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Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 was in use on Saturday 17th February 2024 as motive power for the ‘Tidy Train’ that ran from Williton to Dunster and back, the volunteers gathering tree debris and life-expired materials from the trackside along the way. Pictured at Bye Farm Crossing by Seb Welsh © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

On Saturday 17th February, a group of volunteers boarded the brake van of the ‘Tidy Train’ and headed off from Williton behind Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048), stopping to pick up tree debris, old sleepers and other redundant materials from along the route. The train was formed from flat wagons of various types, include some ex-MOD ‘Warwell’ tank carrier vehicles dating back to WWII – but ideally suited to their current and more peaceful purposes !

 

The photo shows the condition of the lineside after many hours of attention from the ‘Cutting Back Gang’ and the ‘Tidy Train Team’, all of whom have braved some unpleasant weather and given up big chunks of their time to get the line into this condition. WELL DONE TO ALL INVOLVED !

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 was pictured while slowing for a stop at Blue Anchor Station on Saturday 17th February 2024. the loco was in charge of the ‘Tidy Train’ that ran from Williton to Dunster and back. Photo by Robin Wichard © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

The WSR is scheduled to re-open on Saturday 23rd March and the first diesel-hauled service will run on Sunday 7th April. 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. 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 !

BR-Derby Class 46 ‘Peak’ D182 (46045) will be attending the WSR’s 2024 DIESEL GALA that takes place between Thursday 6th and Saturday 8th June 2024, courtesy of the Peak Locomotive Company. Photo by Lee Robbins © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

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.

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – we start by reminding ourselves of D1010’s unsuccessful but valiant day out, 47 years ago on 20th February 1977 when she worked the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM‘ railtour from Paddington with the intention of repeating the triumphant experience of the previous week’s WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF railtour to the South Wales Valleys via Gloucester. Sadly, D1010 developed a coolant leak on her ‘B’ engine shortly after leaving Paddington, but struggled on until relieved at Cardiff by steam-heat-equipped Class 37 37179 (D6879, 37612, 37691), much to the disappointment of travellers and lineside spectators alike. However, the tour was rescued by the appearance of D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ at Pontypridd, to the absolute delight of all !

D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ was at the head of the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM’ railtour on 20th February 1977, one week before the mainline diesel-hydraulic era came to an end. Unfortunately, the loco developed a coolant leak from her ‘B’ engine and was removed from the railtour at Cardiff. Pictured during the Swindon station stop by Robin Addison © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

English Electric Class 37 37179 (D6879, 37612, 37691) replaced D1010 on the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM’ railtour at Cardiff. The steam-heat-fitted loco was used to haul the 12-coach train up the valley of the river Taff to Treherbert then to Aberdare before being herself replaced at Pontypridd. Pictured approaching Pontypridd with two dejected spotters displaying their lack of enthusiasm, on 20th February 1977 by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The saviour of the day, D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ waits at Pontypridd to take over the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM’ railtour to haul it up the Taff valley to Merthyr Tydfil and then back to Paddington via Cardiff Queen Street, reversing at Cardiff Central then through the Severn Tunnel to Bristol and Bath. Pictured on 20th February 1977 by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

On D1010 at Williton, the transmission team have now completed their overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission except for the re-installation of the oil pump, which is waiting on the delivery of some new parts. This gives us a chance to clean and paint the transmission casings, because they are not at all photogenic at the moment.

The focus has shifted to the restoration of the cooler groups from D1010 with preparations being made to patch the corroded header tank that forms the upper part of the cooler group. The known areas of leakage were prepared first, then exploratory work was conducted to find other weak areas that needed patching. In the end, it was decided that the whole length needed repair, which simplified matters !

Work continued on the loco body stands, which are gradually taking on a bright yellow colour, courtesy of Gordon and his paintbrush. The planning took a big step forward following discussions with the DTG and with the crane provider, with a meeting on site arranged for 5th March.

We still 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 plenty to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – devoid of paint and displaying a somewhat rusty hue, the ‘A’ transmission is now ready for a re-paint. The overhaul is complete with the exception of the oil pump, which is waiting for new parts to be delivered. Pictured at Williton on 14th February 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the corrosion in the header tank of the cooler group is evident but localised. Pictured at Williton on 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the corrosion in the cooling element rail is more of an issue and will result in the whole section being repaired. Pictured at Williton on 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the corrosion in the cooling element rail affects most of the length and will result in the whole section being repaired. Pictured at Williton on 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

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 (we have changed the photo below compared to the last few weeks, just to show that we do actually have more than one sponsor!):

The marking process involves the use of an ink pen to allocate a patch number and define the patch boundaries, then the sponsor’s name or chosen message is written using the ink pen. The vibratory engraving tool is then used to trace the marking while making a deep impression into the steel of the patch. The patch is then painted over using multiple coats, but the engraving remains in the metal and will withstand many rubdowns and repaints, in fact it is very difficult to remove (which is how we learned to write the text using the ink pen first!). The engraving will last as long as the metal. Here’s a close-up:

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:

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.

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and is available for duty as required.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the number 7 cylinder head was replaced on Saturday 17th and the coolant pipework completed and pressurised for an overnight leak test before continuing with the assembly of the rocker shaft and manifolds. All was well so work continued the following day and the loco was started up successfully. The team still have several tasks to complete, but progress is good and the loco should be ready to have the roof replaced during the next few weeks.

D6575 (33 057) – three members of the Tuesday team (clockwise from top left, Nick, Tony and Linda) were tasked with the refurbishment of the roof clamps, some of which had sheared off and had to be drilled and tapped. Pictured at Williton on 13th February 2024 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the number 7 cylinder head was replaced with a refurbished unit from our stock, visible in the lighter colour at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the blue pipes carry the coolant and were re-fitted first to allow an overnight leak test to be conducted. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the engine room roof is a steel-framed structure with a translucent fibreglass covering. The far end has already been cleaned and rest will follow suit before the roof section gets re-fitted to the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – work has begun on the preparations for the removal of the transmission, which will then need to be lifted out of the locomotive by a hired-in crane. The transmission will then be cleaned externally before moving to our transmission overhaul area where disassembly will commence. The completion of D1010’s ‘A’ transmission times in well with the work needed on D7018.

With sufficient resource applied, we should be able to have the 6-tonne transmission ready to be lifted out when the heavy-duty crane is next on site on March 8th in connection with the re-location of some containers. This will minimise the cost of the lifting operation and gives us a clear target to aim at.

D7018 – the loco is currently stabled outdoors on number 3 road at Williton, with Barclay 578 (ROF 1) for company. Pictured on 17th February 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 – work continued on the preparation of the many small parts that are needed to complete the cab sub-assembly. Some parts were missing when the DEPG acquired the loco, so they have to be sourced or in some cases, made from scratch. In the photos below, the cover for an electrical junction box has been made from sheet steel by Tony, the new handle for the handbrake wheel was made by a subcontractor, and the new sanding valves were purchased as they are readily available parts. The team pushes ahead !

D9518 – the cover for one of the electrical junction boxes was missing … so Tony made a new one from sheet steel. No problem ! Terry (left) is obviously very happy with the work that Tony (right) has done. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the handbrake wheel has a handle with a spring-loaded sleeve that allows it to be parked in an inward position when not in use. The sleeve was missing, so a new one was made by a subcontractor and the handle now works perfectly. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the sanding valves were also missing when the DEPG acquired the locomotive, but luckily these are standard parts and are easily obtainable. The valve and nozzle were pictured before being connected to the pipework at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

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 for use on engineering trains.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco has now resumed duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The loco was pictured when it returned to Grosmont, possibly after being used on Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) trains earlier in the day. We look forward to seeing her out and about on passenger services in the very near future.

Class 47 D1661/47077/47613/47840 ‘NORTH STAR’ has resumed her duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and was pictured when returning to Grosmont shed on Sunday 18th February 2024. Photo by Brenden Hill © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – last week, we reported that this loco has just had the benefit of the ‘JT’ treatment after many hours of care and attention being lavished by stalwart volunteer JON TOOKE. The photo showed the standard of work that had been achieved and resulted in several positive comments from readers, so well done JT, well done indeed !

   

Barclay 578 (ROF 1) – two more views of the cab repaint, showing the two tone colour scheme and the attention to detail. It’s a great piece of work and really adds to the locomotive. Well done JT ! Pictured at Williton on 10th February 2024 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 – this week, we feature one NEW book and two more pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG.

First the NEW HARDBACK BOOK BY ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ and covering that rich period during the history of BR’s Western Region where seven classes of diesel-hydraulic mainline locomotives could be seen at work, covering all four power type classifications. By careful use of the image repository at TRANSPORT TREASURY, Roger has complied this book such as to create a virtual journey from Paddington to Penzance, a journey where many of the hydraulic classes could be seen at work in the wonderful backdrop of the West of England countryside. DEFINITELY 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.

 

In the pre-owned category, we have posted several new titles and they are selling as fast as we are posting them, so PLEASE SEND US YOUR UNWANTED BOOKS so that we can replenish our stocks and keep the funds flowing in. Click HERE for our contact form.

‘HYDRAULIC vs ELECTRIC’ by David N. Clough is an excellent buy and is in as-new condition. This book may not find favour with diehard hydraulic enthusiasts but it does provide great fuel for the never-ending debate about the two types of transmission. Very well worth a read, regardless of your preconceived views !

‘FAREWELL TO THE WESTERNS‘ by Geoffrey Kitchenside is a picture book that was published in 1975 when the locos were still to be seen on their traditional duties. The BW photos include some classic views along with unusual views of track formations that have long been swept away.

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: Hydraulic vs Electric Author : David N Clough	Book: Farewell to the Westerns Author: Geoffrey Kitchenside
Asking price : £20 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £10 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – following our appeal for photographs, we are delighted to say that we received several batches of photos, enough to allow us to reinstate this feature for the next month or two. If you were poised to send your photos, please don’t let this deter you because we NEED MORE ! This week, we present a group of Class 37 photographs from ROB CRISPIN:

     “I noticed an announcement from SVR recently…..37409 Loch Awe will be attending their gala this Spring. I then looked at the accompanying photo and thought, ‘That is some major surgery’! I did a quick bit of research and found out that infact it was 37270. One of those South Wales based 37s I grew up seeing most days either at school, or on trips just down the line. My memories of Loch Awe were a bit different!  

     The ‘real’ Loch Awe was on a day trip from Glasgow to Oban (long story I won’t bore you with!). The three photos were taken on a very dark, very wet 1st April 1985. Location was Oban station. It was at a time when 37026 was still awaiting its headlights, when all boiler fitted 37s around it had theirs it seems. It did eventually have headlights fitted, later that year. Within months not only was 37026 Loch Awe reallocated to Motherwell and effectively condemned to life on the freight circuit thereafter, it was also stripped of its title, ‘Loch Awe’.

     By contrast, the other 37 in two of those photos was 37190, complete with headlight. That too transferred to Motherwell around a similar time, and like 37026 Loch Awe, converted to a 37/3 for a time. Unlike 37026 Loch Awe however, which was stripped for parts…..and its name….and scrapped in 2000, 37190 is still with us, at least for now I believe. As for 37409 (Loch Awe version two), 37270’s claim to fame was that it was the last loco to visit the ‘Dean Forest Railway’ on a revenue earning service, before it was closed by British Rail.”

