Weekly Roundup | The Diesel and Electric Preservation Group

Weekly Roundup – 17-Apr-22

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 returned to the South Yard at Williton under her own power on Saturday 16th April 2022 after four weeks in the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ during which all 32 coil springs on both bogies and both elliptical springs on Bogie ‘A’ were replaced. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

The loco shed at Williton was reorganised on Saturday 16th April 2022, resulting in our two main restoration projects – Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – switching places in the loco shed. This involved emptying the shed and moving the major assemblies of D9518 from ‘number 2 road’ to ‘number 3 road’ while taking advantage of the dry weather. This provided an opportunity for the travelling public to see some very unusual sights from the passing WSR service trains.

The ‘Western’ needed to move to allow welding work to proceed on her ‘A’ end (the end nearest the main shed door) and the ‘Teddy Bear’ needed to move to gain easy access to the 10-ton crane for the re-installation of heavy components.

The task involved the use of Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) along with the Williton Fork Lift Truck and a generous helping of volunteer labour. Here’s some pictures:

The rolling chassis of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518, now including the Voith hydraulic transmission, has been hauled out into the sunshine by Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) and has paused on number 2 road. The chassis will eventually end up back inside the shed, but on number 3 road. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ was also hauled out into the sunshine and was shunted into number 1 road, alongside the platform, no doubt providing a curious sight for the passengers on the passing steam-hauled WSR services. This view of the ‘B’ end of the loco shows the extent of progress of the bodywork repairs. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0

The cab of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 was on the move at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022, with motive power provided by (L-R) Colin G, John C (mostly hidden) and Simon. Photo by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0

The revised view of the loco shed at Williton, looking towards the main shed doors – with the Class 14 D9518 now on the left hand side (number 3 road) and D1010 on the right hand side (number 2 road). Pictured on Sunday 17th April 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

MANY THANKS to all who joined in and helped get everything done in one major session. Restoration work can now resume on these two major projects.

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022. We will be opening our depot to the public on these special event days.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER continues to deliver funds for the restoration of D1010, so click on the images below for an update of fundraising status or to make a donation:

With the loco being moved on Saturday, the focus of attention this week has been the gathering of the various parts that have been removed from the loco for restoration and organising them into groups so that work can proceed without risk of parts getting lost or mixed up. The vast majority of the welding work at ‘B’ end has now been completed (just some details remain to be sorted out) so attention will now move to the ‘A’ end where a similar amount of work has to be undertaken. The loco was moved from number 3 road because ‘A’ end of the loco was too close to the oil store, so the increased fire risk prevented welding from being performed in that location.

D1010 – the loco was stabled on number 1 road alongside the platform for most of the day on Saturday 16th April 2022 so that the shed could be reorganised. This view shows the ‘A’ end of the loco prepared for the cutting and welding repairs that will be performed by DEPG volunteer Colin F. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the loco was eventually moved back inside the loco shed, but this time on number 2 road – as Ian demonstrates, the loco only just fits into the available space ! Pictured on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Chris Shields © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the new position of the loco on number 2 road allows easy access to the ‘A’ side which is seen in this view taken at Williton on Sunday 17th April 2022. The array of parts that are undergoing restoration are on the tables alongside the loco. The green rectangular items are the battery boxes from D9518. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is based at Bishops Lydeard and is available to the WSR for contract work or ‘Thunderbird’ work as required. We understand that one of the ‘Cromptons’ will be rostered for some of the diesel turns under the blue timetable in May, and we will send out a DIESELGEN bulletin when the rosters have been finalised.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently based at Bishops Lydeard.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco made a triumphant return to the South Yard at Williton under her own power on Saturday, riding nicely after having all 32 of the coil springs replaced in her primary suspension system plus both of the elliptical secondary suspension springs replaced in her ‘A’ bogie during the four weeks that she spent at the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ at the northern end of the yard at Williton. There is a small snag list to be dealt with before the loco can be inspected and passed for a return to service, but the list is not long and the loco should be available soon, so this is excellent news !

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is now riding on a completely new set of coil springs (32 in total) and has also had the elliptical secondary suspension springs of ‘A’ bogie replaced with good parts from our spares stock. The elliptical springs in ‘B’ bogie were OK and did not need to be replaced. Congratulations to all involved with this intensive effort. Photo taken on Friday 15th April 2022 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change in status but the loco did get moved from number 1 road to the North Yard to make space for the other shunting moves that took place last Saturday. The below view shows the loco being returned to the South Yard, being propelled by Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1) and with the Bishops Lydeard pilot loco Class 09 D4107 (09 019) sandwiched between the two ! More about the ‘gronk’ later.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 is pictured being returned to the South Yard at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022, after a short stay in the North Yard while shunting operations were taking place. The loco is being propelled by Barclay 0-4-0DH number 578 (ROF 1) with Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) sandwiched in between. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the move-around in the loco shed allowed several large assemblies to be repositioned for further work or for re-installation on the loco, and the opportunity was taken on Friday 15th April to fit the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission back into the frames, thereby achieving another milestone in the restoration process. Well done team !

D9518 – the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission was re-installed between the frames of the loco at Williton on Friday 15th April 2022. Another milestone has been achieved in the restoration of this loco ! Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the brake frame (which includes the compressor) is ready to go back onto the loco at a convenient time, having been restored back in 2020. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the cooler group is also ready to go back onto the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the engine that was removed from D9526 needs to be overhauled before it can be installed into D9518, so the first step was to remove the flywheel and the mountings, so that the engine can be mounted in the turnover frame (to the left). This frame allows the whole engine to be rotated in a safe and controlled manner, to provide access to the various components. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 by Martin Howard © 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco continues to be in regular use on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. By agreement between the DEPG and the K&ESR, this loco will now be staying at the K&ESR for the rest of this year to cover for sister loco D9504 which is undergoing a heavy overhaul.

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, awaiting re-opening of the line so that she can move to Grosmont to enter the loco works for completion of some overhaul tasks. The loco is expected to be readied for entering service in the summer of this year.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – a busy weekend for this loco, with three of the previous photos showing this very useful loco at work. Here’s a view of this loco and her sister number 579 (ROF 2, now based at Minehead), crossing the M5 at Puriton, just north of Junction 23, which will be of great interest to all who spent a few extra hours crawling along the M5 between Taunton and Bristol during Easter weekend. Those were the days !

Andrew Barclay 578 (ROF 1) and 579 (ROF 2) were pictured hauling a lengthy train of Speedlink wagons over the M5 to the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) at Puriton, Somerset, just north of Junction 23. The lack of traffic on the M5 is notable!!! Photographer and date unknown, but kindly provided by Keith Giles © CC BY-NC 3.0

An unusual visitor to Williton at the moment is Bishops Lydeard-based Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) which is with us for battery replacement and electrical testing. The loco arrived on Friday 15th April 2022 and has had the old batteries removed and the battery compartment cleaned up. The new batteries are due for delivery soon and the loco will be dispatched back to Bishops Lydeard as soon as possible. The work is being performed by Ian and Tom, both pictured below:

Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) was built by BR in 1961 and saw service in Carlisle and in the southeast before making her way to West Somerset. The loco was pictured at Williton on Sunday 17th April 2022 as Ian and Tom refit the battery box side panel after removing the batteries. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Another view of Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019) on number 2 road at Williton on Saturday 16th April 2022 with ‘Hymeks’ D7017 and D7018 alongside. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – this week, we have a book review that was prompted by volunteer Jon Tooke who pointed out that the loco pictured on the cover of this book, D1024 ‘WESTERN HUNTSMAN’, showed similar damage to that which affected D1010 in 1972. We are curious to learn how such damage occurred and we would very like to hear from someone who might have first hand knowledge of what happened to D1010 and where the accident took place. Can you help ?

Here’s Jon’s book review:

Book Of The Westerns – British Rail Class 52 – by Norman Preedy. ISBN 0906025036. First published in 1977.

An A5 size softback book covering the entire fleet of BR Western class locomotives from D1000 to D1073 in superb black and white photographs which are all crisp and clear complete with names, dates and locations. Most of the photos are of the normal front three quarter view type of shot but there are a few sidelong pictures as well.

Photographic locations range from most well known ones on the BR(W) region such as Swindon Works, Laira depot in Plymouth, but also include Reading and Gloucester. Many of the locomotives are shown in the later BR-blue era with full yellow ends and double arrows colour scheme, but there are some from the earlier period as well.

A great little book for the enthusiast and the modeller alike, especially if you are trying to capture the overall railway scene back then.

When originally published this wonderful book sold for the princely sum of £1.50 but slightly more expensive examples may well be found today on well-known on-line auction websites!

Many thanks to Jon for this book review and for raising the question about the bodyside damage. Can you help us find the answer ?

ON SHED – this week, staying with D1024 ‘WESTERN HUNTSMAN’ as shown on the cover of the book above, Jon has provided us with a photo that shows the loco carried her scar until the end of her days. Being only just over 10 years old, D1024 was an early casualty and is pictured on the scrapline at Plymouth Laira depot for parts recovery before being sent to Swindon for cutting up.

A sad sight at Plymouth Laira depot on 22nd November 1973 when five or more of the Class 52 ‘Westerns’ had already been moved to the scrapline for parts recovery before their last journey to meet the scrapman at Swindon Works. Second from the right is D1024 ‘WESTERN HUNTSMAN’ showing the same bodyside scar as in the photograph on the cover of Norman Preedy’s book. Photographer unknown, via Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

DEPG NEWS – the next Board Meeting is due to take place at Williton at 1030 on Saturday 23rd April, so if you have questions that you would like to have raised at the meeting, please reply to this email or send an email to Ian Robins via secretary@depg.org

Have you bought your tickets for the DEPG EASTER DRAW yet ? The draw will take place at Williton on the afternoon of this coming Saturday, 23rd April.

Tickets are available from our ONLINE STORE. If you have received paper tickets and wish to purchase them, you can buy online and enter your ticket numbers into the ‘NOTES’ field when checking out. Alternatively, please mail a cheque with your purchased ticket stubs to the address on the ticket (return envelopes were provided but will need stamps).

All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY RAFFLE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !

WSR NEWS: the next big event will be the ‘SPRING STEAM GALA’ from Thursday 5th through Sunday 8th May when the DEPG facility at Williton will be open to the public. Please make a plan to come along if you can, and have a tour of the depot.

The WSR has posted several vacancies online as it seeks to strengthen its commercial activities. These moves are welcomed as the WSR tends to be underpromoted and has a lot more to offer to its visitors. Let’s hope that these appointments will enhance the vsitor experience and result in more patronage and more running opportunities for our heritage diesels.

The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

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Weekly Roundup – 10-Apr-22

The WSR was host to a demonstration of TPWS-CS on Thursday 7th April with DEPG Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ D6566 (33 048) and D6575 (33 057) working the demo train in top-and-tail mode. Click on the image to go to the video for the explanation of what took place and why. Image taken from the video by Thales © CC BY-NC 3.0

The WSR and the DEPG’s locomotives were at the forefront of a safety technology demonstration that was run by THALES on Thursday 7th April 2022 when a test train, top-and-tailed by Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ D6566 (33 048) and D6575 (33 057) worked between Bishops Lydeard and Crowcombe Heathfield to showcase the capabilities of the new technology, known as TPWS-CS.

The objective of the new technology is to improve safety, especially in relation to engineering work and temporary speed restrictions that sometimes need to be applied at short notice. The new technology ensures that the driver is made aware of the restrictions, and the loco brakes are applied automatically if the restrictions are breached. Although the Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ are not fitted with TPWS, all mainline driving cabs are already fitted with TPWS, so the new ‘Continuous Supervision‘ extension is being developed as an enhancement..

It is great to see the WSR engaging with the rail industry in this way, so well done all !

