BRCW Class 33 ‘Crompton D6566 (33 048) was in use for three consecutive days Tu/We/Th 5/6/7 July 2022, working a freight train between Minehead and Norton Fitzwarren and back. These special workings provided training opportunities for Guards and also provided plenty of interesting photo opportunities for spectators. Pictured at Water Lane (Liddymore) Bridge on Thursday 7th July 2022 by Bernard Bates © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) has been very busy during the last week, hauling the freight for three days and working the ‘Blue Timetable’ diagram for both days of the weekend. The freight trains were special workings to provide Guards with the necessary training and included a run to Norton Fitzwarren to refresh them in relation to that part of the route. The weather was perfect on all three days and a great time was had by all, including the lineside photographers who snapped up the rare sight of a diesel on freight.
The intensive use means that D6566 (33 048) will soon need to undergo an ‘A’ exam which might be difficult to arrange while she is outstationed at Minehead, so the loco may switch with sister D6575 (33 057) during the scheduled running for this coming weekend. We may not get advance notification of a loco change, so we will just have to wait and see what happens !
The BLUE timetable applies and can be found by clicking this link or by visiting our new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page. Any additional or updated information will be announced via DIESELGEN as soon as possible. MANY THANKS for supporting this year’s DIESEL RUNNING program on the WSR.
DIESEL RUNNING DATES – we now have a dedicated page on our website and we update it on a regular basis to provide a quick and easy reference to PUBLIC SERVICE diesel running for the whole of the 2022 season. We will be adding the link to all of our most-visited pages soon, but meanwhile the link can be found on our home page or by looking under the DIESELGEN menu header.
The usual caveats of loco availability apply, but we will be aiming to deliver the above program of running with the locos indicated and we will provide as much advance notice of any change as possible, using our DIESELGEN and Twitter feeds, so please sign up to keep up to date.
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – our CAMPAIGN for CAMPAIGNER has reached its FIRST ANNIVERSARY and continues to progress well, with both the funds and the progress on restoration moving along at a decent pace. We are in the process of updating the fund contributions and adding the Gift Aid so that we can announce the total for the first year, and we will then refresh the campaign page on JustGiving and open up a few new fundraising sources as well.
WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP, so click on the images to make a donation. We know that times are hard, but please do what you can to help.
Colin and his assistants are now tackling the ‘B’ (secondmans) side of ‘A’ cab and, as expected, this corner of the loco carries the worst of the corrosion damage that has accumulated over the fifty years since the last major works overhaul. Last week, we featured the roof repairs and showed the crack that had allowed water to enter, and today we show you where some of that water went and the damage that it caused. Although bodywork repairs have progressed well, we still have a lot of rubbing down and painting to do on this massive locomotive, so PLEASE DO COME ALONG AND HELP IF YOU CAN !
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D1010 – a suspect section of cabside skin was removed from below the ‘B’ (secondman) side window of ‘A’ end and the structure behind the skin was found to have disintegrated completely. Photo taken at Williton on Monday 4th July 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – the first step was to clean out the debris, then install replacement steel tube and angle sections and plug weld them in place so that the weight of the cab structure can be shared between the skin and the frame. The second step was to weld a new piece of skin and plug weld it to the frame to provide additional strength and stiffness. Photo taken at Williton on Monday 4th July 2022 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0
D1010 – Volunteers Chris and Gordon kept the steady drumbeat of progress going on D1010 on the weekend, assisted by Ian F and Leroy (not pictured). Photo taken at Williton on Saturday 9th July by Terry Deacon © 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 !
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco was in use for five days last week and is rostered for this coming weekend’s 1000 Minehead diagram under the BLUE TIMETABLE. It is likely that the loco will get switched with sister D6575 (33 057) some time during the weekend, but this depends on operational priorities.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is currently at Bishops Lydeard, fresh from an ‘A’ exam and available for service.
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – there is significant progress to report, now that this loco is under cover in the loco shed and work is able to proceed apace without the lost time of having the loco moved back and forth under the outdoor crane in ‘seagull alley’. Here’s some photos showing the work that is in progress:
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 viewed from the ground, looking up through the bodyside doors and straight through the space where the roof used to be and already showing daylight between the air intake duct and the the filter housing, as the air intakes are prepared for hoisting out of the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 9th July 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 viewed from the engine room, looking at the intercoolers (the silver-painted rectangular units that are connected to the blue pipework), one on each end of each cylinder bank. One of the two horizontally-mounted turbochargers can be seen in the centre of the ‘vee’ of the engine (dark grey in colour). Pictured at Williton on Saturday 9th July 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 roof sections were taken outside for a clean, to make the most of the opportunity presented by having to take the roof off. Brian is pictured in charge of the steam cleaner at Williton on Saturday 9th July 2022 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 3.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – as covered earlier, this loco is stabled at Minehead and is next due to perform on the 10:00 and 14:30 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard return services on Sat/Sun 23rd/24th July. Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for updates or join the DIESELGEN email bulletin group (which also includes information about non-public services, where the information is available to us sufficiently in advance).