Many thanks to Rob for sharing his photos and his memories with us all.

English Electric 37026 (D6726, 37320) ‘Loch Awe’ at Oban on 1st April 1985. Photo by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

An alternative view of English Electric 37026 (D6726, 37320) ‘Loch Awe’ in the rain at Oban on 1st April 1985. Photo by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

Two different nose-end treatments give away the age difference between 37026 (D6726, 37320) ‘Loch Awe’ of 1961 on the left, and 37190 (D6890, 37314) of 1964 on the right. Pictured at Oban on 1st April 1985 by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – the latest issue of the DEPG Newsletter has now been distributed in both hard copy and online form. The newsletter includes information that is not currently available via our website or via the roundup, so JOIN THE DEPG to get the detailed information at the earliest opportunity. Please let us know if you are a DEPG member and are still waiting for your copy.

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 responding to this email or 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

Barclay 578 (ROF 1) and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 were stabled on No. 1 road in the South Yard at Williton on Friday 9th February 2024. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The focus of activity last weekend was the delivery of two new (one trip) 20 ft ISO containers that will allow us to move the Class 33 spares from an old and corroding container to the dry and brighter environment of the new, with an additional container allowing the overcrowded electrical workshop to be cleared of spare parts. These two new containers will be followed by two more in a few weeks that will allow other corroded containers to be swapped over and will give us a net increase of one container in terms of storage space. The preparations for the new containers have involved a lot of hard work and a wide cross-section of our volunteers have been involved over the past weeks, but the benefits are clear and long-lasting, so well done all involved !

The first of two new ‘one trip’ containers being offloaded by the supplier HEAVER BROTHERS at Williton on Friday 9th February 2024. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The two new ‘one trip’ containers in their final positions at Williton on Friday 9th February 2024. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The two new containers arrived pre-wired with power sockets and lighting, making them far superior to our existing container stock. Pictured at Williton on Friday 9th February 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The task of transferring the spares from the electrical workshop to the new containers was well underway when pictured at Williton on the late afternoon of Saturday 10th February 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

The WSR’s Summer Diesel Festival will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June with mixed traction running on Sunday 9th, hopefully with at least one visiting locomotive at work.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced is English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class. We will provide details of the other visiting locomotives as soon as arrangements for their visits have been finalised. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’ will be attending the WSR’s 2024 DIESEL GALA that takes place between Thursday 6th and Saturday 8th June 2024. Photo by Tony Middleton © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DIESEL RUNNING DATES

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.

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – we start by taking a moment to remind ourselves of D1010’s big day out, 47 years ago on 13th February 1977 when she worked the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF‘ railtour from Paddington to the South Wales Valleys via Gloucester while in the last weeks of her mainline operating career. The railtour was a great success and ran again the following weekend – but luck was against our loco on that occasion. More on this story next week.

D1010 – the last time that our loco reached the heads of the South Wales Valleys was on 13th February 1977 when she worked the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF‘ railtour from Paddington via Gloucester and Cardiff. Evidently there was plenty of carriage heating steam to spare ! Pictured when departing from Aberdare by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As our plans to lift the loco develop, the massive steel stands that were acquired from BR-Swindon many years ago have undergone inspection and been painted in primer and undercoat by Gordon and Ian F. These substantial frames are formed from thick steel plate that has been welded along all edges to create a very stiff and strong structure, easily capable of carrying the weight of the locomotive body.

The stands were modified by BR after withdrawal of the ‘Westerns’ to make them suitable for use with Mark 1 coaches, so we are having to perform stress analysis work to determine if the modifications can remain, or if the stands have to be returned to their earlier configuration. The analytical work include abnormal loading cases such as misalignment and uneven loading, and will also include the effects of side forces from gales, because the intention is to use them outdoors. We cannot be too careful with D1010 !

The transmission team had to diverted some of their attention to investigate the issues with D7018 but are still expecting to complete their overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission before the end of this month, providing us with two fully-overhauled transmissions in support of returning D1010 to service.

 

We still 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 plenty to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – the genuine ex-Swindon Works Class 52 loco stands were painted in primer and undercoat by Gordon and Ian F at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024. The modifications to extend their width and height to suit Mark 1 coaches can be seen in the darker grey colour. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the reverser assembly of the overhauled ‘A’ end transmission was re-installed by Tim and Colin F at Williton on Tuesday 6th February 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © 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 the image further below to get your name engraved into the metal of the locomotive.

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 (we have changed the photo below compared to the last few weeks, just to show that we do actually have more than one sponsor!):

The marking process involves the use of an ink pen to allocate a patch number and define the patch boundaries, then the sponsor’s name or chosen message is written using the ink pen. The vibratory engraving tool is then used to trace the marking while making a deep impression into the steel of the patch. The patch is then painted over using multiple coats, but the engraving remains in the metal and will withstand many rubdowns and repaints, in fact it is very difficult to remove (which is how we learned to write the text using the ink pen first!). The engraving will last as long as the metal. Here’s a close-up:

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 would like to ask for an additional £2 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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.

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and will be out and about on engineering workings during the next few weeks.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the long-awaiting exhaust gaskets arrived in time for the weekend and progress was brisk as the exhaust system was reassembled and ready for a test start-up by the end of the day on Saturday. The start-up took place in the evening but revealed a leaking fuel injector seal on number 7 cylinder head, so the relevant parts were dis-assembled the following day so that the cylinder head could be changed for a spare from our stock. This is a setback, but the team are confident that they will be ready to try again this Saturday, fingers crossed !

D6575 (33 057) – this loco is undergoing an exhaust system overhaul inside the loco shed at Williton. The rolling chassis and cab of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 can be seen alongside. Pictured at Williton on 9th February 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – volunteer loco manager Ian R aligns one of the exhaust manifold sections that connect the cylinder heads with the turbocharger. The gap will be filled by an expansion joint – see below. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the expansion joint includes a stainless steel bellows that compresses or expands depending on the thermal expansion or contraction of the surrounding pipework. Without such devices, the exhaust manifold would become overstressed and would fail prematurely. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – following the decision taken last week to remove the transmission for replacement of the damaged No. 5 reverser clutch, the work on disconnecting the transmission is planned to be started next week. Step number one is to drain the coolant so that the transmission heat exchanger can be disconnected. Then, the electrical wiring to the various solenoids and the directional contactor will be disconnected and made safe. After that, the auxilliary cardan shafts that connect the transmission with the dynastarter and the Serck pump will be removed, followed by the very large and heavy engine-to-transmission cardan shaft, which only needs to be disconnected at the transmission end. The dirtiest job of them all will be to go under the locomotive to disconnect the bogie drive shafts from the output shaft at the bottom of the transmission – and right between the two fuel tanks.

With sufficient resource applied, we should be able to have the 6-tonne transmission ready to be lifted out when the heavy-duty crane is next on site on March 8th in connection with the re-location of some containers. This will minimise the cost of the lifting operation and gives us a clear target to aim at.

 

Below are photos of the damaged No. 5 clutch with a comparison view of the adjacent No. 6 clutch. The No.5 clutch has not been able to engage properly, and this has resulted in damage to the driving surfaces of the clutch teeth. The damaged parts will need to be replaced with spares taken from the transmission that ran in D7018 during BR days.

D7018 – the actuator for clutch #5 was manipulated into the fully engaged position for this photo, but it is clear that the clutch teeth have not fully engaged. This has resulted in damage to the driving faces of the clutch teeth. Pictured at Williton on 6th February 2024 by Geoff Miles  © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – by comparison, clutch #6 for the opposite direction engages fully. The slopes on the surfaces of the clutch jaws are intentional. Pictured at Williton on 29th January 2024 by Geoff Miles  © 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 – with the electrical control cubicle now back in position in the cab, the painstaking task of wiring the cubicle into the driver’s desk circuitry has begun. The wiring between the cubicle and the rest of the locomotive cannot be started until the cab assembly is back on the locomotive, and that depends on the cardan shaft issue being resolved. Faced with this dilemma, Colin G spent a few days driving a van across the Country to collect some candidate cardan shafts and deliver them to the balancing shop for inspection – and if they are good enough for continued service, we will have them re-balanced and then we can fit them to the loco. All of our fingers are firmly crossed on this one !

D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle is now back inside the partially-restored cab. John, who is framed by the opposite doorway, is the volunteer responsible for the excellent electrical restoration work on this and many of our other locos. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle really is an excellent piece of work by John and Colin G, and will no doubt serve this locomotive well into the future. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

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 for use on engineering trains.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco is now available for duty on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The plan is for this loco to be in use this month on engineering trains and empty coaching stock ECS) moves.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and has just had the benefit of the ‘JT’ treatment after many hours of care and attention being lavished by stalwart volunteer JON TOOKE. We have previously reported on the external treatment, but the newly-completed internal cab repaint has pushed the restoration to new heights ! We will report in more detail in a future Newsletter, but here is a photo to show what has been achieved. Well done JT !

Barclay 578 (ROF 1) – the cab repaint has been completed and what a superb job it is. We will now have a queue of drivers wanting to get trained on this loco, just so they can enjoy the ambience ! Well done JT ! Pictured at Williton on 10th February 2024 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 – this week, we feature two more pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG, both of great interest and offered at very good prices. Both books are of high quality and these copies are in exellent condition. 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: Diesel Hydraulics – a colour retrospective Author : Andrew Vines	Book: Class 50 – A Pictorial Journey Author: David Cable
Asking price : £15 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £10 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – following our appeal for photographs, we are delighted to say that we received several batches of photos, enough to allow us to reinstate this feature for the next month or two. If you were poised to send your photos, please don’t let this deter you because we NEED MORE ! Here’s another photograph, along with some feedback from Neale Long that we have received regarding last week’s photo, with many thanks to ROB CRISPIN for sharing his memories.

Neale Long wrote: 

     “Nice to see a shot of my home town Gloucester with one of the stalwart class 08s. The featured 08836 came to Gloucester in June 1978 and left in January 1987 when it went to Cardiff Canton. This loco was not everyone’s favourite though; mine was 08826 (D3994), a locomotive based at the nearby Horton Road shed from December 1960 when only two months old, right through to July 1982, when upon overhaul it was sent to Carlisle.”

Many thanks to Rob and Neale for responding to our ‘on-shed’ appeal.

BR-Derby Class 45 ‘Peak’ 45036 (D45) was waiting for the signal before heading east then north with a train of coiled sheet steel from South Wales while Class 08 ‘Shunter’ 08836 (D4004) appeared to be taking a rest on the adjacent siding, facing west. A collection of locos can just be seen at Horton Road stabling point, beyond the station. Pictured at Gloucester Station on 22nd June 1982 by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Long-term resident Class 08 ‘Shunter’ 08826 (D3994) was pictured at Gloucester Horton Road stabling point on 18th October 1981. This loco features in ‘The Beaten Track Volume 3‘ on Page 95, available from our online store. Photo by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DEPG NEWS – the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter has now been distributed in both hard copy and online form. The newsletter includes information that is not currently available via our website or via the roundup, so JOIN THE DEPG to get the detailed information at the earliest opportunity. Please let us know by using our CONTACT FORM if you are a DEPG member and are still waiting for your copy.

