Barclay 578 (ROF 1) and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 were stabled on No. 1 road in the South Yard at Williton on Friday 9th February 2024. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – As our plans to lift the loco develop, the massive steel stands that were acquired from BR-Swindon many years ago have undergone inspection and been painted in primer and undercoat by Gordon and Ian F. These substantial frames are formed from thick steel plate that has been welded along all edges to create a very stiff and strong structure, easily capable of carrying the weight of the locomotive body.
The stands were modified by BR after withdrawal of the ‘Westerns’ to make them suitable for use with Mark 1 coaches, so we are having to perform stress analysis work to determine if the modifications can remain, or if the stands have to be returned to their earlier configuration. The analytical work include abnormal loading cases such as misalignment and uneven loading, and will also include the effects of side forces from gales, because the intention is to use them outdoors. We cannot be too careful with D1010 !
The transmission team had to diverted some of their attention to investigate the issues with D7018 but are still expecting to complete their overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission before the end of this month, providing us with two fully-overhauled transmissions in support of returning D1010 to service.
We still have plenty of work ahead of us on other aspects, in particular the bogies, and we will need MORE HANDS to help us get the work done. If you want to see this locomotive back on the rails soon, then PLEASE COME ALONG AND HELP US WITH THE WORK ! There is plenty to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.
D1010 – the genuine ex-Swindon Works Class 52 loco stands were painted in primer and undercoat by Gordon and Ian F at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024. The modifications to extend their width and height to suit Mark 1 coaches can be seen in the darker grey colour. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the reverser assembly of the overhauled ‘A’ end transmission was re-installed by Tim and Colin F at Williton on Tuesday 6th February 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
Details of the work remaining to be done on this restoration project along with a status report of the funding have been included in the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter, which has now been distributed to DEPG members. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.
See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details. We still have a lot of work to do on this massive locomotive, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and will be out and about on engineering workings during the next few weeks.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the long-awaiting exhaust gaskets arrived in time for the weekend and progress was brisk as the exhaust system was reassembled and ready for a test start-up by the end of the day on Saturday. The start-up took place in the evening but revealed a leaking fuel injector seal on number 7 cylinder head, so the relevant parts were dis-assembled the following day so that the cylinder head could be changed for a spare from our stock. This is a setback, but the team are confident that they will be ready to try again this Saturday, fingers crossed !
D6575 (33 057) – this loco is undergoing an exhaust system overhaul inside the loco shed at Williton. The rolling chassis and cab of Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 can be seen alongside. Pictured at Williton on 9th February 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
D6575 (33 057) – volunteer loco manager Ian R aligns one of the exhaust manifold sections that connect the cylinder heads with the turbocharger. The gap will be filled by an expansion joint – see below. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D6575 (33 057) – the expansion joint includes a stainless steel bellows that compresses or expands depending on the thermal expansion or contraction of the surrounding pipework. Without such devices, the exhaust manifold would become overstressed and would fail prematurely. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – following the decision taken last week to remove the transmission for replacement of the damaged No. 5 reverser clutch, the work on disconnecting the transmission is planned to be started next week. Step number one is to drain the coolant so that the transmission heat exchanger can be disconnected. Then, the electrical wiring to the various solenoids and the directional contactor will be disconnected and made safe. After that, the auxilliary cardan shafts that connect the transmission with the dynastarter and the Serck pump will be removed, followed by the very large and heavy engine-to-transmission cardan shaft, which only needs to be disconnected at the transmission end. The dirtiest job of them all will be to go under the locomotive to disconnect the bogie drive shafts from the output shaft at the bottom of the transmission – and right between the two fuel tanks.
With sufficient resource applied, we should be able to have the 6-tonne transmission ready to be lifted out when the heavy-duty crane is next on site on March 8th in connection with the re-location of some containers. This will minimise the cost of the lifting operation and gives us a clear target to aim at.
Below are photos of the damaged No. 5 clutch with a comparison view of the adjacent No. 6 clutch. The No.5 clutch has not been able to engage properly, and this has resulted in damage to the driving surfaces of the clutch teeth. The damaged parts will need to be replaced with spares taken from the transmission that ran in D7018 during BR days.
D7018 – the actuator for clutch #5 was manipulated into the fully engaged position for this photo, but it is clear that the clutch teeth have not fully engaged. This has resulted in damage to the driving faces of the clutch teeth. Pictured at Williton on 6th February 2024 by Geoff Miles © CC BY-NC 3.0
D7018 – by comparison, clutch #6 for the opposite direction engages fully. The slopes on the surfaces of the clutch jaws are intentional. Pictured at Williton on 29th January 2024 by Geoff Miles © CC BY-NC 3.0
Although we hope to be able to use spare parts that we have available, we will still need to replace seals, bearings, gaskets as necessary and we also need to drain the oil and have new oil available. All of these things cost money. PLEASE HELP by making a donation of £10 or by buying our 64-page A4 HYMEK D7018 BOOKLET (£10) which covers the history of this locomotive from build through to her return to service in 2019 following her major overhaul. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
Click here or on the image above to order your copy of our ‘HYMEK D7018’ booklet, available for £10.
Click here or on the donation image above to go to the donations page on our website. If you feel able to donate more than £10, simply increase the quantity when on the donations page. Thank you in advance for your support !
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – with the electrical control cubicle now back in position in the cab, the painstaking task of wiring the cubicle into the driver’s desk circuitry has begun. The wiring between the cubicle and the rest of the locomotive cannot be started until the cab assembly is back on the locomotive, and that depends on the cardan shaft issue being resolved. Faced with this dilemma, Colin G spent a few days driving a van across the Country to collect some candidate cardan shafts and deliver them to the balancing shop for inspection – and if they are good enough for continued service, we will have them re-balanced and then we can fit them to the loco. All of our fingers are firmly crossed on this one !
D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle is now back inside the partially-restored cab. John, who is framed by the opposite doorway, is the volunteer responsible for the excellent electrical restoration work on this and many of our other locos. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the restored electrical control cubicle really is an excellent piece of work by John and Colin G, and will no doubt serve this locomotive well into the future. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 10th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Details of the work remaining to be done on this restoration project along with a status report of the funding have been included in the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter, which has now been distributed to DEPG members. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.
This loco is the subject of a fundraising appeal so please follow this link to find out more. We need your help ! In addition to funds, we also need plenty of HANDS. If you love the ‘Teddy Bears’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is going to return D9518 to fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is on standby at Bishops Lydeard for use on engineering trains.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco is now available for duty on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The plan is for this loco to be in use this month on engineering trains and empty coaching stock ECS) moves.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and has just had the benefit of the ‘JT’ treatment after many hours of care and attention being lavished by stalwart volunteer JON TOOKE. We have previously reported on the external treatment, but the newly-completed internal cab repaint has pushed the restoration to new heights ! We will report in more detail in a future Newsletter, but here is a photo to show what has been achieved. Well done JT !
Barclay 578 (ROF 1) – the cab repaint has been completed and what a superb job it is. We will now have a queue of drivers wanting to get trained on this loco, just so they can enjoy the ambience ! Well done JT ! Pictured at Williton on 10th February 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
If you can help by donating your time to any of these projects, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.
Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !