Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was attached to the tail end of an Empty Coaching Stock move as a convenient way to get her back to Williton on Friday 17th March 2023. Class 03 D2133 also managed to get her nose into the picture ! Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The railway has reopened and once again, West Somerset has come alive with the sight and sound of railway locomotives, both steam and diesel. Last Saturday saw the first public walk-up services running on the WSR since last October, with two steam locos in use on the Saturday and two plus the Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) in use on the Sunday. In preparation for the re-opening, Class 33 D6575 (33 057) moved from Williton to Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 14th to take up the Duty Loco role and to handle the offloading of BR(W) 4-6-0 7822 ‘FOXCOTE MANOR’ from road transport, in the absence of Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019).

On the Friday (17th), sister loco D6566 (33 048) who had been stabled at Minehead in connection with crew refresher and competency checks hitched a ride back to Williton on the back of an Empty Coaching Stock train to take her place in the Swindon Shed paint tunnel, where she will receive a much-needed refresh to her early BR-era paintwork. On the same day, the Class 115 DMU moved from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard to be in position for her booked working on the Sunday.

The WSR’s Class 115 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) moved from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard on Friday 17th March 2023 to be in position for her booked service on the following Sunday. Pictured from the rear as she prepared to depart from Blue Anchor by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

On the Saturday, Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was in use for crew refresher training at Bishops Lydeard, the result of which was the expansion of the pool of passed drivers to include several WSR staff drivers in addition to DEPG drivers. This will significantly expand the usefulness of this loco, especially while she stands-in for Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019). She looked and sounded great as she headed off to Norton Fitzwarren. A short video was taken by Terry Deacon and can be viewed by clicking this link or clicking on the image below:

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was back in use on the WSR for crew refresher training runs between Bishops Lydeard and Norton Fitzwarren on Saturday 18th March 2023. Image from a video by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

2023 TIMETABLE NEWS:

The next services on the WSR will be this coming weekend with two locos in steam under the RED ALL-STEAM timetable, then the railway is open most days throughout the first two weeks of April. The lineup for the SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR event which will run from Friday April 28th through to Bank Holiday Monday 1st May has been further boosted with the planned appearance of GWR 4-6-0 4953 ‘PITCHFORD HALL’ plus three ‘MANORS’ and a ‘SAINT’ plus the rest of the home-based fleet, so an absolute feast for GWR fans ! For details, click this link to the WSR website.

The first scheduled diesel-hauled service for 2023 is booked for Friday 7th April and will feature haulage by Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) and Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 is booked for Sunday 16th April. Keep an eye on the DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and mark the days that interest you on your calendar, so that you can make a plan to come along and ride behind your favourite type of locomotive. Click on the banner below to go to the page on our website:

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – continuous progress is being made on three and sometimes four days per week as our volunteers both new and old get stuck in with their assigned tasks and make visible progress on multiple fronts. In the background, we have been working on the restoration plan and timeline, details of which are included in the latest DEPG Newsletter that is being distributed this weekend. Here are some photos to show just some of the work that is taking place:

D1010 – the filling valves that control the filling and emptying of the torque converters were cleaned and inspected at Williton on 13th March 2023 and found to be in very good condition. The leftmost valve handles the first stage and the rightmost valve handles the smaller-volume second and third stages. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the gangway plate alongside the cooler group at ‘B’ end was drilled out and lifted by Natalie at Williton on Tuesday 14th March 2023 to allow inspection of the wiring and pipework runs beneath. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the space made available by the removal of the cooler group elements made a convenient temporary storage place for the gangway plate. Pictured at Williton on 18th March 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – as expected, the space underneath the gangway plate was full of dirt and oil in equal measure. The same will be true for all of the other sections of gangway plate that will need to be lifted so that the pipework and cable runs can be inspected. There is plenty of work to do, that’s for sure. Pictured at Williton on 18th March 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

To continue our rate of progress requires FUNDING and we give our thanks to everyone who has supported D1010 by sponsoring or donating during these difficult times. If you are able to do so, please SPONSOR A PATCH because there is plenty of recently-added metal that still needs engraving. Photographs and certificates of sponsorship will be sent out to all who have sponsored this phase of the restoration work, and we are applying more resources to catch up with this obligation and deliver the documents. Click the image below to sponsor a patch. Thank you in advance for your support !

