Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was pictured in the bay platform at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024 in the company of Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019). The locos were outdoors while repairs were being carried out on the roof of Westridge Shelter. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
The WSR is preparing for the re-start of public services on Saturday 23rd March with two steam locos in use on the BLUE timetable (4 services each way). In a change to the expected rostering, the 12:30 service from Bishops Lydeard on Sunday 24th will now be hauled by Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) standing in for a steam loco, and the diesel will remain on the diagram for the rest of the day, finishing at Minehead.
Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019) has encountered some trouble with a jammed or failed droplight window scissors mechanism that has allowed the window to fall and smash the toughened glass into thousands of pieces. The repair involves some disassembly and we will be able to do a more thorough job with the loco back at Williton, so Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 is going to stay at Bishops Lydeard a while longer than planned to cover for the ’09’ while repairs are being carried out. We hope to swap the locos back to their usual roles by mid-April.
Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019) and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was pictured in the bay platform at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024. The ’09’ has a broken window, cause by jamming or failure of the scissors mechanism that supports the ‘droplight’ glass – which dropped and destroyed itself. The loco will undergo repairs at Williton during the next few weeks. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
IMPORTANT DATES:
The first major event of the year will be the SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR which will take place throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, 3rd through 6th May, during which our loco shed will be open to the public, with Rod’s Model Railway sales stand alongside our own DEPG sales stand. Click here or on the image below for more information via the WSR’s website.
WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE
The WSR’s Diesel Gala will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June with mixed traction running on Sunday 9th, hopefully with at least one of the visiting locomotives at work.
The first visiting locomotive to be announced was English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class, and the second visitor has now been announced as BR-Derby Class 46 ‘Peak’ D182 (46 045), courtesy of the Peak Locomotive Company and a fine example of another well-loved ‘Type 4’ class. A further announcement will be made as soon as arrangements have been finalised. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !
Our popular ‘DIESEL RUNNING DATES‘ page has been updated to cover the WSR public services that are planned for diesel haulage this year, so CLICK HERE or on the image below to visit the page and see the range of dates available. We will be providing the loco allocations soon and will keep this page up to date as we get clarification on the details.
AC RAILBUS W79978 UPDATE:
DEPG member Martin Rouse has provided an update on the restoration of his AC RAILBUS number W79978 at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway as he prepares the loco for its appearance at the special event being held at the S&CR over the weekend of 6th and 7th April. The photo below shows the new steel (painted in red primer) and the extent of the disassembly that had to be done to access the frames and perform the welding safely. Martin just has to get the windows in, the skin panels on and painted, the seats and interior panels refitted and the floor refitted, and then do all of the checks and inspections that are necessary to get clearance to run, so he is going to be very busy during the next few weeks. We wish him well and hope to hear that the Railbus is the star of the upcoming show.
AC Cars Ltd Railbus W79978 in the restoration shed at Hayes Knoll on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway on Sunday 17th March 2024. Everything in red primer is new steel – what an excellent job ! Photo by Martin Rouse © CC BY-NC 3.0
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the planning work for the lifting of the loco is making very good progress and we are getting closer to being able to define the procedure. The next step will then be to perform a Risk Assessment then feed the results of that back into the procedure, making improvements on a step-by-step basis until we are satisfied that the risks have been identified and mitigated. This takes a little time, but the costs of hiring two 100-ton cranes are in the region of £10,000 so we have to be sure that we have everything prepared so that everything goes to plan. We also need to consider our 62-year-old loco and make sure that we do not do anything that could twist or distort the loco body and cause damage to pipework or wiring. There’s a lot to think about.
Meanwhile, we have plenty of work ahead of us on other aspects, in particular the bogies, and we will need MORE HANDS to help us get the work done. If you want to see this locomotive back on the rails soon, then PLEASE COME ALONG AND HELP US WITH THE WORK ! There is a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.
D1010 – top marks to Viv for his efforts at removing the build-up of solidified brake dust on the bogie frames of of the loco, with access made possible by the absence of the transmission that usually occupies that space. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission has now been completed and the huge assembly is now ready for painting before it goes into temporary storage. Pictured at Williton along with ‘transmission team’ member Geoff on Monday 11th March 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the internal panels and doors all need to be cleaned up and repainted, so Gordon took advantage of a dry dry to take the task outdoors. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Sponsorships for patches on D1010 continue to come in, for which we are VERY grateful indeed. We have many more patches waiting for sponsors, so please support the CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER and click here or on the image further below to get your name engraved into the metal of the locomotive. We will be having another engraving session as soon as the weather allows.
