› Weekly Roundup – 24-Apr-26

Weekly Roundup – 24-Apr-26

depgstaffWeekly Roundup

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) was in charge of the 12:25 service from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead on Tuesday 21st April 2026 and was pictured departing from Williton with (L-R) Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019) and Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) stabled alongside on No. 1 road and No. 2 road respectively. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Activities are gearing up for the WSR’s SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR which takes place over the long weekend of Friday 1st through Monday 4th May, with no less than 11 steam locos in use, including some very big names, a mix that is going to pull in the crowds and deliver an action-packed event to mark the WSR’s 50th Anniversary Year.

 

The DEPG yard and shed will be open to the public on each of the four days with the very popular ‘Irie 7’ catering van adjacent to our trackside viewing area, and Rod’s Model Railway Sales stand and the DEPG’s own sales stand set up in the loco shed. The following locos will be on display in the yard, several of which will open for cab visits:

 

In advance of the gala, the DEPG has been busy completing the work on Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019) and this useful little loco was cleared to re-enter traffic last Saturday and has since returned to Bishops Lydeard, much to the relief of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526, who will be returning to Williton on Saturday 25th (departing at approximately 13:00) after undergoing an underframe exam over the pit at Westridge, Bishops Lydeard that morning.

Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019) was pictured as she trundled through Crowcombe Heathfield station, heading ‘up’ on the ‘down’ line while en route to Bishops Lydeard in perfect Spring weather on Wednesday 22nd April 2026. Photo by Jo Ward © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Between now and the gala, diesel services will be handled by the WSR’s ‘hybrid’ Class 115/117 DMU, which will be at work on Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th and Tuesday 28th April, after which the diesels retreat to let the steam locos take over all workings until Wednesday 6th May, when Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) will be hauling the 12:25 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and 14:30 return services on Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th.

 

Keep an eye on our Diesel Running Dates page for advance notice of loco allocations. Note: if these published loco allocations change, we will endeavour to release a DIESELGEN bulletin, provided that we have enough advance notice to make it worthwhile.

Click here to go to the WSR Calendar page, then click on the date of interest.

 

The WSR’s EVENTS and EXPERIENCES web page gives details of other 2026 events. Click here or on the graphic below to go to the WSR Calendar Page for details and dates.

 

WSR 50 SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL – 4th to 7th June

The WSR have already announced two visitors from the Wensleydale Railway in the form of Class 47 47714 (D1955, 47511) and Class 37 37250 (D6950), both locos adding a splash of colour to the greens and blues of the event.

Click here or on an image below to go to the WSR’s event page:

 

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 an expanded range of hot 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, depot tours and some SPECIAL EXHIBITS …. DEFINITELY NOT TO BE MISSED !

Click here to go to the WSR’s event page.

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the weld repair and the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) work on the upper and outer surfaces of the ‘B’ bogie were completed last Saturday, clearing the way for the painters to take over and change the colour of the exposed metal from white to red to grey to black. As soon as the paint is dry, the primary springs and the intermediate gearbox can be re-fitted, followed closely by the secondary suspension components and the external brake rigging. 

In parallel, (but working at opposite ends of the bogie for safety) the NDT work will switch to the underside of the frames, which is a job that none of us are looking forward to, but it has to be done.

Fitting parts back on the bogie gives a real boost to morale, and we will soon be swapping the bogies so that the ‘B’ bogie can go on display alongside the loco and the ‘A’ bogie can be moved into the loco shed for the overhaul process to be carried out in the same manner – but more quickly, as we now know exactly what to do and how to do it.

We could really use another pair of hands, so please come along and help out on D1010 if you can. Use our CONTACT FORM if you are able to volunteer on a Saturday or a Tuesday – or both !

D1010 – the ‘B’ bogie at Williton on Saturday 18th April 2026, the red oxide primer showing the extent of the areas that have already been crack tested and have been cleared for painting. In the foreground, one of the brake hangers is in the process of going from grey undercoat to black gloss. On the right, one of the refurbished cardan shafts awaits a coat of yellow gloss. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

D1010 – the white and pink areas of the ‘B’ bogie were pictured whilst undergoing dye penetrant crack testing at Williton on Saturday 18th April 2026. These areas have now been passed as being free from defects and the painters can now clean off the white powdery coating and apply red oxide primer. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

 

Class 08 08401 (D3516) – this loco is fully serviceable in air brake mode and will be in use to shunt the yard at Williton on Saturday 25th April, the objective being to clear No. 2 road for the gala and organise the locos on No. 1 road into the most appropriate sequence, taking account of their next booked movements.