WSR and DEPG volunteer Paul Fleet is pictured in the cab of one of the ‘Cromptons’ while providing feedback to the Thales staff on board the train. Click on the image to go to the video. Image taken from the video by Thales © CC BY-NC 3.0

WSR Diesel Traction Inspector and DEPG volunteer John Leach is pictured at the controls of one of the ‘Cromptons’ at the head of the test train. Click on the image to go to the video. Image taken from the video by Thales © CC BY-NC 3.0

An unexpected bonus this weekend was the substitution of Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) on the 1230 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and return steam-hauled service when ex-GWR 2-6-2T ‘Large Prairie’ 5199 was removed from the train at Williton due to a steam leak. The train was delayed to await the arrival of the ‘Crompton’ from Bishops Lydeard, crewed by WSR Chief Traction Inspector Merv Hebditch and DEPG secondman Tom Courtney. At Williton, DEPG volunteer and driver John Cooke climbed on board so that he could renew his driver ‘ticket’ under the watchful eye of the Chief Traction Inspector.

Here’s a short video of the train departing from Williton with John at the controls:

DEPG Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) took over the 1230 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and return service at Williton on Saturday 9th April 2022 and was captured on video by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022. We will be opening our depot to the public on these special event days.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER has now built up quite a list of sponsors and we will need to have a major session of engraving and photographing to get everyone’s names on to the loco. Click on the images below for an update of fundraising status:

With a very reduced team on D1010 this weekend, attention was shifted to the Voith L630rV hydraulic transmission from ‘B’ end of the locomotive that seized up during the 2018 Diesel Gala. The turbine rail assembly (the core of the transmission) has now been separated to allow the cause of the failure to be determined, and as expected, a bearing had broken up, resulting in the shaft becoming jammed.

The following photos show some of the key parts being unpacked and prepared for inspection and measurement. The vast majority of parts appear to be damage-free, although the debris from the failed bearing is likely to have contaminated the oil and caused damage to other bearings, each of which will need to be carefully inspected and most probably replaced.

D1010 – the transmission from ‘B’ end has been stripped down so that the individual components can be inspected and measured. Most parts appear to be OK although some of the bearings and seals will need to be replaced. Pictured at Williton on 9th April 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the support bearing surface at the very end of the shaft is showing evidence of damage and will need to be replaced. These bearings are standard parts and are readily available. Pictured at Williton on 9th April 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Two of the complex parts that have become damaged by the bearing collapse are the impeller and runner of the second stage turbine, and these parts will need to be repaired very carefully using specialist techniques, or replaced if spare parts can be obtained. As soon as the inspection has been completed, the options for repair will be investigated and a repair plan defined.

D1010 – the impeller (the part that is driven by the engine) of the second converter stage has suffered from coming into contact with other parts while rotating, and shows evidence of multiple damages sites and overheating. The damage should be repairable using modern techniques, but in the very worst case, this component may need to be replaced. Pictured at Williton on 9th April 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the turbine runner (the part that is driven by the hydraulic fluid) of the second stage is generally undamaged, but the hub that forms the seal between the ‘drive’ and ‘driven’ elements has suffered. The hub is a separate part, so this repair is not expected to be a major issue. Pictured at Williton on 9th April 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

The complete range of options for the repair or replacement of the damaged parts is being investigated so that the cost and timescale factors can be balanced. The loco is limited to heritage railway speeds so the first converter stage will be doing all of the work as previously, but the rest of the system needs to be intact and reliable to ensure that this repair will stand the test of time.

Meanwhile, work proceeds elsewhere on the loco and the plan is to move the loco from its current position on No. 3 road in the shed at Williton to No. 2 road, thereby swapping places with D9518 so that the Class 14 can get easy access to the 10-ton crane. The move will also allow welding repairs to continue on D1010 at ‘A’ end. Weather permitting, this move should take place on Saturday 16th April.

To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Bishops Lydeard and was called into action on Saturday 9th April 2022 to take over from the service steam loco, as covered earlier. Immediately upon finding that the ‘Crompton’ was needed, DEPG volunteer Tom Courtney headed for Bishops Lydeard for secondman duties, to minimse the delay to the public service. The reduced turnaround time required by the diesel at Minehead allowed a significant part of the timetable delay to be recovered. Here’s a photo that Tom took after returning to Bishops Lydeard:

A pair of Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ pictured at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 9th April 2022. D6575 (33 057) is on the left, in the bay platform along with the stock of the ‘Quantock Belle’ dining train, while the hero of the day, D6566 (33 048) stands alongside Westridge steam shed. Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently based at Bishops Lydeard, although sister D6566 (33 048) was used in preference on Saturday 9th April 2022 because of her more convenient position.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – after an intensive period of work by a small team, this loco is now back on her wheels inside the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ at Williton after having all 32 of the coil springs replaced in her primary suspension system plus two of the elliptical secondary suspension springs replaced in her ‘A’ bogie. The remaining work is the refitting of the bogie connections so that she can safely return to the South Yard at Williton. A 5-day work session has been set up, starting on Wednesday 13th April, to get this work completed. Congratulations to all who were involved in getting this done and many thanks to the team at WSR Restorations for the use of their excellent facilities and for their invaluable help!

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 was lowered back onto her bogies at the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ on Monday 4th April 2022 after having all 32 coil springs on both bogies and both elliptical springs on Bogie ‘A’ replaced. Congratulations to all involved with this intensive effort. The photo shows that the jacks are fully retracted and the lifting brackets have been removed from the loco. Photo taken on Tuesday 5th April 2022 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

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

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – there continues to be excellent progress on this loco, the next major milestone being the re-installation of the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission, which is scheduled to take place after the loco moves to No. 3 road at Williton, to allow access to the 10-ton crane. Meanwhile, preparations are continuing as shown in the following photographs:

D9518 – the Hunslet final drive gearbox received another coat of paint at Williton on Saturday 9th April 2022 while the electrical conduits and equipment went into their designated ‘orange’ colour. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the wheel diameter compensation device was set to ’47’ to correspond with the measured diameter of the newly-turned wheels (47.33 inches, therefore 1.203m) at Williton on Saturday 9th April 2022. This device ensures that the speed sensor remains accurate. It only needs to be altered after wheel turning – which is just as well, because it is almost impossible to access after the transmission has been re-installed. Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the space between the frames has been readied for the re-installation of the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission. This is another milestone in the restoration programme, so well done team D9518 ! Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – this view of the interior of the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission at Williton on Saturday 9th April 2022 shows the output shaft supported by a roller bearing. The lubrication oil delivery pipe can also be seen on the right hand side of the bearing. Photo by Simon Purvis © 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco continues to be in regular use on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. By agreement between the DEPG and the K&ESR, this loco will now be staying at the K&ESR for the rest of this year to cover for sister loco D9504 which is undergoing a heavy overhaul.

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, awaiting re-opening of the line so that she can move to Grosmont to enter the loco works for completion of some overhaul tasks. The loco is expected to be readied for entering service in the summer of this year.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – another photo of the loco from her early days on the WSR after arrival from ROF Bridgwater, this time from the excellent photographic archives of wsr.org.uk. These images will help us complete the repaint in the most authentic way, but we need more photos of the details to make sure that we get everything right, so if you remember seeing this loco in service, please send us your photos. Thanks !

Andrew Barclay 578 (ROF 1) was pictured at Minehead in August 1994, shortly after arrival on the WSR from ROF Bridgwater. Please contact us if you have photos of this locomotive during the period 1972 through 1994. Photo by Steve Edge © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – last week, we featured a detailed book review from regular contributor Neale Long covering Part 1 of the new Class 14 study by Anthony P. Sayer. Since last week, several members have commented positively about this book, so as Neale concludes, it is well worth purchasing. Neale’s review is available on our website by clicking this link or by clicking on the image below. Part 1 of this work is available now and Part 2 will be released at the end of June. Click on the image for more information:

ON SHED – this week, we have a photo of D1064 ‘WESTERN REGENT’ that was found in a collection of photos that were for sale at the recent ‘RETURN TO MINEHEAD’ event. Here’s the photo with some information about the locomotive:

BR Crewe-built Class 52 D1064 ‘WESTERN REGENT’ is pictured on shed at Bristol Bath Road on 10th October 1974. This loco was delivered new to Cardiff Canton depot on 24th May 1963 and became a regular performer on the South Wales to Paddington services. The loco moved to Plymouth Laira shed in 1966 and remained in service until December 1975. Photo by Mark Bladwell © CC BY-NC 3.0

DEPG NEWS – the synopsis of the Board Meeting that was held at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 is being prepared and will be circulated to all those members for whom we hold an email address. Paper copies will be included with the next Newsletter (#60) which is due to be mailed at the end of May.

The recent saga of the mailing of Newsletter #59 has now reached a conclusion following an email poll of more than 200 members, who were asked to respond with a simple ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ regarding the receipt of the February Newsletter. The results are as follows:

emails sent	206
emails answered	115 (56% response rate)
Newsletters received without surcharge	92
Newsletters received but with surcharge payable	7
No newsletter received	16 (14% of respondents)

We will now arrange to send replacement Newsletters to those who responded in the negative, along with apologies for the delay. The most likely reason for the non-delivery is that a batch of stamps that were donated by a member in good faith were rejected as being counterfeit! Apparently, some Post Offices have new machinery that can detect clever counterfeits, which might explain the regional variation. From the above statistics, we can estimate that approximately one sixth of our membership did not receive their newsletters, but the actual number may be higher. Apologies to all for the trouble that this has caused.

Along with the February Newsletter, we included RAFFLE TICKETS and we carefully weighed and measured the mailing to ensure that we placed the correct value postage on the envelope, so this in itself was not a factor. Anyway, it’s all good experience for the future, with a lesson learned: – BEWARE of internet sellers offering discounted stamps !

Have you bought your tickets for the DEPG EASTER DRAW yet ? These tickets are now available from our ONLINE STORE. If you have received paper tickets and wish to purchase them, you can buy online and enter your ticket numbers into the ‘NOTES’ field when checking out. Alternatively, please mail a cheque with your purchased ticket stubs to the address on the ticket (return envelopes were provided but will need stamps).

All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY THE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !

WSR NEWS: preparations are under way for the ‘SPRING STEAM GALA’ from Thursday 5th through Sunday 8th May when the DEPG facility at Williton will be open to the public and will offer close-up views of the work taking place on D1010 and D9518, in addition to opportunities to look inside the locos that will be in the yard (probably ‘Hymeks’ D7017, D7018 and Barclay 578). Please make a plan to come along if you can.

The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

Weekly Roundup – 04-Apr-22

‘Beyer Peacock ‘Hymek’ D7017 was ready to be lowered back on to her bogies at WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ by lunchtime on Monday 4th April 2022. The jacks were fully lowered by the end of the day. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

The roundup has been delayed this week because of the need to include an extra day to capture the EXCELLENT NEWS that Beyer Peacock ‘Hymek’ D7017 has been lowered back on to her wheels and will soon be ready to leave the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ and return to the DEPG yard at Williton. This is the result of a FANTASTIC EFFORT by the Williton teams to get the loco lifted, the springs replaced and lowered back onto her wheels within one week !

Here’s a summary of the D7017 Diary:

Day	Date	Event
Saturday	19-Mar-22	Loco moved to the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ at Williton
Saturday	26-Mar-22	Preparatory work began
Sunday	27-Mar-22	Cardan shafts disconnected
Monday	28-Mar-22	Lifting brackets in place, ready for lifting
Tuesday	29-Mar-22	LOCO LIFTED and bogies rolled out.
Wednesday	30-Mar-22	Bogie A disassembled
Thursday	31-Mar-22	Bogie A repair work in progress
Friday	01-Apr-22	Bogie A reassembled
Saturday	02-Apr-22	Bogie B disassembled
Sunday	03-Apr-22	Bogie B reassembled
Monday	04-Apr-22	LOCO LOWERED back onto her bogies !

The story of this spring replacement activity is being captured on a series of web pages that are being developed on our website. The first few pages are already online and there will be a lot more information posted later this week, as the photos and videos get uploaded. Use this link to visit the D7017 DIARY INDEX page and keep and eye on it because it will be developed further as time permits.

The massive personal effort from project leaders Martin Howard and Paul Tucker needs to be acknowledged along with the efforts of every volunteer who contributed, because this was a team result and such rapid progress on a task of this magnitude could only be made by an organised team. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who helped to get this job done!

The completion of this work involves re-connecting the brake rigging and reconnecting the cardan shafts. This will take place over the next few weeks and will be followed by inspection and testing to prepare the loco for a return to service during her 60th birthday year !

We look forward to seeing both of the DEPG ‘Hymeks’ at work on the WSR as soon as possible.