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 has been in use for crew training at Minehead and has now returned to Williton for a paintwork refresh. The loco is expected to be out of traffic until late April.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was stabled at Minehead between Saturday 25th February and Friday 17th March 2023 in support of crew refresher training and competency checks. Photo dated 17th March by Mark Ireland © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) shunted herself into the paint tunnel of the Swindon Shed via Williton North Yard on Friday 17th March 2023. The loco was pictured while still displaying shunting signals (white and red). Photo by Tom Courtney © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco took up the Duty Loco role at Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 14th March.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is waiting for the results of the engine oil drain sampling before a decision can be taken on arranging an oil change. The loco is otherwise ready for service, apart from a post-wintering tidy-up.

Class 35 ‘Hymeks’ D7017 and D7018 are stabled outdoors on number 1 road at Williton. They were pictured from the platform of Williton Station on Friday 17th March 2023 by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco is awaiting attention to a short list of issues that were identified during the loaded test run that took place in December 2022. Work is expected to start on this loco in late April and the issues addressed in time for the Diesel Gala on June 8th through 10th.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the preparatory work on the cardan shaft safety bows and transmission tunnel continued in the hands of Colin G and Andy P, while John made more progress with the re-wiring. Terry and Nick prepared the brake hangers for re-bushing on the Tuesday and Tony worked on replacing the skins on the nose end doors. Here’s some photos (we will have more photos in the next roundup):

D9518 – the two cardan shafts are now fully painted and are ready for re-installation. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 14th March 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the new stainless steel armoured flexible hoses for the transmission heat exchanger are shown alongside the old parts at Williton on Saturday 11th March 2023. These hoses carry transmission oil that is both hot and under high pressure, so the integrity of these pipes is vital, justifying their replacement with new parts. 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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

 

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco was in use in the Bishops Lydeard to Norton Fitzwarren section on Saturday 18th March for driver refresher training under the guidance of Colin G. This loco has been rostered to work the 80-mile ‘BLUE’ timetable services on the WSR on the following dates:

• Sunday 16th April
• Sunday 21st May
• Saturday 3rd June
• Sunday 4th June

More dates for later in the year will be added in the very near future. Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to DIESELGEN email bullletin service to get the information as soon as it becomes available.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and is rostered for crew training duties during the next few weeks.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – the new oil filters have been delivered by BRITISH FILTERS in Plymouth and will be fitted to the loco ASAP so that the oil change can be completed. More on this in the next roundup.

 

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 !

 

 

BOOK REVIEW – we have started shipping copies of the latest in the DIESEL DAWN series of booklets that are published by Mortons Media Group, VOLUME 7: WESTERN REGION CLASS 14 DIESEL-HYDRAULICS so order your copy now ! This book is on sale via our website for the benefit of the D9518 restoration fund. PLEASE BUY A COPY to support D9518 !

We can also supply any of the previous six volumes, so please let us know if you would like to purchase any of the volumes in this interesting series. Please also take a look at our webstore for NEW BOOKS and PRE-OWNED BOOKS, the profits from which will go directly towards the upkeep of our loco fleet. Thank you very much for your support !

Just as a reminder, we can also supply PLATFORM 5 publications either from stock or against a special order, the profits from such sales going towards our general loco maintenance funds.

 

 

ON SHED – last week, we featured a photo by Kelvin Lumb showing 47 229 (formerly D1905) hauling a Ford Motor Co train loaded with brand new Mark II Ford Escorts eastwards through Bridgend station on Saturday 26th February 1977 and we asked for help in identifying the origin and destination of the train.

As it turns out, Brian Ringer (one of our founding members) had the ideal background to be able to provide the detail that we needed, and his response is shared below: 

   “Great shot of 47229 on a train heading east through Bridgend and the mystery of the Cartic loaded with Ford Escorts.

