Search Results for: 47840

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 headed an unusual working on Saturday 13th April 2024, the load comprising a Mark 3 sleeper coach 10542 and an ex-GWR ‘Toad’ Brake Van, with Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) bringing up the rear. The ’09’ was left in the siding and the rest of the train ran to Minehead. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

A most unusual working took place on Saturday 13th April 2024 when Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 hauled an ex-Caledonian Mark 3 sleeper coach from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead Carriage Workshop to undergo roof repairs. As the coach is air braked and the loco is vacuum braked, the ex-GWR ‘Toad’  Brake Van was attached at the rear to provide the train braking. Once the coach had been delivered to Minehead, the loco and brake van departed for Williton so that the loco could be in position for her next booked duty, an infrastructure working on Friday 19th April. It is great to see this loco getting more frequent use on the WSR.

This coming weekend will see some Class 33 ‘Crompton’ action with D6575 (33057) out on test on Saturday in the Norton Fitzwarren section with sister D6566 (33048) tagging along to provide a load and act as insurance should the loco under test encounter any trouble. At the end of the session, if D6575 has been pronounced as OK then the locos will swap duties, with D6575 remaining at Bishops Lydeard as the Duty Loco, and D6566 heading for Williton for some well-earned TLC. Click here to see the DIESELGEN bulletin relating to these special workings.

 

DIESEL LOCO RUNNING ON THE WSR:

On Sunday, the Duty Class 33 will haul the 1230 service from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and return, as a booked working under the RED timetable that remains in force until 19th May (except for the Steam Gala, see below). Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for details of diesel-hauled public services and sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get advance notice of non-public service running. 

 

CONGRATULATIONS to the DIESEL TRACTION GROUP for their successful charter run behind D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’ on Sunday 14th April 2024 when the loco hauled a load equivalent to 17 coaches (the Class 57 on the rear was not providing power) from Paddington to Birmingham, to the delight of everyone on board and the lineside photographers and spectators along the length of the route. An outstanding feat of heritage traction, that’s for sure, and a tribute to the team at the DTG who have worked so hard to get the loco into such good condition. Hats off indeed !

The DTG’s Class 52 D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’ was evidently hard at work when pictured approaching Kings Sutton (obviously non-stop!) on Sunday 14th April 2024, hauling a 17-coach equivalent load from Paddington to Birmingham. Photo by Graham Perry © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The DTG’s Class 52 D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’ was pictured at the Banbury station stop on Sunday 14th April 2024, surrounded by admirers. The loco had just arrived with ‘THE ONE WAY WIZZO‘ railtour from Paddington and was en route to Birmingham. Photo by Ashley Harris © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

The first major event of the year is 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. Our Williton depot will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, with a number of unusual and interesting exhibits on display. More details coming soon.

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. Also visiting, courtesy of 20189 Ltd., are English Electric Class 20 ‘Choppers’ (or ‘Whistling Wardrobes’) 20189 (D8189), in BR blue livery and 20142 (D8142) ‘Sir John Betjeman’, in commemorative London Transport livery, so PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our ‘tongue in cheek’ request for help from anyone who happens to have two spare Maybach engine stands bore fruit almost immediately with an offer of suitable rolled steel sections that will allow us to fabricate two engine stands to a pattern already developed by BOB CLEGG, two examples of which are already in use at Williton. MANY THANKS to Bob for his quick response and for his offer of help !

As our plans for the lifting of the loco develop, we are reviewing all of the possibilities with a view to balancing the need to minimise the cost with the need to minimise the risk. The over-riding concern is to ensure that the lifting procedure is safe, and this means that we are proceeding with caution. We hope to finalise the procedure during April with a view to performing the lift during May, if at all possible.

Meanwhile, work proceeds on the cooler groups and on the disconnection of the engines to allow them to be lifted out before the loco body gets lifted. The next step will be to position the loco over a pit to have the bogie thrust brackets disconnected. The engines will remain in the loco until that step has been completed and the spring hanger fastenings have been freed up, because we need to have plenty of weight bearing down on the springs before we attempt to loosen the massive nuts !

