Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was pictured in the bay platform at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024 in the company of Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019). The locos were outdoors while repairs were being carried out on the roof of Westridge Shelter. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019) has encountered some trouble with a jammed or failed droplight window scissors mechanism that has allowed the window to fall and smash the toughened glass into thousands of pieces. The repair involves some disassembly and we will be able to do a more thorough job with the loco back at Williton, so Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 is going to stay at Bishops Lydeard a while longer than planned to cover for the ’09’ while repairs are being carried out. We hope to swap the locos back to their usual roles by mid-April.
Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019) and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was pictured in the bay platform at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024. The ’09’ has a broken window, cause by jamming or failure of the scissors mechanism that supports the ‘droplight’ glass – which dropped and destroyed itself. The loco will undergo repairs at Williton during the next few weeks. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Our popular ‘DIESEL RUNNING DATES‘ page has been updated to cover the WSR public services that are planned for diesel haulage this year, so CLICK HERE or on the image below to visit the page and see the range of dates available. We will be providing the loco allocations soon and will keep this page up to date as we get clarification on the details.
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the planning work for the lifting of the loco is making very good progress and we are getting closer to being able to define the procedure. The next step will then be to perform a Risk Assessment then feed the results of that back into the procedure, making improvements on a step-by-step basis until we are satisfied that the risks have been identified and mitigated. This takes a little time, but the costs of hiring two 100-ton cranes are in the region of £10,000 so we have to be sure that we have everything prepared so that everything goes to plan. We also need to consider our 62-year-old loco and make sure that we do not do anything that could twist or distort the loco body and cause damage to pipework or wiring. There’s a lot to think about.
Meanwhile, we 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 a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.
D1010 – top marks to Viv for his efforts at removing the build-up of solidified brake dust on the bogie frames of of the loco, with access made possible by the absence of the transmission that usually occupies that space. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission has now been completed and the huge assembly is now ready for painting before it goes into temporary storage. Pictured at Williton along with ‘transmission team’ member Geoff on Monday 11th March 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the internal panels and doors all need to be cleaned up and repainted, so Gordon took advantage of a dry dry to take the task outdoors. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Sponsorships for patches on D1010 continue to come in, for which we are VERY grateful indeed. We have many more patches waiting for sponsors, so please support the CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER and click here or on the image further below to get your name engraved into the metal of the locomotive. We will be having another engraving session as soon as the weather allows.
The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have hundreds to be sent out, so we are very busy with this work. Here’s an example of what we are sending out:
Sponsorship includes a photograph and a certificate via email, but we can print the certificates on photo paper and mail them out upon request, in which case we will be asking for an additional £2.50 donation per certificate to cover photo paper, ink and postage (donate via our website or via Membermojo).
The drawings that have been developed in parallel will provide a formal record of the position of each sponsored patch and this will allow sponsors to look up the location of their patch when they visit the depot at Williton. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT – and your PATIENCE !
Click the image below to sponsor a patch:
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 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco has suffered a broken droplight window on the driver’s side, as a result of a failure of the scissors mechanism that supports the window. The loco will be moved to Williton so that the work can be done, and we hope to provide photos of the internal ‘scissors’ mechanism in the next edition of roundup.
D4107 – the message applies to both the window and the loco because good visibility is essential for shunting operations. The repair will be carried out at Williton and is expected to take a few weekends. Pictured at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D4107 – looking down into the recess where the window should be when in the lowered position, all we can see is the remnants of the shattered toughened glass. The cab heating radiator is on the left and the metal surface on the right is the cab side sheet, which carries the original green paint from when the loco was built, back in 1961. Pictured at Bishops Lydeard on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco underwent an electrical equipment exam during the weekend, with Ian R and Tom servicing the control cubicle, the generators and the auxiliary machines (exhausters, compressor, blowers and pumps) as part of the planned maintenance regime that keeps the loco in good working order. This loco is currently based at Bishops Lydeard and will next be in use on Sunday 24th March on the 1230 departure to Minehead and the subsequent 60-mile diagram.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the need to attend to maintenance work on sister D6566 took resource away from this loco, but it still received attention from Ian F and Tony and will receive a lot more attention in the coming weekend as we work towards completion of the work and the return to traffic.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco also received planned maintenance attention last weekend, culminating in an engine run to make sure that all systems were functioning correctly. This loco is ready to return to service subject to some loaded test running that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. We are planning to run this loco for three consecutive days during April, hauling empty coaching stock across the length of the WSR to thoroughly exercise all of her systems and allow us to deal with any small issues arising from her lack of use.
D7017 – this loco received attention in the form of an inspection and engine run at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024. Pictured in the South Yard with Barclay 578 (ROF 1) visible on the left, Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) beyond and Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ in the foreground. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the transmission has now been removed from the loco and thorough cleaned externally in preparation for a move into our ‘clean work’ facility at Williton. The repair will be carried out by our ‘Transmission Team’ and will involve removal of the control blocks and the removal of the gear train so that the reverser clutch can be replaced. While out of the loco, the transmission control block will be examined and will be tested to ensure that all of the valves are fully functional.
D7018 – viewed from between the body and the bogies – with the transmission removed, the cardan shafts that drive the bogies need to be supported using wooden blocks to make sure that the universal joints are not being strained. The temporary wood packing will soon be replaced with a custom-made support so that the loco can be shunted in the yard. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Although we hope to be able to use spare parts that we have available, we will still need to replace seals, bearings, gaskets as necessary and we also need to drain the oil and have new oil available. All of these things cost money. PLEASE HELP by making a donation of £10 or by buying our 64-page A4 HYMEK D7018 BOOKLET (£10) which covers the history of this locomotive from build through to her return to service in 2019 following her major overhaul. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
Click here or on the image above to order your copy of our ‘HYMEK D7018’ booklet, available for £10.
Click here or on the donation image above to go to the donations page on our website. If you feel able to donate more than £10, simply increase the quantity when on the donations page. Thank you in advance for your support !
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – further progress was made on the restoration of the many small parts that are needed for the cab assembly, which is a complex mixture of pipes, wires, switches and controls. The cab is being completely rewired and will be built up alongside the loco frames until such time as the cardan shafts are installed, after which the cab will be lifted up on to the loco frames so that the two can be joined together. 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. The loco has not been used for a while, so she will be checked over by Terry and Colin G and the engine run up on Saturday 23rd March to make sure that everything is functioning correctly.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco has now resumed duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and was pictured while hauling Empty Coaching Stock, including an ELEVEN COACH rake that was reminiscent of the BR days when Type 4 locos regularly hauled ten or more coaches. We look forward to seeing her out and about on scheduled passenger services in the very near future.
47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was in use for Empty Coaching Stock moves on Wednesday 13th March 2024, and was pictured while hauling an ELEVEN COACH rake without even breaking a sweat. Photo by Richard Newman © CC BY-NC 3.0
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled in the yard at Williton, ready for action and in between getting lavished with TLC by volunteer Jon Tooke. His latest improvements have been a new set of ‘Traffolyte’ style placards for the various switches and controls in the cab. Very smart indeed !
Barclay 578 (ROF 1)– this loco has just received new ‘Traffolyte’-style placards for its cab control and switches. The Battery Isolation Switch (BIS) displayed its new markings at Williton on Saturday 16th March 2024. Photo 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 !