   During my career with BR, I was Ford Motor Co. marketing manager in the Railfreight sector in the early 1980s, so these traffics were part of my “bailiwick”. At the time Ford had a complex set of train movements to move finished cars and parts between its various production plants. The Escort was produced at Halewood (Merseyside) and were moved by rail to a distribution depot at Severn Tunnel Junction (STJ) that was owned by Silcock and Colling – it was on the site of 86E STJ steam depot, just east of the station.

   The same train also brought axles from the Ford plant at Swansea (adjacent to Burrows Sidings) to Halewood (and later had a portion from the Bridgend engine plant, when it opened in 1980). The cars and component vans were conveyed on the same train between Halewood and STJ and vice versa, with a feeder trip to/from STJ and Swansea Burrows sidings.

   The most likely scenarios are either:

   a/ there was a problem on the section of line between Maindee Junction and STJ meaning that the whole train went through to Swansea Burrows sidings and the photo shows the working from Swansea back to STJ for the Escorts to be unloaded at Silcock and Colling’s depot.

   b/ the Cartic wagon had a maintenance problem and it went to Marcroft Wagon Repairs at Swansea to be fixed. It was highly unusual for a wagon to go for repairs whilst still loaded with 25 cars worth in excess of £100k.

   The comment about imports via Fishguard sounds improbable as in my time, Ford never used Fishguard for imports or exports and the only other plant that produced Escorts in Europe was Koln (Cologne) in Germany. These cars were imported via Dagenham Dock (Essex).

   All in all a very unusual photo with no obvious explanation, but splendid none the less.”

Many thanks to Brian for providing us with this interesting response. Here’s the photo again as a reminder:

47 229 (D1905) hauled a Ford Motor Co train loaded with Mk II Ford Escorts through Bridgend heading east on Saturday 26th February 1977, on the same day as the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour … which was the working that our photographer was really waiting for, if the truth be told. Photo by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

The below photo by Kelvin Lumb happens to show the old 86E steam shed at Severn Tunnel Junction, just visible beyond the footbridge in this view of an unidentified Class 25 standing on the down goods relief line. MANY THANKS to Kelvin for continuing to provide us with more great photos from his vast collection.

An unidentified Class 25 was pictured standing on the down goods relief line at Severn Tunnel Junction, waiting for access to the South Wales Main Line with a train of empty ballast hoppers. The old steam shed (86E) can be seen beyond the footbridge. Photo dated summer 1976 by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

 

DEPG NEWS – a Board Meeting will be held at Williton on Saturday 25th March, so please let us know if you have a question that you would like to have tabled at this meeting.

 

The SPRING 2023 DEPG Newsletter (issue #63) is being distributed this weekend, so keep an eye out for it and let us know if you haven’t received it by the end of this month.

 

Please make sure that your membership is up to date so that we can continue to send you a copy of this quarterly newsletter (via email or post at your choice). The newsletter includes detailed updates on the plans for our two restoration projects (D1010 and D9518), plus other information that is specific to DEPG members.

If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via MEMBERMOJO.

 

KEY 2023 DATES for your diary:

WSR SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR : Friday 28th April through Monday 1st May

WSR DIESEL GALA : Thursday 8th through Saturday 10th June

WSRA STEAM RALLY : Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th August

DEPG 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS : Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd September

      

   

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

Williton station looked splendid after the light dusting of snow that covered the area on Wednesday 8th March 2023. The broad gauge origins of this station can be seen by the spacing between the tracks. Photo by Edward Martin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The very cold weather returned last week and caused some minor disruptions, but the snow was very short-lived and it seems like it has been raining almost constantly since !

Outdoor activities were not an attractive option last Saturday 11th March but several jobs had to be performed so our gallant volunteers got on with the tasks and kept themselves busy to keep warm. The priority task was to prepare Class 33 D6575 (33 057) for her move to Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 14th, where she was needed to handle the return of BR(W) 4-6-0 7822 ‘FOXCOTE MANOR’ in the absence of Class 09 shunter D4107 (09 019). Although Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 was available for use at Bishops Lydeard, the pool of passed drivers has not yet been expanded so use of this loco was not an option. However, this coming Saturday, this will be remedied by a driver training session that will take place in the Bishops Lydeard to Norton Fitzwarren section, where previous drivers can renew their ‘tickets’ for the forthcoming season.

