Weekly Roundup – 30-Jan-26
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 was pictured with S&DJR ‘7F’ 2-8-0 53808 and Bagnall 0-6-0ST 2996 ‘VICTOR’ at Minehead on 28th March 1976, the day that the West Somerset Railway re-opened the line for public services between Minehead and Blue Anchor. Photo by Baz Juniper via wsr.org.uk © CC BY-NC 4.0
The WSR have announced the dates for their main events of the 2026 season, starting with the 50th anniversary of the re-opening of the Minehead branch as a privately-run railway. The first public services under the auspices of the WSR ran on Saturday 28th March 1976 from Minehead to Blue Anchor, extending to Williton in the summer and then to Stogumber, finally reaching Bishops Lydeard in 1977.
To commemorate the 1976 re-opening, long-term WSR resident Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 will be in use on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March 2026 and will be working alongside home fleet steam locos to both kick-off the 2026 season and to commemorate the hard work and dedication of all those who made the re-opening possible, 50 years ago. Click here or on the image below for more details of this anniversary weekend.
As covered in the roundup last week, five of our diesels celebrate their 65th anniversaries this year, so the WSR have arranged a DIESELS AT 65 event that will take place on the three days of the August Bank Holiday weekend, where an enhanced timetable will provide interesting haulage opportunities featuring Classes 09, 33 and 35. The details are being worked out now, but meanwhile, KEEP THIS DATE FREE in your diaries and make a plan to attend to enjoy a great weekend of 65-year-old ‘modern traction’ !
Here’s the Facebook posting that was published by the WSR earlier this week:
The DIESELS at 65 event adds to the KEY DATES FOR 2026, some of which covered in the graphic below. The WSR’s EVENTS and EXPERIENCES web page gives details on some of these events, and will be expanding soon to include the recently-announced events. Click here or on the graphic below to go to the WSR Calendar Page for details and dates.
Our popular DIESEL RUNNING DATES page is in the process of being updated to cover the planned diesel-hauled services for 2026, but it will take a little longer to define the loco allocations. Meanwhile, the basic framework will be provided and the loco allocations will be added as soon as the information has been confirmed by the WSR.
08401 (D3516) Dual Braking Conversion Project
Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) was temporarily hooked up to her destined vacuum exhauster and produced a vacuum for the first time since being converted to air braking at Swindon Works, back in 1978. Pictured at Williton on 14th December 2025 by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 4.0
As covered in previous roundups, the DEPG have launched an appeal for donations toward the estimated £5,200 cost of converting recently-acquired Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) from air brake to dual brake by the restoration of the vacuum brake equipment that was originally fitted to the loco when built at Derby in 1958.
In addition to funds being raised via the popular fundraising site Gofundme, donations have also been received via our online store, via our membership app ‘Membermojo’ and directly into the DEPG bank account. The balances of these four fundraising channels have been totalled up and are as follows:
| Donations via | Donation amount | Gift Aid |
| Gofundme | £1,160 | £135 |
| DEPG online store | £110 | £27 |
| Membermojo | £250 | £62 |
| Direct to bank | £482 | £121 |
| TOTALS | £2,002 | £345 |
| COMBINED TOTAL |
£2,347 |
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Donations to the 08401 Dual Braking Conversion Project, as at 27th January 2026
THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who have donated to this cause !
This is EXCELLENT NEWS for 08401 and will help us get the work done in the shortest possible time and help to get this loco into service on the WSR. This loco has never been used for passenger haulage, so 2026 could be a big year for 08401 !
As stated previously, we have a ‘mystery benefactor’ waiting in the wings with a pledge for match-funding that will double the value of all donations towards this cause. As a charity, the DEPG is also able to claim Gift Aid that will add another 25% to the value of donations, where the donor is a taxpayer and agrees to allow the DEPG to claim Gift Aid. It all adds up, so please help if you can and click here or on the image below or further below, thank you very much !
For those who prefer to donate directly, rather than via Gofundme, we have set up several donation ‘products’ on our online store. Click here or on the image below to go to the 08401 donations page:
If you prefer to use online banking, the DEPG bank details are as follows (note – please email contact@depg.org after making Gift Aid donations via online banking, so that we can properly identify your donations):
Sort Code: 09-01-54 Account Number: 79983488
Account name: THE DIESEL AND ELECTRIC PRESERVATION GROUP LIMITED
Click here to visit the 08401 (D3516) dual-braking project page
As the DEPG is a registered charity, any donations made to a defined cause are applied only to that cause, so your donation will make a difference to the project of your choice. Thank you very much !
LOCO NEWS: – Apologies for the lack of photos this week, due to the combined effects of weather-related distractions and a general lack of time !
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’– the frame of the ‘B’ bogie continues to be the focus of attention, as the tedious and time-consuming task of removing all dirt, paint and rust continues in preparation for the Non-Destructive Testing process. The work is actually getting harder to do because the easy-to-access areas have already been prepared, leaving just the awkward corners and the underside of the bogie to be tackled. Luckily, we have Ian F on the case, and he has the patience of a saint !
Apologies for the lack of photos this week, we hope to be doing more testing tomorrow and that will be a bit more photogenic than the work that was taking place last weekend.