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 responding to this email or 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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 was fresh from overhaul when pictured at Crowcombe Heathfield station on 6th October 2019. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

After missing the Diesel Gala and causing us a lot of trouble in August of last year, investigation work on the transmission of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 has now revealed physical damage to one of her directional clutches that will require the transmission to be removed from the locomotive so that repairs can take place. We had already suspected that D7018 would not be available for service until later this year, but this new finding confirms this and we are allocating resources to make sure that the work gets done in good time so that the loco can demonstrate reliability by March 2025, which will be her 50th anniversary of entering preservation.

 

After withdrawal from BR service at Old Oak Common in March 1975, D7018 was purchased by a private individual and moved to Didcot Railway Centre. The loco was later acquired by the D+EG (forerunner of the DEPG) when the owner had the opportunity to purchase a ‘Western’ instead. The ‘Hymek’ was restored at Didcot in parallel with work that was taking place on preserved sister D7017 at Minehead, and the two locos eventually came together at Williton in 1991.

 

In 1995, D7018 suffered an engine failure when departing from Williton with a service train, and this signified the start of a thorough overhaul that was to take 24 years, the loco returning to service at the WSR ‘Diesels to the Seaside’ event in June 2019.

 

During overhaul, it was found that the gear train within the transmission was badly damaged and was not fit for further use. Luckily, we had a spare transmission that appeared to be a ‘zero hours’ unit, but it had no pedigree so it was completely dismantled and inspected before re-assembling it and installing it into D7018. When first operated, it worked well and entirely as expected, but this was not the case for long, as difficulties with gear changing started to show during the Diesel Gala in 2019 and the transmission was locked in second gear as a work-around. The ‘Hymeks’ are sufficiently powerful to be able to start their trains in second gear, so apart from a loss of performance and efficiency at very low speeds, the loco is otherwise unaffected.

 

After the completion of D7018’s successful running season in 2022, the control block of the ‘new’ transmission was swapped with that of the ‘old’ transmission in an attempt to resolve the gear change issue. The result of this was to expose another fault that has resulted in damage to one of the directional clutches. Luckily, the ‘old’ transmission carries a set of clutches which appear to be in good condition so the relevant parts can be swapped over. We also have one other transmission which is complete but corroded due to water ingress in the years before being acquired by the DEPG. This transmission may also be used as a parts donor.

 

The repair work will be carried out by the ‘transmission team’ at Williton as soon as they complete their work on the ‘A’ transmission from D1010. The repairs will be followed by a period of careful testing before the transmission is subjected to any power. This will protect our dwindling sources of spare parts and minimise the risk of further trouble. We expect to have the loco out and about on test trains this time next year, to work her up to full reliability in anticipation of her golden anniversary.

 

D7018 – graphic showing the power flow through the Mekydro K184U transmission. Engaging clutch 5 or 6 (in the green zone) determines the direction of movement. © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D7018 – the damaged #5 clutch – the slopes on the teeth should only go in one direction. The yellow ovals highlight the damaged areas. Pictured at Williton on 29th January 2024 by Geoff Miles  © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D7018 – by comparison, clutch #6 for the opposite direction appears to be in good condition. The slopes on the facing surfaces are intentional. Pictured at Williton on 29th January 2024 by Geoff Miles  © 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 or by buying our 64-page A4 HYMEK D7018 BOOKLET, 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.

 

 

WSR STAFF BRIEFINGS

Last weekend saw the first of several mandatory briefing sessions that were held at Wellington school, during which the managers and officers of the WSR delivered information and provided training for the many hundreds of volunteers who engage in operations (drivers, guards, ticket staff, station staff). The DEPG was allocated a slot and our chairman MARTIN HOWARD took the stage with a presentation covering the background and future outlook for the DEPG. The information was well received and Martin can be assured of plenty of work in this regard, both at the next staff briefing session and in the future. WELL DONE MARTIN !

 

DEPG history – one of the slides that Martin presented at the WSR Staff Briefing on Sunday 4th February 2024. Photo by Barry Gay © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

The WSR’s Summer Diesel Festival will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June with mixed traction running on Sunday 9th, hopefully with at least one visiting locomotive at work.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced is English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class. We will provide details of the other visiting locomotives as soon as arrangements for their visits have been finalised. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’ will be attending the WSR’s 2024 DIESEL GALA that takes place between Thursday 6th and Saturday 8th June 2024. Photo by Tony Middleton © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DIESEL RUNNING DATES

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.

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the massive steel stands that were acquired from BR-Swindon many years ago underwent the first stage of a clean-up at Williton when they received attention from Gordon. These stands each weigh more than 1 tonne and date back to the 1960s, with a modification added later to extend their versatility. These stands feature prominently in photos of locos undergoing overhaul at Swindon Works, many of which are contained in the books about the history of the class.

Meanwhile, the transmission team continue their progress towards the completion of the overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission with the testing and adjustment of the reverser assembly. This work is expected to be completed during the coming weeks and will provide us with two fully-overhauled transmissions in support of returning D1010 to service !

We still 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 plenty to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – the genuine ex-Swindon Works Class 52 loco stands were cleaned up by Gordon at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024. The stands will be inspected before being painted. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Happily, we also have another batch of sponsored patches that need to be engraved into the new metal on the loco, so we just need some dry weather to be able to do this (the loco is outdoors at present). Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. Starting next week, we will be emailing the certificates to each sponsor in recognition of their contribution, so the wait is almost over ! Here’s an example of what we will be sending:

The marking process involves the use of an ink pen to allocate a patch number and define the patch boundaries, then the sponsor’s name or chosen message is written using the ink pen. The vibratory engraving tool is then used to trace the marking while making a deep impression into the steel of the patch. The patch is then painted over using multiple coats, but the engraving remains in the metal and will withstand many rubdowns and repaints, in fact it is very difficult to remove (which is how we learned to write the text using the ink pen first!). The engraving will last as long as the metal. Here’s a close-up:

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 would like to ask for an additional £2 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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 !

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.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and was put to use for the Secondman training course that is being run by WSR volunteer Diesel Traction Inspector John Leach. The trainees practiced coupling and uncoupling the loco to Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 who was conveniently stabled along the same road at Williton. MANY THANKS to John for the thorough and diligent training that he provides.

D6566 (33 048) is currently based at Williton and was in use for Secondman training purposes on Saturday 3rd February 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the period of enforced waiting for the ‘correct’ exhaust gaskets was put to use by resolving an oil leak that has been a nuisance for some time. The leak came from a defective oil seal on the fuel rack pointer shaft, and replacement involved having to remove the engine governor assembly. The mess that this small issue has made is apparent from the photograph below, with the yellow circle highlighting the location of the shaft and showing the level of difficulty in accessing the area. Anyway, it is another job ticked off the list. The exhaust gaskets are expected in time for this coming weekend, so we are still hopeful that this loco will be back in service some time in March.

D6575 (33 057) – the engine governor sits at the generator end of the engine and controls the setting of the fuel rack. The location of the leaking oil seal is highlighted by the yellow circle. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the fuel rack pointer shaft has been the source of an annoying oil leak from the engine governor. The issue has been resolved by removing the governor and replacing the seal. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – already covered.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – a significant step forward was made on Saturday 3rd February when the electrical control cubicle was re-installed into the cab assembly so that the electrical re-wiring work can be continued. The cubicle has been carefully restored by Jon and Colin G and certainly looks the part. When not involved with the handling of the cubicle, Terry was busy installing the sanding equipment, including the new bracket that was made by Tony the week previously. Well done Team !

D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle was relocated by Terry and Martin to go under the crane at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the cab wall had been prepared by Colin G so the the electrical control cubicle could be lowered into place and connected up. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle was lowered into the cab assembly at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle was re-installed in the cab assembly at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the sanding brackets were the subject of attention from Terry, pictured while making a small adjustment to the alignment before installation. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 3rd February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

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 for use on engineering trains.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco is now ready to take up duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The plan is for this loco to be in use later this month.

 

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

 

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 – this week, we feature two more pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG, both of great interest and offered at very good prices. The Class 33 book by Simon Lilley is much sought after and we also feature a book by David Clough, of particular interest to Class 50 fans. 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: The Class 33s – a 60 year history Author : Simon Lilley	Book: Class 50s in Operation Author: David N Clough
Asking price : £20 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £15 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – following our appeal for photographs, we are delighted to say that we received several batches of photos, enough to allow us to reinstate this feature for the next month or two. If you were poised to send your photos, please don’t let this deter you because we NEED MORE ! Here’s the story that goes with this photograph, with many thanks to ROB CRISPIN:

     “My first ever photo of a train was 08836. Often station pilot at Gloucester ‘in my day’, as the photo shows. Taken on 27th August, 1981. I was about a week away from starting my 2nd year at secondary school. I wasn’t enjoying school much (already decided which subjects to drop), I wanted to join in something to make my school experience a bit less tedious/endless study. In the long list of societies, ‘The Railway Society’ seemed as good an option as any. My school backed onto the Bristol to Cheltenham mainline. Things could have gone either way as during 1st year, I hadn’t really taken any notice of the trains. I bought myself a 1981 Ian Allan Locoshed book and went to Gloucester station armed with a borrowed ‘point and shoot’ camera. 08836 was there. It really didn’t do that much, but because I was new to it, I almost certainly mistakenly arrived, and then departed, during an extensive lull in the timetable! However, it was enough to get me started and the society (led by a fantastic teacher) was the highlight of my school career (as the final results indicated). 

     I bought a few books recently, having restarted my interest in Summer 2021. One of those was ‘Diesel and Electric Loco Register’ by Andy Chard. First loco I looked up…….08836.”

Class 08 ‘Shunter’ 08836 was pictured on a bright and sunny day at Gloucester Station on 27th August 1981. This sturdy machine was delivered to Old Oak Common on 12th November 1960 as D4004 and is still at work on the mainline today. Photo by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter has now been distributed in both hard copy and online form. The newsletter includes information that is not currently available via our website or via the roundup, so JOIN THE DEPG to get the detailed information at the earliest opportunity. Please let us know by using our CONTACT FORM if you are a DEPG member and are still waiting for your copy.

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 responding to this email or 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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) is undergoing an exhaust system overhaul in the loco shed at Williton. Pictured on Friday 26th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Tucked away out of sight inside the loco shed at Williton, work is proceeding on the exhaust system overhaul of Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) to get her ready for a return to service before the end of March. This time of year, the demand for the occasional engineering train is easily met by sister Class 33 D6566 (33 048) or by Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526, both locos being available for use by the WSR at any time, but this will change when the line reopens in March, with the need to support operations and the need to run special services for refreshing the train crews.

Progress on D6575 has been held up by having to wait for the exhaust gaskets to be delivered. The first batch were incorrect and the second batch were rejected by the manufacturer before shipment, so the third batch ought to be right !

