Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 was in use on Saturday 17th February 2024 as motive power for the ‘Tidy Train’ that ran from Williton to Dunster and back, the volunteers gathering tree debris and life-expired materials from the trackside along the way. Pictured at Bye Farm Crossing by Seb Welsh © CC BY-NC 3.0
Our ‘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 transmission team have now completed their overhaul of the ‘A’ transmission except for the re-installation of the oil pump, which is waiting on the delivery of some new parts. This gives us a chance to clean and paint the transmission casings, because they are not at all photogenic at the moment.
The focus has shifted to the restoration of the cooler groups from D1010 with preparations being made to patch the corroded header tank that forms the upper part of the cooler group. The known areas of leakage were prepared first, then exploratory work was conducted to find other weak areas that needed patching. In the end, it was decided that the whole length needed repair, which simplified matters !
Work continued on the loco body stands, which are gradually taking on a bright yellow colour, courtesy of Gordon and his paintbrush. The planning took a big step forward following discussions with the DTG and with the crane provider, with a meeting on site arranged for 5th March.
We still have plenty of work ahead of us on other aspects, in particular the bogies, and we will need MORE HANDS to help us get the work done. If you want to see this locomotive back on the rails soon, then PLEASE COME ALONG AND HELP US WITH THE WORK ! There is plenty to do, so simply reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.
D1010 – devoid of paint and displaying a somewhat rusty hue, the ‘A’ transmission is now ready for a re-paint. The overhaul is complete with the exception of the oil pump, which is waiting for new parts to be delivered. Pictured at Williton on 14th February 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the corrosion in the header tank of the cooler group is evident but localised. Pictured at Williton on 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the corrosion in the cooling element rail is more of an issue and will result in the whole section being repaired. Pictured at Williton on 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the corrosion in the cooling element rail affects most of the length and will result in the whole section being repaired. Pictured at Williton on 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Details of the work remaining to be done on this restoration project along with a status report of the funding have been included in the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter, which has now been distributed to DEPG members. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.
See our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER web page for more details. We still have a lot of work to do on this massive locomotive, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently based at Williton and is available for duty as required.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the number 7 cylinder head was replaced on Saturday 17th and the coolant pipework completed and pressurised for an overnight leak test before continuing with the assembly of the rocker shaft and manifolds. All was well so work continued the following day and the loco was started up successfully. The team still have several tasks to complete, but progress is good and the loco should be ready to have the roof replaced during the next few weeks.
D6575 (33 057) – three members of the Tuesday team (clockwise from top left, Nick, Tony and Linda) were tasked with the refurbishment of the roof clamps, some of which had sheared off and had to be drilled and tapped. Pictured at Williton on 13th February 2024 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
D6575 (33 057) – the number 7 cylinder head was replaced with a refurbished unit from our stock, visible in the lighter colour at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D6575 (33 057) – the blue pipes carry the coolant and were re-fitted first to allow an overnight leak test to be conducted. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D6575 (33 057) – the engine room roof is a steel-framed structure with a translucent fibreglass covering. The far end has already been cleaned and rest will follow suit before the roof section gets re-fitted to the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as reported last week, this loco is ready to return to service subject to some test runs that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. This loco will undergo an oil change when warmer weather returns and will be ready for test running as soon as the WSR re-opens.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – work has begun on the preparations for the removal of the transmission, which will then need to be lifted out of the locomotive by a hired-in crane. The transmission will then be cleaned externally before moving to our transmission overhaul area where disassembly will commence. The completion of D1010’s ‘A’ transmission times in well with the work needed on D7018.
With sufficient resource applied, we should be able to have the 6-tonne transmission ready to be lifted out when the heavy-duty crane is next on site on March 8th in connection with the re-location of some containers. This will minimise the cost of the lifting operation and gives us a clear target to aim at.
D7018 – the loco is currently stabled outdoors on number 3 road at Williton, with Barclay 578 (ROF 1) for company. Pictured on 17th February by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Although we hope to be able to use spare parts that we have available, we will still need to replace seals, bearings, gaskets as necessary and we also need to drain the oil and have new oil available. All of these things cost money. PLEASE HELP by making a donation of £10 or by buying our 64-page A4 HYMEK D7018 BOOKLET (£10) which covers the history of this locomotive from build through to her return to service in 2019 following her major overhaul. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
Click here or on the image above to order your copy of our ‘HYMEK D7018’ booklet, available for £10.
Click here or on the donation image above to go to the donations page on our website. If you feel able to donate more than £10, simply increase the quantity when on the donations page. Thank you in advance for your support !
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – work continued on the preparation of the many small parts that are needed to complete the cab sub-assembly. Some parts were missing when the DEPG acquired the loco, so they have to be sourced or in some cases, made from scratch. In the photos below, the cover for an electrical junction box has been made from sheet steel by Tony, the new handle for the handbrake wheel was made by a subcontractor, and the new sanding valves were purchased as they are readily available parts. The team pushes ahead !
D9518 – the cover for one of the electrical junction boxes was missing … so Tony made a new one from sheet steel. No problem ! Terry (left) is obviously very happy with the work that Tony (right) has done. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the handbrake wheel has a handle with a spring-loaded sleeve that allows it to be parked in an inward position when not in use. The sleeve was missing, so a new one was made by a subcontractor and the handle now works perfectly. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
D9518 – the sanding valves were also missing when the DEPG acquired the locomotive, but luckily these are standard parts and are easily obtainable. The valve and nozzle were pictured before being connected to the pipework at Williton on Saturday 17th February 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0
Details of the work remaining to be done on this restoration project along with a status report of the funding have been included in the new issue of the DEPG Newsletter, which has now been distributed to DEPG members. A summary will be posted via roundup soon, but JOIN THE DEPG to get the information in more detail and more quickly.
This loco is the subject of a fundraising appeal so please follow this link to find out more. We need your help ! In addition to funds, we also need plenty of HANDS. If you love the ‘Teddy Bears’ and you are not already a member of the DEPG, please join us so that you can become one of the team that is going to return D9518 to fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is on standby at Bishops Lydeard for use on engineering trains.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – after receiving a top-end overhaul at Grosmont Works, this loco has now resumed duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The loco was pictured when it returned to Grosmont, possibly after being used on Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) trains earlier in the day. We look forward to seeing her out and about on passenger services in the very near future.
Class 47 D1661/47077/47613/47840 ‘NORTH STAR’ has resumed her duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and was pictured when returning to Grosmont shed on Sunday 18th February 2024. Photo by Brenden Hill © CC BY-NC 3.0
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – last week, we reported that this loco has just had the benefit of the ‘JT’ treatment after many hours of care and attention being lavished by stalwart volunteer JON TOOKE. The photo showed the standard of work that had been achieved and resulted in several positive comments from readers, so well done JT, well done indeed !
Barclay 578 (ROF 1) – two more views of the cab repaint, showing the two tone colour scheme and the attention to detail. It’s a great piece of work and really adds to the locomotive. Well done JT ! Pictured at Williton on 10th February 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0
If you can help by donating your time to any of these projects, then please JOIN US and come along to the depot for an introduction to what we do and how we do it. We currently have people on site from Saturday through to Tuesday and we can open on other days if we can be sure of getting at least two volunteers on site at all times, so there is plenty of scope. We have tasks of all types to suit most capabilities, both skilled and unskilled.
Many thanks to all of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to work on the cleaning, painting, maintaining, restoring, managing and fund raising for our fleet of heritage locomotives !