DIESELGEN

A new page has been set up on our website to provide information on planned diesel running days. This new page is under the DIESELGEN menu heading and shortcuts will be placed on the most popular pages ASAP. Click on the icon for details:

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BRCW Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was pictured while running around its train at Minehead on the Saturday of the Diesel Gala, 11th June 2022. Also in the picture is Barclay 0-4-0DH 579 (ROF 2) on the far left and the tender of BR(W) 4-6-0 7822 ‘FOXCOTE MANOR’ on the right. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) will be hauling freight wagons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 5/6/7th July in connection with driver training courses being run by WSR Diesel Traction Inspector John Leach. The three drivers involved are currently steam loco drivers and they are adding the Class 33 diesel to their ‘tickets’.

These special workings start at Minehead and run to Norton Fitzwarren and back in the morning, then run to Bishops Lydeard and back in the afternoon. The timings below are approximate and may be varied on the day to suit operating conditions:

 

     Depart MD 0915 arrive NF 1056

     Depart NF 1130 arrive MD 1253

     Depart MD 1317 arrive BL 1510

     Depart BL 1526 arrive MD 1703

 

Public services are also scheduled – see the WSR timetable page for details.

 

ADVANCE INFORMATION – the 1000 MD diagram (two MD-BL-MD trips totalling 80 miles) will be hauled by Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) on Sat/Sun 9/10th July and by one of our two ‘Cromptons’ on Sat/Sun 16/17th July. See our new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for the latest information on public services.

 

We have just introduced a new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and we will be maintaining this in parallel to DIESELGEN bulletins. This new page is a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to PUBLIC SERVICE diesel running on the WSR.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 stands at Williton Station on Friday 10th June 2022 alongside sister D7017 who is now on the wrong side of the fence, having failed with a leaking Number 1 cylinder head joint when working the last service of the previous day. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The second day of the gala went well with all services operating, albeit with different traction on the diagrams that were affected by the failure of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 on the previous day.

The 87-litre V16 engine in the errant ‘Hymek’ was test run by Maybach specialist Bob Clegg on Friday 10th June and Bob’s verdict was that the number 1 cylinder had developed a cylinder head joint ring leak that had compromised an adjacent transition rubber that carried the oil supply to the cylinder head. This explains both the abnormal noise and the oil that was seen to be leaking from around the cylinder head area.

Although this is not a major failure, the engine needs a partial strip down to access the cylinder head and this will take several weeks, so the loco is going to be out of action for a while until the work is completed.

 

To ensure the integrity of the timetable for Saturday 11th June, BR(W) 4-6-0 steam locomotive 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’ will take over the morning services that would have been worked by D7017. This move allows all services to run as scheduled (NOTE – the 1815 BL-MD and 2200 MD-BL services were removed from the timetable earlier in the week. The 1710 BL departure will run through to MD).

 

The revised running for SATURDAY 11th June 2022 is covered in the table below:

Loco Type	Loco No.	First service	No. of return trips	Mileage
Class 25 ‘Rat’	D7612	08:00 BL-MD	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 33 ‘Crompton’	D6575	08:45 BL-MD	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 33 ‘Crompton’	D6566	09:00 BL-MD	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 17 ‘Clayton’	D8568	09:35 MD-BL	2 + 2 x NF*	92 miles
BR(W) 4-6-0 ‘Manor’	7828	09:42 BL-MD	1	40 miles
Class 35 ‘Hymek’	D7018	12:45 BL-MD	2	80 miles

*NF = Norton Fitwarren extension (BL-NF-BL)

Date	Timetable	Locos rostered
Thursday 9th June	TT for 09JUN22	D6575, D7017, D7018, D7612, D8568
Friday 10th June	TT for 10JUN22	D6566, D6575, D7018, D7612, D8568
Saturday 11th June	TT for 11JUN22	D6566, D6575, D7018, D7612, D8568, 7828 (steam)
Sunday 12th June	BLUE timetable	D8568

NOTE – although Sunday is not a Diesel Gala day, the 1000 MD diagram in the BLUE timetable on Sunday 12th June is rostered for the visiting Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568.

 

We have just introduced a new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and we will be maintaining this in parallel to DIESELGEN bulletins. This new page is a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to diesel running on the WSR.

