The WSR‘s Class 03 D2133 has been kept busy on traincrew refresher workings over the last few weekends and will be in use again this weekend between Minehead and Dunster. Pictured at Dunster on 13th February 2026 by Robin Fisher © CC BY-NC 4.0
The training season is upon us, with each and every member of WSR traincrew undergoing refresher training at Minehead, including the use of Class 03 D2133 to demonstrate the safe use of the turntable and also running to Dunster Yard to demonstrate the ‘locking-in’ procedure. Then, this coming Sunday 22nd February will see the first of two large-scale pre-season briefings where the WSR management will announce the plans for the forthcoming season to the assembled staff and volunteers, and outline any changes in the rules and procedures. The second session will take place on Saturday March 14th and in between, the WSR will be busy delivering role-specific courses and Personal Track Safety (PTS) courses, so taken altogether, this is quite an investment and is intended to ensure that the 2026 running season will be both safe and successful. MANY THANKS to all who are giving up their time to help deliver the 2026 running season !
FORTY-NINE YEARS AGO TODAY …
As stated in the roundup last week, D1010‘s final successful railtour working was the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM REFLIEF‘ that ran on 13th February 1977 which she worked throughout, to the delight of the 10 coach loads of happy passengers. However, her run on the ‘REQUIEM‘ itself had to be cut short due to coolant loss and subsequent shutdown of one engine that resulted in much of the outbound leg from Paddington to Cardiff via Gloucester being handled by the one remaining engine. Help was at hand, firstly from English Electric Class 37 37179 (D6879) – which was steam heat capable, thankfully, on that cold day, but the embarassment was only temporary because D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ was on her way to rescue the spirits of the travellers, and they eventually made it to the highest point on the truncated remains of the South Wales Valley lines, arriving at Merthyr Tydfil at 16:50 behind a pair of Maybachs, exactly one hour behind schedule.
In my write-up last week, I mistakenly wrote that Treherbert was at 1000 feet (302m) above sea level and that error prompted a polite correction and yielded some very interesting information from well-known railwayman, photographer and author BERNARD MILLS who wrote as follows:
“You raised an interesting point in the weekly roundup yesterday, the highest point a Western reached in BR service. Well you can discount the South Devon Banks, the highest point on the line between Exeter and Plymouth is just to the north of Wrangaton at 450 feet (137m) above sea level.
Treherbert the town and thus the station is 614 feet (187m) above sea level. Well, who will ever forget D1010 running around its train in the loop just to the north of the station with Pen Pych also known as Table Mountain 1465 feet (452m) in height behind.
Merthyr Tydfil is 1030 feet (314m) above sea level so where we also see D1023 the following week in the station as far as I can ascertain and unless anyone else knows better, this would be the highest point above sea level reached by a Class 52 ‘Western’ in BR service.
No argument about the highest point reached by a ‘Western’, my picture of D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’ on 1Z52 0703 Bristol TM-Inverness ‘Western Chieftain’ on 19 June 2009 at Druimuachdar Summit, 1484 feet (452m) above sea level, the highest point on the National network.
The lowest point a ‘Western’ would have been in BR service is also the lowest point on the National network, and that is the very bottom of the Severn Tunnel. Interesting points for discussion.”
MANY THANKS to BERNARD MILLS for providing us with this additional information and for sharing his photos and memories with us all.
D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ was pictured at Black Lion, on the climb to Merthyr Tydfil at the head of the valley of the River Taff in South Wales, while hauling the RPPR “WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF” railtour on Sunday 13th of February 1977. Photo by Bernard Mills © CC BY-NC 4.0
The following week, D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ was pictured at Merthyr Tydfil station while running around her railtour stock on Sunday 20th February 1977. This loco, and D1010 the week before, achieved the highest altitude of any of the Class while in BR service – at 1030 feet (314m) above mean sea level. Photo by Bernard Mills © CC BY-NC 4.0
The magnificent D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’ was pictured at Druimuachdar summit, 1484 feet (452m) above mean sea level and the highest point on the National network, while working the ‘WESTERN CHIEFTAIN’ 1Z52 0703 Bristol Temple Meads to Inverness railtour on 19th June 2009. Photo by Bernard Mills © CC BY-NC 4.0
Now back to 2026, and another reminder that Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is going to feature in a special program of running on the weekend of 28/29 March to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the re-opening of the Minehead branch. After closure of the branch by BR in January 1971, the first public services under the auspices of the WSR ran on Saturday 28th March 1976, initially from Minehead to Blue Anchor, then extending to Williton in the summer and then to Stogumber, finally reaching Bishops Lydeard in 1977.