Our website now carries a new page, ‘D1010 Progress Report – Jan 2024‘, the content of which will be familiar to DEPG members because it was included in the January Newsletter. This information is now available to all by clicking on this link.

D1010 – the loco was moved back indoors on to number 2 road at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024 to allow the resumption of the electrical overhaul work and to allow for the engraving of another 200 patches ! (click here for the SPONSOR A PATCH scheme). Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the first of the two cooler group assemblies approaches the end of its overhaul, with just one area of corrosion remaining to be repaired. Volunteer Ian F was pictured while working diligently on the cleaning and painting within the cooler group. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th April 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the repaired surfaces were given a coat of grey paint by Roy at Williton on Saturday 13th April 2024. The corrosion repairs had been carried out by volunteer Tony during the previous week. Thanks guys ! Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As stated previously, 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 THIS WORK ! There is a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website to let us know if you can lend a hand.

 

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 loco gets moved back into the loco shed (the weather has not been cooperative lately!). 

The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have already sent hundreds out with hundreds more to go, 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. We can even put them in frame for you.

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 during the WSR SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL. 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 in regular use at Bishops Lydeard.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco has returned to Bishops Lydeard in support of the RED timetable although her stay will be short-lived if sister D6575 passes her test running on Saturday 20th April and takes over as Duty Loco. Either way, D6566 is due for some care and attention from Ian and the team and will undergo some maintenance in the coming weeks, either at Bishops Lydeard or at our Williton base.

D6566 – the loco worked the 1000 and 1430 departures from Minehead on Sunday 14th April 2024, and was pictured leaning into the curve on the approach to Stogumber with a service to Bishops Lydeard. Photo by Mark Ireland © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – as already stated, this loco will be undergoing a period of test running in the Norton Fitzwarren section on Saturday 20th April 2024 (see our DIESELGEN bulletin for more details). The exhaust system has been fully overhauled but the loco needs to be worked hard to get everything up to the normal operating temperature (running in the yard or station limits is not sufficient to heat the engine thoroughly). Let’s hope for a successful outcome !

D6575 – the lower part of the photo shows the new bellows coupling that has been fitted to the loco as part of her exhaust system overhaul. These stainless steel components change their length to accommodate the expansion and contraction of the cylinder heads and exhaust pipes. Pictured on Sunday 14th April 2024 by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service apart from a very short list of minor issues that will be addressed at Williton over the next few weekends. We hope to get this loco rostered for some weekend public services in June, so keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get the news as soon as it is released.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the ‘transmission team’ continued their search for the issues that have affected the reliability of this wonderful piece of engineering, and so far have made several observations of differences between the service manual and the hardware in front of them. The explanation will probably be because of modifications or because of experience gained as the ‘Hymek’ fleet accumulated hours, but in the absence of documentation, we have to note the differences and research them. Luckily, we have two other transmissions to use as a reference, not including the transmission in D7017 (which we do not intend to disturb), but disassembling them will involve a lot of effort so will be the last resort.

So far, the only components that have been found to be unfit for further service are the claw rings of the directional clutch and one of the roller bearings, which shows damage to some of the rollers (we have spares for these parts).

The next phase of work involves the measurement of the clutch actuator mechanism to try to establish why the directional clutch halves do not engage properly. Only after we have gathered the information will we carry on with the disassembly, to ensure that we don’t miss something.

D7018 – the top casing of the transmission was lifted off by Tim and Colin F at Williton on Tuesday 9th April 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – the input shaft was then lifted out and set aside for inspection. The control block assembly can now be seen, protruding from the top of the casting. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 9th April 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – the damaged directional clutch can now be seen clearly. The clutch will not engage properly because the spring-loaded baulk ring (not visible from this angle) has jammed. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 9th April 2024 by Colin Foxhall © 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 – the re-wiring of the driver’s desk is making very good progress with John doing the electrical work, Terry doing the pneumatic work and Colin doing the desk restoration work. Some items, such as the driver’s brake valve, have been re-fitted to the driver’s desk temporarily to allow the cable lengths to be measured. These parts will be removed again to allow the desk covering to be reinstated, then they will be fitted properly. The photos below show the progress, with John doing the electrical work, Terry doing the pneumatic work and Colin G doing the desk restoration work.