Meanwhile, Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) was in use on Saturday 11th at Minehead in support of crew refresher training and competency testing, and will return to Williton on Friday 17th and will go straight into the Swindon Shed to undergo a full repaint, to be outshopped in the same green and cream livery as previously.

The outdoor maintenance work on shunter D4107 (09 019) was confined to the leaking oil cooler element and this was removed on Saturday 11th and prepared for shipment to APPLIED RADIATORS in Stoke-on-Trent for specialist repair.

Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – the radiator shutters at the nose end of the locomotive were opened up so that the leaking oil cooler element could be removed and sent to APPLIED RADIATORS for specialist repair. The photo shows the five water elements on the left and the two oil elements on the right, with Chris braving the weather to clean up as we went along. Pictured at Williton on Sunday 11th March by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

EVENT AT PLYMPTON

Well-known author and DEPG member BERNARD MILLS is going to be presenting ‘HEYDAY OF THE DIESEL-HYDRAULICS’ in Plympton near Plymouth on the evening of Saturday 13th May 2023, with all proceeds going to the PLYM VALLEY RAILWAY station appeal. This is certain to be a most interesting evening and is bound to be very well patronised. Please click on the below image to make a booking:

We offer several of Bernard’s excellent books on our website, such as BACKTRACKING volume V. Click here for details.

 

2023 TIMETABLE NEWS:

The WSR have announced the lineup for their SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR event which will run from Friday April 28th through to Bank Holiday Monday 1st May and will include three ‘MANORS’ and a ‘SAINT’ plus the rest of the home-based fleet ! For details, click this link to the WSR website.

The first scheduled diesel-hauled service for 2023 is booked for Friday 7th April and will feature haulage by one of our Class 33 ‘Cromptons’. Keep an eye on the DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and mark the days that interest you on your calendar, so that you can make a plan to come along and ride behind your favourite type of locomotive. Click on the banner below to go to the page on our website:

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – more progress was made on various fronts last week as Gordon worked on the repaired headcode boxes and Roy dealt with several of the painting tasks on parts that have yet to be refitted to the loco. Steve, Andy and Natalie progressed with the cab wiring at ‘B’ end while Colin F, Geoff and Tim continued their excellent work on the ‘B’ transmission. Here are some photos:

D1010 – the oilways in the ‘B’ transmission middle casing were inspected and cleaned out by Geoff at Williton on 6th March 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the inside of the ‘B’ transmission middle casing was cleaned and inspected at close quarters by Tim at Williton on 7th March 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the top casting of the ‘B’ transmission housing was oriented vertically to allow easier access for cleaning and inspection. Pictured at Williton on 7th March 2023 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the various pipes and manifolds were cleaned and inspected at Williton on 7th March 2023 to ensure that all welds and brazed connections were in good condition. One brazed joint was found to be cracked and had to be re-made, but all of the others were OK. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – on the very cold day of 8th March, Andy R was at work on the wiring under the driver’s desk in ‘B’ cab, identifying the life-expired wiring that needs to be replaced. Photo by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

To continue our rate of progress requires FUNDING and we give our thanks to everyone who has supported D1010 by sponsoring or donating during these difficult times. If you are able to do so, please SPONSOR A PATCH because there is plenty of recently-added metal that still needs engraving. Photographs and certificates of sponsorship will be sent out to all who have sponsored this phase of the restoration work, and we are applying more resources to catch up with this obligation and deliver the documents. Click the image below to sponsor a patch. Thank you in advance for your support !

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 has been in use for crew training at Minehead and will be returning to Williton on Friday 17th March for a re-paint.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco was treated to a cab clean-up at Williton on Saturday 11th and a face wash on the Sunday, in advance of her return to the Duty Loco role on Tuesday 14th March.