The photo below shows that the roof of the loco has been lifted off to allow easier access to the large and heavy exhaust system components, most of which have now been removed from the loco for clean up and inspection. The Sulzer 8-cylinder diesel engine has been checked over and one of the cylinder heads was found to have worn valve guides, which reduces efficiency and increases oil consumption. This issue has been caught at an early stage and the cylinder head replaced with a known good spare from DEPG stock. Other cleanup work will continue while we wait for the gaskets, then we will need a few weeks to put everything back together and perform the necessary checks and inspections before the loco returns to service.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) viewed from the Mezzanine floor inside the loco shed at Williton. Pictured on Saturday 27th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Meanwhile, the WSR Infrastructure team continue their work on the sections of the line where issues were reported last year. One such area is west of Washford Station, where a section of trackbed had become waterlogged. When this happens, mud fills the spaces between the individual stones of the ballast and forms what is known as a ‘wet bed. This requires digging out and the ballast replacing with fresh material. The source of the excess water has to be dealt with as well, to prevent a recurrence. Given the weather extremes of the last few years, the team are busy indeed !

Members of the WSR Infrastructure team were at work on the ‘wet bed’ west of Washford Station during late January 2024. Photo by Jake Genge © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

As covered last week, following the success of the WSR’s Diesel Gala last year, contracts are being negotiated to get another good selection of visiting locomotives for the 2024 event which will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June. The Sunday will feature mixed traction, hopefully with at least one visiting locomotive at work.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced is English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class. We will provide details of the other visiting locomotives as soon as arrangements for their visits have been finalised. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’ will be attending the WSR’s 2024 DIESEL GALA that takes place between Thursday 6th and Saturday 8th June 2024. Photo by Tony Middleton © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DIESEL RUNNING DATES

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 NEWS

An update has been received from DEPG member Martin Rouse covering the recent progress on his AC Railbus W79978 based on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway. It was great to read that the Railbus has been operated succesfully and we look forward to seeing this project make further progress. The January 2024 news update can be found by clicking on this link.

AC Railbus W79978 was in use at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway in September 2023 and was very popular with visitors. This interesting piece of railway history is undergoing restoration at Hayes Knoll. Photo by Martin Rouse © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the focus for the team at the moment is the planning of the lifting operation that will allow the bogies to be rolled out so that they can be overhauled. The plan is for the loco be lifted by two 100-ton road cranes working in tandem, that will be able to slew the loco body aside so that the bogies can be moved out of the way and the stands placed in position instead. The loco body would then be slewed back into position and lowered onto the stands.

The stands themselves are massive steel fabrications, each weighing more than 1 tonne and dating back to the 1960s. They were used at Swindon Works until made redundant by the withdrawal of the Class 52s. As the picture below shows, they are in need of a clean up, after which they will be inspected to ensure integrity then given a fresh coat of paint. That’s another job that needs to be done ASAP !

Meanwhile, the transmission team have made very good progress and have re-fitted the top cover to the overhauled ‘A’ transmission. It is not photogenic because it has yet to be painted, but it has now been overhauled and only needs the rest of the peripherals reattached to become a complete working unit once again. WELL DONE TEAM !

The restoration of D1010 is a major project 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 plenty more to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – the genuine ex-Swindon Works Class 52 loco stands were relocated to be alongside the loco at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024. The stands will be cleaned up and inspected before being painted. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the cooler group continues to receive attention from Ian F and Roy, the grey primer gradually extending to cover most of the structure. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the overhauled transmission from ‘A’ end is approaching completion after the fitting of the top cover (left) and the installation of the governor (right). Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 23rd January 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

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.

Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. Almost all of the sponsored patches have now been engraved into the new metal on the loco and efforts are now focused on producing the certificates that will be emailed to each sponsor in recognition of their contribution. Here’s an example:

The marking process involves the use of an ink pen to allocate a patch number and define the patch boundaries, then the sponsor’s name or chosen message is written using the ink pen. The vibratory engraving tool is then used to trace the marking while making a deep impression into the steel of the patch. The patch is then painted over using multiple coats, but the engraving remains in the metal and will withstand many rubdowns and repaints, in fact it is very difficult to remove (which is how we learned to write the text using the ink pen first!). The engraving will last as long as the metal. Here’s a close-up:

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 would like to ask for an additional £2 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and is available for duty.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – as outlined earlier, the replacement cylinder head for number 5 cylinder has now been installed, so the team can now return their focus to the exhaust system.We hope to have this loco back in service some time in March.

D6575 (33 057) – a close look at the valve gear of cylinder head No. 5 showing the rocker arms and central support. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – cylinder head No. 5 is carrying a new exhaust outlet gasket (green) in readiness for the re-fitting of the exhaust pipe. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the temporary pressure gauges that were being used to monitor the control pressures have been reorganised and relocated to make them easier to read. This also makes them easier to film, the video evidence of the pressures at startup being essential information in the fault-finding process. The next step is to check that the six control pistons are correctly set and can achieve full and free travel. These checks will ensure that the maximum amount of useful information is obtained from the next engine startup.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the team continued their preparations for the electrical re-wiring and the installation of the cab by completing the restoration of several more electrical junction box enclosures along with the associated specially-shaped trunking. In parallel, work continued on the cardan shaft replacement activities and on the compressed air pipework for the windscreen wipers. 

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.

D9518 – an elevated view of the ‘A’ end of the locomotive at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024 showed the cooler group (grey) dominating the scene, with the two exhausters  to the left (green) and the cab assembly to the right. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the quality of finish on these humble electrical enclosures gives a taste of what to expect when this loco reaches completion. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the painted pegboard lining provides the authentic 1960s look and feel for the cab. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024 by Jon Tooke © 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 for use on engineering trains.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco is now ready to take up duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The plan is for this loco to be in use later this month.

 

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

 

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 – this week, we feature two more pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG, both of great interest and offered at very good prices. The book by David Clough is of particular interest. 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: BR Standard Diesels of the 1960s Author : David Clough	Book: BR Traction in Colour – 2 Author: Paul Shannon
Asking price : £15 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £5 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – as mentioned last week, we are actually SHORT of on-shed photographs, which is hard to believe, but is true. To help us maintain this popular feature, please SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS ! Thanks in advance !

 

 

DEPG NEWS – the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter has now been distributed in both hard copy and online form. The newsletter includes information that is not currently available via our website or via the roundup, so JOIN THE DEPG to get the detailed information at the earliest opportunity. Please let us know if you are a member and you are still waiting for your copy beyond the middle of next week.

 

A Board Meeting was held at Williton on Saturday 27th January 2024. A synopsis is being prepared and will be emailed ASAP to all DEPG members for whom we hold a valid email address.

 

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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was out and about on a ‘Tidy Train’ working from Williton to Dunster and back on Saturday 20th January 2024. Photo by trainee secondman Karl Lambert © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The ‘Tidy Train’ ran from Williton to Dunster and back on Saturday 20th and was well manned and had plenty of work to do as it trundled along the line, the volunteers gathering redundant and recycleable materials from the trackside and placing it on the flat wagons that were being towed behind the Class 33 ‘Crompton’. The plan was to take the consignment to Dunster Station to off-load it in the yard there, but points trouble prevented the train from entering the yard so the train returned to Williton with the wagons still loaded, to be dealt with on another day. MANY THANKS to all of the volunteers who braved the cold weather to get this important work done.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was pictured as it left Williton with three empty flat wagons and a well-filled Brake Van on Saturday 20th January 2024. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) propelled the ‘Tidy Train’ back from Dunster and deposited the wagons in the ‘up’ platform at Williton station. The loco was pictured alongside Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 in fading light on Saturday 20th January 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

Meanwhile, the WSR Infrastructure Department were busy working near Tribble Bridge where a new retaining wall is being built alongside the embankment. As the wall gains in height, the gap between it and the wall is being filled with graded aggregate to ensure sufficient drainage. The photo below shows one of the WSR’s Road-Rail Vehicles (RRVs) positioned on the line above the new wall. Upon completion of the wall, the track will be removed and relaid with fresh ballast. Hopefully, the 5 mph speed restriction will be lifted some time later this year.

The new retaining wall is being built along the embankment near Tribble Bridge as part of the remediation for the flood damage that occurred back in December 2022. Pictured on Tuesday 23rd January 2024 by Chris Lawton © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

Following the success of the WSR’s Diesel Gala last year, contracts are being negotiated to get another good selection of visiting locomotives for the 2024 event which will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June. The Sunday will feature mixed traction, hopefully with at least one visiting locomotive at work.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced is English Electric Class 50 50033 (D449) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class. We will provide details of the other visiting locomotives as soon as arrangements for their visits have been finalised. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

English Electric Class 50 50033 (D449) ‘Glorious’ will be attending the WSR’s 2024 DIESEL GALA that will take place between Thursday 6th and Saturday 8th June 2024. Photo by Tony Middleton © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the very cold wind prevented all but the hardiest souls from working on the loco outdoors last weekend, but new volunteer Viv did do exactly that and put several hours of work into cleaning the accumulations of dirt from the bogies. There is plenty more of such work to be done, so we look forward to warmer weather and getting more volunteers working on this aspect of the restoration.

We will need MORE HANDS to help us get this 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 plenty more to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

The transmission team continued to make very good progress with the rebuild of the ‘A’ transmission, and the assembly checks that took place last Saturday confirmed that everything was in order and it would be OK to proceed to fit the upper casing. We look forward to this rapidly approaching milestone.

 

D1010 – new volunteer Viv braved the very cold wind at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024 to carry out more cleaning work on the bogies. Well done that man ! Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the assembly checks that were carried out on the ‘A’ transmission at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024 showed that everything was in order, clearing the way for the upper casing to be fitted. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. Almost all of the sponsored patches have now been engraved into the new metal on the loco and efforts are now focused on producing the certificates that will be emailed to each sponsor in recognition of their contribution. Here’s an example:

The marking process involves the use of an ink pen to allocate a patch number and define the patch boundaries, then the sponsor’s name or chosen message is written using the ink pen. The vibratory engraving tool is then used to trace the marking while making a deep impression into the steel of the patch. Here’s a close-up:

The patch is then painted over using multiple coats, but the engraving remains in the metal and will withstand many rubdowns and repaints, in fact it is very difficult to remove (which is how we learned to write the text using the ink pen first!). The engraving will last as long as the metal !

 

Sponsorship includes a photograph and a certificate via email, but we can print these certificates on photo paper and mail them out upon request, in which case we would like to ask for an additional £2 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

 

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 is becoming available for distribution to DEPG members during the next few days. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.

 

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and is available for duty.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the replacement cylinder head has now been installed and the eight bolts tightened to the massive torque setting of 750 lb.ft or 1,000 Nm with the use of a torque multiplier and a whole lot of effort from Tom and Ashley. The bolts will need to be re-tightened next week after allowing the bolting stresses to even out, so the lads will be getting another workout soon. The completion of the cylinder head change will allow the team to return their attention to the exhaust system parts, to prepare them for re-fitting. We hope to have this loco back in service some time in March.