The cardan shaft issue is moving along and we now have the feedback from the specialist company that evaluated the alternative set of shafts. The results are better than our original shafts but still short of what we need, so work continues to find the most suitable solution. We will report further on this in a future edition of Roundup.

D9518 – looking down upon the driver’s desk in the cab at Williton on Saturday 13th April 2024, the Westinghouse driver’s brake valve and handle dominates the view. This item has been fitted temporarily to allow the wire lengths to be determined. It will then be removed and stored again, until the desk covering has been completed. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the horn valves have been re-fitted to the inner edge of the door frames, where they are in easy reach of the driver and secondman. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th April 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – Some original signwriting from BR-Swindon days has been uncovered in the cab, serving to identify which end of the locomotive is which (A or B). Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th April 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

 

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco has now relocated to Williton and is being rostered for use on several engineering and infrastructure workings over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on our DIESELGEN postings for details.

D9526 – working in a safe manner on an infrastructure ‘tidy train’ on the site of the former Leigh Loop on Friday 12th April 2024; the equivalent view from the 1960s would be no hard hats, no hi-vis and no Road-Rail vehicle. The 1960s workforce would have probably been wearing suit jackets and reading newspapers ! Photo by Malcolm Anderson © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco worked several services between Pickering and Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway during the week and we received plenty of feedback on our social media channels, proving that this loco is actually the most popular member of our entire fleet ! Here are some of the photos that we received, showing visitors making the most of the very poor weather. Many thanks to all who braved the weather and provided photos, and apologies that we can’t use them all.

47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was pictured departing from Goathland on Tuesday 9th April 2024 during a sustained period of unseasonably poor weather. Photo by Martin Fisher © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was pictured arriving at Grosmont Station on Tuesday 9th April 2024 during a brief spell when it had actually stopped raining. Photo by Gary Attridge © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ at the platform at Grosmont Station on Tuesday 9th April 2024, looking very smart indeed. Photo by Gary Attridge © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and has been busy of late, handling the various shunt moves in the yard. This powerful little loco will be in use again on the weekend of 20/21st April.

 

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 – both of our recently-added books are selling very well and making useful contributions to our loco funds, so if you haven’t already got your copy, then click on the images below to go to our online store to get yours now !

Price : £19.95 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £17.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

The new book by BERNARD MILLS is a very nice piece of work and is available at £19.95 per copy. We have now replenished our stock so that we can continue to meet the demand. This book provides ESSENTIAL READING for anyone interested in diesel-hydraulics and diesel-electrics of the South-Western varieties.

We also recommend the new book by ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ and we have a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long on this title, and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book.

 

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.

WILLITON in BR days on the cover picture!	A very interesting book !
Price : £11 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £8.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – and now for something completely different. While on a European vacation recently, our Chairman Martin Howard spotted two examples of diesel-hydraulic locos that are still in service in Germany. The Class 218 locos are developments of the ‘Hymek’ concept with single engines and hydraulic transmissions (in this case made by Voith). Although abandoned by the BR technical leadership in the early 1960s, diesel-hydraulic transmission remained in use on other railway systems (mostly in mainland Europe) and is still with us today in the many examples of Sprinter, Super Sprinter and Thames Turbo DMUs that can be found on most of the modern UK network. Many thanks to Martin for sharing his photo with us all.

A pair of DB Class 218 diesel-hydraulics wait for their next duty at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Pictured on 19th March 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DEPG NEWS – with more infrastructure work planned for this coming weekend and a test run in progress, this will be another week that flashes by with more tasks to be done than it is possible to do. PLEASE JOIN US AND HELP US to keep moving forward with the restoration and operation of our fleet !