Another notable event last weekend was the ‘RETURN TO MINEHEAD’ celebration that was organised to commemorate the return of through services to the Minehead terminus after a gap of more than two years, due to the combined effects of Covid and the replacement of the Seaward Way Level Crossing. The first train to originate from Minehead since 2019 was hauled by the WSR’s BR(W) 4-6-0 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’ and the scene on the platform was one of celebration with the Watchet Town Band and crowds of well-wishers on a bright and sunny – but very cold – weekend.

DEPG Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) arrived at Minehead on 31st March 2022 with the empty coaching stock (ECS) from Bishops Lydeard in preparation for the ‘blue timetable’ that includes a service that originates at Minehead. The loco then remained at Minehead for the weekend. The WSR’s BR(W) 4-6-0 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’ can be seen on the left. Photo by Steve Lewis © CC BY-NC 3.0

DEPG Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) remained at Minehead as ‘Thunderbird’ loco and was placed on display on the same road as the restored Southern Region ‘PMV’ Parcels and Miscellanous Van that it would have worked with during its earlier career as a mainline locomotive when based in the South East. Pictured on Saturday 2nd April 2022 by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

The DEPG operated a sales stand on the platform on both days, raising funds for D1010 and D9518 restoration appeals, and showing our support for the re-opening of the station. Many thanks to Mark and Chris for braving the very cold weather on both days and for their tireless work on the sales stand.

The DEPG sales stand at Minehead Station with happy customers (and DEPG members) Geoff and Janice Miles pictured with Mark Bladwell on Sunday 3rd April 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

An additional bonus for DEPG followers was the use of Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) at the head of the 1430 service from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard and return, due to a smokebox fault developing on 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’ that resulted in the loco having to miss her last out-and-back service of the weekend. The ‘Crompton’ was ready and only too willing to be able to perform.

DEPG Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) stands at Williton with the 1430 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard service on Sunday 3rd April 2022, standing-in for BR(W) 4-6-0 7828 ‘ODNEY MANOR’. The loco was crewed by Chief Traction Inspection Merv Hebditch and DEPG secondman Tom Courtney. Photo by Geoff Miles © CC BY-NC 3.0

DEPG Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) approaches Williton Station with the Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) from Minehead that will be needed for the resumption of ‘red timetable’ working the following weekend. The loco is bathed in late afternoon sunshine as she heads for Bishops Lydeard. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

LOCO NEWS:

Work on D1010 was curtailed somewhat by the diversion of manpower to D7017 but some useful progress was made, as evidenced by the following selection of photos:

D1010 – the repairs to the access grille at ‘A’ end on ‘B’ side were completed on Monday 28th March 2022 by welding of the new hinge section while volunteer Geoff performed a fire watch from the inside of the loco. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the access grille on ‘B’ side was re-fitted on Monday 28th March 2022 and is now ready for the attention of the bodyside sanding and painting team. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the bulge at the bottom of the handrail was cut open and peeled back on Sunday 3rd April 2022 to reveal a heap of debris that has fallen through the hollow handrail and accumulated over the years, expanding as it corrodes further. The source of the debris is corrosion at the top of the handrail, caused by water ingress around the cab side window. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – both handrail mountings on the ‘B’ side at ‘A’ end have now been repaired using steel that was reclaimed following the removal of the non-standard front valances that were fitted to the ‘A’ end of the loco at Merehead Quarry in the 1990s. Pictured at Williton on Sunday 3rd April 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco has now moved back to Bishops Lydeard and is available for duties as required by the WSR.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently based at Bishops Lydeard. Last week, we included a photo of the loco approaching Williton and meeting up with a Ferguson model TE20 diesel tractor, and we now have some additional information about that photo, as kindly provided by Edward Martin:

“Dad (Charlie Martin, a very well known local character) bought two Ferguson TE20 diesel tractors from Williton-based company J. Gliddon & Son in 1950 for £500 each. Dad used them on the farm and also did some sub-contracting work with them. Both are running, although one needs to have a head gasket replacement. Both have had repaints done around 5 years ago from WS Restoration. The tractor was in the field adjacent to the running line because I had found a mains water leak. When investigating it, Wessex Water got their van stuck and I had to tow it out with the 72-year-old tractor.”

The pair of Ferguson model TE20 diesel tractors that were purchased brand new in 1950 by Charlie Martin from local firm J. Gliddon & Son. These machines are still at work in and around Williton. Photo by Edward Martin © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – covered previously, now back on her wheels inside the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ at Williton.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week due to the effort being directed towards her slightly older sister (10 days older, in fact).

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – a similar story of reduced resources on this project this week, but progress was still made, as shown in the photos below:

D9518 – new mountings for the new steel pipework were welded into place at Williton on Monday 27th March 2022. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – new mountings for the fire extinguisher cylinders were fabricated then trial positioned on the loco frames at Williton on Monday 27th March 2022. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the panels and sections from the headcode boxes have been restored and painted in green primer in readiness for undercoat and gloss. Pictured on Friday 25th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the red marker light that was donated by DEPG member Phil Gray has been painted ‘NCB Ashington Blue’, making a contrast with Sentinel 0-4-0 number 10165 ‘JOAN’ in the red livery of the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company in the background. Pictured on Friday 25th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – no change this week, but we have received some photos of the loco from her early days on the WSR after arrival from ROF Bridgwater. These images will help us complete the repaint in the most authentic way, so we are very grateful to Keith Giles for his help in obtaining these photographs. Here’s a photo showing our loco shortly after it arrived on the WSR (thought to be 1994):

Andrew Barclay 578 (ROF 1) was pictured shortly after arrival on the WSR from ROF Bridgwater, thought to be 1994. Please contact us if you have more information about this locomotive. Photo by Glyn Luxton via Keith Giles © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – we have pleased to report that a detailed book review from regular contributor Neale Long covering Part 1 of the new Class 14 study by Anthony P. Sayer is now available on our website by clicking this link or by clicking on the image below. The conclusion of Neale’s review is very positive and it appears that Mr. Sayer has maintained his excellent track record with his most recent work, which is great news. Part 1 of this work is available now and Part 2 will be released at the end of June. Click on the image for more information:

Many thanks to Neale for providing this very detailed review and for his clear enthusiasm on the subject !

ON SHED – we will have to skip this feature again this week due to lack of time, but don’t worry, it will be back next week.

All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY THE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !

WSR NEWS: after a succesful ‘RETURN TO MINEHEAD’, the next major event will be the ‘SPRING STEAM GALA’ from Thursday 5th through Sunday 8th May and the DEPG facility at Williton will be open to the public and will offer close-up views of the work taking place on D1010 and D9518, in addition to opportunities to look inside the locos that will be in the yard (probably ‘Hymeks’ D7017, D7018 and Barclay 578). Please make a plan to come along if you can.

Class 03 shunter D2133 was stabled along with the WSR’s Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) in clear view of the platform at Minehead on Saturday 2nd April 2022. When work has been completed, the DMU will cover some of the diesel diagrams that are shown in the red and blue timetables. We will provide more information as soon as it is available. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

Weekly Roundup – 27-Mar-22

D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ was towed outdoors by Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1) on a glorious Spring Saturday 26th March 2022 so that work could proceed on her bodywork overhaul. This is an image from a video clip that can be viewed in full further below. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

The glorious Spring sunshine of recent times has allowed our Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ to leave the confines of the loco shed at Williton and bask in the sunshine while her bodywork overhaul was being progressed by her dedicated team of volunteers. The repairs at ‘B’ end (now painted in grey primer) are almost complete and repairs along her bodyside are making very good progress – see the LOCO NEWS section below for more information.

The moment when the loco emerged from the shed was captured on video by DEPG and WSR volunteer Jon Tooke and can be viewed on our YouTube channel by clicking the image below:

FOR THIS COMING WEEKEND, preparations are being made for the WSR’s RETURN TO MINEHEAD EVENT which takes place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April at Minehead. Here’s an extract from the recent WSR publicity:

“On both days there will be a range of stalls on the platform, representing activities on the Railway, and also representative organisations from the Minehead community. At the time of writing those booked to attend include: Minehead Lifeboat, the Regal Theatre, Minehead Museum and Minehead BID. From the Railway we expect to have representatives from Friends of Minehead Station, Foxcote Manor Group, 5199 Group, WSR Heritage Trust, West Somerset Railway Association, the DEPG and the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway.

Minehead Station shop, and the popular second hand book stall, Readers Halt, will both be open. The Turntable Cafe will be providing refreshments. Admission to the Station is free of charge, and is by way of a ‘thank you’ from the Railway for all the support it has received from so many people during the last couple of difficult years.

A number of special guests have been invited on the Saturday, for the official Seaward Way Level Crossing opening, which will take place at noon. The Watchet Town Band will be in attendance, as will Brunel the Beagle (from the WSR Senior Management!) and Stormy Stan from the RNLI.”

The DEPG will have a sales stand on the platform on both days, raising funds for D1010 and D9518 restoration appeals, so please do try and attend and support the event if you can. The BLUE timetable will be in operation.

NOTE: Although the ‘blue’ timetable shows ‘STEAM/DIESEL’ for the 1000 and 1430 departures from Minehead (1230 and 1635 departures from Bishops Lydeard), DEPG locos will not normally be rostered for this duty until the end of April.

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022. We will be opening our depot to the public on these special event days.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER continues to attract funds although things have quietened down for very understandable reasons. We are confident that sponsorship will pick up again in the near future, after we have all adjusted to the ‘new new normal’. Click on the images below for an update of fundraising status:

Meanwhile, work continues on multiple fronts, as evidenced by the following selection of photos:

D1010 – Plenty of volunteer activity on the bodyside overhaul at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022, with (L-R) Gordon, Ian F and Chris in view (Leroy and Mike were also working on the loco). Photo by Barrie Childs © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the sill for the access grille on ‘B’ side was repaired by welding new steel at Williton on Monday 21st March 2022. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the access grille aperture on ‘B’ side can be seen to be partly repaired in this view taken on Saturday 26th March 2022. Extract from a video by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the loco was hauled out into the sunlight to allow work to progress in multiple areas on the bodyside on Saturday 26th March 2022. The ‘B’ side’ air intake for ‘B’ engine can be seen in the open or ‘maintenance’ position. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – volunteer Mike E uses the needle-gun to remove the old paint and filler on the ‘B’ side of the loco, to the left of the centre window. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco has now moved to Bishops Lydeard and is available for duties as required by the WSR.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently based at Bishops Lydeard. This loco was in use during the previous weekend, and here’s a photo of the 1961-vintage loco approaching Williton and meeting up with an even older vintage diesel machine ….

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) approaches Williton on 20th March 2022 and passes a Ferguson model TE20 diesel tractor that had been working in the field alongside the railway. The 72-year old machine is one of a pair that were bought by Charlie Martin from local firm J Gliddon & Son when brand new in 1950 and have worked in and around Williton ever since ! Photo by Edward Martin © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – now inside the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ for lifting and bogie spring change (expected to take two weeks). We will be putting together a special series of posts on our website during this week to keep our members and supporters up to date with the work that is taking place on this loco.

Beyer-Peacock Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is pictured inside the WSR Restorations Swindon Shed at Williton on Monday 28th March 2022 with the lifting brackets in position, awaiting the lifting jacks. The bogies have been disconnected and the loco is ready for lifting. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – with a good showing of volunteers last Saturday, the opportunity was taken to lavish some TLC on this loco and keep her paintwork bright and clean. When resources become available, the ‘spare’ transmission that last ran in D7018 back in 1995 will be cleaned up and opened up to release the control block that will then be installed in D7018 and will hopefully resolve the gear-change difficulties.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 enjoyed the attention of Darren and Jon at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022, with Darren evidently able to use his height to great advantage ! Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

The Stone-Maybach ‘Mekydro’ K184 hydraulic transmission that was last used in Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 back in 1995 has been moved into the shed for cleaning. The control block will then be removed and will be fitted into D7018. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – plenty of progress on plenty of items this week, including some preparation work on the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission prior to it being reinstalled on the loco. The pictures tell the story:

D9518 – Simon has removed the sump from the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission to change the oil filters and check for any signs of trouble. So far, so good. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – a view inside the Voith L217 hydraulic transmission (looking upward) shows that everything is ‘as expected’ so that is a good sign. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the refurbished buffers now wear a coat of green primer. Next will be a few layers of undercoat before the gloss top coat. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the last set of steps have now been fitted so the loco now has her full complement of six sets. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 26th March 2022 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco continues to be in regular use in support of track relaying work at Tenterden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The loco is also booked to work some public services when the railway re-opens to the public from Saturday 2nd April.