The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have hundreds to be sent out, so we are very busy with this work. Here’s an example of what we are sending out:
Sponsorship includes a photograph and a certificate via email, but we can print the certificates on photo paper and mail them out upon request, in which case we will be asking for an additional £2.50 donation per certificate to cover photo paper, ink and postage (donate via our website or via Membermojo).
The drawings that have been developed in parallel will provide a formal record of the position of each sponsored patch and this will allow sponsors to look up the location of their patch when they visit the depot at Williton. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT – and your PATIENCE !
Click the image below to sponsor a patch:
See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details. We still have a lot of work to do on this massive locomotive, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco has suffered a broken droplight window on the driver’s side, as a result of a failure of the scissors mechanism that supports the window. The loco will be moved to Williton so that the work can be done, and we hope to provide photos of the internal ‘scissors’ mechanism in the next edition of roundup.
D4107 – the message applies to both the window and the loco because good visibility is essential for shunting operations. The repair will be carried out at Williton and is expected to take a few weekends. Pictured at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D4107 – looking down into the recess where the window should be when in the lowered position, all we can see is the remnants of the shattered toughened glass. The cab heating radiator is on the left and the metal surface on the right is the cab side sheet, which carries the original green paint from when the loco was built, back in 1961. Pictured at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco underwent an electrical equipment exam during the weekend, with Ian R and Tom servicing the control cubicle, the generators and the auxiliary machines (exhausters, compressor, blowers and pumps) as part of the planned maintenance regime that keeps the loco in good working order. This loco is currently based at Bishops Lydeard and will next be in use on Sunday 24th March on the 1230 departure to Minehead and the subsequent 60-mile diagram.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the need to attend to maintenance work on sister D6566 took resource away from this loco, but it still received attention from Ian F and Tony and will receive a lot more attention in the coming weekend as we work towards completion of the work and the return to traffic.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco also received planned maintenance attention last weekend, culminating in an engine run to make sure that all systems were functioning correctly. This loco is ready to return to service subject to some loaded test running that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. We are planning to run this loco for three consecutive days during April, hauling empty coaching stock across the length of the WSR to thoroughly exercise all of her systems and allow us to deal with any small issues arising from her lack of use.
D7017 – this loco received attention in the form of an inspection and engine run at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024. Pictured in the South Yard with Barclay 578 (ROF 1) visible on the left, Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) beyond and Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ in the foreground. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the transmission has now been removed from the loco and thorough cleaned externally in preparation for a move into our ‘clean work’ facility at Williton. The repair will be carried out by our ‘Transmission Team’ and will involve removal of the control blocks and the removal of the gear train so that the reverser clutch can be replaced. While out of the loco, the transmission control block will be examined and will be tested to ensure that all of the valves are fully functional.
D7018 – viewed from between the body and the bogies – with the transmission removed, the cardan shafts that drive the bogies need to be supported using wooden blocks to make sure that the universal joints are not being strained. The temporary wood packing will soon be replaced with a custom-made support so that the loco can be shunted in the yard. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Although we hope to be able to use spare parts that we have available, we will still need to replace seals, bearings, gaskets as necessary and we also need to drain the oil and have new oil available. All of these things cost money. PLEASE HELP by making a donation of £10 or by buying our 64-page A4 HYMEK D7018 BOOKLET (£10) which covers the history of this locomotive from build through to her return to service in 2019 following her major overhaul. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
Click here or on the image above to order your copy of our ‘HYMEK D7018’ booklet, available for £10.
Click here or on the donation image above to go to the donations page on our website. If you feel able to donate more than £10, simply increase the quantity when on the donations page. Thank you in advance for your support !
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – further progress was made on the restoration of the many small parts that are needed for the cab assembly, which is a complex mixture of pipes, wires, switches and controls. The cab is being completely rewired and will be built up alongside the loco frames until such time as the cardan shafts are installed, after which the cab will be lifted up on to the loco frames so that the two can be joined together. Details of the work remaining to be done on this restoration project along with a status report of the funding have been included in the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter, which has now been distributed to DEPG members. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.
This loco is the subject of a fundraising appeal so please follow this link to find out more. We need your help ! In addition to funds, we also need plenty of HANDS. If you love the ‘Teddy Bears’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is going to return D9518 to fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is on standby at Bishops Lydeard. The loco has not been used for a while, so she will be checked over by Terry and Colin G and the engine run up on Saturday 23rd March to make sure that everything is functioning correctly.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco has now resumed duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and was pictured while hauling Empty Coaching Stock, including an ELEVEN COACH rake that was reminiscent of the BR days when Type 4 locos regularly hauled ten or more coaches. We look forward to seeing her out and about on scheduled passenger services in the very near future.