The next Board Meeting is scheduled to take place at Williton on Saturday, 27th April. Please let us know by using our CONTACT FORM if you have a question that you would like to have placed before the Board.

 

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 !

 

Go to the previous Weekly Roundup post

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 was pictured at Blue Anchor station on Thursday 11th April 2024 while waiting for WSR 2-6-0 ‘Mogul’ 9351 to bring the ‘down’ train into the platform and relinquish the token for the section towards Williton. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 has just completed three days of TEST RUNNING during which she covered 130 miles while hauling Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) and six Mark 1 coaches, giving her quite a workout. The only issue that affected the test running was a split radiator element gasket that resulted in a coolant loss on the first day of the test, resulting in curtailment of the diagram and an afternoon spent undergoing repair at Williton. This loco has seen very little use over the last four years and had become unreliable as a result, so the purpose of this intensive period of running was to shake down all such issues and get the loco back into regular running condition. This has been achieved, with the loco being allowed to return to Williton by herself, without the need for D6566 to tag along as insurance.

Congratulations to the volunteers involved in preparing the loco for her ordeal and to those volunteers whose crewed her throughout the three days of the test !

 

DIESEL LOCO RUNNING ON THE WSR:

The coming weekend will see two of our locos in action on the WSR, with Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 working an engineering train from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead then returning to Williton on Saturday 13th and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) working the 1000 Minehead 80-mile diagram on Sunday 14th. On Tuesday 16th, the WSR changes from the Blue to the RED timetable, so D6566 (33048) will work the Empty Coaching Stock from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard so that it is in the right place for the 1230 service to Minehead (booked for steam haulage). Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for details of diesel-hauled public services and sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get advance notice of non-public service running. 

 

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. Our Williton depot will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, with a number of unusual and interesting exhibits on display. More details soon.

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. Also visiting, courtesy of 20189 Ltd., are English Electric Class 20 ‘Choppers’ (or ‘Whistling Wardrobes’) 20189 (D8189), in BR blue livery and 20142 (D8142) ‘Sir John Betjeman’, in commemorative London Transport livery, so PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – Gordon made a start on disconnecting the two MD655 engines in preparation for them to be lifted out of the loco to reduce the weight for the loco body lift. Removing the engines will make a significant reduction in the weight to be lifted and will simplify the lift procedure. The down side is that we need to fabricate or modify some engine stands because we only have two and they are both in use already. It’s a long shot, but if anyone happens to have two spare Maybach engine stands (or something similar), then please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know.

Gordon was assisted by new volunteer Thomas, who was attending at the yard for a ‘taster day’. From our summing-up chat at the end of the session, we can safely say that Thomas will be back whenever he can fit us in with his busy work schedule, and we will be delighted to see him at any time.

The loco has now been moved back inside the loco shed for a while, to allow our volunteers to progress with tasks that have been impossible to manage outdoors because of the poor weather, such as the bodywork and the electrical repairs. We also have a large number of sponsored patches to be engraved onto the loco while she is dry.

Our website now carries a new page, ‘D1010 Progress Report – Jan 2024‘, the content of which will be familiar to DEPG members because it was included in the January Newsletter. This information is now available to all by clicking on this link.

D1010 – while stabled outdoors on number 1 road at Williton, the loco was covered by a blue tarpaulin so the sunlight reaches the interior with a blue tint. On Saturday 6th April 2024, volunteers Thomas (L) and Andy R (R) were pictured inside the loco while discussing the work to be done to disconnect and remove the MD655 engines. Photo by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the final drive gearbox and cardan shaft of the inboard axle can be seen clearly when looking down on the bogie through the gap that is normally occupied by the ‘B’ transmission. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the loco was shunted from number 1 road outdoors to number 2 road indoors at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024. The motive power was provided by Barclay 578 (ROF 1) via Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057), all of which were dormant during the shunt. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – DEPG trustee, driver and volunteer Paul T uncouples the loco and provides an opportunity to study three locomotive designs at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024, the wedge-shaped leading edges of the Class 52 ‘Western’ and the Class 35 ‘Hymek’ being entirely different to the curvature of the Class 33 ‘Crompton’. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As stated previously, 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 THIS WORK ! There is a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website to let us know if you can lend a hand.

