BR 1965 Crewe-built Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR‘ continues as our headliner this week after putting in regular appearances on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and earning the admiration of crews, depot staff and passengers. Our ‘celebrity‘ loco was pictured on the approach to Goathland Station on Monday 1st August 2022 by Martin Fisher © CC BY-NC 3.0
Continuing to hold the spotlight is our Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR‘ who has been busy working public services between Grosmont and Pickering on the NYMR on a daily basis since 19th July and building on her reputation as a fine performer and a pleasure to drive. Again we have the benefit of photographs from our local correspondent Martin Fisher and we send him our thanks for keeping us up to date with the North Yorkshire news.
Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR‘ is pictured just after crossing Lyke Wake Walk, close to the summit of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway which rises to 532 feet above mean sea level (162m). Photo by Martin Fisher © CC BY-NC 3.0
Thanks again go to Martin Fisher for hiking across the moors and sharing his photographs with us all !
Starting THIS WEEK, the modified YELLOW timetable applies and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) is working the 11:00 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and the 15:25 return service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The ‘Crompton’ will also cover the same service on Saturdays 13th, 20th and 27th August. Details can be found our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page. Any additional or updated information will be announced via DIESELGEN as soon as possible. MANY THANKS for supporting this year’s DIESEL RUNNING program on the WSR.
The usual caveats of loco availability apply, but we will be aiming to deliver the above program of running with the locos indicated and we will provide as much advance notice of any change as possible, using our DIESELGEN and Twitter feeds, so please sign up to keep up to date.
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER continues to gather pace to keep up with the excellent progress on the restoration of the locomotive itself. The last week alone has seen some major donations being received from members and volunteers, in additional to those from the much larger band of Class 52 supporters. We will be updating the fund contributions totals and adding the Gift Aid during the coming days. WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP, so click on the images to make a donation. We know that times are hard, but please do what you can to help.
The ‘CAMPAIGNER’ team continue their work on restoring this massive and complex locomotive. Although bodywork repairs have progressed well, we still have a lot of rubbing down and painting to do, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
D1010 – one of the headcode frames gets a first coat of maroon paint from long-time DEPG member and volunteer Roy at Williton on Saturday 30th July 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – a view along the ‘A’ side at Williton on Saturday 30th July 2022 shows that repair work has been completed on this side (apart from one small area in the battery box frame) and only the cosmetic work remains – but that is a lot of work to do on a loco that is over 20m in length (68 feet) so please come along and help. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the buffer beam valance at the secondman’s corner of ‘A’ end was cut open and repair work commenced at Williton on Tuesday 26th July 2022. The repair will involve welding-in new metal to replace what has been dissolved by water ingress over the years. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – this view of the diametrically opposite corner at ‘B’ end shows the quality of the finished result, delivered by Colin F and the bodywork team. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 30th July 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the upper part of ‘A’ end has been completely rubbed down to bare metal and is ready to receive a primer coat. The lower part that still carries yellow paint and green primer is unsupported due to corrosion of the underlying structure, so it has to be removed so that the structure can be repaired. That’s a task for the coming weeks. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 30th July 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.
For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number or code word will be allocated and engraved instead.
See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is at Williton and has been returned to service subject to close monitoring of the engine oil condition. We expect to swap her with sister D6575 (33 057) when that loco’s next ‘A’ exam becomes due, probably towards the end of August.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is currently at Bishops Lydeard and is rostered for regular use during August as per our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – an unavoidable interruption in the rate of progress this week due to non-availaibilty of the people with the appropriate knowledge and the need to perform some maintenance tasks on sister loco D7018. Progress is expected to resume this coming Saturday with a view to getting the loco out on test later this month.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – the 87-litre V-16 Bristol Siddeley Maybach MD870 engine is being re-assembled at Williton and was pictured on 24th July 2022 awaiting the re-installation of two of the fuel injectors so that the cam box can be aligned properly before tightening the bolts. Then, the cam box covers can be replaced and the air intake ducting re-assembled. Photo by Mike Evans © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco moved from Minehead to Williton ‘light engine’ on Saturday 30th July and has taken up position outside the Old Goods Shed on Number 1 road. Some maintenance tasks needed to be done, including replacing a failed windscreen wiper control, so these tasks were given priority to keep the loco available for service if called upon.
The next scheduled dates for ‘Hymek’ running are the 10:00 and 14:30 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard return services on Sat/Sun 3rd/4th September. Between now and then, our Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ will be in regular use, so keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for updates or join the DIESELGEN email bulletin group (which also includes information about non-public services, where the information is available to us sufficiently in advance).
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 and her crew comprising (L-R) secondman Cameron, driver and DEPG chairman Martin Howard and secondman under training James were pictured taking a well-earned break between turns at Minehead on Saturday 23rd July 2022. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – progress continues on preparing and restoring small components, all of which are necessary for the re-assembly of the braking system, so there was little outwardly visible progress to photograph this week. An important step forward was the ordering of two replacement ‘Layrub’ couplings for the generator drive shaft. These couplings are similar to those shown in the adverts pictured below that date from 1947 and 1952, so it could be said that Swindon’s 1964 design of the Class 14s was based on mature technology !
The two replacement couplings have been ordered from Twiflex and will be genuine Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts for this critical application. Any failure in service could cause serious internal damage to the transmission and the generator, so we need to mitigate this risk by being very careful. Being now classed as ‘heritage components’, these are of course EXPENSIVE and we searched long and hard before biting the bullet and paying the money. We did receive a discount for being a charity, for which we are appreciative. MANY THANKS to the D9518 fund contributors for making this purchase possible.
D9518 – the generator drive shaft of the Class 14 uses ‘Layrub’ couplings like this. This promotional image is dated 1952 and has been provided courtesy of Graces’s Guide – a very interesting source of information on British industry and manufacturing. © CC BY-SA 4.0
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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is still in regular use and performing well on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. Last week, a fractured exhaust bellows caused some consternation because the loco was booked to work, but a spare part was arranged from local stock held for sister loco D9504 and the local Class 14 team performed the repair and put the loco back in service, so many thanks to Mike Grimwood and team for saving the day!
D9526 was pictured at Tenterden Town Station while waiting time at the head of a service to Bodiam on Saturday 30th July 2022. Completing the 1960s scene is the iris blue MGA dating from 1958 that is owned by photographer Robin Moira White © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – covered previously – now in regular service on the NYMR.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco is fully operational and is stabled in the yard at Williton. She is hiding under a tarpaulin to prevent the fresh paintwork from being damaged by seagull droppings.
If you can help by donating your time, 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 !