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Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 was pictured at Blue Anchor station on Thursday 11th April 2024 while waiting for WSR 2-6-0 ‘Mogul’ 9351 to bring the ‘down’ train into the platform and relinquish the token for the section towards Williton. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 has just completed three days of TEST RUNNING during which she covered 130 miles while hauling Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) and six Mark 1 coaches, giving her quite a workout. The only issue that affected the test running was a split radiator element gasket that resulted in a coolant loss on the first day of the test, resulting in curtailment of the diagram and an afternoon spent undergoing repair at Williton. This loco has seen very little use over the last four years and had become unreliable as a result, so the purpose of this intensive period of running was to shake down all such issues and get the loco back into regular running condition. This has been achieved, with the loco being allowed to return to Williton by herself, without the need for D6566 to tag along as insurance.

Congratulations to the volunteers involved in preparing the loco for her ordeal and to those volunteers whose crewed her throughout the three days of the test !

 

DIESEL LOCO RUNNING ON THE WSR:

The coming weekend will see two of our locos in action on the WSR, with Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 working an engineering train from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead then returning to Williton on Saturday 13th and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) working the 1000 Minehead 80-mile diagram on Sunday 14th. On Tuesday 16th, the WSR changes from the Blue to the RED timetable, so D6566 (33048) will work the Empty Coaching Stock from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard so that it is in the right place for the 1230 service to Minehead (booked for steam haulage). Keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page for details of diesel-hauled public services and sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get advance notice of non-public service running. 

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

The first major event of the year will be the SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR which will take place throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, 3rd through 6th May, during which our loco shed will be open to the public, with Rod’s Model Railway sales stand alongside our own DEPG sales stand. Click here or on the image below for more information via the WSR’s website.

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

The WSR’s Diesel Gala will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June with mixed traction running on Sunday 9th, hopefully with at least one of the visiting locomotives at work. Our Williton depot will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, with a number of unusual and interesting exhibits on display. More details soon.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced was English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class, and the second visitor has now been announced as BR-Derby Class 46 ‘Peak’ D182 (46 045), courtesy of the Peak Locomotive Company and a fine example of another well-loved ‘Type 4’ class. Also visiting, courtesy of 20189 Ltd., are English Electric Class 20 ‘Choppers’ (or ‘Whistling Wardrobes’) 20189 (D8189), in BR blue livery and 20142 (D8142) ‘Sir John Betjeman’, in commemorative London Transport livery, so PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – Gordon made a start on disconnecting the two MD655 engines in preparation for them to be lifted out of the loco to reduce the weight for the loco body lift. Removing the engines will make a significant reduction in the weight to be lifted and will simplify the lift procedure. The down side is that we need to fabricate or modify some engine stands because we only have two and they are both in use already. It’s a long shot, but if anyone happens to have two spare Maybach engine stands (or something similar), then please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know.

Gordon was assisted by new volunteer Thomas, who was attending at the yard for a ‘taster day’. From our summing-up chat at the end of the session, we can safely say that Thomas will be back whenever he can fit us in with his busy work schedule, and we will be delighted to see him at any time.

The loco has now been moved back inside the loco shed for a while, to allow our volunteers to progress with tasks that have been impossible to manage outdoors because of the poor weather, such as the bodywork and the electrical repairs. We also have a large number of sponsored patches to be engraved onto the loco while she is dry.

Our website now carries a new page, ‘D1010 Progress Report – Jan 2024‘, the content of which will be familiar to DEPG members because it was included in the January Newsletter. This information is now available to all by clicking on this link.

D1010 – while stabled outdoors on number 1 road at Williton, the loco was covered by a blue tarpaulin so the sunlight reaches the interior with a blue tint. On Saturday 6th April 2024, volunteers Thomas (L) and Andy R (R) were pictured inside the loco while discussing the work to be done to disconnect and remove the MD655 engines. Photo by Natalie Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the final drive gearbox and cardan shaft of the inboard axle can be seen clearly when looking down on the bogie through the gap that is normally occupied by the ‘B’ transmission. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the loco was shunted from number 1 road outdoors to number 2 road indoors at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024. The motive power was provided by Barclay 578 (ROF 1) via Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 and Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057), all of which were dormant during the shunt. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – DEPG trustee, driver and volunteer Paul T uncouples the loco and provides an opportunity to study three locomotive designs at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024, the wedge-shaped leading edges of the Class 52 ‘Western’ and the Class 35 ‘Hymek’ being entirely different to the curvature of the Class 33 ‘Crompton’. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As stated previously, 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 THIS WORK ! There is a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website to let us know if you can lend a hand.

 

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 loco gets moved back into the loco shed (the weather has not been cooperative lately!). 