 

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 loco gets moved back into the loco shed (the weather has not been cooperative lately!). 

The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have already sent hundreds out with hundreds more to go, 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. We can even put them in frame for you.

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 during the WSR SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL. 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 now returned to duties at Bishops Lydeard.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently stabled at Minehead after a busy week supporting the test running of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 and will be heading the 1000 departure from Minehead and the associated 80-mile diagram on Sunday 14th April. She will relocate to Bishops Lydeard with the Empty Coaching Stock to allow the WSR to transition from Blue to Red timetable on Tuesday 16th April. See our DIESELGEN bulletin for more details.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) has been busy supporting the test running of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017, providing the ‘insurance’ that allows a loco to be test run on a public service day. Pictured at Minehead on Tuesday 9th April 2024 by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the work on this loco has now been completed and we are waiting for the opportunity to carry out a loaded test run that will allow the engine to get up to maximum operating temperature, at which point we can check the exhaust system and ensure that there no leaks. In the meantime, we have a lot of cleaning up to do in the engine room, and the cabs will also need a thorough clean before the loco is returned to service. Can you help ? Please use our CONTACT FORM if you are able to offer your time and skills in the maintenance and support of your favourite locomotives.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as already stated, this loco is ready to return to service apart from a very short list of minor issues that will be addressed at Williton over the next few weekends. We hope to get this loco rostered for some public services in the near future, so keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get the news as soon as it is released.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the ‘transmission team’ have been making careful progress in the disassembly and inspection of the torque converter components and have removed the impeller and turbine from the housing. As expected, these parts are marvellous examples of 1960s engineering and are in remarkably good condition considering their age. The stampings on the worksplate gives the date of the last overhaul as being 9th December 1971, more than 50 years ago !

The work involves the design and manufacture of special tooling to ensure that no damage is caused during disassembly or re-assembly, because spare parts are not available and any damage will be expensive and time-consuming to resolve. This is the reason why the locomotive has been removed from consideration for running this year. We do not want the transmission team to feel that they are under pressure.

D7018 – the main components of the torque converter comprise the impeller in the centre, driven from the engine, and the turbine around the outside, which drives the wheels of the locomotive via the gearboxes. A marvellous piece of 1960s engineering. Pictured at Williton on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – the large and expensive axial control bearing from the torque converter appears to be in very good condition and suitable for further service. Pictured at Williton on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 by Colin Foxhall © 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 – the cab assembly continues to be the focus of attention, with more progress being made by the team every week. There has also been progress with the cardan shafts, but no conclusions have been reached as yet, so research continues into the options available to us.

D9518 – Terry (L) was quick to grab new volunteer Thomas (R) at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024, and the two of them set to work preparing the transmission flanges for the re-installation of the cardan shafts (we like to think positively!). Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – further progress was made by volunteer John C who continued his careful and diligent work on the cab and desk wiring. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is on standby at Bishops Lydeard and is fully serviceable. This loco will work an engineering train to Minehead on Saturday 13th April and will then return to Williton. See our latest DIESELGEN posting for more details. 

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco relocated from Grosmont to Pickering by heading up the 1710 service on 7th April so that she could be in place for a week of work on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. We look forward to sharing photos of this very popular loco at work in the next edition of roundup.

See our ‘ON SHED’ feature further below for an article related to this locomotive.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and has seen action several times during the last few weeks. A very useful engine !

 

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 – both of our recently-added books are selling very well and making useful contributions to our loco funds, so if you haven’t already got your copy, then click on the images below to go to our online store to get yours now !

Price : £19.95 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £17.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

The new book by BERNARD MILLS is a very nice piece of work and is available at £19.95 per copy. We have now replenished our stock so that we can continue to meet the demand. This book provides ESSENTIAL READING for anyone interested in diesel-hydraulics and diesel-electrics of the South-Western varieties.

