‘Hymek’ was kept busy shuttling her train of ‘fully fitted’ vans back and forth along the line as the photographers made the most of the pleasant weather and captured some really nice images, only a few of which we have space for today. Many thanks to Andrew and Cameron for sharing their excellent work with us.
D7018 is staying at the GCR until the end of April 2026 and this will provide several opportunities for ‘Hymek’ haulage, as below:
| Day and Date | Event | Notes |
| Saturday 15th November | The ‘Last Hurrah’ gala | Link to the ‘Last Hurrah’ GCR page |
| Synday 16th November | The ‘Last Hurrah’ gala | Link to the ‘Last Hurrah’ GCR page |
| Saturday 22nd November | Steve Fulcher’s charter | email fulch40@hotmail.com |
| Wednesday 31st December | The ‘Nightrider’ | Link to the ‘Nightrider’ GCR page |
| April 2026 | Spring Diesel Gala | Contact the GCR for more info |
On Saturday 22nd November, a charter has been organised by DTG and DEPG member STEVE FULCHER. Here are the details (D7018 services shows as ‘Loco D2‘ and highlighted in yellow), please contact Steve directly using the details below if you would like to ride on this special train. WELL DONE STEVE for arranging this. PLEASE DO TRY AND SUPPORT THIS EVENT because that is the way to ensure that this will be the first of many such ‘Hymek’ charters on this and other lines!
Steve has advised that the Griddle Car will be included in the train and will be open all day, and will offer CURRY in the evening, so if you were thinking of going along, then this should clinch it. GET ON THE PHONE to Steve and book your ticket now !
Also making the news during this last week, AC Railbus W79978 has been on the move from the Swindon & Cricklade Railway to the former Cirencester Station, to take part in the Cirencester History Festival. The Railbus used to work the branch that joined the Swindon to Gloucester line at Kemble from 1959 until the line was closed to passengers in 1964 (and closed completely in 1965).
AC Cars Ltd Railbus W79978 took a short break from the Swindon & Cricklade Railway to take part in the Cirencester History Festival over the weekend of 25/26th October 2025. Pictured en route on Friday 24th by Ken Mumford © CC BY-NC 4.0
Here’s an account of a busy weekend, from DEPG member and Railbus owner Martin Rouse:
“We had a really enjoyable weekend, albeit very tiring, I think we squeezed a months’ worth of hours into four days! The event was the Cirencester History Festival. We were invited to take the Railbus along, to display at the Cirencester town station, a place it last visited in April 1964! The station building is now in the middle of a council-owned car park which presented a range of logistical and bureaucratic challenges involving temporary closure of the car park and copious amounts of risk assessments, method statements etc. We only got the official go-ahead two days before transport day! Fortunately, we had everything in place ready to go.
The last couple of months have been quite busy getting the Railbus back together in time for the event. Transport was carried out very professionally by Pete Briddon and Jason Boyd. Friday 24th saw us load up the Railbus in the usual manner involving constructing a temporary ramp to move it onto the trailer. At Cirencester, a lot more work was required as we had to construct a temporary track panel to unload onto, all of this in torrential rain! On the Saturday and Sunday of the event, we had lots and lots of visitors.
The station is grade 2 listed, designed by Brunel, and this was the first opportunity the public have had to see inside it for several decades. Up until earlier this year it was owned by Cirencester Council and had not been occupied since about 1997 due to the condition of the structure.
They finally realised that they could not maintain it and had no use for it, so it was put up for sale. Local architect Jonathan Rixon has purchased it and plans to use it for his office base; he is very enthusiastic about its history and plans to keep it as original as possible.
Monday came around all too quickly and all the hard work of loading, track dismantling and unloading at Blunsdon had to be repeated.
Due to the amount of interest we had in Railbus W79978 last weekend, we will be running it at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway this Sunday, 2nd November.”
AC Cars Ltd Railbus W79978 took part in the Cirencester History Festival over the weekend of 25/26th October 2025. Pictured on Friday 24th October 2025 – alongside what was the station platform but is now an island in a car park – by Ken Mumford © CC BY-NC 4.0
In 1962, the Railbus provided fourteen services each way per day and was very well patronised, but the powers-that-be determined that the line was uneconomical, so it was closed down. Photo by Lamberhurst via Wikipedia © CC BY-NC 4.0
Many thanks to Martin for providing us with this information. We wish him well with the ongoing restoration of this very interesting machine. Click here for info on W79978.
This coming weekend brings the curtain down on the WSR’s 2025 public timetable season, with an all-steam service on Saturday 1st but with diesel participation on Sunday 2nd in the form of the WSR’s Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU). Looking back on the 2025 season, it has been hard work and eventful, so a big WELL DONE goes out to all who have been involved in delivering the regular timetables and special events of 2025 !