The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have already sent hundreds out with hundreds more to go, 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. We can even put them in frame for you.

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 during the WSR SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL. 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 now returned to duties at Bishops Lydeard.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently stabled at Minehead after a busy week supporting the test running of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 and will be heading the 1000 departure from Minehead and the associated 80-mile diagram on Sunday 14th April. She will relocate to Bishops Lydeard with the Empty Coaching Stock to allow the WSR to transition from Blue to Red timetable on Tuesday 16th April. See our DIESELGEN bulletin for more details.

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) has been busy supporting the test running of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017, providing the ‘insurance’ that allows a loco to be test run on a public service day. Pictured at Minehead on Tuesday 9th April 2024 by Josh Brinsford © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the work on this loco has now been completed and we are waiting for the opportunity to carry out a loaded test run that will allow the engine to get up to maximum operating temperature, at which point we can check the exhaust system and ensure that there no leaks. In the meantime, we have a lot of cleaning up to do in the engine room, and the cabs will also need a thorough clean before the loco is returned to service. Can you help ? Please use our CONTACT FORM if you are able to offer your time and skills in the maintenance and support of your favourite locomotives.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – as already stated, this loco is ready to return to service apart from a very short list of minor issues that will be addressed at Williton over the next few weekends. We hope to get this loco rostered for some public services in the near future, so keep an eye on our DIESEL RUNNING DATES page or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get the news as soon as it is released.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the ‘transmission team’ have been making careful progress in the disassembly and inspection of the torque converter components and have removed the impeller and turbine from the housing. As expected, these parts are marvellous examples of 1960s engineering and are in remarkably good condition considering their age. The stampings on the worksplate gives the date of the last overhaul as being 9th December 1971, more than 50 years ago !

The work involves the design and manufacture of special tooling to ensure that no damage is caused during disassembly or re-assembly, because spare parts are not available and any damage will be expensive and time-consuming to resolve. This is the reason why the locomotive has been removed from consideration for running this year. We do not want the transmission team to feel that they are under pressure.

D7018 – the main components of the torque converter comprise the impeller in the centre, driven from the engine, and the turbine around the outside, which drives the wheels of the locomotive via the gearboxes. A marvellous piece of 1960s engineering. Pictured at Williton on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – the large and expensive axial control bearing from the torque converter appears to be in very good condition and suitable for further service. Pictured at Williton on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 by Colin Foxhall © 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 – the cab assembly continues to be the focus of attention, with more progress being made by the team every week. There has also been progress with the cardan shafts, but no conclusions have been reached as yet, so research continues into the options available to us.

D9518 – Terry (L) was quick to grab new volunteer Thomas (R) at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024, and the two of them set to work preparing the transmission flanges for the re-installation of the cardan shafts (we like to think positively!). Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – further progress was made by volunteer John C who continued his careful and diligent work on the cab and desk wiring. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 6th April 2024 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 is on standby at Bishops Lydeard and is fully serviceable. This loco will work an engineering train to Minehead on Saturday 13th April and will then return to Williton. See our latest DIESELGEN posting for more details. 

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco relocated from Grosmont to Pickering by heading up the 1710 service on 7th April so that she could be in place for a week of work on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. We look forward to sharing photos of this very popular loco at work in the next edition of roundup.

See our ‘ON SHED’ feature further below for an article related to this locomotive.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and has seen action several times during the last few weeks. A very useful engine !

 

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 – both of our recently-added books are selling very well and making useful contributions to our loco funds, so if you haven’t already got your copy, then click on the images below to go to our online store to get yours now !

Price : £19.95 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £17.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

The new book by BERNARD MILLS is a very nice piece of work and is available at £19.95 per copy. We have now replenished our stock so that we can continue to meet the demand. This book provides ESSENTIAL READING for anyone interested in diesel-hydraulics and diesel-electrics of the South-Western varieties.

We also recommend the new book by ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ and we have a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long on this title, and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book.

 

In the pre-owned category, we have posted several new titles and they are selling as fast as we are posting them, so PLEASE DONATE YOUR SURPLUS BOOKS TO THE DEPG so that we can replenish our stocks and keep the funds flowing in. Click HERE for our contact form.

All monies gathered from the sale of pre-owned books go directly to DEPG funds for the upkeep of our locomotive fleet, so we would like to say thank you very much to all who have donated and all who have purchased from our online store. Check our online store regularly and change the ‘default sorting’ to ‘sort by latest‘ to keep an eye on new postings.