 

Class 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco completed her annual Vehicle Inspection & Brake Test (VIBT) last Saturday and was released to traffic later that day. As already reported, the loco left Williton for Bishops Lydeard on Wednesday 22nd and this will in turn release Class 14 D9526 to return to Williton.

Class 09 D4107 (09019) completed her annual Vehicle Inspection and Brake Test (VIBT) at Williton on Saturday 18th April 2026 and was released to traffic by DEPG chairman Martin Howard (pictured) shortly afterwards. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is indoors on No. 2 road and has been the subject of a lot of attention to get her ready to return to service and allow sister loco D6575 (33057) a chance to enter the shed for a paintwork refresh in time for the Summer Diesel Festival (4-7 June). The slow and tedious task of repairing the clamps that secure the engine room roof section was taken up by Tony, and he was pictured after drilling out and re-tapping one of the eleven bolted roof catches that had sheared off when the roof section was removed a few weeks previously. Well done Tony !

D6566 (33048) – volunteer Tony was pictured at Williton on Tuesday 21st April 2026 while replacing one of the eleven roof clamp bolts that had sheared off. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

D6566 (33048) – meanwhile, outside, volunteer Linda was busy applying the second coat of fibreglass sealant to the engine room roof section. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 21st April 2026 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

D6566 (33048) – the loco was started up on Saturday 18th April 2026 and checks carried out to make sure that everything was ready for the engine room roof section to be re-fitted (planned for Saturday 25th). Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the ‘duty loco’ and was in use on Tuesday 21st April 2026 on the 12:25 service from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead. The loco will remain at Minehead pending a return to Williton that is currently planned for Wednesday 29th April.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is fully serviceable and has been stabled at Minehead awaiting a chance to go over the pit for an underframe inspection. This opportunity came around on Saturday 18th April, so the loco was started up and checked over before being positioned over the pit for the inspection and brake rigging adjustment.

D7017 – a very unusual angle – looking upward while the loco was positioned over the pit at Minehead on Saturday 18th April 2026. Photo by Anthony Austin © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

D7017 – and the view down under – and an explanation for the reflection under the loco in the previous photo – there was some water in the pit ! Pictured at Minehead on Saturday 18th April 2026 by Anthony Austin © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco is participating in the Great Central Railway’s SPRING DIESEL GALA that runs from Friday 24th through Sunday 26th April and the weather is perfect, adding to the occasion and providing plenty of photo opportunities.

D7018 – perfect weather for the GCR’s Spring Diesel Gala that runs from 24th to 26th April. Pictured at Leicester North on Friday 24th April 2026 by Peter Bamber © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

This loco will be moving to her next vacationing spot at the Severn Valley Railway on Friday 1st May and then to the GWSR in July before returning home to the WSR in time for the DIESELS at 65 event in late August.

Great Central Railway (GCR)

24-26 April 2026

Severn Valley Railway (SVR)

14-17 May 2026

Gloucestershire-Warwickshire

24-26 July 2026

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – as the work on the engine progresses, the fitters need to be constantly fed with parts that have to be found then cleaned then inspected then painted before they can be re-fitted to the engine. Volunteer Andy P was at work on the air intake manifold castings at Williton last Saturday, taking great care to mask the areas that are not to be painted, so as to avoid difficulties with leaking joints at a later date. The Tuesday Team will fit these parts as soon as they have been painted.

D9518 – one of the engine air intake castings for the Paxman 6YJXL engine was pictured at Williton on Saturday 18th April 2026 while volunteer Andy P applied masking tape to the joint areas. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

D9518 – a close-up of one of the engine air intake castings for the Paxman 6YJXL engine shows the engine model number clearly embossed in the casting. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 18th April 2026 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco will undergo an underframe inspection at Westridge shed, Bishops Lydeard, on the morning of Saturday 25th April and will then return to Williton, after a winter ‘vacation’ that has lasted for five months. The booked departure time from Bishops Lydeard is 13:00, but this is subject to the loco being ready and a path being available.