Pictured departing from Stogumber on the climb to Crowcombe Heathfield, the WSR’s Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) was in use supporting the steam services during half-term week. Pictured on Thursday 30th October 2025 by Steve Lewis © CC BY-NC 4.0
Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page in case the motive power allocations change (we will TRY and keep this page aligned with the latest information).
Click here to go to the WSR’s Timetable page then click on the day of interest then click VIEW TIMETABLE.
Sign up to our DIESELGEN bulletin service for advance notification of unplanned services.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2026 will be posted ASAP. Dates posted via previous roundups are subject to confirmation by the WSR (apologies for ‘jumping the gun’).
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’– the use of Colin Foxhall’s winching method was proven to be a success, and a team effort that also involved Reece, Tim and Gordon resulted in all of the 2-inch BSW nuts being released by the end of the day on Tuesday 28th October. This will now allow the secondary springs (8 coil springs and 2 massive leaf springs) to be lifted off the ‘A’ bogie during this coming weekend, weather permitting. The work on cleaning up and inspecting the removed parts continues in parallel with the re-start of the repair work on the remaining cooler group. As soon as the cooler group is repaired, it will go outside so that the bogie can move inside the shed.
D1010 – the 2″ BSW nuts put up a fight, but patience and the appliance of science won the day. Colin F was pictured with his 70mm spanner and one of the troublesome nuts at Williton on Saturday 25th October 2025. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
D1010 – the ‘A’ cooler group has been turned over one more time to allow access to the one remaining area that requires repair. It will soon be completed and moved outdoors, where it will be sheeted over until needed. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 28th October 2025 by Tony Austin © CC BY-NC 4.0
The cost of overhauling the bogies is significant because there are many large and heavy parts that are expensive to refurbish or replace. The funding that we already have in place for D1010 is sufficient to carry us through for the time being, but we will be needing to top up to get the loco completed in time for the 2027 running season.
Before asking for more funding, we will be writing up a report on how much has been raised, how much has been spent and on what, and provide the estimates to get the job done. We expect to remain within the £100,000 that was originally set as a target.
Several sponsors have been reminding us that we still haven’t completed the marking of a number of patches, and some certificates have yet to be sent out. Apologies for this, but we will be straightening this out over the coming weeks and getting up to date with the administration of this very successful fundraising scheme.
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – outstationed at Bishops Lydeard in support of WSR operations. This loco will move to Williton at the end of the operating season so that the most urgent of the bodywork repairs that were started last winter can be continued. Class 14 D9526 will be moving to Bishops Lydeard to cover for the ’09’.
Class 08 08401 (D3516) – this recently-acquired loco was inspected while in the North Yard at Williton and passed as fit to be towed to the DEPG’s South Yard so that further inspection work could take place. The first impressions are that the loco is in very good condition mechanically, which is to be expected considering that she was in use for spot hire until a fault developed in her main generator (subsequently reconditioned) that resulted in her withdrawal from service (see the TIMELINE page for this loco by clicking here).
08401 (D3516) – this loco has been moved onto No 1 road at Williton and is now stabled between Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) on the left and Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 on the right. Pictured while undergoing inspection on Saturday 25th October 2025 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
08401 (D3516) – DEPG volunteer and trainee secondman Ashley was lying down on the job at Williton on Saturday 25th October 2025. The next photo shows why. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
08401 (D3516) – volunteer and trainee secondman Ashley was receiving training from DEPG Chairman Martin as to how to use the tyre gauge at Williton on Saturday 25th October 2025. The measurements confirmed that the tyres are very good indeed. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is stabled at Williton so that her planned maintenance work can be continued while outdoors. When the shed is available, she will move indoors so that her leaking engine room roof can be removed and repaired.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco has also returned to Williton for planned maintenance work and an oil change that will take place during the next few weeks. The loco will then move to Bishops Lydeard where she will remain ‘on duty’ throughout the winter.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – some excellent news – the Transmission Team conducted some health checks on the transmission of this loco and we were pleasantly surprised by the findings. The transmission is in fine condition (as assessed via the inspection ports) and the filters were clean, which is remarkable, given the high hours on this machine. We can now focus on other tasks that will make the loco easier to manage with the view of using this loco more frequently in the years to come.
D7017 – the filter from the secondary (interlock) oil system of the Mekydro transmission was examined at Williton on Tuesday 28th October 2025 and was found to be nice and clean. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – already covered.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – work on the electrical system re-wire has resumed and further progress has also been made on the rebuild of the Paxman ‘Ventura’ 6YJXL engine that last served in sister loco D9526. More photos will be provided ASAP.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is now indoors on No. 2 road at Williton and is undergoing an underframe cleanup and repaint. This loco will move to Bishops Lydeard in November to cover for Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019).