D6575 (33 057) – the driver’s side of the ‘No. 2’ cab cleaned up quite nicely at Williton on Saturday 11th 2023, in advance of the loco returning to front line duty on Tuesday 14th. Photo by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D6575 (33 057) – the secondman’s side of the ‘No. 2’ cab shows the duplicated basic driving controls that were specified by BR’s Southern Region to allow the driver to work from either side of the cab – which was a very useful feature at ferry ports. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 11th 2023 by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – the engine was pre-heated by Leroy so that the engine oil drain points could be sampled and the oil examined by Neil, to determine if there was any water in the drains. So far so good, but there are few more drain points to be checked next weekend.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the batteries were put on charge by Leroy to keep them in good condition and keep them ready for an engine test run at some point in the near future.

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the cardan shaft safety bows were cleaned and painted by Colin G and the transmission tunnel cleaned up and painted with a coat of primer by Andy P. These preparatory steps will allow the cardan shafts to be re-fitted to the loco during the next few weeks. Meanwhile, John continued his diligent work on the re-wiring of the loco, with each wire clearly identified and properly connected while Terry and Nick continued their progress with the engine overhaul.

D9518 – the two cardan shafts were pictured at Williton on Saturday 11th March 2023, the longer one still requiring a coat of paint around the tubular mid-section. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – two of the ‘safety bows’ that fit around the cardan shafts were cleaned and painted by Colin G at Williton on Saturday 11th March 2023. The purpose of these heavy-duty parts is to constrain the flailing shaft in the event of a coupling failure while rotating at speed. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the transmission tunnel fits over the cardan shafts and includes an inspection door that is used when checking the universal joints and applying grease at the prescribed intervals. Pictured along with volunteer Andy P at Williton on Saturday 11th March 2023 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the rewiring of the locomotive took another step forward at Williton on Saturday 11th March 2023 when John C installed several new cable runs and terminated them at the refurbished junction box. 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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

 

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco will be in use in the Bishops Lydeard to Norton Fitzwarren section on Saturday 18th March for driver refresher training under the guidance of Colin G. This loco has been rostered to work the 80-mile ‘BLUE’ timetable services on the WSR on the following dates:

• Sunday 16th April
• Sunday 21st May
• Saturday 3rd June
• Sunday 4th June

More dates for later in the year will be added in the very near future. Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to DIESELGEN email bullletin service to get the information as soon as it becomes available.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and is rostered for crew training duties during the next few weeks.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is waiting for delivery of the new oil filter and housing that are being specially made by BRITISH FILTERS in Plymouth to be directly compatible with the original Vokes type. Meanwhile, the oil has arrived so we just need the filters now !

A 205-litre barrel of Fuchs Titan 15W-40 engine oil has been delivered to Williton for use in Barclay 578 and for top-up of the two Class 33 ‘Cromptons’. Pictured on 8th March 2023 by Andy Royal © 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 !

 

 

BOOK REVIEW – this week, we will receive our stock of the latest in the DIESEL DAWN series of booklets that are published by Mortons Media Group, VOLUME 7: WESTERN REGION CLASS 14 DIESEL-HYDRAULICS and this book is on sale via our website for the benefit of the D9518 restoration fund. PLEASE BUY A COPY to support D9518 !

We can also supply any of the previous six volumes, so please let us know if you would like to purchase any of the volumes in this interesting series. Please also take a look at our webstore for NEW BOOKS and PRE-OWNED BOOKS, the profits from which will go directly towards the upkeep of our loco fleet. Thank you very much for your support !

 

ON SHED – staying with the Class 47 theme from last week, and not very far from Landore shed ….. we see 47 229 (formerly D1905) hauling a Ford Motor Co train loaded with brand new Mark II Ford Escorts eastwards through Bridgend station on Saturday 26th February 1977. This loco was delivered new to Cardiff Canton depot on 23rd September 1965 and ended her days working out of Bescot depot until the last day of 2006, a very useful career spanning 41 years. As to why the Escorts were heading east towards Cardiff, we can’t really say, unless they were imported through Fishguard Harbour. Can you help us explain this working ? Use our CONTACT FORM if you can help answer this question.