Click here to go to wsr.org.uk to browse the photos from that first year.
Apologies if you are tired of reading the following announcements, but some readers only browse occasionally and might not yet be aware of these important events:
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 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 previous roundups, 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 THESE DATES 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 recently:
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.
SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL
The WSR have announced another visitor from the Wensleydale Railway in the form of Class 47 47714 (D1955, 47511), wearing the striking ‘Rail Express Systems (RES)‘ livery. This loco was built by Brush Traction at Loughborough and was one of later deliveries, entering service as D1955 in November 1966 and allocated to the ‘Western Lines’ pool of the London Midland Region (LMR). The loco became 47511 after conversion to Electric Train Heating (ETH) in March 1974 and was selected for conversion to push-pull operation, becoming 47714 in March 1985. While our own Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ is away at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, it will be great to have a ‘47‘ back at work on the WSR and this loco will no doubt be very popular.
Previously-announced Class 37 37250 (D6950) is another crowd-pleaser and will definitely help swell the crowds and make the event even more enjoyable than usual.
DEPG locos of classes 08, 09, 14, 33 and 35 will also be in use and Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ will be open to visitors at Williton Yard, along with Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 and Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1).
The DEPG depot at Williton will be open to the public and will be offering hot drinks and snacks from the ever-popular ‘Irie 7’ team, together with a seated viewing area, Rod’s Model Railways sales stand and the DEPG merchandise stand, plus cab visits to locos on shed and depot tours. NOT TO BE MISSED !
Click here or on the image below to go to the WSR’s event page:
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 is there and the loco allocations will be added as soon as the information has been confirmed by the WSR. There is a lot of diesel running planned for the WSR this year. Click here or on the image below to take a look:
08401 (D3516) Dual Braking Conversion Project – UPDATE
Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) was pictured in Williton South Yard on a wet and dreary ‘Valentine’s Day’ Saturday 14th February 2026, where she is undergoing preparation for conversion from air-brake-only to dual-brake (air and vacuum). This will make this loco much more useful on the West Somerset Railway. Photo by Martin Howard © 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 Works 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 | £1,550 | £233 |
| DEPG online store | £290 | £60 |
| Membermojo | £250 | £62 |
| Direct to bank | £732 | £183 |
| TOTALS | £2,822 | £538 |
| COMBINED TOTAL |
£3,360 |
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Donations to the 08401 Dual Braking Conversion Project, as at 20th February 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, but we need to CLOSE THIS APPEAL at the end of this month, so donate NOW if you can to help double the effective value of your donation.
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:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – more Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) work took place on the ‘B’ bogie frames last weekend, with no adverse findings – which was quite a relief after discovering a minor (but previously repaired) crack in the frame during one of the previous test sessions. There is lot more of the bogie to be tested, but we are now making regular steps forward and the painters are following along. As soon as we move from the leading end to the trailing end of the bogie, Gordon and his team will start work re-fitting the brake rigging at the leading end, all of which is being made ready on pallets nearby.
Last week, we mentioned the need to overhaul some of the original bogie cardan shafts from BR days. These are deemed ‘obsolete’ because they use flanges, universal joints, splines and tubes of sizes that are not considered as ‘standard’ these days, and this makes their overhaul a bit of a specialist task.
It is great to hear that our friends at the Western Locomotive Association (WLA) have taken a different approach and ordered a full set of six brand new shafts for their loco fleet at a cost of £28,000 using parts that a supplier has in stock, and this is really good news. Such a bold move is not an option that is open to us because of the availability of funds, but the life extension of our BR-era parts will be perfectly adequate for the annual mileages that we expect D1010 to cover for many years to come.