We also recommend the new book by ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ and we have a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long on this title, and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book.

 

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 TO THE DEPG 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.

SOUGHT-AFTER TITLE OFFERED AT A VERY GOOD PRICE !	PRICE REDUCED DUE TO TORN JACKET
Price : £15 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £5 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

ON SHED – last week, we featured a photo of 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ that was taken at Birmingham New Street on Saturday 28th April 1979 by Howard Beveridge that showed some embellishments. The photo showed two white circles applied below the former route indicator box, silver paint on the valance around the buffer beam, a silver works plate and a logo of some sort below the works plate. DEPG member Barrie Childs was quick to point out the loco had been working the first and last legs of the ‘The Red Rose‘ railtour and had probably been chosen for the duty because of the embellishments that had been provided by Cardiff Canton depot.

Howard then provided the following additional information:

      “The general opinion according to feedback on the Rail Thing 80s Facebook Group regards the white painted discs; Canton chose 3 x 47/0 locos for Charter work 47076/7/157, primarily for Welsh Ruggex Specials, and the embellishments were applied, so SPL notes could be scribbled for identities.”

 

Does anyone else have photos of any of the three locos that were embellished by Cardiff Canton depot ? 47076 ‘CITY OF TRURO’, 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ or 47157 ?

Meanwhile, we are grateful for the use of another of Howard’s photos of 47077, one year on, still embellished but looking somewhat grubby and work-worn:

Our very own 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was pictured at Mount Pleasant Crossing near Southampton with a lengthy container train during the week ending 9th April 1980, still carrying the two white discs and with the silver paint applied in various places – but by now looking rather unkempt. Photo by Howard Beveridge © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DEPG NEWS – after a very hectic week, there isn’t any time left to cover any more activities, but there has been progress on a number of fronts and we will try to bring this news to you in the next edition of roundup. Thank you very much for supporting the DEPG !

 

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 !

 

Go to the previous Weekly Roundup post

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) was used to haul Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) out of the loco shed at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024 so that the ’33’ could be started up. Martin was at the controls and Secondman Tom was keeping an eye on the clearances as the shunter slowly eased the ’33’ along. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The repairs on Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) have been completed with the exception of a replacement exhaust bellows that is due for delivery on 5th April and which will be fitted on the 6th. This will then allow the work on the loco to be completed so that it can then be cleared of tools and equipment, then cleaned up, then subjected to the necessary inspections before being made ready for a test run. As a precursor to completion and to allow volunteer loco manager Ian R to check and adjust the engine governor, the loco was hauled out of the loco shed on Saturday 30th by Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) so that the ’33’ could be started up. Here’s a short video of the startup (click here or on the image below):

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) was started up at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024. Video clip by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) had been visiting Williton to have a replacement window fitted, as a result of a failure in the scissors mechanism that had allowed the window to drop suddenly. The work on the ’09’ has now been completed and the loco has since moved back to Bishops Lydeard to take up its duties. It will return to Williton again next winter to undergo bodywork repairs and electrical machinery overhauls. Many thanks to JT and Martin for getting the work done so quickly on this small but important member of the DEPG fleet.

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019) has had three plywood panels fitted to cover the window mechanism, the top and bottom sections being easily removable to allow regular maintenance of the scissors mechanism. The loco has now returned to duties at Bishops Lydeard. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DIESEL LOCO RUNNING ON THE WSR:

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) will be in use on Sunday 7th and Sunday 14th April on the 1000 departure from Minehead and the associated 80-mile diagram. These services and all other WSR public services that are scheduled for diesel haulage this year are listed on our ‘DIESEL RUNNING DATES‘ page, 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 we will keep this page up to date as we get clarification on the details.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is scheduled for three days of TEST RUNNING during the coming week, to provide her with a thorough workout and establish her level of reliability. Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) will bring a set of coaches from Minehead to Williton on Tuesday 9th April, and D7017 will attach on the front and take the train to Bishops Lydeard then to Minehead and back, with the ’33’ remaining in the consist as a backup. The pattern will repeat on the Wednesday and Thursday and will total 200 miles of running, provided that everything goes to plan. Keep an eye on our website or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get advance notice of non-public service running.