47 229 (D1905) hauled a Ford Motor Co train loaded with Mk II Ford Escorts through Bridgend heading east on Saturday 26th February 1977, on the same day as the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour … which was the working that our photographer was really waiting for, if the truth be told. Photo by Kelvin Lumb © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

 

DEPG NEWS – a Board Meeting was held at Williton on Saturday 25th February and a synopsis is being prepared and will be sent out with the forthcoming Newsletter mailing (or emailing, depending on your stated preference in ‘Membermojo‘). The next Board Meeting will take place on Saturday 25th March so let us know by using our CONTACT FORM if you have a question that you would like to have tabled at this meeting.

 

The next DEPG Newsletter is running late (apologies for this delay) but is almost completed and will be distributed next week. We could really use some help with the preparation of future quarterly Newsletters, so please let us know by using our CONTACT FORM if you have copy editing skills that could be made available for this.

 

Please make sure that your membership is up to date so that we can continue to send you a copy of this quarterly newsletter (via email or post at your choice). The newsletter will include detailed updates on the plans for our two restoration projects (D1010 and D9518), plus other information that is specific to DEPG members.

If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via MEMBERMOJO.

 

KEY DATES for your diary:

WSR DIESEL GALA : Thursday 8th through Saturday 10th June 2023

DEPG 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS : Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd September 2023.

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post

 

Class 09 D4107 (09 019) occupied number 2 road at Williton Depot while Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33 057) stood on number 1 road in the late afternoon of Saturday 25th February 2023. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As the preparations for the re-opening of the WSR on Saturday 18th March gather pace, Class 33 D6575 (33 057) has been readied for service and will be in use next Tuesday (14th) on an Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) move from Williton to Bishops Lydeard and will remain there on standby duty. Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 is also available for use at Bishops Lydeard and will cover for Class 09 D4107 (09 019) who will be staying at Williton a while longer for additional repairs.

Meanwhile, Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) has been in use at weekends at Minehead in support of crew refresher training and competency testing. This loco will return to Williton next Friday (17th) and will go straight into the Swindon Shed to undergo a full repaint, retaining the same green and cream livery as previously.

The maintenance work on shunter D4107 (09 019) has included electrical and mechanical items that have been repaired on site at Williton, but one item that will have to be sent to an outside contractor for repair is a leaking oil cooler element. This has been isolated to confirm that it is the source of an oil leak, but must now be removed and sent to APPLIED RADIATORS in Stoke-on-Trent for specialist repair.

Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – behind the radiator shutters at the nose end of the locomotive, two oil cooler elements can be seen bolted to the radiator frame. One of these elements is leaking and must be removed and sent to APPLIED RADIATORS for specialist repair. Pictured at Williton on Sunday 5th March by Tom Courtney  © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

   

 

Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – the traction motor blower relay (left) was in need of an overhaul. The refurbished contacts are visible in the photo on the right. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 11th February 2023 by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

   

Class 09 D4107 (09 019) – the fuel lift pump mountings were failing (left) so they replaced with new mounts (right) at Williton on Saturday 11th February 2023. Photos by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

WSR PRE-SEASON BRIEFING

The WSR held a pre-season briefing for all volunteers last Saturday 4th March, but as this was a working day for DEPG volunteers, Chairman Martin Howard attended on behalf of the DEPG and then brought the messages back to the yard to brief onwards. Martin has provided the following synopsis of this very useful and informative session, as follows:

Synopsis of a Volunteer Staff Brief given in the DEPG Messroom on 4^th March 2023

This was a briefer brief arising from the Pre-Season Brief given to volunteers at Wellington School that same morning. More detailed coverage of the main Wellington brief has been provided to volunteers via the Heritage Operations Processing System (HOPS).

Welcome and introduction from WSR Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt.

• Matt Green, a new Health & Safety Advisor had been appointed by WSR PLC and he will shortly be taking up his post.
• Nic Wheeler has also been appointed as Environmental Advisor to the PLC.

General Manager Kerry Noble looked back at the last five years. This has shown that the WSR has been through a lot but has also come a long way. One clear point is that there is no longer any certainty on what constitutes a ‘normal’ year.