D1010 – one of the overhauled cardan shafts from the ‘B’ bogie remains wrapped and protected and ready to go into storage, to await the completion of the work that is currently taking place on the bogie. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 14th February 2026 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
D1010 – one of a batch of brand new torque reaction damper rubbers that was purchased as a joint order between the DTG, the WLA and the DEPG to keep costs down for all three groups. Two of these rubbers are associated with the torque reaction control of each axle, so there are 12 per loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 14th February 2026 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 08 08401 (D3516) – this loco is stabled in the South Yard at Williton and is available for use (in air brake mode) for any shunting duties that might be required. Meanwhile, design work is taking place to draw up the new pipework that is needed to reinstate the vacuum brake system, and the additional electrical control equipment is being assembled and made ready for installation. Various missing parts are being gathered, such as the screw coupling as shown in the photo below:
08401 (D3516) – a screw coupling has been obtained from another group and will be installed on our ’08’ in the very near future. Representative photo from Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco is close to being ready to return to duty at Bishops Lydeard, just in time for the start of the 2026 running season (late March). The cab floor is undergoing repair this weekend (thank you JT) and Ian R and his team are working on the last few items on the winter maintenance task list, and are 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 fully serviceable and is ready for a pre-season test run when the line re-opens, so that she can stretch her legs and we can make sure that all systems are ‘go’. This loco will be in passenger service for the WSR’s 50th ANNIVERSARY weekend on 28/29 March.
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:
| Day and Date | Event | Notes |
| Saturday 28th February | Spring Weekend | Contact the GCR for more info |
| Sunday 1st March | Spring Weekend | Contact the GCR for more info |
| 15 April | Photo Charter – tank train | Contact the GCR for more info |
| 23-26 April | Spring Diesel Gala | Contact the GCR for more info |
| 29th April | D7018 Driver Experience | Contact the GCR for more info |
We have also been made aware that an ADDITIONAL DATE has been announced for DRIVER EXPERIENCE opportunities on the GCR – click here or on the image below to go to the GCR website. The initial batch of places were sold very quickly, but if you are interested, get in touch right away to grab this new opportunity.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the two teams (Saturday and Tuesday) now have additional volunteers on each team, with John joining the Tuesday team and Dave and Laura joining the Saturday team (all have a mainline railiway background, as it happens). We welcome all new volunteers with open arms, so come on down and join us if you can. Please use our CONTACT FORM if you would like to get in touch.
So, resources are building up, and more progress will be reported soon !
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 taking place now and involves the complete rewinding of the armature, so it is likely to cost around £4,000 in total. The loco will then need to go out for tyre turning, which will be a convoy move over the main line from Grosmont with other NYMR diesels, when the line re-opens.
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. Delivery is currently around ONE WEEK from receipt of order, so place you order now to take advantage of this short lead time.
We look forward to receiving your order, the profits from which will directly support the DEPG !
ON SHED – a new week and a new location – this time, DERBY WORKS where MARK BLADWELL found two BRCW Class 27s undergoing overhaul, which seemed curious as such overhauls were generally carried out at Glasgow Works – until a very cold spell in early 1982 resulted in frost damage to more locos than Glasgow could deal with at once, so some went south to Derby instead – and ended up staying south for quite some time, evidently !
The two subject locos were both receiving classified intermediate repairs when Mark visited during the Open Day in September that year. The plastic sheets covering the bodyside grilles suggests that some asbestos removal was also taking place. The older of the two, 27014 (D5360), was to remain in the works for a full year, but the younger, 27041 (D5405) managed to escape sooner and get back to work, at least for a few more years. The two met again at Vic Berry’s famous scrapyard in September 1987.
Many thanks to Mark for sharing his memories and photos with us all.
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
In addition to the two recent releases from Bernard Mills, namely Parts 2 and 3 of the ‘PADDINGTON TO PENZANCE during the Diesel Era‘ trilogy, we are also offering two new books that will be of particular interest to like-minded members and supporters as they both feature diesel-hydraulic locos and are therefore guaranteed to have a good market, such is the strength of the following for the types.
Above: A very interesting new book about the early days of the diesel hydraulic preservation movement. Well worth a read and reasonably priced at £15.99 – click here or on the image above to go to our online store page.
Above: a very interesting collection of photos from the early days of the diesel hydraulics, at work in this fascinating region. Also well worth a read and also reasonably priced at £16.95 – click here or on the image above to go to our online store page.
All four books are in stock 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.
There are many other new and pre-owned book titles on our online store – click here for details.
DEPG NEWS: the latest edition of the DEPG Newsletter was mailed and emailed to DEPG members last weekend (hard or soft copy depends on the preferences that you have set in your membership account). WELL DONE to editor Mark Bladwell for getting the Newsletter completed on time once again! If you are a DEPG member and have not yet received your copy (one way or another), please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know. Thanks !
The DEPG newsletter is free for DEPG members – join us to get your copy, either by email or post, depending on your preference.
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 !