SOUGHT-AFTER TITLE OFFERED AT A VERY GOOD PRICE !	PRICE REDUCED DUE TO TORN JACKET
Price : £15 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £5 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

ON SHED – last week, we featured a photo of 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ that was taken at Birmingham New Street on Saturday 28th April 1979 by Howard Beveridge that showed some embellishments. The photo showed two white circles applied below the former route indicator box, silver paint on the valance around the buffer beam, a silver works plate and a logo of some sort below the works plate. DEPG member Barrie Childs was quick to point out the loco had been working the first and last legs of the ‘The Red Rose‘ railtour and had probably been chosen for the duty because of the embellishments that had been provided by Cardiff Canton depot.

Howard then provided the following additional information:

      “The general opinion according to feedback on the Rail Thing 80s Facebook Group regards the white painted discs; Canton chose 3 x 47/0 locos for Charter work 47076/7/157, primarily for Welsh Ruggex Specials, and the embellishments were applied, so SPL notes could be scribbled for identities.”

 

Does anyone else have photos of any of the three locos that were embellished by Cardiff Canton depot ? 47076 ‘CITY OF TRURO’, 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ or 47157 ?

Meanwhile, we are grateful for the use of another of Howard’s photos of 47077, one year on, still embellished but looking somewhat grubby and work-worn:

Our very own 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ was pictured at Mount Pleasant Crossing near Southampton with a lengthy container train during the week ending 9th April 1980, still carrying the two white discs and with the silver paint applied in various places – but by now looking rather unkempt. Photo by Howard Beveridge © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DEPG NEWS – after a very hectic week, there isn’t any time left to cover any more activities, but there has been progress on a number of fronts and we will try to bring this news to you in the next edition of roundup. Thank you very much for supporting the DEPG !

 

The DEPG is entirely run by volunteers and we need to expand our volunteer numbers if we are going to be able to continue making progress on so many fronts simultaneously. If you have some time and feel able to help, please let us know by clicking this link to use our online CONTACT form. We look forward to hearing from you !

The DEPG depends on the support of all of our members, so please JOIN US and if you are already a member, please make sure that your membership is up to date. If you want to join or are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to open MEMBERMOJO. It is very quick and easy, and does not require you to remember yet another password. Thank you very much !

 

Go to the previous Weekly Roundup post

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) was used to haul Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) out of the loco shed at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024 so that the ’33’ could be started up. Martin was at the controls and Secondman Tom was keeping an eye on the clearances as the shunter slowly eased the ’33’ along. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The repairs on Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) have been completed with the exception of a replacement exhaust bellows that is due for delivery on 5th April and which will be fitted on the 6th. This will then allow the work on the loco to be completed so that it can then be cleared of tools and equipment, then cleaned up, then subjected to the necessary inspections before being made ready for a test run. As a precursor to completion and to allow volunteer loco manager Ian R to check and adjust the engine governor, the loco was hauled out of the loco shed on Saturday 30th by Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) so that the ’33’ could be started up. Here’s a short video of the startup (click here or on the image below):

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6575 (33057) was started up at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024. Video clip by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09019) had been visiting Williton to have a replacement window fitted, as a result of a failure in the scissors mechanism that had allowed the window to drop suddenly. The work on the ’09’ has now been completed and the loco has since moved back to Bishops Lydeard to take up its duties. It will return to Williton again next winter to undergo bodywork repairs and electrical machinery overhauls. Many thanks to JT and Martin for getting the work done so quickly on this small but important member of the DEPG fleet.

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019) has had three plywood panels fitted to cover the window mechanism, the top and bottom sections being easily removable to allow regular maintenance of the scissors mechanism. The loco has now returned to duties at Bishops Lydeard. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

DIESEL LOCO RUNNING ON THE WSR:

Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) will be in use on Sunday 7th and Sunday 14th April on the 1000 departure from Minehead and the associated 80-mile diagram. These services and all other WSR public services that are scheduled for diesel haulage this year are listed on our ‘DIESEL RUNNING DATES‘ page, 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 we will keep this page up to date as we get clarification on the details.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is scheduled for three days of TEST RUNNING during the coming week, to provide her with a thorough workout and establish her level of reliability. Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) will bring a set of coaches from Minehead to Williton on Tuesday 9th April, and D7017 will attach on the front and take the train to Bishops Lydeard then to Minehead and back, with the ’33’ remaining in the consist as a backup. The pattern will repeat on the Wednesday and Thursday and will total 200 miles of running, provided that everything goes to plan. Keep an eye on our website or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service to get advance notice of non-public service running.

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

The first major event of the year will be the SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR which will take place throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, 3rd through 6th May, during which our loco shed will be open to the public, with Rod’s Model Railway sales stand alongside our own DEPG sales stand. Click here or on the image below for more information via the WSR’s website.