WSR Director Frank Courtney told the meeting that the PLC held a Management Conference at STEAM in Swindon on 25^th February. At this event the PLC Board were able to meet and talk directly with senior WSR Management for a frank exchange of views. All felt it was a very worthwhile exercise and should be repeated.

WSRA Chairman Geoff Garfield explained how recent differences had been left behind and good progress was being made on several fronts to support the railway. Chief amongst these are a Landslip Appeal (already halfway to target in 4 weeks), Track Materials Appeal, 4561 Appeal and help with financial assistance for repairs to DEPG’s Goods Shed.

WSRHT Chairman Mike Thompson outlined the progress the Trust was making on their projects to refurbish genuine GWR coaches, improve working facilities and upgrade their museum displays. He also gave an overview of proposals to improve the visitor experience for Bishops Lydeard.

WSR Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt gave details of a recent safety review carried out by WSR Management and gave an overview of improvements that will be rolled out in the coming months, including the adoption of the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) RM3 (Risk Management Maturity Model) safety management system.

General Manager Kerry Noble then gave a short presentation to show some of the commercial initiatives that are being tried this year. Among them are evening photo-shoots where these can be organised economically, additional Diesel Driver Experience Courses (DDECs) and the introduction of a monthly awards scheme to encourage staff performance.

Finally there was the presentation of Long Service Awards. These were backdated to include 2019 due to Covid. The DEPG staff that received awards were:

• Cameron Walker – 10 Years
• Terry Deacon – 20 Years
• Julian Bracchi – 30 Years
• Mike Harris – 30 Years
• Julie Tucker – 30 Years
• Paul Tucker – 30 Years

The Awards were collected on their behalf by Chairman Martin Howard and either already have been, or will be, given to the individuals concerned at a suitable opportunity.

 

The briefings delivered an effective balance of information and motivation and were well worth the effort. Well done to all involved!

Terry Deacon (left) was presented with his 20 years of Service Award at Williton on Saturday 4th March 2023 and Mike Harris was presented with his 30 year Award, dating back to 2019. Congratulations and many thanks to both volunteers for their massive (and continuing) contribution to both the DEPG and the WSR. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

2023 TIMETABLE NEWS:

The WSR have announced the lineup for their SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR event which will run from Friday April 28th through to Bank Holiday Monday 1st May and will include three ‘MANORS’ and a ‘SAINT’ plus the rest of the home-based fleet ! For details, click this link to the WSR website.

The first scheduled diesel-hauled service for 2023 is booked for Friday 7th April and will feature haulage by one of our Class 33 ‘Cromptons’. Keep an eye on the DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and mark the days that interest you on your calendar, so that you can make a plan to come along and ride behind your favourite type of locomotive. Click on the banner below to go to the page on our website:

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – progress continued on multiple fronts last week, with Gordon at work refitting the wood trim around the side windows at ‘A’ end while Ian F continued his diligent work on the ‘B’ bodyside. At the opposite end of the loco, Andy and Natalie worked under the floor at ‘B’ end, removing the life-expired conduits and cabling and preparing for new wiring where necessary, while Leroy was busy assessing the radiator elements. The transmission overhaul team (Colin F and Geoff on Mondays, Colin F and Tim on Tuesdays) made further progress with the fully separated components parts of the ‘B’ transmission. Here’s a few photos covering some of the activities:

D1010 – evidence of the German origin of the ‘B’ transmission’s internal components, the filling pump drive pinion clearly shows the manufacturer as KLINGELNBERG, a company still in business producing bevel gears (amongst other things). Pictured after re-tapping the oil injection port at Williton on 20th February 2023 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – each component from the ‘B’ transmission has now been separated, cleaned and inspected. Geoff was pictured while using the cleaning system at Williton on Monday 27th February 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the many component parts from the input and output shafts of the ‘B’ transmission were laid out awaiting the delivery of new bearings before reassembly at Williton on Monday 27th February 2023. Photo by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

To continue our rate of progress requires FUNDING and we give our thanks to everyone who has supported D1010 by sponsoring or donating during these difficult times. If you are able to do so, please SPONSOR A PATCH because there is plenty of recently-added metal that still needs engraving. Photographs and certificates of sponsorship will be sent out to all who have sponsored this phase of the restoration work, and we are applying more resources to catch up with this obligation and deliver the documents. Click the image below to sponsor a patch. Thank you in advance for your support !