D9526 – pictured at Tenterden on Friday 25th March 2022 with a ballast train in support of the track relaying that is taking place in advance of the start of the 2022 running season. Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, awaiting re-opening of the line so that she can move to Grosmont to enter the loco works for completion of some overhaul tasks. The loco is expected to be readied for entering service in the summer of this year.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco has been very busy during the last few weeks and is likely to be in use again this week for shunting in the North Yard at Williton. The loco is resplendent in her MOD bronze green paintwork and only needs some detailing such as cabside signwriting and the reinstatement of the black diagonal lines on the buffer beams to complete her return to her authentic 1972 appearance.

Andrew Barclay 578 (ROF 1) was pictured in the North Yard at Williton on Saturday 19th March 2022 along with the diminutive Ruston 0-4-0DM shunter 200793 and a Mark 1 coach. These two locos are extremely useful, given the wide variety of work around the Williton site. Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – we have received a detailed book review from regular contributor Neale Long covering Part 1 of the new Class 14 study by Anthony P. Sayer, but we will need a little time to set it up on our website so that we can then provide a link to this review from the roundup. The conclusion of Neale’s review is positive and it sounds like Mr. Sayer has maintained his excellent track record with his most recent work, which is great news.

Please bear with us and keep an eye on our website in the meantime. Part 1 is available now (click on the image below for a link to the publisher’s website) and Part 2 will be released at the end of June. Many thanks to Neale for providing the review, which will be uploaded to our website during this week.

ON SHED – we will have to skip this feature this week due to lack of space, but don’t worry, it will be back next week.

DEPG NEWS – a Board Meeting was held at Williton last Saturday 26th March 2022 and a synopsis will be produced ASAP and will be circulated to all those members for whom we hold an email address. Paper copies will be included with the next Newsletter, which is due to be mailed at the end of May.

Have you bought your tickets for the DEPG EASTER DRAW yet ? These tickets are now available from our ONLINE STORE. If you have received paper tickets and wish to purchase them, you can buy online and enter your ticket numbers into the ‘NOTES’ field when checking out. Alternatively, please mail a cheque with your purchased ticket stubs to the address on the ticket (return envelopes were provided but will need stamps).

All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY THE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !

WSR NEWS: it has been a real treat to see public services return to the WSR during the last two weekends and we are looking forward to the RETURN TO MINEHEAD EVENT this coming weekend. The weather forecast is good, although not quite up to the standard that we have enjoyed these last two weekends, but everything looks set for a most enjoyable weekend. Please try to attend if you can !

Class 03 shunter D2133 was pictured at the new Seaward Way Level Crossing on Sunday 27th March 2022 while shunting some civil engineering equipment. The official opening ceremony for this crossing will take place this coming Saturday 2nd April 2022 at 1200 midday. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

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Weekly Roundup – 20-Mar-22

The WSR’s 2022 running season started on Saturday 19th March and included DEPG traction in the form of Class 33 D6575 (33 057) pictured departing Minehead with the 1430 service for Bishops Lydeard. The ‘Crompton’ was standing-in for ex-GWR 2-6-2T number 5199 and became the first diesel to work a public service right through to Minehead since 2019. Photo by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

The 2022 running season got off to a great start on Saturday 19th March, with blue skies and bright sunshine adding to the occasion and making everything feel good. The first service of the new season left Bishops Lydeard for Minehead at 1015 behind WSR 2-6-0 ‘Mogul’ 9351. The second service was due to depart Bishops Lydeard at 1230 behind ex-GWR 2-6-2T ‘Large Prairie’ 5199 but the loco developed a fault and was substituted by Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) which covered the diagram on both Saturday and Sunday. Patronage of both services was very good on both days and it was a treat to see mixed traction at work again.

Here’s a short video showing D6575 (33 057) departing from Williton on Saturday 19th March (click on the image to launch the video):

NOTE: Although the ‘red’ timetable shows ‘STEAM/DIESEL’ for the 1430 departure, DEPG locos will not normally be rostered for this duty until May.

If was quite fitting for a DEPG locomotive to be at work on the WSR on Saturday 19th March because exactly 45 years earlier, ‘Hymek’ D7017 had worked the ‘QUANTOCK FLYER’ charter from Minehead to Williton and return, becoming the first former BR-mainline diesel to haul a revenue-earning service in preservation.

Coming only three weeks after the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour and the end of the BR-mainline diesel-hydraulic era, the chance to ride behind a ‘hydraulic’ was a massive draw, so every seat on the Wirral Railway Society charter was sold. This placed a huge stress on the small team of D+EG (predecessor of the DEPG) volunteers who were tasked with preparing the loco for its big day, especially as the batteries on the loco were life-expired and unreliable. Here’s the situation as recalled by Clive Burrows:

“Len Lyons at Old Oak Common refurbished some of the battery blocks for D7017 but several of D7017’s battery cells failed just before the event and so I had to borrow all the battery blocks from the DTG’s Class 42 ‘Warship’ D821 ‘GREYHOUND’ on the turntable in Swindon Works and take them to Minehead to start D7017! Fortunately, the engine did not shut down in service as we would not have been able to restart it, which I proved after we got back to Minehead in the evening. Funds were desperately short at that time and buying a complete new set of battery cells would have been well beyond the D+EG’s budget in March 1977.”

Many thanks to Clive for sharing his recollection of that day and for bringing this anniversary to our attention. There are some great photos of this event along with some additional background by Neil Phillips, shared on the 40th anniversary via the Cornwall Railway Society website, available by clicking here.

D7017 was making the news again at Williton on Saturday 19th March 2022 when she was started up and moved under her own power to the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ in the North Yard, where she was positioned over the pit so that the work of disconnecting her bogies could commence. This in turn will allow the loco to be lifted later this month so that her suspension springs can be replaced.

D7017 is now positioned over the pit in the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ where her bogies will be disconnected so that the body of loco can be lifted. Photo taken on Saturday 19th March 2022 by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

The loco is again suffering with poor batteries but they were good enough to get her started for the first time this year and the engine soon settled down to produce her characteristic ‘Maybach Music’. Here’s a short video of the startup, filmed by Leroy Ford:

Here are some short videos of the loco movements that took place on Saturday 19th:

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – with so many other very important causes vying for funds and the massive jump in energy prices impacting us all, it is no surprise that our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER contributions have quietened down, but we are confident that sponsorship will pick up again in the near future, after we have all adjusted to the ‘new new normal’. Click on the images below for an update of fundraising status:

Meanwhile, work continues on multiple fronts, as evidenced by the following selection of photos:

D1010 – Geoff carefully removes the old layers of sealant from around the centre window frame on ‘A’ side of the locomotive. Pictured at Williton on Monday 14th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the aluminium window frame is gently pulled back into position after cutting away the corroded steel that was expanding and pressing it inwards. Pictured at Williton on Monday 14th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the photographer captures a view through the ‘A’ side centre window showing Leroy at work re-installing the interior panels that had to be removed while welding work was taking place on the outer skin of the loco on ‘B’ side. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 15th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – back on the ‘B’ side of the locomotive, the access grille has been removed and repaired but the sill area needs the same kind of repair as already performed at the opposite end of the loco. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 15th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – Chris carefully removes the old filler from around the BR-era sideswipe damage repair on ‘B’ side that dates back to 1972. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 19th March 2022 by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the repaired footholds were trial fitted at both ends of the locomotive to get them off the bench and conveniently stored, back in their rightful places. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 19th March 2022 by Leroy Ford © CC BY-NC 3.0

To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco has now moved to Bishops Lydeard and is available for duties as required by the WSR.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is based at Bishops Lydeard, and is ready for action (as demonstrated over the weekend!

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – now inside the Swindon Shed for lifting and bogie spring change (expected to take two weeks).

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week due to sister loco D7017 grabbing the limelight.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – progress was mostly in the background this week as work continued on the painstaking task of repairing and repainting electrical conduits so that they can be reinstalled on the loco. The series of photos below shows the stages of restoration of several of these conduits and their associated junction boxes and access points:

D9518 – a corroded section of conduit was cut out and replaced with new metal as the first stage of the restoration. Pictured on Thursday 17th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – stage 2 – a coat of green primer. Note the various access covers hanging on the hooks, ready to be painted on the reverse side. Pictured on Thursday 17th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – stage 3 – a layer of undercoat. Pictured on Thursday 17th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – stage 4 – a coat of orange gloss, being the standard colour to denote electrical installations. A great restoration job has been done on these basic items. Pictured on Thursday 17th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – new rollers were machined by Nick as replacements for missing parts that are needed for the headcode blind restoration. Pictured on Thursday 17th March 2022 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco continues to be in regular use in support of track relaying work at Tenterden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The loco is also booked to work some public services when the railway re-opens to the public from Saturday 2nd April. Here are some photos of the loco in use in support of track replacement work last week:

D9526 – pictured at Tenterden on Saturday 19th March 2022 alongside a Plasser and Thurer USP5000 and 08-275 tamper that were working on the track relaying. Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9526 – another view of this loco at work in support of track relaying at Tenterden on Saturday 19th March 2022. Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, awaiting re-opening of the line so that she can move to Grosmont to enter the loco works for completion of some overhaul tasks. The loco is expected to be readied for entering service in the summer of this year.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco was back in use for at Williton after receiving a repaint from the WSR Restorations team. See the caption below for details:

Andrew Barclay 578 (ROF 1) is pictured after completing a marathon 5-hour shunting exercise on Saturday and now basking in the glow of late afternoon spring sunshine. This loco is back in the DEPG yard at Williton after a recently completed cosmetic repaint. Some additional painting and signwriting is still required to complete the refresh, but the effect is clearly noticeable. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – we will presenting a review on Part 1 of the new Class 14 study by Anthony P. Sayer in the very near future. Watch this space !

ON SHED – this week, we feature the last in the set of very rare views of the Class 52 survivors while in secure storage at Newton Abbot in 1977. This photo was taken at Newton Abbot by Barry Gay on 11th May 1977:

Withdrawn and stored serviceable Class 52 D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’, devoid of nameplates and numberplates but with engines running, was caught on film by chance while ‘exercising’ within the confines of Newton Abbot yard on 11th May 1977. The loco was pictured just before positioning on the traverser and returning to her stabling point inside the former loco works building. Photo by Barry Gay © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to Barry for sharing more of his images from his vast and impressive collection !

DEPG NEWS – we have received further reports of non-delivery of the February issue of the DEPG Newsletter that was mailed a few weeks ago to all members who were on the register at the end of 2021. Several members report having to pay excess postage charges on this newsletter, and several members report not having received their mailing at all. We are still looking in to the matter and we will provide more details as soon as we find out what has gone wrong.

Meanwhile, if you are a member and you have not received your copy of Newsletter #59 (as shown in the image below), please let me know so that we can send out a replacement.

Apologies for any inconvenience that has been caused by this.

The mailing includes tickets for the DEPG EASTER DRAW and these tickets are also now available from our ONLINE STORE. If you have received paper tickets and wish to purchase them, you can buy online and enter your ticket numbers into the ‘NOTES’ field when checking out. Alternatively, please mail a cheque with your purchased ticket stubs to the address on the ticket (return envelopes were provided but will need stamps).

All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY THE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !

WSR NEWS: congratulations to all for the succesful RETURN OF PUBLIC SERVICES on Saturday 19th March 2022. Volunteers and staff have been incredibly busy ensuring that everything was in place to ensure a smooth restart. On the day itself, a minor issue with steam locomotive 5199 led to a diesel substitution, but everything else went to plan. The railway is running again next weekend with the RED timetable in operation so please come along and buy a ticket to ride these services if you can.