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

The WSR’s Diesel Gala will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June with mixed traction running on Sunday 9th, hopefully with at least one of the visiting locomotives at work. Our Williton depot will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, with a number of unusual and interesting exhibits on display. More details soon.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced was English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class, and the second visitor has now been announced as BR-Derby Class 46 ‘Peak’ D182 (46 045), courtesy of the Peak Locomotive Company and a fine example of another well-loved ‘Type 4’ class. A further announcement has just been made, and courtesy of 20189 Ltd, English Electric Class 20 ‘Choppers’ (or ‘Whistling Wardrobes’) 20189 (D8189), in BR blue livery and 20142 (D8142) ‘Sir John Betjeman’, in commemorative London Transport livery, will be attending at the event. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

 

AC RAILBUS W79978 EVENT:

DEPG member Martin Rouse has confirmed that he will be operating his AC RAILBUS number W79978 on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway at a special event at the S&CR over the weekend of 6th and 7th April. Click here or on the image below to go to the details of the event:

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the planning and preparation for the lifting of the locomotive body continues to progress, with a target of disconnecting the bogie thrust brackets in early May so that the loco body can be lifted before the end of May. The engines will be removed from the body to reduce the weight for the lift and this will also allow us to clean up and repaint the engine room and attend to the pipework and air receiver inspections while access is made easy.

Gordon and Leroy have made progress with the removal and clean up of the cooler group pipework, some of which is large, heavy and awkward. Now is the time to deal with these parts, so that they are ready and waiting for the re-assembly phase that will follow the overhaul of the bogies. Work begins on the disconnection of the engines next weekend, in parallel with the cleaning of the bogies, as far as is possible with the loco still mounted on top of them.

Our website now carries a new page, ‘D1010 Progress Report – Jan 2024‘, the content of which will be familiar to DEPG members because it was included in the January Newsletter. This information is now available to all by clicking on this link.

D1010 – pictured outdoors on number 1 road at Williton on 30th March 2024, the loco will soon be going back into the loco shed, which will allow more sponsored patches to be engraved and the electrical re-wiring work to be resumed. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the coolant pipework on this locomotive is large, heavy and awkward, as is evident in this view of the cleanup in progress at Williton on 30th March 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – the coolant pipework includes several ‘Saunders Valves’ such as this one, labelled ‘ENGINE COOLING WATER SYSTEM DRAIN’. Pictured at Williton on 30th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D1010 – another view of the overhauled ‘A’ transmission wearing its first coat of light grey primer, pictured at Williton before it was moved into temporary storage. Photo dated 19th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

As stated previously, 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 THIS WORK ! There is a wide range of tasks that need to be done, so simply use the CONTACT FORM on our website to let us know if you can lend a hand.

 

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 loco gets moved back into the loco shed (the weather has not been cooperative lately!). 

The certificates are now being emailed to the sponsors and we have already sent hundreds out with hundreds more to go, 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. We can even put them in frame for you.

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 during the WSR SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL. 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) – as already covered, this loco has now returned to duties at Bishops Lydeard.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is currently stabled at Bishops Lydeard and will be moving to Minehead on Saturday 6th April to be in position for the 1000 departure from Minehead and the subsequent 80-mile diagram on Sunday 7th April and Sunday 14th April. 

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the replacement exhaust bellows should be available this weekend so that the exhaust system overhaul can be completed. The loco will then be cleared of tools and equipment and a cleanup will take place prior to inspection and test. We hope to have this loco released to traffic during the coming weeks.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – this loco is ready to return to service and will be undergoing three consecutive days of loaded test running that will be used to accumulate hours and ensure reliability. The loco will be 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. Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) will be tagging along to act as backup in case any issues do crop up. For details of the running schedule, keep an eye on our website or sign up to our DIESELGEN email bulletin service.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the ‘transmission team’ have now separated the torque converter assembly from the transmission and have started the disassembly of this intricate piece of machinery as part of the step-by-step appraisal of this transmission. The team have also been preparing specialist tooling and fixturing that will allow the dis-assembly and re-assembly work to take place. These Mekydro transmissions are too precious to take risks with, so our rate of progress will be tempered by the need to take great care.

D7018 – the torque converter has been separated from the rest of the Stone Maybach Mekydro K184u transmission so that it can be disassembled and appraised as a separate assembly. The large gear wheel is the input that drives the impeller (which is basically a large pump). The small gear (far left) is the output and is driven by the turbine. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 25th March 2024 by Colin Foxhall © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D7018 – the components of the torque converter were in the process of being separated using the hydraulic ram when pictured at Williton on Wednesday 26th March 2024. Photo by Colin Foxhall © 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 – the cab assembly remains the focus of attention, with more wires appearing every week and more items being re-attached to the driver’s desk. The desk has to be wired up to the corresponding components in the control cubicle, so this is a big task and requires a methodical working approach and a bucket load of patience. When the desk and control cubicle are wired together, the cab will need to be lifted onto the frames so that the rest of the wiring can be connected. Work continues in parallel on restoring the many small parts that are being recovered from storage. Each needs to be identified then cleaned then inspected and repaired if necessary, before it can take its place in the restoration queue. The pictures show the progress!