D6575 (33 057) – Tom and Ashley (L-R) have their hard hats on in readiness for the lifting of the replacement cylinder head that is visible suspended from the chains alongside the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – a closer view of the replacement Sulzer cylinder head before it was lifted into the loco at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – after lowering the replacement cylinder head into position, volunteer loco manager Ian R (L) checks and explains the critical points to new volunteer Ashley at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – Tom and Ashley provided the turning force to the torque multiplier to achieve the massive 750 lb.ft (1000 Nm) of torque for the cylinder head bolts at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – as reported last week, the next steps for the investigation into the control block issues were planned out and the necessary pressure gauges obtained. To eliminate several probable causes, the loco will need to undergo a static engine run during which the additional risk mitigation measures will be put in place to prevent un-commanded movement. The test run will include data gathering from additional pressure monitoring points and will clear the way for the control block to be removed from the loco for inspection and corrective action. This work will take place over the next 4 weeks.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the re-instatement of the sanding gear was the target for Tony this week, with several sander brackets having to be fabricated from scratch due to them being missing when the loco first came to the DEPG back in 2011 (probably as a result of damage due to the frequent derailments in the colliery yards).

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 is becoming available for distribution to DEPG members during the next few days. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.

 

D9518 – a new sanding valve bracket was being fabricated by Tony at Williton on Saturday 20th January 2024, to replace parts that were missing when the loco was acquired by the DEPG back in 2011. Photo 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 for use on engineering trains.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco is now ready to take up duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The plan is for this loco to be in use during February.

 

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

 

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 – this week, we feature two more pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG, both of great interest to readers with a soft spot for the Western Region and offered at very good prices. 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:     All change for the West Author : G F Gillham	Book:    35 years of main line diesel traction Author: Colin Marsden
Asking price : £7.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £5 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – as mentioned last week, we are actually SHORT of on-shed photographs, which is hard to believe, but is true. To help us maintain this popular feature, please SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS ! Thanks in advance !

 

 

DEPG NEWS – the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter has been completed and will be ready for distribution next week (the online version will be emailed on Sunday 28th). The 44-page A5 newsletter includes information that is not currently available via our website or via the roundup, so JOIN THE DEPG to get the detailed information at the earliest opportunity.

The next DEPG Board Meeting will take place on Saturday 27th January at Williton. Please let us know by using our CONTACT FORM if you have any questions 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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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 bathed in late afternoon sunshine at Westridge Loco Shelter, Bishops Lydeard, on Wednesday 10th January 2024. Photo by Liam Hebditch © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

The WSR’s Infrastructure Department are having a busy time as they take advantage of their ‘possession’ of the line, which basically means that they have control of the line and nothing can move without their express permission. This is primarily to ensure the safety of the staff and volunteers who are at work on the line in multiple locations. One example is Blue Anchor, where the ‘down’ line (away from Paddington) was dug out and relaid at the end of last year and the ‘up’ line (towards Paddington) was dealt with during the last two weeks. The line is now fit for trains to pass once again, and the next working is a ‘Tidy Train’ that will leave Williton on Saturday 20th behind Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) and run as far as Dunster, with volunteers collecting redundant materials from along the lineside and off-loading it all at Dunster Station Yard for sorting and recycling.

Blue Anchor station – the ‘down’ line on the left had already been completely relaid and the ‘up’ line was undergoing spot repairs that have now been completed. Pictured on Tuesday 9th January 2024 by Robin Wichard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

Away from the WSR, our friends at the DIESEL TRACTION GROUP (DTG) were making headline news by completing a successful test run of their mainline-registered Class 52 D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’. The photographers were out in force including our own Gary Lemon, who travelled to Gossington, Gloucestershire (near Stroud) to grab some shots as the ‘Western’ passed by hauling the GB Railfreight (GBRf) 6M42 Bristol Avonmouth to Penyffordd cement train including GBRf locomotive 66714 as far as the Haresfield Loop, just south of Gloucester. Former DEPG Chairman BOB TILLER was on board to make sure that everything went to plan. CONGRATULATIONS to the team at the DTG and many thanks to GBRf for providing the opportunity for this loaded test run. It is great to see a ‘Western’ working hard on the mainline again. Thanks also to Gary for sharing his work with us.

Class 52 D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’ leads GBRf 66714 while powering the 6M42 Bristol Avonmouth to Penyffordd cement train past Gossington, Gloucestershire (near Stroud) on Wednesday 10th January 2024. Photo by Gary Lemon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – work continued on the cooler group refurbishment with the ‘A-end’ assembly being inside the shed, therefore the obvious choice for attention on a freezing cold day. The cleaning up and repainting will be interrupted by the need for some welding repairs to patch some holes that have developed over the years. Luckily, these only amount to a few percent of the total area so are fairly easy to work around.

The transmission team made very good progress with the rebuild of the ‘A’ transmission, with the reverser gears and filling pump installed by the end of the week. Some checks need to be made to ensure that everything is in order before the upper casing section is fitted and bolted down, and we will then be able to proceed with confidence and finish the job.

In preparation for lifting the locomotive from her bogies, some photos were taken from underneath the locomotive, looking upwards at the dampers and thrust brackets that have to be removed before the loco body can be lifted. As expected, there was plenty of dirt and grime present, but the bolts were clearly visible and the pictures tell a thousand words.

Lifting the loco to release the bogies for overhaul will be a major piece of work and we will need MORE HANDS to help us get this 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 plenty more to do, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – Ian Fn and Roy (L-R) were hard at work on the ‘A’ end cooler group at Williton on Saturday 13th January 2024. This assembly needs some welding repairs before it can be re-assembled, so this will be a job for Tony. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – Geoff checks to make sure that the anti-rotation lugs of the intermediate reverser shaft bearing housings have engaged correctly within the ‘A’ transmission at Williton on Monday 8th January 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the hydraulic fluid outlet port that sends the hot fluid to the heat exchanger is clearly visible in this view of the turbine rail installed into the ‘A’ transmission at Williton on Monday 8th January 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – Looking upwards from underneath the loco, the bogie yaw damper can be seen at the point where it attaches to the thrust bracket. The dirt and grime is an accumulation since the loco was last lifted, back in BR days. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th January 2024 by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – Looking upwards from underneath the loco, one set of attachment fastenings for one of the four thrust brackets are visible, with double nuts and split pins for security. Removing these thrust brackets will not be the most pleasant of tasks. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th January 2024 by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. Almost all of the sponsored patches have now been engraved into the new metal on the loco and efforts are now focused on producing the certificates that will be emailed to each sponsor in recognition of their contribution. Here’s an example:

Sponsorship includes a photograph and a certificate via email, but we can print these certificates on photo paper and mail them out upon request, in which case we would like to ask for an additional £2 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is based at Williton for the time being and will be in use on Saturday 20th January, working the ‘Tidy Train’ between Williton and Dunster. The train will move slowly along route, gathering up any redundant materials such as old sleepers and any large remnants from the cutting back activities. The mixed material will be taken to Dunster Station Yard, where it will be off-loaded for sorting and recycling. Many thanks to the teams of volunteers involved with these activities.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the defective cylinder head was removed from the loco last Saturday and preparations were made for the fitting of the replacement cylinder head, hopefully this coming weekend. The defective head will need a new set of valve guides, valves and springs, and it will then be ready for re-use at a future date (these large and heavy parts can be refurbished many times over). There are some areas of bodywork that need repair, and this work will also be dealt with while the loco is under cover.

D6575 (33 057) – the team at work on this loco has been expanded by the welcome addition of driver Neil C (second from left) and new volunteer Ashley (right). Volunteer loco manager Ian R is on the left and secondman Tom is furthest from the camera. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th January 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the exhaust system comprises several very large and heavy sections. The once-white heat resistant tape wrapping does not contain asbestos. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the next steps for the investigation into the control block issues were planned out and the necessary pressure gauges obtained. To eliminate several probable causes, the loco will need to undergo a static engine run during which the additional risk mitigation measures will be put in place to prevent un-commanded movement. The test run will include data gathering from additional pressure monitoring points and will clear the way for the control block to be removed from the loco for inspection and corrective action. This work will take place over the next 4 weeks.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the investigation into the repair or replacement options for the cardan shafts is continuing, but meanwhile, work proceeds on the many other tasks associated with the cab rebuild. The electrical cable conduits and trunkings are in the process of being restored by Andy P and the cab lining is being re-installed by Colin G while Terry works on the restoration of the many parts that are lining up for re-fitting.

D9518 – another specially-shaped length of electrical cable trunking has been restored and is being repainted by Andy P at Williton. Pictured on Saturday 13th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – always the perfectionist, Colin G traces the existing hole positions for the fixing screws before drilling the pegboard cab lining. This careful approach prevents drilling and tapping additional holes and will result in a much better job, so well done Colin ! Pictured at Williton on Saturday 13th January 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 moved to Bishops Lydeard on Sunday 31st December 2023 and is on standby in case a need for an engineering train working arises.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco is now ready to take up duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The plan is for this loco to be in use during February.

 

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

 

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 – this week, we feature two more pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG, this time showcasing the Class 50s. 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: 50s to Exeter Author : Roger Siviter	Book: 50s West Exeter to Penzance Author: Roger Siviter
Asking price : £5 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £5 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

  

The VERY last few copies of our 2024 DEPG CALENDAR are still in stock at Williton, so this is DEFINITELY your last opportunity to obtain your own copy of this A3-sized 12-page glossy publication which has a theme of DEPG locomotives in ‘then and now’ liveries. Quantities are very limited so PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW to ensure that you get your copy.

Click HERE or on the image below to order you 2024 Calendar

 

ON SHED – a bit of a cheat this week because the photograph is outside the date scope of this roundup, but hopefully we will be forgiven because the weather is about to change and this scene won’t exist this time next week. We are actually SHORT of on-shed photographs, which is hard to believe, but is true. To help us maintain this popular feature, please SEND US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS ! Please use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you have photographs that you could share. Thanks in advance !

The DEPG’s ‘celebrity’ Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ takes on a polar appearance outside Grosmont shed on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Pictured on Thursday 18th January 2024 by Josh Smith © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – we aim to produce our ‘DIESEL & ELECTRIC’ Newsletters on a quarterly basis, but events back in August took their toll on the available resource and other catch-up activities have prevented us from completing the Autumn edition. This will be rectified in the coming weeks with a combined Autumn and Winter edition that will be distributed before the end of January. Apologies for this delay.

The next DEPG Board Meeting will take place on Saturday 27th January at Williton. Please use the CONTACT FORM on our website to let us know 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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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

 

 

 

 

The DEPG yard at Williton was shunted on Saturday 23rd December 2023 to move D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ outside so that Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) could go into the shed for attention to her exhaust system. The shunt lineup also included Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 and the whole consist was being propelled by Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 while Barclay 578 (ROF 1) kept hold of the brake van on number 4 road. Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

The new DEPG year started with a flourish of activity that took advantage of the revised loco positions in the shed, with a start being made on the dismantling of the exhaust system of Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057). This loco has been a star performer over recent years and volunteer loco manager Ian R wants to keep her in top condition by addressing a developing issue before it affects reliability.

