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Yesterday, DEPG Chairman Martin Howard provided an update message that went out to those members and supporters who have signed up to the weekly roundup email service. As Martin’s message contained information that could also be of interest to our wider readership, we are releasing his statement in its entirety.

Update from the DEPG Chairman – 11^th January 2021

Since the imposition of the current Lockdown measures, there has been a considerable amount of adverse comment about various activities taking place on the WSR. Some of this comment is implicating the DEPG in a negative way and I wish to counter this with an explanation of what is actually taking place.

The WSR Board has had a close look at how the latest lockdown measures affect them and were quick to issue guidance for their own staff and volunteers. The DEPG Board has decided to follow suit and adopt the spirit of this guidance. In brief, this means the Railway is closed to the public, many paid staff are working from home and volunteer attendance is discouraged – but it does not mean the Railway is completely closed, far from it.

You will recall that the WSR was fortunate to receive a large Heritage Culture Recovery Fund grant which is aimed at keeping the business afloat and paying for works that are either necessary due to the coronavirus or have been delayed because of it. It is important to remember that this money has to be spent by 31^st March 2021. There is much work to be done on the Railway that cannot be done from home and so the WSR has decided that certain activities must therefore continue where it is safe to do so and provided appropriate Covid-secure measures are implemented.

The DEPG Board has decided to take a similar stance and not to allow our volunteers to attend at Williton Depot unless the task to be undertaken is either essential to WSR or DEPG operations or urgently required to secure our assets or make something safe. This allows us to authorise and undertake such work as may be necessary on a case-by-case basis.

As you know, we have had to vacate the Goods Shed because of the poor state of the roof and so since the end of November and throughout December, several DEPG volunteers were engaged in removing and securely stowing our assets from within it. It was important for us to get this done quickly to minimise any risk to our staff and so this job was clearly an urgent one. I am pleased to report that this task has now been completed.

During this process we discovered that the container housing Class 33 spares had developed a leak and water was now threatening the spares inside. Last weekend was the first opportunity we had to cover the container with a tarpaulin to prevent the rain getting in.

Throughout January, February and March, the WSR Permanent Way Gang will be engaged in various tasks to help bring the railway itself back up to scratch. There is still trackwork to be completed at Doniford from when it was interrupted by the first lockdown in March. There is also urgent work at Blue Anchor and of course there are the new barriers to be installed at Seaward Way in Minehead. There are also many other jobs to be done along the whole line that can still be done in a Covid-secure way. In support of these activities, engineering trains may run at any time to transport materials and equipment to where it is needed.

On Monday 11^th Jan, Class 33 D6575 will be started up and moved to the Down platform at Williton. This will free up space in our yard for the two RRVs to manoeuvre as they need to in support of the work at Doniford to complete the track repairs that were interrupted by Lockdown 1. Both Class 33s will be started up on a regular basis to maintain them in a serviceable condition and ensure they are ready for use at short notice. This is being done by WSR staff on our behalf.

Commercial deliveries are still being made to the Restorations workshop at Williton which is continuing with contract work to bring funds into the WSR. As far as we are aware there are no rail vehicles being moved in or out by road, but some vehicles in the North Yard are likely to be moved to suit the workshop plans. There are likely to be further deliveries of Permanent Way materials to the South Yard from time to time. Forklift training is planned to be taking place in and around Sherring’s Yard on 21^st January. This is to re-certify operators on the new 8-ton forklift.

Some of you are frequent watchers of the Williton Station webcam and it is reassuring to know that your interest is helping to keep an eye on our heritage diesel fleet. You are not slow to let us know when things are happening! By the same token, those of you that have access to HOPS should be aware of planned movements through the publication there of the Weekly Engineering Notices. Please do not be surprised or alarmed when these or any unplanned movements are taking place.

Martin Howard

DEPG Chairman

11^th January 2021

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Martin makes reference to a loco re-positioning movement that was planned for Monday 11th Jan 2021. It did take place and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) is now stabled at the north end of Platform 1 at Williton station. This ensures that the loco remains available to the WSR even when the yard itself is blocked by materials for the permanent way projects.

This capture from the Williton webcam shows the loco in her new position. The Road-Rail Vehicle (RRV) can be seen at work, moving heavy loads in the south yard, just to the left of the loco.

Many thanks to Railcam UK and the WSR for the major benefit provided by these webcams.

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Going back to the last movements of 2020, our ‘Cromptons’ D6566 and D6575 were swapped over so that D6575 ended up positioned at Williton and D6566 ended up at Westridge shed in Bishops Lydeard. This swap was made because D6575 handled most of the “Santa Express” diesel duties, so she is now due for an “A-exam”, when circumstances permit.

Both Class 33s performed admirably throughout December, and the following photos show the changeover that took place on the 31st December:

 

 

 

DEPOT NEWS – Major progress was made on the clear-out of the Old Goods Shed last year and the building is now empty and ready for remedial work to begin, when circumstances permit. The photos below show the internal layout of the  building, with the central platform that facilitated transfer of goods from wagons to road vehicles (horse-drawn wagons in those days, of course). The black column seen in these photos is the central pillar of the goods crane that would have been used to assist in the transfer of heavy loads. Thanks to our volunteers and to Matt Brewer from the WSR for getting this major task completed and thanks also to Martin Howard for providing the photos.