Class 08 08401 (D3516) – this loco was in use on Friday 30th January to carry out a shunt at the WSR’s ‘Swindon Shed‘ in the North Yard at Williton. The shed is so called because it used to be at Swindon Works and is an early example of a steel-framed all-metal industrial building, therefore it was well worth saving and is now Grade 2 listed (click here to see the listing on the Historic England website).
08401 (D3516) – Gofundme appeal poster – by Linda Trott
Meanwhile, Ian R and his team continue to gather up and prepare the many parts that are needed to perform the dual-braking conversion.
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco is getting priority attention so that she can be returned to duty at Bishops Lydeard in time for the start of the 2026 running season (late March). The cab floor needs some further work to replace the rotted plywood layer but the more invasive task of repairing the cab roof will need to wait until 08401 (D3516) is dual-braked and able to take over from the ’09’ so that this loco can then be taken out of service for a complete cab and roof overhaul. Meanwhile, Ian R and his team are working their way through the list of maintenance tasks and making good progress.
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is outdoors on No 1 road and is next in line to enter the loco shed so that her leaking engine room roof can be removed and repaired. While in the shed, several other maintenance tasks will be carried out, including the removal and replacement of one of her two vacuum exhausters.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is based at Bishops Lydeard where she will remain ‘on duty’ and available for use if required.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is stabled outdoors on number 1 road at Williton and is receiving some light maintenance and undergoing internal cleaning. The loco will undergo Ultrasonic Axle Testing at a date to be arranged, in preparation for some visits to ‘other railways’ (to be announced as soon as contracts have been finalised).
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco is currently under cover at Swithland on the Great Central Railway and will remain there until called into action at the end of February. The GCR will be using the loco for some charter services and also for their SPRING WEEKEND (although this is not yet showing on the GCR website), in addition to their DIESEL GALA in April. Please do try and go along to one or more of these events to show your support for D7018 and help ensure that her visit is a big success !
Here are the running dates for D7018 on the GCR:
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – more progress is being made on this loco due to the combined efforts of the Tuesday and Saturday teams. The engine is now ready for coolant pressure testing, which is an important stage that will either clear the way for the completion work to take place or cause a rework that is best addressed now, while the engine is easy to access. In parallel, work continues on the many panels. covers, conduits and fittings that are needed to close up the ‘B’ end (the ‘short’ end) of the loco.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is currently based at Bishops Lydeard where she will remain until relieved by Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019).
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is based at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but has been ‘stopped’ because of an issue with her ‘triple pump’ – which is an electrical machine that is a combined water pump, oil pump and fuel pump, all driven from one big DC electric motor. The spare has been taken from stock at Williton and sent to a specialist subcontractor for reconditioning before sending it to the NYMR for installation into 47077. This work is planned for completion by the end of February.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco was moved from Number 4 road to Number 1 road at Williton last Saturday so that her batteries could be re-charged. However, after start-up, the loco refused to run smoothly and is thought to need some attention to her fuel filters. Attention will be given when the resources are available and the weather permits. Meanwhile, Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) is available for shunting duties.
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 Saturdays and Tuesdays 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:
Feeling the cold ? Go ahead and order a fleece jacket or sweatshirt via our ONLINE STORE, just click on this link or on the images below to give it a go !
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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, or both in blue. Please let us know if you would like to order a combination that is not obvious on our online store – we are adding more options on a weekly basis. We intend to offer a Class 14 design in the coming weeks.
The range of colours has 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 |
These garments 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 – not a shed but a Stabling Point, but close enough to count for this feature, especially given the high level subjects – namely three Class 55 ‘DELTICS’ in view, two of which have been identified, the third not so. Also in camera is Class 31 5645, later to become 31220 and then converted to provide Electric Train Heating (ETH) as 31441, then renumbered again in 1990 to 31541 (perhaps a ’31’ aficionado could explain why).
Happily, at least one of the machines in this photo has been preserved, perhaps more than one, we might never get to find out – unless you recognise the place and happened to be there on or around the same time ….
Please email contact@depg.org or use our CONTACT FORM if you can identify the third ‘Deltic’.
Many thanks to Mark Bladwell for sharing this image with us all.
BR-blues at Kings Cross Stabling Point on a dull Saturday, 15th September 1973. Class 31 5645 (31220, 31441, 31541) waits on the left while Class 55 ‘Deltic’ 9019 (55019) ‘ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER’ (now preserved) passes alongside. Two more ‘Deltics’ are visible on the right, the nearest being 9011 (55011) ‘THE ROYAL NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS’, the other not identifiable. Were you there on that Saturday ? Can you identify the third ’55’ ? Photo by Mark Bladwell © 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
There have been TWO NEW RELEASES from Bernard Mills and Platform 5 this week, with Parts 2 and 3 of the ‘PADDINGTON TO PENZANCE during the Diesel Era‘ going on sale together – which is a little strange, but we have checked and verified that it is correct !
We will receive our stock order during the coming week and we will be shipping these two titles from next Saturday onward, so PLACE YOUR ORDERS via our online store NOW ! Click here or on the images below to go to the relevant pages on our online store. WELL DONE BERNARD, we look forward to reading and enjoying these two new books !
There are many other new and pre-owned book titles on our online store – click here for details.
DEPG NEWS: the next DEPG Newsletter is in the works and will be released to the printers by Editor Mark Bladwell next week, with mailing and emailing taking place the week after. JOIN THE DEPG to make sure that you get your copy !
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 !