The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

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Weekly Roundup – 13-Mar-22

The brand new primary suspension springs for D7017 were treated to a coat of primer by Graham at Williton on Saturday 12th March 2022. D7017 will soon be going into the WS Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ for attention. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

We are delighted to announce that our Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is about to enter the WS Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ at Williton so that her complete set of suspension springs can be replaced. The loco last worked in 2019 and was then ‘stopped’ for attention to a degraded elliptical leaf spring that was causing the loco to lean slightly. Ironically, it is a spring that was changed in the ‘nineties – the rest of the set date back 50+ years to BR service days and are all OK.

Thanks to the donors for the funds that were raised in 2019 and 2020, a complete new set of 24 primary coil springs was purchased and a spare pair of secondary elliptical springs has been refurbished to allow the work to go ahead. The coil springs are being changed because it would be short-sighted to only change the leaf springs when the bogies have to be dismantled either way.

The loco needs to be lifted from her bogies to allow this work to be done. The delay caused by Covid was made worse by the very high workload in the Swindon Shed and the need to have access to the set of four 25-ton lifting jacks that came from Bristol Bath Road depot, the original home of D7017 and D7018 from their date of entry into service, just over sixty years ago.

The work will be done by the team at WS Restorations with the support of DEPG volunteers. Upon completion in a few weeks’ time, the loco will be able to resume its duties in time for the busy 2022 running season. If time and funding allows, the bodywork will also be tidied up, but this will depend entirely on the availability of resources at WS Restorations because the DEPG loco shed is fully occupied with the two major restoration projects that are running on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518.

The coil springs for D7017 were undercoated then glossed at Williton on Sunday 13th March 2022 and are now ready for installation into the loco. Photo by Graham Perry © CC BY-NC 3.0

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER has got off to a great start with £2660 raised including a fantastic £1010 donation from a long-term DEPG member. Each donor will have their name or a message of their choosing engraved on the loco, along with a reference location, in a way that will allow donor names to remain visible on the base metal even after future repaints. The photo below shows the first of many engravings on the newly-welded steel repair patches that adorn the locomotive, this one being at ‘B’ end on ‘A’ side:

With this kind of support, we can maintain the pace and keep the restoration program moving along, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who have donated. We have also set up a campaign on JustGiving and will be developing that trusted and familiar platform to run in parallel with our own online store. Click on the images below for more details:

In parallel with the fundraising activity, the work continues on the locomotive, as evidenced by the many photos below:

D1010 – an old repair around the centre window on the ‘B’ side was adjusted by Geoff to ensure that it will make a better seal with the window. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 8th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the centre window on the ‘B’ side is now ready for re-installation and sealing. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 8th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the evidence of the repair of the side-swipe damage from 1972 is being covered over by the careful use of filler. Volunteer Ian F applies the filler in thin layers at Williton on Saturday 12th March 2022. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – more careful work by Chris as he removes the many layers of old paint and filler on ‘B’ side at Williton on Saturday 12th March 2022. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the sill of the access grille for the compressor at ‘B’ end on ‘A’ side had to be replaced and the new metal is clearly visible at Williton on Sunday 13th March 2022. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

In parallel with the work on the bodyside of the loco, significant progress has been made on the transmission of the loco that failed back in 2018. The turbines have now been separated from the shafts and the kit of parts was returned to Williton last week in three pallet loads, all of which were carried for us by WRINGS TRANSPORT. We are very grateful for this support and we will engraving a suitably large area of the loco accordingly.

D1010 hydraulic transmission torque converter components separated and awaiting inspection and measurement at Williton on Tuesday 8th March 2022. Photo by Emma Powell © CC BY-NC 3.0

To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently at Williton and is ready to move to Bishops Lydeard later this week. We will issue a DIESELGEN bulletin during the next few days.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently at Bishops Lydeard, and is ready for action.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – no change this week due to crew training and other necessary activities.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – more progress this week, and our appeal for a red marker light was met by an almost instant response from long-term member Phil Gray, who located, acquired and donated a suitable part within a few days of our appeal going out ! Many thanks to Phil for his contribution toward maintaning the pace of progress on this loco.

D9518 – a replacement red marker light was donated by DEPG member Phil Gray. The donated part was pictured at Williton on Tuesday 8th March 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the first of the brake cross shaft fittings were assembled at Williton on Saturday 12th March 2022. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – new threaded steel pipework is being made and fitted into the restricted space between the frames, where it has to undergo multiple twists and turns to fit around everything else, including some parts that will be fitted later. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 8th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the brighter weather allowed Cameron to work outdoors to get another layer of paint onto the frame panels at Williton on Saturday 12th March 2022. Photo by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the flanges on the transmission fluid pipes were cleaned up by Andy P in readiness for re-attachment to the heat exchanger. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 12th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the previously restored heat exchanger for the transmission fluid was retrieved from the parts container and placed on the frames in readiness for reinstallation. Pictured at Williton on Sunday 13th March 2022 by Graham Perry © 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco racked up another 50 hours use at the Kent & East Sussex Railway and the total hours in use since the loco went out on hire now exceeds 300. Here are some photos of the loco after it had been used on permanent way trains during the last week:

D9526 – pictured at Rolvenden on Thursday 10th March 2022 after several days of use on engineering trains on the K&ESR. Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9526 – another view of this hard-working loco at Rolvenden on Thursday 10th March 2022. The engine hours counter (pictured below) is showing more than 300 hours running time since the loco moved to the K&ESR last year. Photo by Simon Purvis © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, awaiting re-opening of the line so that she can move to Grosmont to enter the loco works for completion of some overhaul tasks. The loco is expected to be readied for entering service in the summer of this year.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is currently in the Swindon Shed at Williton receiving a repaint from the WSR Restorations team and is very close to completion. The loco will be taking on her original appearance in a livery of MOD deep bronze green. We hope to have the loco back very soon.

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – we will skip this feature this week.

ON SHED – this week, we feature another of the very rare views of the Class 52 survivors while in secure storage at Newton Abbot in 1977. The photo was taken at Newton Abbot by Barry Gay on 11th May 1977:

Withdrawn and stored serviceable Class 52 D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’, devoid of nameplates and numberplates but with engines running, was caught on film by chance while exercising within the confines of Newton Abbot depot on 11th May 1977. Pictured on the traverser before returning to her stabling point inside the former loco works building by Barry Gay © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to Barry for sharing more of his images from his vast and impressive collection !

DEPG NEWS – the February issue of the DEPG Newsletter has been mailed to all members who were on the register at the end of 2021. Unfortunately, we have received reports from several members of having to pay excess postage charges on this newsletter. We are puzzled about this because the vast majority of newsletters have been delivered without issue. The first class large letter stamps were sufficient to cover the size and weight of the mailing, so it is a bit of mystery. Please let me know if you are a member and have not received our newsletter. Apologies for any inconvenience that has been caused by this.

The mailing includes tickets for the DEPG EASTER DRAW and these tickets are also now available from our ONLINE STORE. If you have received paper tickets and wish to purchase them, you can buy online and enter your ticket numbers into the ‘NOTES’ field when checking out. Alternatively, please mail a cheque with your purchased ticket stubs to the address on the ticket (return envelopes were provided but will need stamps).

All profits from the raffle will be split evenly between the D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 restoration funds, so PLEASE BUY THE TICKETS TO SUPPORT THESE PROJECTS !

WSR NEWS: preparations are well in hand for the RETURN OF PUBLIC SERVICES next Saturday 19th March 2022, with the RED timetable in operation. Volunteers and staff alike are all busy with the many tasks that have to be completed before that date. Crew training has been taking place at Minehead to ensure all crews are familiar with the revised and improved signalling arrangements in relation to the new level crossing installation. Please come along and buy a ticket to ride these services if you can.

The timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events are as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

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Weekly Roundup – 06-Mar-22
Last weekend, we celebrated 45 years since the close of the ‘diesel-hydraulic’ era on British Railways, and we also celebrated the fact that a number of these locomotives have survived in preservation including several in the hands of the DEPG. Here’s the list:

The DEPG are fortunate to be able to include five of the survivors in our fleet, namely Class 14 ‘Teddy Bears’ D9518 and D9526, Class 35 ‘Hymeks’ D7017 and D7018 and Class 52 ‘Western’ D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ all of whom were among the very last of their class members to remain in service on BR. Together with the other owning groups around the country, it is remarkable that we have 32 survivors from types of locomotive that were eliminated as ‘non-standard’ on BR more than 45 years ago.

Last week’s photos of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour resulted in a flurry of reminiscences and photos. Our very own Chairman, Martin Howard, recalled that he rode that railtour and his travel companion that day had won the raffle for the headboard – which the two of them had to struggle to take home after midnight on a Saturday night, probaby looking rather suspicious !

The special headboard was pictured alongside D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ at Paddington station on completion of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour on 26th February 1977. This heaboard was raffled, but can anyone remember what was the cause ? Photo by Colin Tarry © CC BY-NC 3.0

Anoraks abound in this view of D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ displaying a ‘Wizzo’ supporter’s flag at Paddington station on completion of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour on 26th February 1977. Photo by Colin Tarry © CC BY-NC 3.0

In this snapshot taken from a cine film, D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ leads D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ as the pair stand at Reading station on the outbound leg of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour from Paddington to Plymouth via Swansea. Photo from a cine film by Colin Tarry © CC BY-NC 3.0

Another snapshot from the same cine film shows D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ trailing D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’ as they pass through Reading station on 26th February 1977, heading for Bristol Bath Road, ready to step in if the tour locomotives were to run into any kind of technical difficulty. Everything went entirely to plan, so the backup locos followed the tour from Bristol to Plymouth where they entered Laira Depot and were shut down for the last time in BR service. Photo from a cine film by Colin Tarry © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to Colin for sharing his photographs and cine snapshots with us.

And now a correction to last week’s story about D1023 and D1013 heading for Old Oak Common after departing from Paddington for the last time. This was not the case – in fact D1013 hauled D1023 right past Old Oak and on to Swindon Works because the latter had become the designated locomotive for the National Collection and needed some preparation before being dispatched to the National Railway Museum. After depositing D1023 at Swindon, D1013 continued onward to Bristol Bath Road where the fitters removed her nameplates and numberplates overnight, and she then travelled onward to Plymouth Laira depot in the morning.

On Monday 28th February 1977, D1013 shunted some Polybulk grain wagons at Laira, then towed D1010 and D1048 (by now all three being devoid of name and numberplates) to Newton Abbot for secure storage in the former loco works.

Many thanks to Neale Long for providing this correction and the additional information.

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER has got off to a great start with £800 raised in the first full week since launch plus a fantastic £1010 donation from a long-term DEPG member. With this kind of support, we can maintain the pace and keep the progress going, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who have donated. We have been experimenting with the engraving on the loco and developing a technique that will allow donor names to remain visible on the base metal even after future repaints, and we will include photos next week. We have also set up a campaign on JustGiving and will be developing that trusted and familiar platform to run in parallel with our own online store. Click on the images below for more details:

In parallel with the fundraising activity, the work continues on the locomotive, with several tricky areas of bodywork repaired. The loco had the benefit of 6 volunteers working on her last Saturday, to really push the pace along, and two volunteers worked on three other days last week to prepare new areas of work along the bodyside. Take a look at the photos below:

D1010 B-end corner was filled and filed by Mike to ensure that the curves are as smooth and graceful as designer Sir Misha Black had intended. Photo taken at Wiiliton on Saturday 5th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the B-end driver’s side repairs above cab floor level were complicated and required a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be developed to mitigate risks. The SOP will allow other complex repairs to be conducted elsewhere on the loco bodyside. Photo taken at Wiiliton on Sunday 6th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the centre window on B-side was removed so that a previous repair could be checked and the welds blended-in. Photo taken at Wiiliton on Saturday 5th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the progress on B-side now extends to the roof of the loco, after more careful work by Chris at Williton on Saturday 5th March 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the wiring in the B-end cab needs to be reinstated after completion of welding work, so Richard made a start by lifting the cab floor and cleaning out the debris that resulted from the bodyside repairs. The next step will be a coat of paint and then the restoration of the cable conduits and wiring. Photo taken at Wiiliton on Sunday 6th March 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

To support the work that is progressing in multiple areas on D1010, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible, so donate what you can when you can, and we will keep track of your total donations. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.
- Sponsor a Patch on D1010
  
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Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently at Williton and was given a wash and brush up by Tom on Saturday 5th March and moved to number 1 road in preparation for some running that is planned for later in the month.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently at Bishops Lydeard, and is ready for action.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – some BIG NEWS on this loco – she has been booked in to the WSR Restorations ‘Swindon Shed’ for the week commencing 28th March to have her bogie springs replaced. This work will be done by Ryan and the team at WSR Restorations with assistance from DEPG volunteers. This is great news and we look forward to getting this loco ready to run as soon as possible.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – after the engine run last week and the yard exercise, this loco had a quiet week because of crew training that was taking place at Minehead. This loco is capable of operating while locked in second gear, but with a restricted load. We intend to resolve the transmission control issue in good time to allow the increased loads that will be a feature of the WSR’s 2022 Diesel Gala.

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – more great progress this week, both on-site and off-site, with the brake cross-shaft being installed complete with new bearings, and more items of pipework and ancillary equipment being fitted. The photos below show the areas that were progressed this week:

D9518 – more items both on and around the frames show the excellent rate of progress that is taking place on this machine. We need fundraising to keep pace and support the unavoidable external expenditure on items such as cardan shafts and heavy gauge electrical cable for batteries and the generator. Pictured from the access platform around D1010 at Williton on Saturday 5th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the buffers have been overhauled, repainted and refitted at both ends of the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 5th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the brake cross-shaft has been re-installed with new bearings that have been carefully adjusted to achieve the correct running clearances. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 5th March 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the other end of the brake cross-shaft showing the new bearings that were installed by Simon, Terry and Colin G at Williton on Saturday 5th March 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – more steel panels getting the green primer spray treatment from Colin G at Williton on Saturday 5th March 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – meanwhile, at his ‘other’ workshop, Colin G has completed his restoration work on the marker light assemblies and they are now ready to be re-installed on the frames. Note that we have three white and one red, so we need a red lens to be able to finish the set. Can you help ? Pictured on 4th March 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – these lamp assemblies are standard on a wide range of locos such as classes 20, 24, 25, 31, 35, 40, 42, 45, 50, 52 and 55. DO YOU HAVE A RED LENS or RED LIGHT ASSEMBLY THAT YOU COULD DONATE TO D9518 ? Pictured on 4th March 2022 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
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Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is currently based at the Kent & East Sussex Railway and is in regular use, performing a variety of tasks. We hope to share some more photos of this loco in action soon.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is currently in the Swindon Shed at Williton receiving attention from the WSR Restorations team and is close to completion. The loco is already wearing her gloss coat of MOD deep bronze green and only needs some underframe painting and detailing before being outshopped and returning to the South Yard.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1) in the paint shop at WSR Restorations, Williton, on Friday 4th March 2022. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – we don’t have a book review today, but we do have a link to a very interesting piece of rare cine footage entitled THE LAST DAY OF THE MINEHEAD BRANCH, filmed by the late John Simons on 2nd January 1971 and edited for YouTube by Bob Bishop some 50 years later. Click on the image for the link to the YouTube video which shows Hymek D7060 and a ‘Western’ on the main line and DMUs on the branch:

Many thanks to Mark Ireland for bringing this to our attention.

ON SHED – this week, we feature another of the very rare views of the Class 52 survivors while in secure storage at Newton Abbot in 1977. The photo was taken at Newton Abbot by Barry Gay on 11th May 1977. This is how he describes what he saw that day:

” The photos were all taken on Wednesday 11th May 1977 between 12.00 midday and 12.20. I had gone down to NA behind 46054 for something to do. It was dull after a period of rain. When I got off the train in Newton Abbot station, I heard something that I had not heard since Feb 26th!! It was D1013 with both engines running at the side of the works. I could not believe it! I rushed round to the works area and sure enough there was D1013 having apparently just been fuelled with 200 gallons. I then saw D1048 approaching me, not running, being propelled by an 08.

The works doors were up and inside I could see the outline of D1010 and D1041. D1013 then went into the works and waited for the 08 to put D1048 onto the traverser. Having done so D1013 came out and dragged D1048 in at about 12.20. The doors were shut. All was quiet. If I had arrived 30 minutes later I would not have known anything had happened. There were no other photographers present to witness all this, so these images are extremely rare! Hope they are of some use, quality is not great due to Agfa film and poor light. ”

Withdrawn and stored serviceable Class 52 D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’, devoid of nameplates and numberplates but instantly recognisable by her headcode, was caught on film by chance while being shunted within the confines of Newton Abbot depot on 11th May 1977. Photo by Barry Gay © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to Barry for sharing more of his images from his vast collection !

DEPG NEWS – the February issue of the DEPG Newsletter has been mailed to all members who were on the register at the end of 2021. Please let me know if you are a member but have not received your copy. This publication contains information that is not shared via the roundup and is only available to DEPG members. So, if you like what we do, please JOIN US and help us do more of it, and get a copy of the quarterly Newsletter in the bargain !

The Board of the DEPG met at Williton and by Zoom on Saturday 26th February 2022 and a synopsis of the discussions has been produced and will be emailed separately to all DEPG members for whom we have email addresses. Paper copies of the synopses are included with the quarterly newsletters to ensure that all members are kept fully informed and up to date.

WSR NEWS: we congratulate NIGEL CLARK on his appointment as DEPUTY CHIEF TRACTION INSPECTOR for the WSR, reporting to CTI Mervyn Hebditch, and we are very pleased to report that DEPG Chairman MARTIN HOWARD has been appointed as TRACTION INSPECTOR (DIESEL) and now has the authority to assess and sign off diesel crew members alongside existing TI(D) John Leach. This appointment comes as a nice reward for Martin, who has been providing specialist diesel advice to the WSR Footplate Standards Panel over the last 5 years. Congratulations, Martin !

The WSR have published the timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events, as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

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Weekly Roundup – 27-Feb-22
This weekend, we celebrate 45 years since the close of the ‘diesel-hydraulic’ era on British Railways, because the very last diesel-hydraulic-hauled passenger service in BR ownership was the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour that drew to a halt at Paddington at precisely 23.35 on Saturday 26th February 1977 after a marathon 628-mile round trip from Paddington to Swansea to Plymouth and back to Paddington. The special was hauled by D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ and D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ in tandem and was shadowed by D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’ in case of trouble with the booked locomotives, but the backups were not called upon because everything went to plan.

D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ leads D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ as the pair perform a repositioning manoeuvre at Plymouth station to attach to the other end of their train for the return leg of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour. The overcrowded platform and ramp show the strength of support that caused every seat to be filled on the many railtours that were organised to mark the end of the diesel-hydraulic era. The final date for Class 52 operations was Saturday 26th February 1977, when only four locomotives remained in service. Photo by Barry Lewis via Wikimedia © CC BY-NC 3.0

In this poignant photograph, D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ leads D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ as the pair stand at Paddington station having brought the return leg of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour back from Swansea via Plymouth. The 628-mile triangular trip went entirely to plan and signified the absolute end of the diesel-hydraulic era. The date was Saturday 26th February 1977. Photo by Barry Lewis via Wikimedia © CC BY-NC 3.0

The euphoria of the outbound legs of the journey cooled as the railtour made its way towards Plymouth where the train reversed for the final leg to Paddington. Long-term DEPG (initially D+EG) member Gary Lemon was on board the ‘TRIBUTE’ and he summed it all up as follows:

” I did do the ‘Tribute’ but there was an air of gloom on the return as it suddenly dawned on us that this was ‘it’. “

The railtour arrived at Paddington at 2335 and the empty coaching stock was removed shortly afterwards so that the two locos could leave Brunel’s terminus and return to Old Oak Common depot for the last time. These four remaining ‘WESTERNS’ were withdrawn from BR service on Sunday 28th February 1977, bringing to a close the era of mainline diesel-hydraulics that had started with North-British ‘Warship’ Class 41 D600 ‘ACTIVE’ on 24th January 1958, just 19 years earlier.

Luckily, we still have all four of the final survivors in preservation plus three more that had been withdrawn before the very end but had been reserved for preservation, including D1062 ‘WESTERN COURIER’, D1041 ‘WESTERN PRINCE’ and mainline registered D1015 ‘WESTERN CHAMPION’.

Last week, we covered the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM’ railtour and mistakenly reported that this had been the penultimate railtour when in fact it was the antepenultimate because the hastily-arranged ‘WESTERN LAMENT’ railtour ran on Thursday 24th February 1977 during which D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’ hauled her train of ‘WESTERN’ fans from Paddington to Castle Cary via Newbury, where the train reversed and returned to Paddington via Frome, Westbury, Trowbridge and Swindon.

D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’ worked the ‘WESTERN LAMENT’ railtour from Paddington to Castle Cary via Newbury, returning via Swindon. This was the penultimate passenger working for the Class. Pictured on Thursday 24th February 1977 at Frome station by Barry Lewis via Wikimedia © CC BY-NC 3.0

The story of D1010’s swansong performance on the ‘WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF’ that ran on Sunday 13th February 1977 is told by Neale Long in our booklet ‘D1010 – FROM MEREHEAD to MINEHEAD’, available from our online store.

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – this weekend, we had a team of six working on the loco bodywork to pick up the pace as we progress along the loco from ‘B’ end towards ‘A’ end (nearest the yard doors). The below view from the mezzanine floor shows the extent of the work that is taking place on both D1010 and D9518. It looks like Swindon Works has been reincarnated !

D1010 and D9518 undergoing overhauls side-by-side in the loco shed at Williton and together recreating a scene more reminiscent of Swindon Works in the heydays of the diesel-hydraulics. This picture was taken from the mezzanine floor at Williton on Saturday 26th February 2022 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – Mike tidies up after needle-gunning the bodyside of the loco at Williton on 26th February 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – before (left), during (centre) and after (right) photos of the compressor access grille undergoing repair at Williton on Tuesday 21st February 2022. Photos by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – Roy applies zinc phosphate primer to the prepared metal surface as the first of many steps that will be involved in the restoration of the loco’s original maroon livery. Pictured at Williton on 26th February 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the ‘B’ end of the loco shows the progress and gives a hint of what the bufferbeam of the restored loco is going to look like when her original livery is applied. Pictured at Williton on 27th February 2022 by Leroy Ford © CC BY-NC 3.0

Last week, we launched our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this much-loved locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !
- Sponsor a Patch on D1010
  
  £25.00 – £40.00
  
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We have had a great start to this campaign, so please help us keep up the momentum to get this loco back into working order as quickly as possible.

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Donations of smaller sums that accumulate to £25 are also eligible. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently at Williton and received an underframe cleanup from Ian and Tom in preparation for taking up duties as a standby loco for the WSR.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) basks in the spring sunshine at Williton on Saturday 26th February 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) gets an underframe clean from Tom at Williton on Saturday 26th February 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently at Bishops Lydeard, and is ready for action.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – the batteries were charged and the pre-heater was run in preparation for an engine start, but the pre-heater did not run properly so the required water temperature was not achieved. The engine start was abandoned and has been postponed until the pre-heater has received some attention (probably next weekend).

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the batteries were charged and the engine was pre-heated in preparation for an engine start so that the loco could exercise in the yard and perform a shunt to move the Brake Van to a different position. The engine started instantly and ran cleanly within seconds, showing the advantages of a pre-heated startup. The two short video clips below allow us to share the sights and sounds from that bright and sunny spring-like afternoon. Click on the images to start the video clips:

D7018 starts up at Williton on 26th February 2022 – video clip by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D7018 exercises in the yard at Williton on 26th February 2022. Video clip by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the core members of the Class 14 restoration team were attending footplate crew training at Minehead this weekend so we don’t have the usual number of photographs, but progress on this restoration project has been spread out over multiple days, including some work that had been done off site.

D9518 – the drawhook at the leading end of the loco received a coat of paint from volunteer Andy P at Williton on Saturday 26th February 2022. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – more parts have been reassembled onto the locomotive frames, including this substantial piece of steelwork that will support the cooler group. Pictured at Williton on 26th February 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – these large diameter white pipes are part of the vacuum braking system. The finish on these pipes is up to the usual high standard ! Pictured at Williton on 26th February 2022 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
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Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is currently based at the Kent & East Sussex Railway and was in use for 32 hours during the last week, performing a variety of tasks. There is no doubt that the ‘Teddy Bear’ meets the needs of the K&ESR and sees regular use, all year round.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is currently in the Swindon Shed at Williton receiving attention from the WSR Restorations team who are performing a partial repaint. The loco is currently wearing undercoat and will receive a coat of MOD deep bronze green gloss when weather conditions allow.