D9518 – the thorough and careful restoration work continues at Williton, with team member Colin G hard at work rebuilding the driver’s desk. Pictured on Saturday 30th March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – the new wiring that has been installed by volunteer John C is clearly visible in this view, looking down on the driver’s desk at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

D9518 – the restored control cubicle now features new labelling that is authentic to the original. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 30th March 2024 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 is on standby at Bishops Lydeard and is fully serviceable and ready for work. 

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is booked to work the 1430 service from Grosmont to Pickering and return on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on Sunday 7th April, which incidentally will be the exact same date and time as Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) is booked to depart from Minehead for Bishops Lydeard on the WSR, so we will have two ‘SULZERS‘ in action simultaneously on opposite sides of the Country.

See our ‘ON SHED’ feature further below for an article related to this locomotive.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco is stabled on number 3 road at Williton and is ready for action.

 

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 – both of our recently-added books are selling very well and making useful contributions to our loco funds, so if you haven’t already got your copy, then click on the images below to go to our online store to get yours now !

Price : £19.95 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £17.50 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

The new book by BERNARD MILLS is a very nice piece of work and is available at £19.95 per copy. We are ordering more to keep up with the demand, so meanwhile, items can be placed on backorder. 

We also recommend the new book by ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ and we have a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long on this title, and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book.

 

In the pre-owned category, we have posted several new titles and they are selling as fast as we are posting them, so PLEASE DONATE YOUR SURPLUS BOOKS so that we can replenish our stocks and keep the funds flowing in. Click HERE for our contact form.

All monies gathered from the sale of pre-owned books go directly to DEPG funds for the upkeep of our locomotive fleet, so we would like to say thank you very much to all who have donated and all who have purchased from our online store. Check our online store regularly and change the ‘default sorting’ to ‘sort by latest‘ to keep an eye on new postings.

In very good condition	THE ORIGINAL 1981 EDITION
Price : £5.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £10.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – this week, we have a photo of 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ that was taken at Birmingham New Street on Saturday 28th April 1979 but showed some embellishments that were lost some time afterwards, and certainly by the time that the loco emerged from the works after being upgraded to ETH in 1984 (emerging as 47613). The photo below shows two white circles applied below the former route indicator box, silver paint on the valance around the buffer beam, a silver works plate and a logo of some sort below the works plate. There may have been other embellishments as well. Can you help explain this ? Click here for our CONTACT FORM.

 Photographer Howard Beveridge has provided us with his photo so that we can fill in this missing item in the loco timeline that appears on our website (click this link). Many thanks to Howard for bringing this to our attention and sharing his photo.

A pair of Class 47s at Birmingham New Street on Saturday 28th April 1979. The one on the left has not been identified, but on the right is our very own 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ with two white discs – and silver paint applied in various places. Can you help explain why the loco was embellished in this way ? Click here for our CONTACT FORM. Photo by Howard Beveridge ©

 

 

DEPG NEWS – we are very grateful to the WSR’s volunteer WAGON GROUP for taking on the restoration of our ex-BR ‘Vanwide’ van B784676 that is based at Minehead. The photo below shows the significant amount of work involved in this project. The materials have been provided by the DEPG but the effort and skill comes from the members of the wagon team, so MANY THANKS to the Wagon Group for taking this work on.

The DEPG’s ex-BR ‘Vanwide’ goods van B784676 is undergoing a major restoration in the hands of the WSR WAGON GROUP at Minehead. Pictured on 30th March 2024, volunteer Seb Welsh is hard at work protecting the metal structure of the wagon. Photo by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

The DEPG is entirely run by volunteers and we need to expand our volunteer numbers if we are going to be able to continue making progress on so many fronts simultaneously. If you have some time and feel able to help, please let us know by clicking this link to use our online CONTACT form. We look forward to hearing from you !

The DEPG depends on the support of all of our members, so please JOIN US and if you are already a member, please make sure that your membership is up to date. If you want to join or are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to open MEMBERMOJO. It is very quick and easy, and does not require you to remember yet another password. Thank you very much !