 

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 DEPG’s spare motor has now been reconditioned by CARWOOD REWINDS in Yeovil and has been shipped to Grosmont and is being prepared for installation into 47077. Once repaired, the loco will then need to go out for tyre turning, which will be a convoy move over the main line from Grosmont with several other NYMR diesels.

47077 – the reconditioned motor for the ‘triple pump’ has been delivered to Grosmont and will now be installed in the loco. Pictured on Thursday 23rd April 2026 by Josh Smith © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco has now received attention to her fuel system, courtesy of Tony and Gwyn, and her engine was run for a while on Tuesday 14th April to warm through. She will be due for her annual VIBT certificate renewal, but meanwhile, Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) is available at Williton and is fully certified 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:

Still feeling the cold in the evenings and mornings ? 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 !

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 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 – during the last few weeks, we have featured some photos from DAVID HINGSTON, and these have set us some challenges in identifying the locations and dates, and so far so good, we have managed to determine the places and come close to the dates – with quite a bit of help from our readers and correspondents. The photo this week might present more of a challenge !

First, let’s cover the feedback on the photo of D602 ‘BULLDOG’ from last week. Here’s some info from DEPG member Paul Mear:

     “As regards D602 ‘BULLDOG’ being painted Blue with Small Yellow Ends when it was also painted Green with Small Yellow Ends when it had split headcodes, l have learnt that the explanation is that the loco caught fire during 1966.”

Paul also reported that John Jennison’s ‘BOOK OF THE WARSHIPS’ gives more details and shows that the loco was outshopped after completion of the fire damage repairs on 6th February 1967.

Many thank to Paul for providing his feedback.

 

This week, we have another photo from David, but there are very few clues this time. The subject is a green-liveried Class 25 with a full yellow end, working a mixed goods train. The setting is heavy industrial and the date is probably in the late 1960s as per David’s other photos, but the location doesn’t ring any bells with me. Anyone know more ?

An unidentified green-liveried Class 25 hauls a mixed goods train through an industrial landscape, thought to be some time in the late 1960s. If you recognise this location, please get in touch by using our CONTACT FORM. Photo by David Hingston © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

Many thanks to David for sharing his 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

A few weeks back, we announced a NEW BOOK compiled by ROGER GEACH based on the photographs of the late STEPHEN MARSHALL entitled ‘The Demise of the Diesel Hydraulics’ and published by Transport Treasury and as expected, this new book is flying off the shelves so CLICK HERE to place your order NOW. This is a hardback book that is LARGER than A4 in size and has 176 pages with 230 images, so the price of £29.95 is well justified.

Here’s some feedback from long-time DEPG member and supporter NEVILLE SLOPER:

     “Wow! What can I say ?

     I have a very extensive collection of hydraulic-themed books, dating back to my first purchase “Diesels Western Style” by Keith Montague in 1974. On first browse, this is up there with the very best and well worth every penny. If it wasn’t for the fact that we have family round today, I wouldn’t be putting it down !”

Many thanks to Neville for that resounding endorsement !

 

 

 

DEPG NEWS: the next major event on the WSR will be the SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR and the DEPG will be opening our yard and shed to the public for all four days of the event (Friday 1st through Monday 4th May). Although it is a steam gala, the sheer number of visitors makes it one of most important fund-raising events for the DEPG, so we will be spending some time and effort in preparing for this event during the coming week, and suspending normal activities for the duration of the ‘open shed’ event.

Other activities at Williton recently have been heavily training-oriented, with external specialist provider SAFETY TRAINING SOUTH WEST being on site several times already this year to train our team in the safe use of our recently-restored Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP or ‘cherry picker’ in everyday language). Here’s a photo that made me think of a few alternative captions, such as ‘OK, you have had your fun, now get me down from here’, but I am sure that it was all part of the training.

The recently-restored ‘Nifty Lift’ MEWP was in use for training purposes at Williton on Tuesday 21st April 2026. Photo by Anthony Austin © CC BY-NC 4.0

 

London Marathon – Sunday 26th April 2026 – There is still time to support Reece in his efforts to raise funds for the WSRA’s BR Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0T 80064, a special cause in remembrance of our late colleague John Cooke, who played a major part in saving this loco and in arranging for it to be transferred into the care of the WSRA for future use on the WSR. Click here or on the image below to learn about the efforts of a WSRA member to fund raise for the restoration of this locomotive: 

 

 

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 !

 

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