 

 

Sadly, our depot has had to close again, for all except those tasks that are considered as being both urgent and essential. This weekend, we have a very small team attending to deal with a rainwater leak that is affecting one of our spare part storage containers. The spares for our heritage fleet are precious and irreplaceable, so they must be protected. The short-term fix is to apply a tarpaulin, the longer-term fix will be to replace the container, but that will have to wait until restrictions are lifted.

 

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This is going to be the last “Depot News” update of 2020 so let’s start by saying a massive “thank you very much” to our volunteers for their tireless work in far-from-ideal circumstances this year.

As if dealing with Covid was not enough of a challenge for our group, we have also had to endure the diversion of effort caused by the roof of the Old Goods Shed reaching it’s own limit of endurance. The building has now been cleared and the many Class 14 items from D9518 that were undergoing restoration have now been distributed amongst the various other spare part stores and inside our main loco shed as well. All far from ideal, but driven by necessity.

The above photograph from 12th December 2020 shows the inside of the Old Goods Shed after the Heritage Centre has been removed. The floor is the surface of the loading dock and the little doorway now revealed is the entrance to the office for the Goods Clerk. The black post on the right acting as a ladder rest is the central pillar of the original goods crane. Photo by Martin Howard (c) CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Scaffolding has now been erected around the building to ensure that there is no danger from falling debris, the next step being a structural survey to quantify the work that will be needed to restore the building for the next phase of its life. The WSR have reinstated the ‘Williton Strategy Group’ to determine if the building could take on a different role in future, as part of a wider-ranging review of the entire Williton site, and the DEPG will be fully involved in this process.

 

The photo below shows the scaffolding protecting Platform 1 at Williton while our Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) stands at Platform 2 with the return leg of the 1100 “SANTA EXPRESS” service from Bishops Lydeard.

As mentioned last week, although the “SANTA EXPRESS” is steam hauled, the first service of the day is “top-n-tailed” to make light work of the climbs to Crowcombe Heathfield, even on a wet and slippery railhead.

Some tickets are still available on these Covid-secure services and the WSR are planning to run some additional services after Christmas to cater for the pent-up demand, so please use the following links to find out more:

https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/detail/santa-express

https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/detail/winter-steam-journey

 

CONGRATULATIONS to the WSR and all of the volunteers from so many support groups within the “WSR family” who have worked so hard to re-open the railway and bring revenue-earning trains back again. Great job !

 

Trains are running both before and after Christmas, so keep an eye on the DIESELGEN posts on our website for dates and times of diesel-assisted services.

 

No update about the status of our fleet this week –  this is because our focus continues to be on the Old Goods Shed, so all other work has had to be suspended for the time being. Effort will be re-focused to our loco fleet after Christmas.

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Last Saturday, after a long and hard day of work by our volunteers and by Matt Brewer of the WSR Infrastructure team, the large and heavy components of our fully-dismantled Class 14 D9518 were moved out of the Old Goods Shed. This allowed the scaffolders to start their work.

Some photos of that Herculean effort were provided by our Chairman, Martin Howard, as follows:

 

 

This weekend, the webcam capture below (dated Saturday 12 December 2020) shows the new scaffolding protecting the platform from debris risk and also shows the cab structure from D9518 outside the shed and under tarpaulins for the winter.

In the foreground, Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) prepares to depart for Bishops Lydeard (BL) with the return leg of the FIRST SANTA EXPRESS of the 2020 season!

Because of the need to run strictly to time to ensure that the Covid-19 precautions at BL are as effective as possible, the first SANTA EXPRESS of the day is “top-n-tailed” to make light work of the climbs to Crowcombe Heathfield, even on a wet and slippery railhead.

The ‘Crompton’ is seen in the below web capture returning the special to BL, after which she came off the train and went to Westridge shed to stand-by in case she was needed later in the day (she wasn’t). Note that a traction engine has been positioned near the platform to give additional interest to the families on board the special. It’s another fascinating machine from the old days!

 

CONGRATULATIONS to the WSR and all of the volunteers from so many support groups within the “WSR family” who have worked so hard to re-open the railway and bring revenue-earning trains back again. Great job !

Thanks again to Railcam UK and the WSR for installing and operating these webcams. They really do help us all keep in touch with what is going on at the WSR. Links to the Railcams can be found on the wsr.org.uk website and are also provided below:

BL: http://www.wsr.org.uk/r-cam-bl2.htm

WN: http://www.wsr.org.uk/r-cam-wn2.htm

 

DEPG LOCO WORKINGS: As reported last week, D6575 was in use for crew training purposes, creating some rare and welcomed photo opportunities. The image below was captured by well-known photographer, author and journalist Peter Nicholson and we are grateful to him for sharing this with us:

 

As stated earlier, the ‘Cromptons’ will be supporting the first SANTA EXPRESS workings of each operating day, departing BL at 1100 for Williton (WN) and departing WN at 1150 to arrive back at BL at 1222. Some seats are still available on these special workings, so go to the WSR events website for more details.

For advance notification of DEPG diesel loco workings, join the DIESELGEN mailing list.

No update about the status of our fleet this week –  this is because our focus continues to be on the Old Goods Shed, so all other work has had to be suspended for the time being.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers for working in cold and wet conditions to get these tasks done !

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