 

Both Ian and Tom had been noticing increasing amounts of leakage from her exhaust system due to aging seals and gaskets, and had worked out a programme of winter maintenance that could be addressed during the traditionally quiet period between Christmas and Easter. The work involves removing the roof of the ‘Crompton’ so that the heavy components can be lifted out using the 2-tonne crane in the shed. Having the loco under cover will also allow some areas of bodywork corrosion to be repaired. Overall, the work is expected to take around two months.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) was moved into the loco shed on Saturday 23rd December 2023 for winter maintenance involving repairs to her exhaust system and attention to some bodywork corrosion. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

The railway is now closed to the public until Saturday 23rd March and the infrastructure engineers have control of the line so that they can progress their various improvement projects. In the event that an engineering train needs to be hauled from A to B, we have Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) available at Williton and we have Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 available at Bishops Lydeard, in addition to the WSR’s own diesel shunting locomotives.

 

On the last day of 2023, the WSR moved the ‘WINTERLIGHTS‘ train from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead but did so in the hours of darkness, so that the spectacle could be viewed along the length of the line. The weather was very poor, but this did not prevent spectators from gathering at the stations, their patience being rewarded when the steam-hauled working passed through with lights ablaze ! A very nice piece of public relations work by the WSR, and many thanks to the staff and volunteers who gave up their time on New Year’s Eve to make it possible.

BR(WR) 4-6-0 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’ was pictured heading the ‘WINTERLIGHTS’ empty coaching stock through Stogumber towards Minehead on New Year’s Eve 2023. Photo by Steve Leek © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

The WSR’s 2023 Christmas programme has been VERY SUCCESSFUL and a big ‘thank you’ has gone out to all staff and volunteers involved with delivering these services – and to the passengers who bought the tickets to ride on them. Well done all !

 

 

WSRA ‘BUY A BAG OF BALLAST‘ CAMPAIGN 

The West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) has reported that the campaign to buy bags of ballast has resulted in two complete truckloads (40 tonnes in total) being provided to the infrastructure teams so far, so WELL DONE and THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who contributed. Our 23-mile-long railway needs plenty more, so please buy a bag or two whenever you can. Thanks !

Ballast purchased via the WSRA’s ‘BAGS of BALLAST’ scheme was delivered to Dunster station yard on Monday 8th January 2024. Photo by Jeff Price © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Each bag of ballast (approximately half a ton per bag) costs £13 and each year, the railway needs hundreds of bags of fresh ballast, so CLICK HERE or on the image below to buy a bag of ballast. THANK YOU VERY MUCH and well done to the WSRA and all their supporters !

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – with the loco outdoors and the weather at the start of the year being somewhat wet, attention turned to those tasks that could be done from within the loco shed, the cooler group refurbishment being an obvious target. The cooler groups each comprise a 2-tonne steel structure containing hollow sections for the water tanks and attachment points for 48 radiator elements, 24 per side. The upper part of the structure forms a roof section and includes two hydrostatically-driven fans. All in all, when including the pipework, valves, sensors and switches, it amounts to a lot of work …. x2 !

The transmission team took a break from D1010 during the first week of the year, but we have plenty of progress to report in the next edition of roundup.

Further work took place on the behind-the-scenes with the detailed planning for the lifting of the loco to release the bogies for overhaul. This will be a major piece of work and we will need MORE HANDS to help us get this 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 plenty more to do, so let us know by using the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – Ian Fn turned his attention to the ‘A’ end cooler group at Williton on Saturday 30th December 2023. The various liveries carried by D1010 were gradually turned to grey. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. Almost all of the sponsored patches have now been engraved into the new metal on the loco and efforts are now focused on producing the certificates that will be emailed to each sponsor in recognition of their contribution. Here’s an example:

Sponsorship includes a photograph and a certificate via email, but we can print these certificates on photo paper and mail them out upon request, in which case we would need to ask for an additional £2 donation per certificate to cover paper, ink and postage.

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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is now back at Williton and was in use on Saturday 6th January for a practical demonstration session for a new batch of trainee secondmen, under the instruction of WSR Diesel Traction Inspector John Leach. The loco was repeatedly coupled and uncoupled to the brake van and each of the trainees had an opportunity to get ‘hands on’ with what must have been some very cold steel ! Many thanks to John for running these training courses !

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was in use for shunting training at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024. The three trainee secondmen were under the instruction of WSR Diesel Traction Inspector John Leach. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DEPG trainee Ian Fs was grappling with the vacuum brake pipe on Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) while instructor John Leach and fellow trainee Paul looked on. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – work is progressing rapidly on the exhaust system overhaul, the exhaust system having been completely removed from the locomotive by the end of the week. The rocker covers were also removed from the eight cylinder heads, and this showed that one cylinder head was suffering with leakage through the valve guides. This one head will be removed and replaced with a spare from our stock to prevent any delays in completing the work. The roof section is a steel framework which is covered with translucent fibreglass, so the opportunity will be taken to clean this assembly in parallel to the work taking place withing the loco. Here are some photos showing the progress:

D6575 (33 057) – the exhaust system comprises several very large and heavy sections that have to be unbolted and lifted out of the loco. The once-white heat resistant tape wrapping does not contain asbestos. Volunteers Ian and Tom were pictured while hard at work at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the view of the engine at the end of the day, with all of the exhaust system removed and the exhaust ports of the eight cylinder heads clearly visible. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – some of the exhaust system components awaiting cleanup and inspection after being removed from the loco at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the roof section is awaiting a cleanup after being removed from the loco. The huge exhaust port will be the first area for attention. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. Our spare Westinghouse air compressor (one in each ‘Hymek’ and two in the ‘Western’) was painted by Linda at Williton last Tuesday, and is now ready to go back into storage until it is needed. The worksplate fitted during it’s last overhaul states that the warranty expired in October 1993 !

The recently-acquired spare Westinghouse compressor was painted by Linda at Williton on Tuesday 2nd January 2024 and is now ready to go back into storage. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The worksplate on the spare Westinghouse compressor advises us that the warranty expired in October 1993, a mere 30 years ago. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th January 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the investigation into the repair or replacement options for the cardan shafts is continuing and visits have been made to review spares held by other groups. The most likely outcome is that several ‘old’ shafts will need to be gathered up and sent to a specialist subcontractor so that at least one set of serviceable shafts can be made from them. The easier option is to buy a set of new shafts, but this will cost upwards of £10,000 and would be the subject of additional fund raising, so it is being viewed as a last resort.

Meanwhile, work proceeds on the many other tasks associated with the cab rebuild. The electrical cable conduits and trunkings are in the process of being restored by Andy P at Williton to ensure that they are all ready and waiting for when their re-installation time comes along.

D9518 – The electrical cable trunking covers were restored and repainted by Andy P at Williton on Saturday 30th December 2023. Photo 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 moved to Bishops Lydeard on Sunday 31st December 2023 and is on standby in case a need for an engineering train working arises.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco has been undergoing a ‘top end’ engine overhaul at Grosmont Works on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but we are pleased to report that the work has been completed and the loco has also completed her static testing. The loco was taken out on a loaded test run on Friday 22nd December and some additional faults flagged for attention. The plan is for this loco to be in use during February.

 

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

 

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 – this week, we feature two pre-owned books from a collection that has been very kindly donated to the DEPG. A search online revealed that two books in particular command a higher price than might be expected, so we are featuring these two books below for the purposes of gathering feedback on their value. 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.

Book: APT – A promise unfulfilled Author : Hugh Williams	Book: BR in the Eighties Authors: David St John Thomas and Patrick Whitehouse
Asking price : £45 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Asking price : £15 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

  

The last few copies of our 2024 DEPG CALENDAR are still in stock at Williton, so this is probably your last opportunity to obtain your own copy of this A3-sized 12-page glossy publication which has a theme of DEPG locomotives in ‘then and now’ liveries. Quantities are very limited so PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW to ensure that you get your copy.

Click HERE or on the image below to order you 2024 Calendar

 

ON SHED – sorry, but we will need to skip this feature this week due to lack of space.

 

DEPG NEWS – we aim to produce our ‘DIESEL & ELECTRIC’ Newsletters on a quarterly basis, but events back in August took their toll on the available resource and other catch-up activities have prevented us from completing the Autumn edition. This will be rectified in the coming weeks with a combined Autumn and Winter edition that will be distributed before the end of January. Apologies for this delay.

 

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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of our members and supporters ! Let’s hope that 2024 is going to be a better year for everyone, wherever they are in the world.

 

Here’s a quick roundup of the last 12 months to remind us of the highs and lows that we encountered during 2023:

 

JANUARY 2023 – Our Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 returned to the WSR after her very successful visit 18-month to the Kent & East Sussex Railway during which she clocked up 768 hours of use !

Class 09 D4107 (09 019) and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 were pictured together at Westridge Loco Shelter, Bishops Lydeard in January 2023. Photo by Mike Collins © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

FEBRUARY 2023 – Class 09 D4107 (09 019) moved to Williton for a month, to undergo maintenance and repair work in the hands of the DEPG.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) stands alongside Class 09 D4107 (09 019) at Williton on Saturday 18th February 2023. The ’09’ was undergoing planned maintenance in the hands of the DEPG while the ’33’ was the designated duty loco and was ready for action. Photo by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

MARCH 2023 – Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was in use for crew refresher training purposes, running in the section between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) was pictured while stabled at Westridge Carriage Sidings, just south of Bishops Lydeard, on Saturday 18th March 2023 as Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 returned from Norton Fitzwarren on a driver refresher turn. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

APRIL 2023 – the WSR re-opened with a mixture of steam and diesel-hauled services, helped by some early warm weather. Sadly, at the end of this month, we lost our Class 14 team leader and good friend SIMON PURVIS at the age of 61.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) was pictured as she approached Williton with the 10:00 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard service under the BLUE timetable on Sunday 16th April 2023. Photo by Edward Martin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The late Simon Purvis, thoroughly immersed in his work on Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 at Williton on Saturday 15th October 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

MAY 2023 – Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) emerged from the paint shop at WSR Restorations in Williton, resplendent in her early-BR livery with the addition of the small yellow warning panel. An excellent paint job indeed !

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) returned to action on Saturday 27th May 2023 looking absolutely top notch after a re-paint at WSR Restorations in the Swindon Shed at Williton. Pictured upon arrival at Crowcombe Heathfield station with the 16:35 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead service, photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

JUNE 2023 – we worked alongside our WSR colleagues to deliver the WSR’s Summer Diesel Festival, a 3-day event featuring intensive timetabling and FOUR visiting locos, the headliner being Class 55 ‘Deltic’ 55009 (D9009) ‘ALYCIDON’ but equally appreciated were Class 33 ‘Crompton’ 33 002 (D6501) ‘Sea King’, Class 24 D7659 (25309, 25909) and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9551.