 

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. Our Williton depot will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, with a number of unusual and interesting exhibits on display. More details soon.

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 has just been made, and courtesy of 20189 Ltd, English Electric Class 20 ‘Choppers’ (or ‘Whistling Wardrobes’) 20189 (D8189), in BR blue livery and 20142 (D8142) ‘Sir John Betjeman’, in commemorative London Transport livery, will be attending at the event. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

 

AC RAILBUS W79978 EVENT:

DEPG member Martin Rouse has confirmed that he will be operating his AC RAILBUS number W79978 on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway at a special event at the S&CR over the weekend of 6th and 7th April. Click here or on the image below to go to the details of the event:

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the planning and preparation for the lifting of the locomotive body continues to progress, with a target of disconnecting the bogie thrust brackets in early May so that the loco body can be lifted before the end of May. The engines will be removed from the body to reduce the weight for the lift and this will also allow us to clean up and repaint the engine room and attend to the pipework and air receiver inspections while access is made easy.

Gordon and Leroy have made progress with the removal and clean up of the cooler group pipework, some of which is large, heavy and awkward. Now is the time to deal with these parts, so that they are ready and waiting for the re-assembly phase that will follow the overhaul of the bogies. Work begins on the disconnection of the engines next weekend, in parallel with the cleaning of the bogies, as far as is possible with the loco still mounted on top of them.

Our website now carries a new page, ‘D1010 Progress Report – Jan 2024‘, the content of which will be familiar to DEPG members because it was included in the January Newsletter. This information is now available to all by clicking on this link.

D1010 – pictured outdoors on number 1 road at Williton on 30th March 2024, the loco will soon be going back into the loco shed, which will allow more sponsored patches to be engraved and the electrical re-wiring work to be resumed. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the coolant pipework on this locomotive is large, heavy and awkward, as is evident in this view of the cleanup in progress at Williton on 30th March 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the coolant pipework includes several ‘Saunders Valves’ such as this one, labelled ‘ENGINE COOLING WATER SYSTEM DRAIN’. Pictured at Williton on 30th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – another view of the overhauled ‘A’ transmission wearing its first coat of light grey primer, pictured at Williton before it was moved into temporary storage. Photo dated 19th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As stated previously, 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 THIS WORK ! There is a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website to let us know if you can lend a hand.

 

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 loco gets moved back into the loco shed (the weather has not been cooperative lately!). 

The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have already sent hundreds out with hundreds more to go, 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. We can even put them in frame for you.

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 during the WSR SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL. 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) – as already covered, this loco has now returned to duties at Bishops Lydeard.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently stabled at Bishops Lydeard and will be moving to Minehead on Saturday 6th April to be in position for the 1000 departure from Minehead and the subsequent 80-mile diagram on Sunday 7th April and Sunday 14th April. 

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the replacement exhaust bellows should be available this weekend so that the exhaust system overhaul can be completed. The loco will then be cleared of tools and equipment and a cleanup will take place prior to inspection and test. We hope to have this loco released to traffic during the coming weeks.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service and will be undergoing three consecutive days of loaded test running that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. The loco will be 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. Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) will be tagging along to act as backup in case any issues do crop up. For details of the running schedule, keep an eye on our website or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the ‘transmission team’ have now separated the torque converter assembly from the transmission and have started the disassembly of this intricate piece of machinery as part of the step-by-step appraisal of this transmission. The team have also been preparing specialist tooling and fixturing that will allow the dis-assembly and re-assembly work to take place. These Mekydro transmissions are too precious to take risks with, so our rate of progress will be tempered by the need to take great care.