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – not a book this week, but an online article on the HORNBY website that has been brought to our attention by DEPG and WSR volunteer Jon Tooke in which the background and history of the SENTINEL shunting locomotives are covered in some detail. One of our Class 14 team members, Colin Girle, owns a number of these locomotives and more details can be found on the East Somerset Railway website by clicking this link. Many thanks to Jon for bringing this article to our attention.

ON SHED – this week, we can connect the withdrawal of the remaining Class 52 ‘Westerns’ with Newton Abbot and some more of Barry Gay’s photos because four of the locos that survive today were sent to Newton Abbot for what is today termed ‘warm storage’ where they were kept in good condition for potential buyers. Over the next few weeks, we will be featuring several shots that were taken at Newton Abbot by Barry on 11th May 1977. This is how he describes what he saw that day:

” The photos were all taken on May 11, 1977 between 12.00 midday and 12.20. I had gone down to NA behind 46054 for something to do. It was dull after a period of rain. When I got off the train in Newton Abbot station, I heard something that I had not heard since Feb 26th!! It was D1013 with both engines running at the side of the works. I could not believe it! I rushed round to the works area and sure enough there was D1013 having apparently just been fuelled with 200 gallons. I then saw D1048 approaching me, not running, being propelled by an 08.

The works doors were up and inside I could see the outline of D1010 and D1041. D1013 then went into the works and waited for the 08 to put D1048 onto the traverser. Having done so D1013 came out and dragged D1048 in at about 12.20. The doors were shut. All was quiet. If I had arrived 30 minutes later I would not have known anything had happened. There were no other photographers present to witness all this, so these images are extremely rare! Hope they are of some use, quality is not great due to Agfa film and poor light. ”

Withdrawn and stored serviceable Class 52 ‘WESTERNS’, devoid of nameplates and numberplates but recognisable by their headcodes as D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ (in the shed) and D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’ were caught by chance while out and about within the confines of Newton Abbot works yard on 11th May 1977. Photo by Barry Gay © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to Barry for sharing his memories and more of his images from his vast collection !

DEPG NEWS – the February issue of the DEPG Newsletter has been printed and is now ready for mailing later this week. This publication contains information that is not shared via the roundup and is only available to DEPG members. So, if you like what we do, please JOIN US and help us do more of it, and get a copy of the quarterly Newsletter in the bargain !

The Board of the DEPG met at Williton and by Zoom on Saturday 26th February 2022 and a synopsis of the discussions will be produced ASAP and emailed to all DEPG members for whom we have email addresses. Paper copies of the synopses are included with the quarterly newsletters to ensure that all members are kept fully informed and up to date.

WSR NEWS: we are very pleased to hear that KERRY NOBLE has been formally appointed as the General Manager of the WSR after covering the role during a very challenging but highly successful period for the railway. We look forward to building on the close working relationship that exists between the WSR and the DEPG and we wish Kerry all the best for the future. Click here for more information via wsr.org.uk

Work continues on the relaying of the section of line between Dunster and Minehead, and last week there was a visit of an automated track leveling machine (also known as a ‘track tamper’) which uses sensors and hydraulically-operated ‘fingers’ to push the ballast under a group of sleepers to raise or lower the track to the required height in a process known as ‘tamping’. These complex and sophisticated machines operate all over the network and are owned by specialist track maintenance contractors.

Dunster station was host to a new-generation Plasser and Thurer 08-16 ZW Automated Track Maintenance Machine on Thursday 24th February 2022 in connection with track levelling work taking place between Dunster and Minehead. The machine was hired from Trackwork plc complete with its operating crew. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

At Williton, a new arrival was the BR(W) ’94xx’ 0-6-0PT steam locomotive number 9466 which is owned by WSR Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt. This mainline-registered 1952-vintage power class 4 machine is going to be working on the WSR this season, bringing the welcome sight of a pannier tank engine on this former GWR branch line. Click here for more information via wsr.org.uk

Mainline-registered BR(W) Class ’94xx’ 0-6-0PT number 9466 arrived at Williton on 24th February 2022 and is destined to work on the WSR for the next two years. The loco was pictured on 26th February 2022 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

The WSR have published the timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events, as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

Go to Depot news

Go to Join Us page

Go to Welcome page

Go to Home page
Weekly Roundup – 20-Feb-22
D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ prepares to depart from Paddington Station witthe RPPR “WESTERN REQUIEM” railtour on Sunday 20th February 1977. Tour organiser John Vaughan is seen positioning the headboard that had to be handed over to 37179 then to sister loco D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ in South Wales later in the day, after D1010 suffered an engine shutdown en route. Photo by Barry Lewis via Wikimedia © CC BY-NC 3.0

45 years ago, on Sunday 20th February 1977, our D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ departed from Paddington at 08:23 with the 1Z08 ‘WESTERN REQUIEM’ railtour, heading for Cardiff via Gloucester with the intention of repeating the route to the heads of the valleys of South Wales, as she had done exactly one week before. However, this was not to be her finest moment, because her ‘B’ engine suffered a water leak soon after leaving Paddington and subsequently shut down. The loco battled on with one engine and a trailing load of 10 Mark 1 coaches, each filled to capacity with fans hoping to get one last run behind a ‘Western’, but was 43 minutes behind schedule when she arrived at Cardiff Central Station.

The decision was taken to change the loco at Cardiff, where D1010 was replaced by a Class 37 from the small number of boiler-fitted locos that were part of the huge fleet of Class 37s that were maintained at Cardiff Canton depot. With 37179 in charge, the railtour departed from Cardiff Central 55 minutes late, heading for Pontypridd and onward to three of the valleys in turn, while in the background, D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ was despatched from Old Oak Common to take over the tour for the return leg from Pontypridd. The railtour eventually arrived back at Paddington at 22:50, almost two hours late, but I somehow doubt that any of the passengers complained about it, their ears ringing with ‘Maybach Music’ as D1023 worked hard to recover some of the lost time. This was, after all, the antepenultimate railtour of the BR diesel-hydraulic era (‘Western Lament’, D1048, 24-Feb-77 and ‘Western Tribute’ D1013+D1023, 27-Feb-77).

The swansong of D1010 had in fact already taken place the previous Sunday on the ‘relief’ railtour, when she had performed faultlessly throughout. The story of that day is told by Neale Long in our booklet ‘D1010 – FROM MEREHEAD to MINEHEAD’, available from our online store.

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022.

This week, we are launching our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER and we are starting by offering ‘SPONSOR A PATCH’ where you can donate in support of the bodywork repairs that are taking place on D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ at the moment and HAVE YOUR NAME ENGRAVED ON THE SPONSORED PATCH or PART.

For the sum of £25, this scheme offers you a chance to sponsor the restoration of this famous locomotive, with your personal contribution being recorded and documented on a set of drawings that will be made available at our Williton depot on running days and open days. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, a unique reference number will be allocated and engraved instead.

See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details !
- Sponsor a Patch on D1010
  
  £25.00 – £40.00
  
  Select options
Please help us keep up the momentum and get this loco back into working order as quickly as possible.

NOTE: EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONATED £25 OR MORE SINCE JULY 2021 WILL BE RECOGNISED and will be allocated an appropriate area on one of the patches or parts that have already been applied to the loco. Use our CONTACT FORM if you want to register your previous donations to D1010 for this campaign.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – this week, we have put a lot of effort into the new CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER which we will soon be rolling out via social media and JustGiving. For the roundup this week, we will let the pictures tell their own stories:

D1010 – after receiving the necessary training from Colin F, Leroy takes over the welding of the replacement door frame strip at Williton on Sunday 13th February 2022. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – two more replacement door frame strips were fabricated at Williton on Sunday 13th February 2022, complete with just the right amount of curvature to match the body profile of the locomotive. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – what a difference a coat of paint makes ! The bare metal at the ‘B’ end of the loco was painted with anti-corrosive primer by Roy on Saturday 19th February 2022. This will allow the areas that need further rubbing down and filling to be identified more easily. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the remnants of the badly corroded horn enclosure from the cab roof at the ‘B’ end gives evidence about the ineffectiveness of the rainwater drain in this area. Pictured at Williton on 20th February 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the horn enclosure in the cab roof at the ‘B’ end has been trial-fitted with a newly fabricated steel tray. Pictured at Williton on 20th February 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

This loco is the subject of a new 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 ‘Westerns’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is returning D1010 to full operational condition.
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Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently at Williton and is being prepared to take up duties as a standy loco for the WSR.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is the WSR duty loco and is currently at Bishops Lydeard, and is ready for action.

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – Neil continued his work in modifying the electrical circuits to provide greater protection in the event of a fault developing with one of the larger electrical machines (compressor, exhausters, pumps etc.).

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

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – more excellent progress on the restoration for this loco, as evidenced by the pictures below:

D9518 – the Holset coupling was reassembled by Terry at Williton on 15th February 2022. The pillar drill was used as a light press to ensure that the rubber buffers were properly positioned. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the Holset coupling has now been reassembled and is almost ready to go into store to wait for the engine rebuild to be completed. Pictured at Williton on 15th February 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – one pair of buffers has now been fully overhauled, reassembled and painted in primer. Pictured at Williton on 19th February 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the Hunslet final drive unit has been cleaned up and painted in green primer and is now ready for undercoat and top coat. Pictured at Williton on 19th February 2022 by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – another of the refurbished headcode mechanisms can be seen in this picture. The standard of the restoration work is remarkable. Photo by Colin Girle © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the ‘local’ engine stop-start switch has been overhauled and is now ready to be refitted to the loco frames. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ images tell the story of more fine restoration work by Colin G. Photo 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
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Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is currently based at the Kent & East Sussex Railway where she has racked up so many hours that she is now undergoing a 250-hour inspection and service before getting back to work on the K&ESR. At the request of the K&ESR, the hire agreement for D9526 has been extended to the end of May 2022. The income being earned by the loco will include an allocation for future overhaul costs that will result from such frequent use, but ultimately it is better for the loco to be in use than just be kept on standby.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is currently in the Swindon Shed at Williton receiving attention from the WSR Restorations team who are performing a partial repaint that will then allow the loco to be stabled in the yard for the rest of the winter. The loco is currently wearing undercoat and will receive a coat of MOD deep bronze green gloss when weather conditions allow.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 DH number 578 (ROF 1) is seen in the WSR Restorations paint shop at Williton receiving attention from Harry in his own time on Saturday 19th February 2022. What an excellent job he is doing ! Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – we will have to skip the book review feature this week, due to lack of time, but we will be back with another review soon.

ON SHED – we do have some more of Barry Gay’s photos to share but we don’t have time to cover them today. Watch out for the next instalment of roundup to see some very date-relevant images of Newton Abbot depot.

DEPG NEWS – the next DEPG Newsletter is being finalised now for mailing later this week. This publication contains details that are not shared via the roundup and is only available to DEPG members. So, if you like what we do, please JOIN US and help us do more of it, and get a copy of the quarterly Newsletter in the bargain !

The DEPG hosted a vist from Williton Cub Scouts Troop on the evening of Wednesday 16th February 2022. The sixteen boys and girls were given a lesson in railway safety before proceeding to take a closely supervised look around the depot, including visits to Class 33 D6566 (33 048), ‘Hymek’ D7018 and also to the Brake Van. The youngsters certainly appeared to enjoy the evening, and we were very pleased to be able to show them what goes on behind the scenes while delivering our message about railway safety.

WSR NEWS: the training that was planned for this weekend had to be postponed due to the very poor weather that has affected the whole country. Hopefully, things will return to normal in time for next weekend.

The latest edition of ‘THE PLATFORM’ e-newsletter is available from the WSR by clicking this link or clicking on the image below. It contains plenty of information and is well worth a read !