47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was in use for Empty Coaching Stock moves on Wednesday 13th March 2024, and was pictured while hauling an ELEVEN COACH rake without even breaking a sweat. Photo by Richard Newman © CC BY-NC 3.0
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled in the yard at Williton, ready for action and in between getting lavished with TLC by volunteer Jon Tooke. His latest improvements have been a new set of ‘Traffolyte’ style placards for the various switches and controls in the cab. Very smart indeed !
Barclay 578 (ROF 1)– this loco has just received new ‘Traffolyte’-style placards for its cab control and switches. The Battery Isolation Switch (BIS) displayed its new markings at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024. Photo 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 – we are featuring a NEW BOOK by well-known railwayman, photographer and author BERNARD MILLS, his latest work being Part 1 of the journey from Waterloo to the Atlantic Coast in the era of the diesel. This 96-page A4 book was due to be released this week but is a little late coming off the printing press. We already have our stock on order and we are TAKING ORDERS at £19.95 per copy, and we will start mailing this book as soon as we receive it from the publishers, Platform 5. Well done Bernard !
We also recommend the NEW HARDBACK BOOK BY ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ comprising a very well-selected set of colour images derived from the vast image repository at TRANSPORT TREASURY. We have received a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book. Here’s an extract:
“In his latest publication, well known railwayman, photographer and enthusiast, Roger Geach takes us on a virtual journey over the former Western Region from Paddington to Penzance with a few diversions, depicting the days when ‘Westerns’, ‘Warships’, ‘Hymeks’ and North British Class 22s ruled supreme in their relatively short heyday in the mid to late 1960s …” CLICK HERE to read further.
This book is a MUST HAVE and very good value at £17.50. In stock now and available from our online store by clicking HERE or by clicking on the image below. By agreement with Roger, all proceeds go to the D1010 Restoration Fund.
In the pre-owned category, we have posted several new titles and they are selling as fast as we are posting them, so PLEASE DONATE YOUR SURPLUS BOOKS so that we can replenish our stocks and keep the funds flowing in. Click HERE for our contact form.
All monies gathered from the sale of pre-owned books go directly to DEPG funds for the upkeep of our locomotive fleet, so we would like to say thank you very much to all who have donated and all who have purchased from our online store. Check our online store regularly and change the ‘default sorting’ to ‘sort by latest’ to keep an eye on new postings.
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Book: Rail Centres – Reading Author : Laurence Waters |
Book: Profile of the Deltics Author: J S Whiteley and G W Morrison |
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Price : £3.50 |
Price : £5.00 |
ON SHED – we previously shared a photo by ROB CRISPIN that was taken at Laira Depot open day in April 1982, and this week we can share two more photos from that same visit, showing the ALMOST complete dominance of diesel-electric traction, being five years after the demise of the ‘Westerns’. Why do we say ‘ALMOST’ ? Click here to reply using our CONTACT FORM or email contact@depg.org
An interesting point is that all of the machines in these photos still exist today !
Two products of the English Electric Company – sparkling clean Class 50 ‘Hoover’ 50021 ‘Rodney’ appears to be the focus of attention at Laira Depot open day on 25th April 1982, while an equally clean Class 37 ‘Growler’ 37142 stands alongside. Experimental Railbus RDB977020 is visible in the background on the left. Photo by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0
The HST was the result of a highly successful collaboration by BR, Brush and Paxman and went on to be welcomed and appreciated across almost all corners of the BR network. In this photo, a HST has been allocated to shuttle duties, ferrying visitors between Plymouth station and the depot for the open day. Pictured at Laira on 25th April 1982 by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0
DEPG NEWS – a Board Meeting took place on Saturday 9th March. A synopsis will be prepared and will be emailed ASAP to all DEPG members for whom we hold a valid email address.
More progress has been made on infrastructure work, including some excellent help from Matt B on the preparation and levelling of the ground to allow further container moves and the creation of a large-assembly storage area. A full-time member of the WSR Infrastructure team, Matt shares his volunteering time between the volunteer Infrastructure Team, the DEPG and the footplate, providing additional benefits to the WSR. Well done Matt !
Williton Infrastructure – One of the WSR’s Road-Rail Vehicles (RRVs) at work in Williton South Yard with DEPG member and volunteer Matt B at the controls, clearing the ground to allow the repositioning of our 20ft storage containers. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
The DEPG is entirely run by volunteers and we need to expand our volunteer numbers if we are going to be able to continue making progress on so many fronts simultaneously. If you have some time and feel able to help, please let us know by clicking this link to use our online CONTACT form. We look forward to hearing from you !
The DEPG depends on the support of all of our members, so please JOIN US and if you are already a member, please make sure that your membership is up to date. If you want to join or are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to open MEMBERMOJO. It is very quick and easy, and does not require you to remember yet another password. Thank you very much !