D9526 – this loco is undergoing an underframe re-paint inside the loco shed on No 2 road at Williton, pending a move to Bishops Lydeard sometime in November. On Saturday 25th October 2025, Colin G was busy making sure that the loco was fully prepared for spray painting. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
D9526 – this side rods were wrapped in masking paper and tape to ensure that they do not get contaminated by the over-spray. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 25th October 2025 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco continues to be in regular use on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and was recently the subject of a social media post by the West Somerset Railway – click this link to go the WSR Facebook page.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco is stabled outdoors on Number 3 road at Williton and was used to move Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) from the North Yard to the South Yard on Saturday 25th October.
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 !
NEW CLOTHING RANGE:
Our supplier encountered some production holdups last week so APOLOGIES again if your order has been delayed (please let us know if you are still waiting in case we have slipped up). Deliveries have now resumed and the backlog is being dealt with. Don’t let this stop you from placing your NEW order via our ONLINE STORE, just click this link to give it a go !
So far, we have launched the 50 YEARS of HYMEKS range and a configurable HYMEK and WESTERN range, and we now have the new design for the Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ featuring two locos side by side, one in green livery and the other in blue (both in blue is also an option).
New design for the DEPG Class 33 ‘Cromptons’. Click here to place your order !
We hope to have a new design for the Class 14 ‘Teddy Bears’ soon, probably becoming available in November. Here’s a review of what is on offer and available to order NOW via our website:
The range of colours has now been expanded and the range of sizes now includes LADIES SIZES. Please let us know via our CONTACT FORM if the colour and size combination that you want is not showing as an option online.
The new designs are available in the following garment types, some of which have not yet been added to our website, so again please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know what you want. Here are the prices:
| Garment type | Price |
| T shirt | £22 |
| Polo shirt | £25 |
| Sweatshirt | £35 |
| Hoodie | £37 |
| Fleece | £40 |
| Other ? Tell us what you want ! | Use our CONTACT FORM |
Although the prices of the new range are higher than before, the prices are competitive and are in line with the quality of the garments. These are really nice pieces of work and the ability to personalise your choice is another definite advantage.
We look forward to receiving your order, the profits from which will directly support the DEPG !
ON SHED – this week, we feature our newly-acquired Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) in 1988, surrounded by Classes 08 and 37 locos, thought to be at Immingham. This photo is much appreciated as we are appealing for any photos of this loco in service anywhere around the Country. This will allow us to build a gallery of photos that can be made available online. If you have any photos in your collection, either as D3516 or 08401 then please get in touch using our CONTACT form.
In the first instance, we are trying to establish the date and place of conversion from vacuum braking to air braking, so photos from the late 1970s will be particularly helpful. Refer to our loco TIMELINE page for clues as to the missing information.
Here’s a photo dated 1988 that has been kindly provided to us by Rail Image Collections:
Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) was pictured ‘on shed’ in 1988, probably at Immingham. This image has been kindly provided by Rail Image Collections. Photo by Paul Rothley © CC BY-NC 4.0
Please continue to send in your photos of locos on shed, at the platform or in action, because we appreciate them all, any Class, any place, any time, the more varied, the better. Use our CONTACT FORM to get in touch. Thanks !
NEW BOOKS ON SALE
Not one but THREE new books to announce this week, with varied themes but all of great interest. More details will be provided next week, but each of these books is available to order, the Class 33 booklet being in stock already, the other two are due in to our stock in mid-November (orders can be placed now):
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Part 1 of a 3-part series by Bernard Mills, this new book is sure to be a big success ! Click here to place your order (for shipment in mid-November).
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Volume 2 of a 3-volume series by Michael Rhodes, this new book is going to be of great interest to many readers. Click here to place your order (for shipment in mid-November).
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An A5 wirebound booklet that will be essential reading for operators and crew of the popular Class 33 ‘Cromptons’, this book will also be of value to those with a broader technical interest. Click here to order your copy. |
There are many other new and pre-owned book titles on our online store – click here for details.
The DEPG 2026 A3 CALENDAR is available for sale and the recent uptick in shipments has prompted us to include it in the roundup ! Click here or on the following image to see a mini-presentation that steps through each page and gives the flavour of the contents. MANY THANKS to all of the photographers who donated their work for the benefit of the DEPG !
DEPG NEWS: our team of volunteers continue to share their time between working on locos and working on facilities that are needed to work on locos. The restoration of the ‘Niftylift’ ‘cherry picker’ is an example of this, because once restored and passed as safe to use, this handy machine will be used for all kinds of purposes, from washing locos through to clearing gutters and maintaining cranes. Very handy indeed.
DEPG volunteer Jon T was at work restoring the Niftylift ‘Cherry Picker’ at Williton on Saturday 25th October 2025. It won’t be long before it is ready for the insurance inspection, then training can begin. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
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 !