Class 55 ‘Deltic’ 55009 ‘ALYCIDON’ was pictured approaching Goviers Lane Crossing at Watchet on Thursday 8th June 2023. Photo by Martin Rouse © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

JULY 2023 – our Class 52 ‘Western’ D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ lightened her load by having both of her cooler groups and her ‘A-end’ transmission lifted out for overhaul. The crane stayed overnight to complete other tasks early the next morning, minimising the overall cost and preventing annoyance to our neighbours. Many thanks to Heaver Brothers for their help.

D1010 – the 4.5 tonne Voith hydraulic transmission was lifted out from ‘A’ end of the loco at Williton on Monday 24th July 2023 so that it could undergo a complete overhaul in the care of the DEPG ‘transmission team’. The rain had stopped a few hours before the lifting operations began. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

AUGUST 2023 – the peak season ‘Yellow’ timetable included an out-and-back working that was ideal for our Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526. The expanded pool of drivers allowed her to be used on 3 out of the 5 weeks, sharing the roster with Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057).

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 worked the YELLOW timetable services on Tuesday 8th August 2023 – which was unexpected because Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) had been booked for that turn. Pictured at the delightful Blue Anchor station by Tony Latham © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2023 – the planned ‘DEPG at 50‘ event had to be postponed due to the misdemeanours of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018, but a surprise visitor in the form of a GWR mainline ‘Castle’ set brought the crowds to the railway instead. The GWR green livery blended into the WSR scenery very nicely.

A GWR Class 255 ‘Castle’ set was in use for the special Yellow Timetable on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September 2023, creating plenty of photo opportunities and interesting passenger experiences. Power car 43162 ‘Caerhays Castle’ was leading and 43042 ‘Powderham Castle’ trailing when pictured on the approach to Doniford Halt while working a Minehead to Bishops Lydeard service on Saturday 23rd September 2023. Photo by Mark Ireland © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

OCTOBER 2023 – our Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 went out on a test run following electrical system repairs that had kept her out of service for most of the season. The test run was a success and the loco will be ready for service in 2024. Sadly, this was an awful month as we lost two of our volunteers, CHRIS SHIELDS aged 64 and MIKE EVANS aged 63, and also DEPG member and well-known railway preservationist and author PETER NICHOLSON, aged 75. They are all sadly missed.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 was pictured at Williton on Saturday 21st October 2023, coupled up to Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) and waiting for Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 to join the consist for a combined test run to Bishops Lydeard and back. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Williton Loco Shed was the venue for Rod’s Model Railway Sales stand and for our own DEPG Sales Stand for each day of the 2023 Spring Steam Spectacular event. The late Chris Shields covered the sales stand duty on the Saturday and again on Sunday. Pictured on 29th April 2023 by Mark Ireland © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the late Mike Evans was pictured while tidying up after needle-gunning the bodyside of his favourite loco at Williton on 26th February 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The late Peter Nicholson on board Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568 at Bishops Lydeard on 18th June 2022. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

NOVEMBER 2023 – our ‘transmission team’ reached a milestone with the completion of the turbine rail from the ‘A’ transmission of Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’, after a complete overhaul of the this complex piece of precision engineering. The overhaul of the ‘B’ transmission had been completed earlier in the year and the experience gained had allowed the ‘A’ transmission to be turned around in a matter of weeks. Well done team !

D1010 – the end cover of the turbine rail output shaft was pressed on at Williton on Tuesday 28th November 2023, with Tim watching over the process. This closed up the assembly in readiness for the milestone completion stage that took place later that day. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DECEMBER 2023 – our Class 47 had been out of use all summer after suffering some cylinder head bolt failures, but a complete ‘top end’ overhaul was undertaken at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and ‘NORTH STAR‘ was back in action, just before year end.

Darkness fell but test runs up and down the yard continued at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on Thursday 14th December 2023 as our 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was checked out following the ‘top end’ overhaul that has been taking place at Grosmont over the past few months. Photo by Pete Dawson © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

Closing the year 2023, Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 hauled the last train of the year, an Empty Coaching Stock move from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard, which the ‘Teddy Bear’ took over at Williton from ‘Winterlights’ stalwart D6566 (33 048).

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was pictured at Williton at 17:28 on Sunday 31st December 2023 as she prepared to depart with a Mark 3 sleeper coach and a brake van in tow. Photo by Edward Martin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As always, we are very grateful for another year of support from our members and volunteers, and those from the wider railway ‘family’, who have contributed their time and funds to allow the DEPG to continue its work. The continued patronage and financial help from all who support the railway and appreciate the locomotives that run upon it is essential and very much appreciated. Thank you !

 

Many more items of news from 2023 can be found by browsing our website. Sign up for ROUNDUP to have the news delivered to your emailbox on a weekly basis.

 

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2024 Diesel Gala will take place from Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th June 2024, with mixed traction on Sunday 9th, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend !

 

 

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

The view of the DEPG yard at Williton on Saturday 16th December 2023 showed (from left to right) Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) on number 1 road (hiding Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 behind her), then Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 on number 2 road, then ‘Hymek’ D7018 with Barclay 578 (ROF 1) completing the ensemble on number 3 road. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

The holiday season is definitely upon us, but activities continue in support of the WSR seasonal services and in preparation for the closure of the line from 31st December until spring time. The railway is active right up to the end of this year, the only exceptions being Christmas Day and Boxing day. Here’s the schedule of what is running and when: 

 

Date	Service	Starting from	Link (click the images or text to go to the WSR website page)
Friday 22nd	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard	SOLD OUT
	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard	Only a few tickets available
Saturday 23rd	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard	Only a few tickets available
	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard	SOLD OUT
Sunday 24th	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard	SOLD OUT
Monday 25th	No services
Tuesday 26th	No services
Wednesday 27th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Thursday 28th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Friday 29th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Saturday 30th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Sunday 31st	No public services		Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) trains and Engineering trains will run the length of the line, providing photo opportunities.

 

The WSR’s seasonal programme has clearly been VERY SUCCESSFUL and a big ‘thank you’ needs to go to all staff and volunteers involved with delivering these services – and to the passengers who bought the tickets to ride on them. Well done all !

 

WSRA ‘BUY A BAG OF BALLAST‘ CAMPAIGN

The West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) is a registered charity that operates in support of activities across the West Somerset Railway, and raises considerable sums of money for use for the development and long-term preservation of this wonderful heritage line. Each year, the WSRA run their ‘buy a bag of ballast‘ campaign and it is very successful because it is simple. Each bag of ballast (approximately half a ton per bag) costs £13 and each year, the railway needs hundreds of bags of fresh ballast, so CLICK HERE or on the image below to buy a bag of ballast. THANK YOU VERY MUCH and well done to the WSRA and all their supporters !

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – efforts switched to preparing the loco for a few months outdoors to make way for Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) to enter the loco shed for attention to her exhaust manifold. The tarpaulins were put back in place and the sponsored patches were rubbed down and protected with paint to prevent rust forming in the exposed metal (don’t worry, the patches are quite deeply engraved and cannot be obliterated without the use of an angle grinder!).

Progress continued on the ‘A’ transmission, with the turbine rail being re-installed in the housing, marking another significant step in the overhaul of this huge piece of 1960s precision machinery. Well done team !

Further work took place on the behind-the-scenes with the detailed planning for the lifting of the loco to release the bogies for overhaul. This will be a major piece of work and we will need MORE HANDS to help us get this 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 plenty more to do, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – Ian F prepared several engraved areas of the loco for painting at Williton on Saturday 16th December 2023. Sponsors need not worry – the marking is deep and will remain in the metal for a very long time to come. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – Roy applied the paint that is going to be needed to prevent rust from taking a hold on the new steel before the loco is moved outside on Saturday 23rd. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th December 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the turbine rail of the ‘A’ transmission was lowered into position within the housing by Geoff at Williton on Monday 11th December 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the size of the new (and very expensive) bearing is apparent in this view of the reverser gear assembly and Tim at Williton on Tuesday 12th December 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

 

Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. Almost ALL of the sponsored patches have now been engraved into the new metal on the loco and efforts are no focused on producing the certificates that will be emailed to each sponsor in recognition to their contribution.

The drawings are being developed in parallel so that we have 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is now in regular use on the ‘WINTERLIGHTS‘ services that started on Friday 24th November and will run through to the end of the year. Click here or on the ticket icon below to go to the WSR’s ‘WINTERLIGHTS’ page:

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is stabled on number 1 road at Williton but will be moving into the loco shed on Saturday 23rd December for approximately two months to undergo attention to a leaking exhaust manifold, and will also receive some bodywork corrosion repairs while under cover.

Meanwhile, winter maintenance work continued and the crankcase cover was removed from the Sulzer 8LDA28 engine so that the gasket could be replaced. The size of this fabricated aluminium cover made it very difficult to photograph !

The crankcase cover from Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) was removed and steam cleaned by Tom at Williton on Saturday 16th December 2023. The cover was removed so that a new gasket could be made, and Ian R and Tom had the cover back in place on the loco by the end of the day. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. With no work scheduled for this loco until next spring, the opportunity will be taken to perform an oil change and get some loaded test runs carried out as soon as the line is available again (expected to be March 2024). We are determined that this loco is going to have a very good year in 2024.

Our spare Westinghouse air compressor (one in each ‘Hymek’ and two in the ‘Western’) was cleaned up by Linda at Williton last Tuesday, and Tony did some steam cleaning on Saturday. This machine appears to be in very good condition and in full working order, so it will be prepared for painting then lubricated and stored until it is needed.

The recently-acquired spare Westinghouse compressor was moved back into the loco shed by Colin G and Terry for testing, after being steam cleaned outdoors by Tony on Saturday 16th December 2023. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the team have been in contact with other Class 14 owner groups to try and establish the overall picture of availability of spare cardan shafts. There are some possibilities and these will be investigated in early January. Meanwhile, quotations are being requested for a batch of new cardan shafts to see if there are cost savings that are worth chasing around for.

Meanwhile, work proceeds on the many other tasks associated with the cab rebuild. The removable section of the roof panel is undergoing refurbishment at the moment, with the pegboard lining being replaced and new seals being fitted all around. The pegboard is a very ‘1960s’ material, basically perforated hardboard, but it is authentic.

D9518 – The pegboard lining of the removable cab roof section was undergoing refurbishment at Williton on Saturday 16th December 2023, with Colin G and Terry pictured while refitting the aluminium retaining strips. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – an odd place to hide, perhaps when trying to dodge the hustle and bustle of Christmas, but these legs apparently belong to Tony who may or may not have been doing some work underneath the loco when pictured at Williton on Tuesday 12th December 2023. Photo by Nick Boyce 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 stabled at Williton and is available for service, if called upon. The loco will be in use on Saturday 23rd for shunting the yard, and is scheduled to move to Bishops Lydeard on Sunday 31st.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco has been undergoing a ‘top end’ engine overhaul at Grosmont Works on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but we are pleased to report that the work has been completed and the loco has also completed her static testing. The loco will go out on a loaded test run as soon as the railway operating timetable allows. STOP PRESS – we have just received the following image via Tom Courtney:

Captured from the Railcam at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on Friday 22nd December 2023, our 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was out on a loaded test run and was sounding good ! Well done to the team at Grosmont for doing a great job on ‘NORTH STAR’. Image courtesy of Railcam UK and the NYMR © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is going to be in use for a yard shunt at Williton on Saturday 23rd December.