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – progress resumed with Colin G going between the frames to get at some of the areas that required cleaning and painting. Work continued on the electrical cubicle and further research took place to determine the best source for the two replaement ‘Layrub’ coulings that are needed for the generator drive shaft.
D9518 – the attention to detail continues, even in the non-visible areas such as between the frames. Colin G gets down to work at Williton on Saturday 9th July 2022. Photo by Terry Deacon © 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 is still in regular use and performing well on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – the loco is being prepared for service at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and the latest news is that the loco has been running up and down in the yard at Grosmont for test purposes. If all goes well, the loco could be out on a test run this week and be in service next week. The heightened fire risk caused by the recent dry weather has put the presssure on to the diesel team to get the loco ready to support the steam locos during the busy summer timetable, so we expect to see her in service very soon!
Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was on the move the following day, being pictured undergoing trial runs up and down the yard at Grosmont on Friday 8th July 2022. Photo by Josh Smith © CC BY-NC 3.0
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco benefitted from a thorough wash and brush-up from new volunteers Simon B and Karl on Saturday 9th July 2022, but with so few locos in our yard at Williton, the seagulls soon returned to this small piece of 1970s heritage – as can be seen below:
Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1) was pictured while providing a perching service to some of the local seagulls at Williton on Sunday 10th July 2022. Photo by Leroy Ford © 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 – due to some urgent administrative matters, we again don’t have time for a new book review this week, but we do still have stock of these three books by Anthony P. Sayer – each one is well worth acquiring. The recent visit of Class 17 ‘Clayton’ D8568 to the WSR has prompted us to obtain stock of the excellent book that was featured in a book review by Neale Long back in August last year. The book review has been posted on our website so please click here to read it and then buy the book from our online store. We are offering this £40 epic for a discounted price of £36 which is the same price as being offered by the publisher. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Neale Long for providing us with a detailed review of this book.
PLEASE NOTE that we can supply any book from PLATFORM 5 or PEN & SWORD or AMBERLEY via our online store. If the title that you want is not listed on our webstore, just email us or use our CONTACT FORM to tell us what you want and we will arrange it, the profit margin on the sale going to the LOCO FUND OF YOUR CHOICE.
Don’t miss these two excellent new titles, the profits from which will go to the D9518 Restoration fund:
ON SHED – this week, as we swelter in the heat of a ‘proper summer’, we need to remind ourselves not to wish the warm weather away too quickly. The photo below, from the collection of long-term DEPG member Phil Gray, shows a wet and dismal day in August 1990 where a bit of sunshine would have made all the difference !
Beyer-Peacock ‘Hymek’ D7017 stands in the rain at Barry Open Day in South Wales on 19th August 1990, with Class 25 D7672 (25322, 25912) ‘TAMWORTH CASTLE’ for company. ‘Hymeks’ were regular visitors to Barry throughout their short careers on BR. Also present on that dull and rainy day were representatives of sixteen other loco classes – click this link for details. Photo by Phil Gray © CC BY-NC 3.0
Many thanks to Phil for sharing his photos with us.
DEPG NEWS – our new online membership system is settling down and we are resolving the anomalies that crept in during the transition from old to new system. If you haven’t done so already, please take a look at your membership record and make sure that it is correct. You will also be able to select ‘paper’, ‘paperless’ or ‘paperless except newsletter’ communication, according to your preference. In the event of any discrepancies, please email Chris Shields using members@depg.org
The synopsis of the last DEPG Board Meeting is being prepared and will be emailed to all those members for whom we hold a valid email address, hopefully sometime later this week. The next meeting will take place on Friday 22nd July via Zoom because of ‘Hymek’ driving committments that will affect several of our Board members on the Saturday.
WSR NEWS: the next event on the WSR will be the ‘FORTIES WEEKEND‘ that takes place from Saturday 10th through Sunday 11th September when the DEPG facility at Williton will again be open to the public, complete with ROD SAUNDERS and his model railway sales stand. Please make a plan to come along to this event in support of both the WSR and the DEPG. Timetables for planned diesel running are now being published via our new DIESEL RUNNING DATES page and any updates will be shared via our DIESELGEN email bulletin service.
Between now and then, the WSRA will be hosting the long-awaited return of the STEAM RALLY at Norton Fitzwarren, so keep these dates free and make a plan to attend what promises to be a very enjoyable event !
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