 

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Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) was called into use on Sunday 24th March 2024 to cover for a steam loco that needed attention. The spring sunshine added nicely to this picture of the loco as she made her way from Williton towards Minehead. Photo by Mike Lanning © CC BY-NC 3.0 

 

The WSR successfully re-opened for public services on Saturday 23rd March with two steam locos in use on the BLUE timetable (4 services each way) and it was a delight to see the railway come back to life again. The Sunday required the use of three steam locos because the ‘QUANTOCK BELLE‘ dining train was also in use, but a delay in readying the third steam loco resulted in Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33 048) being called upon to work the diagram instead. The ‘Cromptons’ were built for BR’s Southern Region and were fitted with Electric Train Heating (ETH) from new (the first of the diesel designs to be so fitted) and as such are not capable of heating the WSR’s coaching stock. Luckily, the available steam loco was able to pre-heat the coaching stock before the first departure and the spring sunshine played its part in keeping the temperature comfortable for the rest of the day. The ‘Crompton’ will be in use again on Sunday 7th and Sunday 14th April on the 1000 departure from Minehead and the associated 80-mile diagram.

 

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.

 

CLASS 09 Shunter:

The broken window on Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019) has been repaired, the damage being caused by a failure in the ‘BECLAWAT’ droplight window scissors mechanism which then allowed the toughened glass window pane to fall and smash into thousands of pieces. The repair was carried out by DEPG and WSR volunteer JON TOOKE and he provided us with the following text and photos to describe the work involved:

     “Today at the DEPG, I had to replace a broken cab window which had shattered into thousands of pieces. A bit of an awkward task because of all the ancillary items that had to be removed first so that access could be gained to the mechanism that allows the window to rise and fall. After all the glass was hoovered up, the process of refitting could take place as well as adjustments and a general service of the moving parts. Once all the parts were reinstalled and tested the next job was to measure up for a new cover for the mechanism to be made which one of my colleagues will be doing when I shall be back doing my day job!”

 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JT, for getting this job done quickly and efficiently. Here are the photos that Jon has provided:

D4107 – the man at work – DEPG and WSR volunteer Jon Tooke, pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D4107 – the shattered remains of the toughened glass window pane. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D4107 – an alignment bar was used to temporarily substitute for the failed pin while testing the operation of the mechanism. A new pin was made and fitted to complete the repair. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D4107 – the new glass window pane was then installed. The missing plywood trim panel has to be re-made and will be fitted ASAP so that the loco can be returned to service. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 09 Shunter D4107 (09 019) now has a new cabside droplight window following the repair of the ‘BECLAWAT’ mechanism by DEPG and WSR volunteer Jon Tooke. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

The first major event of the year will be the SPRING STEAM SPECTACULAR which will take place throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, 3rd through 6th May, during which our loco shed will be open to the public, with Rod’s Model Railway sales stand alongside our own DEPG sales stand. Click here or on the image below for more information via the WSR’s website.

 

WSR DIESEL GALA 2024 – Thursday 6th through Saturday 8th JUNE

The WSR’s Diesel Gala will take place from Thursday 6th through to Saturday 8th June with mixed traction running on Sunday 9th, hopefully with at least one of the visiting locomotives at work. Our Williton depot will be open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, with a number of unusual and interesting exhibits on display. More details soon.

The first visiting locomotive to be announced was English Electric Class 50 50033 (D433) ‘Glorious’, no doubt to the delight of the many followers of the class, and the second visitor has now been announced as BR-Derby Class 46 ‘Peak’ D182 (46 045), courtesy of the Peak Locomotive Company and a fine example of another well-loved ‘Type 4’ class. A further announcement will be made as soon as arrangements have been finalised. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES and do your best to attend. It is going to be a great event !

 

AC RAILBUS W79978 EVENT:

DEPG member Martin Rouse will be operating his AC RAILBUS number W79978 on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway at a special event at the S&CR over the weekend of 6th and 7th April. Click here or on the image below to go to the details of the event:

 

 

PETER NICHOLSON MEMORIAL EVENT:

A private memorial event took place at the Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum near Bridgwater, Somerset on Sunday 24th March 2024, to commemorate the life of railway preservationist, journalist and DEPG member PETER NICHOLSON who passed away last October at the age of 75. The event included the running of two industrial narrow-gauge locomotives that all had been owned by Peter in the past and now reside at the museum. The museum’s wonderful collection of pumping engines, compressors and generators were steamed for the occasion and a flypast of vintage aircraft completed the event. Even the weather co-operated. Peter’s grandson Josh Brinsford has now stepped in to the railway journalism void and is providing articles and photographs to the railway press. Peter would be proud indeed.