 

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 – this week, we again pause the book reviews to use the space to promote our new 2024 DEPG CALENDAR which has a theme of DEPG locomotives in ‘then and now’ liveries. Quantities are limited so PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW to ensure that you get your copy (we are only ordering a limited quantity to prevent waste).

Regrettably, we have had to increase the price to £14 but this still represents great value at £1 per month plus VAT.

Click HERE or on the image below to order you 2024 Calendar

 

 

ON SHED – by comparison with our opening photograph, we received the below from Josh Brinsford this week and it shows how the loco lineup at Williton has changed over the last five years. In the view below, D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ is unrestored and Class 47 D1661 (47077, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was still in green livery. Strangely, the weather appears to be unchanged. Many thanks to Josh for sharing items from his back catalogue.

A view of the DEPG yard in 2018 shows (left to right) Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’, Class 47 D1661 (47077, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’, Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) on a wet and dull day. At least some things are consistent ! Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – the board meeting synopsis was emailed earlier this week to all DEPG members for whom we hold a valid address. Please let us know by clicking this link to use our online CONTACT form if you are a member but you didn’t receive an email.

 

The DEPG aims to produce our ‘DIESEL & ELECTRIC’ Newsletters on a quarterly basis, but events back in August took their toll on the available resource and other catch-up activities have prevented us from completing the Autumn edition. This will be rectified in the coming weeks with a combined Autumn and Winter edition that will be distributed in early January. Apologies for this delay.

 

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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via 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

This view from the signalbox at Bishops Lydeard shows Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) at the platform and coupled to the former BR-Southern Region ‘Parcels & Miscellaneous Van’ (PMV) which houses the generator that will later be powering the ‘WINTERLIGHTS‘ illuminations. Pictured on Saturday 9th December 2023 by Liam Hebditch © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The holiday season is fast approaching so the railway is gearing up a notch and will be running services over one part of the line or another from now until Saturday 30th December, except of course on Christmas Day and Boxing Day – the railway’s volunteers need a well-earned break !

Here’s the schedule of what is running and when: 

Date	Service	Starting from	Link (click on the image)
Friday 15th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Saturday 16th	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Sunday 17th	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
	Carol Train	Bishops Lydeard
Monday 18th	Carol Train	Bishops Lydeard
	Carol Train	Minehead
Tuesday 19th	Santa Express	Minehead
Wednesday 20th	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
Thursday 21st	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Friday 22nd	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Saturday 23rd	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Sunday 24th	Santa Express	Bishops Lydeard
Monday 25th	No services
Tuesday 26th	No services
Wednesday 27th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Thursday 28th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Friday 29th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard
Saturday 30th	Winterlights	Bishops Lydeard

 

The ‘WINTERLIGHTS‘ services are running on Friday and Saturday then from Thursday 21st until the end of the year (25/26th excepted) and the SANTA EXPRESS services are running up to Christmas Eve, mostly between Bishops Lydeard and Williton but on the 19th December, from Minehead to Williton. In addition to the above, there are CAROL TRAINS from Bishops Lydeard on Sunday 17th and from both Bishops Lydeard and Minehead on Monday 18th, so the railway is really pulling out all the stops this year. Take a look at the WSR’s EVENTS page for more details. Some trains are already sold out, so don’t delay, book now while choices exist.

 

The DEPG depends on the WSR as our home base and primary running line, so please support and enjoy these seasonal services and in doing so, support both the WSR and the DEPG !

 

WSRA ‘BUY A BAG OF BALLAST‘ CAMPAIGN

The West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) is a registered charity that operates in support of activities across the West Somerset Railway, and raises considerable sums of money for use for the development and long-term preservation of this wonderful heritage line. Each year, the WSRA run their ‘buy a bag of ballast‘ campaign and it is very successful because it is simple. Each bag of ballast (approximately half a ton per bag) costs £13 and each year, the railway needs hundreds of bags of fresh ballast, so CLICK HERE or on the image below to buy a bag of ballast. THANK YOU VERY MUCH and well done to the WSRA and all their supporters !

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the opportunity to lubricate and rotate the engines presented itself on Saturday 9th December so Gordon and Leroy removed the cam box covers of each engine and Gordon administered some lubrication while the engine was being ‘barred over’. This is a form of exercise that is particulary enjoyed by Leroy, so a thorough job was done and the register updated. The turbocharger oil feeds were also primed to ensure that the turbo bearings are kept well oiled and able to resist corrosion.

Progress continued on the ‘A’ transmission, with the fitting of more new bearings, this time the reverser shaft being the recipient of most of the attention.

New volunteer Vivian made further progress on the ‘B’-end bogie, removing the flaking paint and dirt from the outer framework in readiness for inspection and re-painting. It is great to report that we have new hands at work, but don’t leave it to others, if you want to see this locomotive back on the rails soon, then PLEASE COME ALONG AND HELP US WITH THE WORK ! There is plenty more to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – positioned by the inboard axle of the ‘B’ end bogie, new volunteer Vivian was clearly enjoying making a contribution to the restoration of this massive locomotive at Williton on Saturday 9th December 2023. His efforts are very much appreciated ! Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the inside view of the inboard axle of ‘B’ bogie showing the heavy-duty cardan shaft connected to the Final drive gearbox. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 9th December 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – pictured from the space above the bogie where the ‘B’ transmission would normally be, the output end of the ‘B’ engine clearly shows the ‘V’ formation. Both engines were lubricated and ‘barred over’ (rotated manually) by Gordon and Leroy at Williton on Saturday 9th December 2023. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D1010 – the reverser gear wheels had already been re-fitted to the turbine rail assembly of the ‘A’ transmission when the outboard bearing race was in the process of being pressed home by Tim at Williton on Tuesday 5th December 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the new bearings for the reverser shaft that runs parallel to the turbine rail were also fitted at Williton on Tuesday 5th December 2023, again with Tim in charge of his hydraulic assistant. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Thanks to responses to our appeal for help, we now have two new volunteers working on the photographs and the certificates that will soon be on their way to all who have sponsored a patch on D1010. More patches have been marked out and are due to be engraved this weekend, to bring us right up to date !

The drawings are being developed in parallel so that we have 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. Thank you in advance for your support and your patience!

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 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is now in regular use on the ‘WINTERLIGHTS‘ services that started on Friday 24th November and run through to the end of the year. Click here or on the ticket icon below to go to the WSR’s ‘WINTERLIGHTS’ page:

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is stabled on number 1 road at Williton and is available for service, if needed to support one of the seasonal services. This loco is due to go into the loco shed on Saturday 23rd December for approximately two months to undergo attention to a leaking exhaust manifold, and will also receive some bodywork corrosion repairs while under cover.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. With no work scheduled for this loco until next spring, the opportunity will be taken to perform an oil change and get some loaded test runs carried out as soon as the line is available again (expected to be March 2024). We are determined that this loco is going to have a very good year in 2024.

Our Class 35 ‘Hymeks’ and our Class 52 ‘Western’ are fitted with Westinghouse air compressors (one in each ‘Hymek’ and two in the ‘Western’) so we were very pleased to be able to acquire a used but good spare machine recently. This machine is undergoing a clean up and will be overhauled so that it is ready for immediate use, should the need arise. Our newest recruit was busy working on the machine on Tuesday 12th December, so thank you very much to Linda for joining the ‘Tuesday Team’ and taking on this important task.

The recently-acquired spare Westinghouse compressor was getting the benefit of new DEPG volunteer Linda’s attention at Williton on Tuesday 12th December 2023. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the team are making contact with other Class 14 owners to try and establish the availability of spare cardan shafts and assess the ‘appetite’ for having a batch of shafts made to the original specification. The flanges of the shafts are metric and are still readily available, but the modern-day standard shaft dimensions do not fit into the space available, so some degree of customisation will be needed if off-the-shelf parts are to be adapted.

Meanwhile, work proceeds on the many smaller components that all need to be cleaned, inspected and repaired or repainted, in order to make them fit for further service. Luckily, the quality and robustness of the original parts makes them repairable, so the original parts are being refurbished wherever possible.

D9518 – the start contactors were dismantled by John C for inspection and cleaning, and were found to be in need of attention after having had a long and hard life. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 9th December 2023 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the solenoid coils showed clear evidence of heat damage and the insulation of the wiring had become brittle, so the coils will need to be rewound – but they are almost 60 years old, so such things are to be expected. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 9th December 2023 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the Drivers Safety Device (DSD) pedals, sometimes known as ‘Deadmans pedals’ are foot-operated switches that are mounted under the driver’s desks (one on each side of the cab). The driver needs to keep the pedal depressed to prevent the brakes from being applied automatically. These original parts have been restored by Colin G and are ready to be re-installed on the loco. Photo dated 9th December 2023 by Colin Girle © 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 stabled at Williton and is available for service, if called upon.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is undergoing a ‘top end’ engine overhaul at Grosmont Works on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The progress on ‘NORTH STAR’ has moved on rapidly and the loco is due to go out for a test run as this issue of Roundup goes to distribution. More on this story next week (see also our ON SHED feature below).

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – the internal cab repaint being carried out by ‘JT’ has progressed well, but he is keeping us in suspense and not providing photos until he has finished the job. We look forward to seeing the internal photos in the near future. Thanks Jon !

 

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 – this week, we again pause the book reviews to use the space to promote our new 2024 DEPG CALENDAR which has a theme of DEPG locomotives in ‘then and now’ liveries. Quantities are limited so PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW to ensure that you get your copy (we are only ordering a limited quantity to prevent waste).

Regrettably, we have had to increase the price to £14 but this still represents great value at £1 per month plus VAT.

Click HERE or on the image below to order you 2024 Calendar

 

 

ON SHED – bending the rules slightly, the below photograph was taken on Thursday 14th December 2023, which is outside of the reporting timeframe of this roundup, but this transgression can hopefully be forgiven. The subject is our very own Class 47 ‘Brush Type 4’ 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ and the place is Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The loco was being moved under it’s own power as a precursor to a test run that was scheduled for the following day. More on this story next week. Many thanks to the team at the NYMR for their great work on this loco, and for keeping us supplied with photos.

Darkness fell but test runs up and down the yard continued at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on Thursday 14th December 2023 as our 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was checked out following the ‘top end’ overhaul that has been taking place at Grosmont over the past few months. Photo by Pete Dawson © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – a board meeting was held at Williton last Saturday, the synopsis of which will be prepared and sent out ASAP to all DEPG members for whom we hold a valid email address.

The DEPG aims to produce our ‘DIESEL & ELECTRIC’ Newsletters on a quarterly basis, but events back in August took their toll on the available resource and other catch-up activities have prevented us from completing the Autumn edition. This will hopefully be rectified in the coming weeks with a combined Autumn and Winter edition, but to be realistic, it will not be distributed this side of Christmas. We apologise for this delay and we look forward to a smoother year in 2024 !

 

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 responding to this email or 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 make sure that your membership is up to date. If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via MEMBERMOJO. It is very quick and easy, and does not require you to remember yet another password. Thank you very much !

 

 

 

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