The WSR have published the timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events, as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

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Weekly Roundup – 13-Feb-22
D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ brings her train to a stand on the headshunt at Treherbert in the Rhondda Valley to uncouple and run around the RPPR “WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF” railtour before retracing her steps to Pontypridd and then onwards to Merthyr Tydfil and later, Aberdare before returning to Paddington via Gloucester on Sunday the 13th of February 1977. Photo by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

45 years ago today, our D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ hauled one of the last railtours of the diesel-hydraulic era when she hauled the 1Z08 ‘WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF’ railtour from Paddington to the heads of the valleys of South Wales. The tour was the ‘relief’ because the ‘proper’ railtour was scheduled for the following Sunday but was so heavily overbooked that the organisers, the ‘Railway Pictorial Publications Railtour’ (RPPR) arranged for the ‘relief’ to run via the same route, exactly one week prior to the main tour.

D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ backs on to her train in preparation to depart from Merthyr Tydfil with the RPPR “WESTERN REQUIEM RELIEF” railtour, retracing her steps to Pontypridd and then to Cardiff for a one-hour stopover before heading for Paddington via Gloucester on the afternoon of Sunday the 13th of February 1977. Photo by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

The story of that most wonderful day out behind one of the last ‘Westerns’ still in service in that twilight period was told by Neale Long in our booklet ‘D1010 – FROM MEREHEAD to MINEHEAD’, available from our online store. The tour started at Paddington and routed via Stroud, Gloucester and Chepstow to Pontypridd and onward to three valley lines in turn. The return to Paddington was intended to be via the Severn Tunnel but had to be diverted via Gloucester because of a signalling fault in the tunnel, so D1010 turned up the power to recover some of the lost time and performed admirably throughout. The following week’s run of the railtour ‘proper’ was not quite so fortuitous …. but that’s a story for next week.

VERY IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – the WSR’s 2022 DIESEL GALA will take place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend ! Click this link to the WSR website to view the dates for other WSR events that are planned for 2022.

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – there is more more progress to report on this loco as welding work draws towards a close at ‘B’ end, and preparations shift to the bodyside and the ‘A’ end. Behind the welding work comes the sanding and priming, then more sanding and filling, then more sanding, so a ‘Class M’ industrial dust extractor has been purchased for use with a power sander, to ensure that our volunteers (and everything else in the shed) remains free from dust. First indications were that this setup worked very well on Saturday 12th February, which is very important because there is an awful lot of sanding to be done !

The management of fine dust is very important from a health perspective as well as for keeping the workplace clean and safe. This combination of a 150mm (6″) power sander and a ‘Class M’ industrial dust extractor ensures that the dust remains inside the machine. Paid for by donations to the D1010 Restoration Appeal and pictured at Williton on 12th February 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

Here’s some photos of the most recent progress on this locomotive:

D1010 – the new dust-free sanding setup is put to the test by Leroy at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022. The verdict ? So far so good ! Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – at the ‘B’ end, Ian F was hard at work with the sanding block, attending to the details, in this case making sure that the headboard brackets were cleaned up and ready for painting. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – at the ‘A’ end, Gordon made a start on the removal of the side windows, to allow welding work to take place around the window frames. The level of corrosion at ‘A’ end is generally more severe than at ‘B’ end, not helped by the fact that this loco had to endure three collision damage repairs at ‘A’ end during her 15-year life in mainline service. See our loco timeline page. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – back at the ‘B’ end on the secondman side, an investigation into a suspected area of corrosion revealed a collection of rusty debris that has built up and resulted in perforation of the skin. This area will be cleaned out and new metal will be welded in. Pictured at Williton on Monday 7th February 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – at the ‘B’ end on the driver side, a similar repair has already been completed. The repairs at this end of the loco are drawing to a close, with only the horn mounting box in the roof of the cab to be dealt with. Pictured at Williton on Monday 7th February 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – Brian (our most recent recruit to the D1010 restoration effort) made a start on the battery compartment doors, of which there are eight in total. The design allows water to pool in the recesses on top of the door, which then slowly rots the metal until the water can seep inside the door and rot the bottom of the door instead. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022 by Brian Litherland © CC BY-NC 3.0

D1010 – the perforated metal has allowed water to enter the inside of the door, which has also rotted at the bottom as a result. The door will need to be removed from the loco and repaired on the bench. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022 by Brian Litherland © 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 ‘Westerns’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is returning D1010 to full operational condition.
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Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – after completion of the brake block change and slack adjuster change, this loco was started up on Saturday 12th February to keep the engine and batteries in good condition and to perform a preliminary brake test.

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco was also started up on Saturday 12th February after DEPG volunteer loco manager Ian R had performed an ‘A’ exam (required after every 50 hours of operation).

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) was started up at Westridge Shed, Bishops Lydeard following an ‘A’ exam on Saturday 12th February 2022. The blue smoke is because the engine was started from cold. The exhaust cleaned up later, as the engine warmed up. Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – no change this week.

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

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – more progress was made on the overhaul of the buffers, which was heavy work involving the drilling-out of bolts that had seized in the 57 years since they were first installed on the locomotive. One pair of buffers has now been fully disassembled and is ready for cleaning and inspection before reassembly and re-fitting to the frames.

D9518 buffers fully disassembled and displaying the constituent parts at Williton on 12th February 2022. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

Also making progress in the loco shed is the cleaning, painting and refitting of the pipework that fits onto the frames before the refitting of the major assemblies.

D9518’s pipework receives a coat of green primer from Colin C as fellow Class 14 volunteer Andy P passes by in the background at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

D9518 – the massive proportions of the brake cross-shaft signify that this is a genuine piece of steam-age machinery, seen here while undergoing a cleanup from Andy P at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

In the electrical workshop, John C continued his work on the rebuilding of the electrical control cubicle, which involves disassembling, cleaning and rebuilding the many relays and contactors that control the electrical machines and systems of the loco. The significant time and effort invested here will pay back by keeping the electrical systems reliable for a long time to come.

D9518 – one of the many electrical relays undergoes a thorough clean-up and close inspection from John C in the electrical workshop at Williton on Saturday 12th February 2022. 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 full operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
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Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is currently based at the Kent & East Sussex Railway where she was in use again last weekend. This loco has racked up so many hours that she now needs to undergo a 250-hour inspection and service this week before getting back to work on the K&ESR. We look forward to seeing D9526 back at Williton in time for the WSR’s 2022 Diesel Gala that takes place from Thursday 9th through Saturday 11th June 2022.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is currently in the Swindon Shed at Williton receiving attention from the WSR Restorations team who are performing a partial repaint that will then allow the loco to be stabled in the yard for the rest of the winter. The loco is currently wearing undercoat and will receive a coat of gloss when weather conditions allow.

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1) in the paint shop at the WSR Restorations facility at Williton on 13th February 2022. Photo by Harry Spencer © CC BY-NC 3.0

If you can help by donating your time, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !

BOOK REVIEW – this week, we have another review by regular contributor Neale Long, this time reviewing a hardback publication by Book Law entitled ‘BR Early Diesels in Colour Part 1 TOPS Classes 01-35’.

Neale writes:

“Book Law Publications, better known for their extensive list of fine monochrome pictorial titles, do from time to time enter the hardback colour market and produce similarly fine titles such as this, consisting of 176 pages crammed full of colour images from the diminutive Barclay Class 01 to the stylish and much loved Class 35 ‘Hymeks’. David Allen and David Dunn are to be commended for compiling a beautiful selection of images covering all the classes which were allocated a TOPS number under the 1973 British Rail renumbering scheme. The front cover sets the tone with images of classes 08 and 21 and the really exotic North British D2700 shunting locomotives, which ironically do not have a TOPS number (volume No 2 will cover those) all in green, leaving the reader in no doubt about what will follow.

Commencing with the small diesel shunting locomotives of classes 01-07, the album moves effortlessly on to the larger shunter classes 08-13 before moving on to the Type 1s of classes 14-17, followed by Classes 21-28 before finally ending with Classes 31-35. All the classes get good coverage although some of the rarer and lesser known types such as classes 01 and 02 understandably less so. Reproduction is generally of a high standard although the image of class 15 ADB968001 appears in a blueish tint when in fact it is green. The photographic format varies with a mixture of one-page photograph and two-page photographs, but this has no detrimental effect as this is an excellent collection of images, many of which have not been published before. The captions are crisp and accurate with the occasional opinion thrown in. Those familiar with the publisher’s monochrome series ‘D for Diesel’ will recognise some of the caption writer’s forthright opinions on the 1955 Modernisation Plan and its execution. An example being the caption to the image of D9500 at Canton in May 1969 on page 51. There are so many lovely images from this sumptuous volume, it is difficult to really choose any individual ones, but the images of D5707 at Haydon Bridge on an Ayr to Newcastle excursion, two shots of D6330 shunting the milk tanks at Hemyock and D5356 at Crianlarich are particularly good. BR Green features strongly in this album – but not to the complete exclusion of BR Blue.

This volume of course features three classes in which the Group has a direct involvement, namely 14, 33 and 35. Of the Group’s locomotives, D6575 (33 057) features on an oil train from Grain at Stoke Junction Halt in November 1961 and there is a close up image of D7018’s numbers and worksplate. The Class 14 section of 11 pages has 20 photographs, the Class 33 section of 10 pages has 16 photographs and the Class 35 section has 9 pages of 17 photographs. For Class 14 enthusiasts, there are images of both BR and industrial service, two images are of particular note, namely D9522 & D9506 at Arnott Young scrapyard at Rawmarsh in 1968 and one of D9513 at Crigglestone Colliery, Wakefield in a striking orange and black livery. Class 33 enthusiasts will enjoy the image of the Uddingston-Cliffe cement empties at Doncaster behind D6562. ‘Hymek’ enthusiasts will enjoy the views of D7020 working the Swansea-Aberystwyth line in September 1964 and the same locomotive working an up mixed freight beside the remains of the Creech St Michael Halt in Somerset.

Overall, David Allen and David Dunn at Book Law have done an excellent job in compiling the first of two volumes dedicated to heritage traction. This is a beautifully compiled and produced volume which will appeal to the many enthusiasts who are interested in the early diesel locomotive classes and can be wholeheartedly recommended.”

Many thanks to Neale for providing us with these detailed book reviews !

ON SHED – we have another image from Barry Gay’s amazing collection of views of Newton Abbot, this particular shot of the East Yard with the coal-fired power station in the background, with only weeks to go before it was demolished. Luckily, the locomotives lasted a while longer and one of them is still with us today:

Three Class 52 ‘Westerns’ in the East Yard at Newton Abbot on 6th January 1974. From left to right, we see 1008 ‘WESTERN HARRIER’ then 1043 ‘WESTERN DUKE’ then 1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’. The first to be withdrawn was 1008, only 10 months after this photo was taken, by which time the power station in the background had also ceased to exist. Next to go was 1043 in 1976, but 1048 survived to the very end and was rescued for preservation. This loco is currently undergoing restoration at the Midland Railway Centre in Butterley, Derbyshire. Photo by Barry Gay © CC BY-NC 3.0

Many thanks to Barry for sharing his photos with us all !

DEPG NEWS – the synopsis of the January Board Meeting has been emailed to all DEPG members for whom we hold email addresses, so if you haven’t received your copy, please reply to this email and let me know. The next DEPG Newsletter will be sent out at the end of this month, so please let me know if you have any items of news or articles that you would like us to consider for publication. Meanwhile, we continue our efforts to build our membership, so if you like what we do, please JOIN US and help us do more of it !

WSR NEWS: there has been more progress on the relaying of the line between Dunster and Minehead, and on Saturday 12th February, our Chairman Martin Howard attended a WSR meeting in Minehead where the plans were drawn up for the training activities that must take place to bring all train crew members up to date with the revised signalling in that area. We look forward to being able to travel through to Minehead once again !

The WSR’s Class 03 D2133 was the first loco to run across the brand-new section of line, with this short rake of ‘Dogfish’ hopper wagons which were used to deliver the fresh ballast to the work site at Alcombe, between Dunster and Minehead. Photo taken during the week ending Friday 11th February 2022 by the WSR Infrastructure Team © CC BY-NC 3.0

The WSR have published the timetables and the dates for the 2022 special events, as follows, so please make a note and ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR DEPG CALENDARS:

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