Westonzoyland Museum hosted a memorial event for the late Peter Nicholson on Sunday 24th March 2024. Peter’s Grandson Josh Brinsford is pictured holding the headboard and standing alongside the Lister narrow gauge industrial locomotive that was bequeathed to him by his Grandad. The museum includes a circuit of narrow gauge track along with many other interesting (and mostly working) items – and a very nice cafe. Well worth a visit. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

LOCO NEWS:

Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – the preparation for the lifting of the loco took another step forward with further and very welcome help from the DIESEL TRACTION GROUP (DTG) and the WESTERN LOCOMOTIVE ASSOCIATION (WLA) in relation to the special lifting brackets and beams that need to be used when lifting the loco body from its bogies.

The loco is fitted with eight heavy-duty lifting points that connect with purpose-made brackets that in turn allow the loco to be lifted by crane or jacks, COMPLETE WITH BOGIES if necessary (total 108 tons). In the case of D1010, we do not want to lift the bogies, just the body of the loco which is already minus the two transmissions and cooler groups, so the load to be lifted is significantly reduced (currently at 61 tons) and can be lifted using four points. We are considering removing the two MD-655 engines to further reduce the body weight and provide a more generous Factor of Safety.

Any hardware used for lifting has to be certified as safe for the expected loads plus a generous margin. The benefit to reducing the weight of the loco body is a significant reduction in the overall cost of the lifting operation, but this has to be offset against the cost of removing the engines. The most significant obstacle to removing the engines is having to have two spare engine stands to mount them on, and then having somewhere safe and dry to keep them!

 

The special Class 52 lifting brackets (yellow) that are owned by the WLA were trial fitted to D1062 ‘WESTERN COURIER’ at Kidderminster on Wednesday 20th March 2024 so that they could be evaluated and the clearances measured before being loaned to the DEPG. The spreader beam (red) belongs to the DTG and is one of four that are used to lift the ‘Westerns’ at Kidderminster using the four jack method. Extracts from a photo by Bob Clegg © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

In parallel with the planning work for the lifting, Gordon, Ian F and Steve ploughed ahead with the overhaul of the cooler groups and internal panels while Viv continued digging the accumulations of brake dust from the inside of the bogie frames. The overhauled ‘A’ transmission received a coat of light grey primer and was moved into temporary storage to make way for the transmission from D7018, which will now occupy the attention of the ‘transmission team’ for at least the next few months.

As stated previously, 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 reply to this email or use the CONTACT FORM on our website if you can lend a hand.

D1010 – the overhauled ‘A’ transmission has now received a coat of light grey primer and is starting to look more like a fully overhauled assembly. Pictured at Williton on Wednesday 19th 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) – as already covered, this loco has been fitted with a replacement droplight window. We plan to complete the remedial work inside the cab during the next week or so, after which the loco will be returned to Bishops Lydeard.

 

Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – as already covered, this loco is currently based at Bishops Lydeard and will next be in use on Sunday 7th April on the 1000 departure from Minehead and the subsequent 80-mile diagram.

 

Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – the bodyside corrosion repairs have been completed by Tony and are now displaying their glossy finish and standing out against the rest of the locomotive. The paintwork is only five years old but has taken on a cloudy look because the top layer of varnish has weathered. The loco will need a thorough clean and a re-varnish to bring back the shine and get a few more years out of the paint. This is the true cost of the locos spending almost their entire life outdoors in all weathers, the sun being as bad for the paint as the rain and brake dust.

D6575 (33 057) displaying the gloss green that now covers the repaired areas on the bodyside. Another excellent job completed by multi-talented volunteer Tony. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 – 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.

 

Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – the transmission has now been cleaned and has been moved to the overhaul facility so that the repair can commence in the hands of the ‘transmission team’. The first step will be to take measurements of the torque converter and geartrain end floats before disassembly begins, so that this information is available for reference when establishing the root cause of the issues.

D7018 – the Stone Maybach Mekydro K184u transmission has been cleaned and has now moved to the overhaul facility where the repairs will be undertaken. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Martin Howard © 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 – the team continue to make progress on the cab assembly and the re-installation of the controls, switches, indicators and instruments that adorn the driver’s desk. Each item has had to be restored individually before being made available to volunteer master electrician John for re-installation with new wiring. Meanwhile, more parts are being recovered from storage for restoration elsewhere on the loco while work continues on resolving the cardan shaft issues.

D9518 – the re-fitting and re-wiring of the cab assembly is progressing at Williton, with some of the desk-to-cubicle wiring now becoming visible at both ends. Pictured on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

D9518 – this view of the driver’s desk shows the wiring is progressing, with a top quality, professional job being performed by volunteer master electrician John. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 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 is on standby at Bishops Lydeard. The loco had not been used for a while, so she received some TLC from Terry and Colin G and had her engine run up on Saturday 23rd March to make sure that everything was functioning correctly – which it was. The loco will remain on standby at Bishops Lydeard for another week or two.