 

The DTG’s Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568 heads a pre-gala lineup comprising Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) and Class 25 D7612 and Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 alongside sister D7017 at Westridge, Bishops Lydeard in the evening of Wednesday 8th June 2022. Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Towards the end of the first highly enjoyable day of diesel running, Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 developed an oil leak that indicated a possible cylinder head joint failure on one cylinder of her Bristol Siddeley Maybach MD870 engine and was shut down at the platform at Blue Anchor while working the last ‘up’ service of the day, from Minehead in the direction of Bishops Lydeard.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 was dispatched from Minehead to assist and hauled the train to Williton where the errant ‘Hymek’ was detached, the train continuing to Bishops Lydeard behind the ‘Crompton’.

The precise details of the failure are not yet known, but it will not be possible to return the loco to service during the remaining gala days so the timetable has been altered to take account of one loco being unavailable and one loco being wrongly positioned.

The revised running for FRIDAY 10th June 2022 is covered in the table below:

Loco Type	Loco No.	First service	No. of return trips	Mileage
Class 33 ‘Crompton’	D6575	09:00 BL-MD	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 17 ‘Clayton’	D8568	09:42 MD-BL	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 25 ‘Rat’	D7612	09:45 BL-MD	2	80 miles
Class 33 ‘Crompton’	D6566	10:38 MD-BL	2	80 miles
Class 35 ‘Hymek’	D7018	10:25 BL-MD	2	80 miles

*NF = Norton Fitwarren extension (BL-NF-BL)

 

Date	Timetable	Locos rostered
Thursday 9th June	TT for 09JUN22	D6575, D7017, D7018, D7612, D8568
Friday 10th June	TT for 10JUN22	D6566, D6575, D7018, D7612, D8568
Saturday 11th June	TT for 11JUN22	D6566, D6575, D7018, D7612, D8568
Sunday 12th June	BLUE timetable	D8568

NOTE – although Sunday is not a Diesel Gala day, the 1000 MD diagram in the BLUE timetable on Sunday 12th June is rostered for the visiting Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568.

 

We have just introduced a new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and we will be maintaining this in parallel to DIESELGEN bulletins. This new page is a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to diesel running on the WSR.

 

The DTG’s Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568 arrived at Bishops Lydeard on Wednesday 8th June 2022 and is expected to enter service on the 10:38 service from Minehead on Thursday 9th June 2022 as planned. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

South Devon Diesel Traction’s Class 25 D7612 (25 262, 25 901) arrived at Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 7th June 2022 and is expected to enter service on the 09:45 service from Bishops Lydeard on Thursday 9th June 2022 as planned. Photo by Ian Camp © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The two visiting locos have arrived at Bishops Lydeard and are being prepared so that they will be ready to enter service tomorrow as planned. The owning groups will be working into the evening with DEPG and WSR staff to get the locos unloaded, inspected and fuelled prior to them being accepted as ready to enter service on the WSR.

As the Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8658 starts its diagram from the Minehead (MD) end, it will reposition tomorrow morning, either as a ‘light engine’ move or attached to the first service out of Bishops Lydeard (BL).

For the first day of the WSR’s SIXTIES DIESEL GALA, Thursday 9th June 2022, the following locos will be in action:

Loco Type	Loco No.	First service	No. of return trips	Mileage
Class 35 ‘Hymek’	D7018	09:00 BL-MD	2	80 miles
Class 33 ‘Crompton’	D6575	09:42 MD-BL	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 25 ‘Rat’	D7612	09:45 BL-MD	2	80 miles
Class 17 ‘Clayton’	D8568	10:38 MD-BL	2 + 1 x NF*	86 miles
Class 35 ‘Hymek’	D7017	10:25 BL-MD	2	80 miles
Class 33 ‘Crompton’	D6566	Standby Loco	–	–

*NF = Norton Fitwarren extension (BL-NF-BL)

Date	Timetable	Locos rostered
Thursday 9th June	TT for 09JUN22	D6575, D7017, D7018, D7612, D8568
Friday 10th June	TT for 10JUN22	D6566, D6575, D7017, D7018, D7612, D8568
Saturday 11th June	TT for 11JUN22	D6566, D6575, D7017, D7018, D7612, D8568
Sunday 12th June	BLUE timetable	D8568

NOTE – although Sunday is not a Diesel Gala day, the 1000 MD diagram in the BLUE timetable on Sunday 12th June is rostered for the visiting Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568.

 

We have just introduced a new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and we will be maintaining this in parallel to DIESELGEN bulletins. This new page is a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to diesel running on the WSR.