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 has been in use for crew training at Minehead and will be returning to Williton on Friday 17th March for a re-paint.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is at Williton and will move to Bishops Lydeard on Tuesday 14th March to take up the role of duty loco.

 

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

 

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

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the cardan shafts are approaching readiness for re-fitting with just the final coat of paint required before they are hoisted into position. The splined joints have been checked and re-greased and the universal joints have passed inspection and been filled with fresh grease, so these heavy and expensive parts are still fit for use after all these years. Good quality stuff !

D9518 – the longer of the two cardan shafts fits between the engine and the transmission. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th March 2023 by Mike Evans © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the shorter of the two cardan shafts fits between the transmission and the final drive gearbox. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 4th March 2023 by Mike Evans © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – brand new flexible hoses are ready for fitting to the transmission heat exchanger. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 25th February 2023 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 fully operational condition as ‘NCB No. 7‘.

 

 

Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco has been rostered to work the 80-mile ‘BLUE’ timetable services on the WSR on the following dates:

• Sunday 16th April
• Sunday 21st May
• Saturday 3rd June
• Sunday 4th June

More dates for later in the year will be added in the near future. Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to DIESELGEN email bullletin service to get the information as soon as it becomes available.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is currently stabled at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and is rostered for crew training duties during the next few weeks.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is waiting for delivery of the new oil filter and housing that are being specially made by BRITISH FILTERS in Plymouth to be directly compatible with the original Vokes type.

 

 

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 !

 

 

BOOK REVIEW – our attention has been drawn to the latest in the DIESEL DAWN series of booklets that are published by Mortons Media Group, and we have ordered a batch of VOLUME 7: WESTERN REGION CLASS 14 DIESEL-HYDRAULICS for re-sale via our website for the benefit of the D9518 restoration fund. PLEASE BUY A COPY to support D9518 !

We can also supply any of the previous six volumes, so please let us know via our CONTACT FORM if you would like to purchase any of the volumes in this interesting series. Please also take a look at our webstore for NEW BOOKS and PRE-OWNED BOOKS, the profits from which will go directly towards the upkeep of our loco fleet. Thank you very much for your support !

 

ON SHED – last week, we featured a photograph that was discovered at our Williton depot recently and depicts our very own D1661 (47077, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ on shed somewhere, sometime. We asked our readers for their thoughts on where the loco could be, and within seconds we had a response from well-known author and DEPG member Roger Geach who stated that the photo was taken at Landore Depot (87A) in Swansea. We then had a response from DEPG member and former volunteer Paul Mear confirming the same. The date can now be narrowed down to between November 1969 and April 1973, during which time she was allocated to ’87A’. Any additional information would be welcomed. Many thanks to Roger and Paul for responding so quickly.

D1661 (47077, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ on shed at Landore (Swansea), some time between November 1969 and April 1973. Can you help narrow down the date range? Photo from the DEPG archives © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – a Board Meeting was held at Williton on Saturday 25th February and a synopsis is being prepared and will be sent out with the forthcoming Newsletter mailing (or emailing, depending on your stated preference in ‘Membermojo‘).

 

The next DEPG Newsletter is running late (apologies for this delay) and will be distributed towards the end of next week. Please make sure that your membership is up to date so that we can continue to send you a copy of this quarterly newsletter (via email or post at your choice). The newsletter will include detailed updates on the plans for our two restoration projects (D1010 and D9518), plus other information that is specific to DEPG members.

If you are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to access your membership record via MEMBERMOJO.

 

KEY DATES for your diary:

WSR DIESEL GALA : Thursday 8th through Saturday 10th June 2023

DEPG 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS : Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd September 2023.

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post