 

Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco has now resumed duties on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and we hope that she will get regular use as part of the ‘home fleet’ this year.

 

Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this loco has been busy shunting the yard and was moved onto number 5 road last Saturday to help free the ‘Lowmac’ wagon from the mud ! This was an easy task in itself, but the time was taken up by the amount of shunting that had to be done to get to number 5 road and then put everything back where it was. Here are some photos of this powerful little engine at work:

Barclay 578 (ROF 1) – this powerful little loco made light work of pulling the ‘Lowmac’ wagon out of the mud. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 2024 by Martin Howard © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

Barclay 578 (ROF 1) – the loco then shunted the yard to move the loaded ‘Turbot’ wagon to number 1 road so that it can taken away and emptied by the WSR Infrastructure team. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 23rd March 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 !

 

 

BOOK REVIEW – we continue to feature this NEW BOOK by well-known railwayman, photographer and author BERNARD MILLS, his latest work being Part 1 of the journey from Waterloo to the Atlantic Coast in the era of the diesel. This 96-page A4 book is now in stock and is available at £19.95 per copy. If you have already ordered, you should be receiving your copy next week. Thank you for your support !

 

We also recommend the NEW HARDBACK BOOK BY ROGER GEACH entitled ‘HYDRAULIC MEMORIES’ comprising a very well-selected set of colour images derived from the vast image repository at TRANSPORT TREASURY. We have received a BOOK REVIEW from regular contributor Neale Long and have posted it to our website; click on this link to find out what Neale thinks of this new book. Here’s an extract:

     “In his latest publication, well known railwayman, photographer and enthusiast, Roger Geach takes us on a virtual journey over the former Western Region from Paddington to Penzance with a few diversions, depicting the days when ‘Westerns’, ‘Warships’, ‘Hymeks’ and North British Class 22s ruled supreme in their relatively short heyday in the mid to late 1960s …” CLICK HERE to read further.

This book is a MUST HAVE and very good value at £17.50. In stock now and available from our online store by clicking HERE or by clicking on the image below. By agreement with Roger, all proceeds go to the D1010 Restoration Fund.

 

In the pre-owned category, we have posted several new titles and they are selling as fast as we are posting them, so PLEASE DONATE YOUR SURPLUS BOOKS so that we can replenish our stocks and keep the funds flowing in. Click HERE for our contact form.

All monies gathered from the sale of pre-owned books go directly to DEPG funds for the upkeep of our locomotive fleet, so we would like to say thank you very much to all who have donated and all who have purchased from our online store. Check our online store regularly and change the ‘default sorting’ to ‘sort by latest’ to keep an eye on new postings.

	With D1010 on the cover !
Book: Taunton West Author : Roger Siviter	Book: Seventies Spotting Days – chasing the Westerns Author: Kevin Derrick
Price : £5.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store	Price : £15.00 Click here for a link to the DEPG online store

 

 

ON SHED – last week, we shared some photos of Laira Depot’s Open Day (1982) by ROB CRISPIN and we asked a question about the ALMOST total dominance by diesel-electric traction. The response came instantly from Neale Long who correctly pointed out that preserved (National Collection) D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ was also present at that event, and of course the Experimental Railbus in last week’s photo was the prototype for the ‘Pacers’, all of which had hydraulic transmissions (as did the Sprinters that came along later). Many thanks to Rob for sharing his photos and to Neale for his fast response.

The last of the Class 52s to receive a general overhaul at Swindon Works was D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ which was then ‘claimed’ by the National Collection in 1977. The loco was the star of the show at Laira Depot Open day on 2th April 1982 and these days is on static display at Didcot Railway Centre. Photo by Rob Crispin © CC BY-NC 3.0

 

 

DEPG NEWS – more progress was made by the ‘Williton Infrastructure Division’ last weekend as Graham and Paul T continued their work on the replacement of the tool store container. By the end of another long weekend, the old container had been stripped down and was ready for collection by the scrap merchants, and the new container was equipped with shelves and made watertight against the wall of the shed to make sure that it will last for a very long time. The improvements to the infrastructure at the yard are both highly visible and highly beneficial, so WELL DONE GUYS !

 

The DEPG is entirely run by volunteers and we need to expand our volunteer numbers if we are going to be able to continue making progress on so many fronts simultaneously. If you have some time and feel able to help, please let us know by clicking this link to use our online CONTACT form. We look forward to hearing from you !

The DEPG depends on the support of all of our members, so please JOIN US and if you are already a member, please make sure that your membership is up to date. If you want to join or are not sure about your membership status, please click here or on the image below to open MEMBERMOJO. It is very quick and easy, and does not require you to remember yet another password. Thank you very much !

 

Go to previous Weekly Roundup post