D7018 – the torque converter has been separated from the rest of the Stone Maybach Mekydro K184u transmission so that it can be disassembled and appraised as a separate assembly. The large gear wheel is the input that drives the impeller (which is basically a large pump). The small gear (far left) is the output and is driven by the turbine. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 25th March 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – the components of the torque converter were in the process of being separated using the hydraulic ram when pictured at Williton on Wednesday 26th March 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © 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 – the cab assembly remains the focus of attention, with more wires appearing every week and more items being re-attached to the driver’s desk. The desk has to be wired up to the corresponding components in the control cubicle, so this is a big task and requires a methodical working approach and a bucket load of patience. When the desk and control cubicle are wired together, the cab will need to be lifted onto the frames so that the rest of the wiring can be connected. Work continues in parallel on restoring the many small parts that are being recovered from storage. Each needs to be identified then cleaned then inspected and repaired if necessary, before it can take its place in the restoration queue. The pictures show the progress!

D9518 – the thorough and careful restoration work continues at Williton, with team member Colin G hard at work rebuilding the driver’s desk. Pictured on Saturday 30th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the new wiring that has been installed by volunteer John C is clearly visible in this view, looking down on the driver’s desk at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D9518 – the restored control cubicle now features new labelling that is authentic to the original. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is on standby at Bishops Lydeard and is fully serviceable and ready for work. 

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is booked to work the 1430 service from Grosmont to Pickering and return on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on Sunday 7th April, which incidentally will be the exact same date and time as Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) is booked to depart from Minehead for Bishops Lydeard on the WSR, so we will have two ‘SULZERS‘ in action simultaneously on opposite sides of the Country.

See our ‘ON SHED’ feature further below for an article related to this locomotive.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and is ready for action.

 

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 – both of our recently-added books are selling very well and making useful contributions to our loco funds, so if you haven’t already got your copy, then click on the images below to go to our online store to get yours now !

Price : £19.95 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £17.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

The new book by BERNARD MILLS is a very nice piece of work and is available at £19.95 per copy. We are ordering more to keep up with the demand, so meanwhile, items can be placed on backorder. 

We also recommend the new book by ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ and we have a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long on this title, and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book.

 

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.

In very good condition	THE ORIGINAL 1981 EDITION
Price : £5.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £10.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – this week, we have a photo of 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ that was taken at Birmingham New Street on Saturday 28th April 1979 but showed some embellishments that were lost some time afterwards, and certainly by the time that the loco emerged from the works after being upgraded to ETH in 1984 (emerging as 47613). The photo below shows two white circles applied below the former route indicator box, silver paint on the valance around the buffer beam, a silver works plate and a logo of some sort below the works plate. There may have been other embellishments as well. Can you help explain this ? Click here for our CONTACT FORM.

 Photographer Howard Beveridge has provided us with his photo so that we can fill in this missing item in the loco timeline that appears on our website (click this link). Many thanks to Howard for bringing this to our attention and sharing his photo.

A pair of Class 47s at Birmingham New Street on Saturday 28th April 1979. The one on the left has not been identified, but on the right is our very own 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ with two white discs – and silver paint applied in various places. Can you help explain why the loco was embellished in this way ? Click here for our CONTACT FORM. Photo by Howard Beveridge ©

 

 

DEPG NEWS – we are very grateful to the WSR’s volunteer WAGON GROUP for taking on the restoration of our ex-BR ‘Vanwide’ van B784676 that is based at Minehead. The photo below shows the significant amount of work involved in this project. The materials have been provided by the DEPG but the effort and skill comes from the members of the wagon team, so MANY THANKS to the Wagon Group for taking this work on.

The DEPG’s ex-BR ‘Vanwide’ goods van B784676 is undergoing a major restoration in the hands of the WSR WAGON GROUP at Minehead. Pictured on 30th March 2024, volunteer Seb Welsh is hard at work protecting the metal structure of the wagon. Photo by Martin Howard © 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 !

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

 

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.

Book: Rail Centres – Reading Author : Laurence Waters	Book: Profile of the Deltics Author: J S Whiteley and G W Morrison
Price : £3.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £5.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

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 !

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post