The first project related to the disposal of the two former steel company of Wales 0-4-0 Diesel Electric Brush Bagnall locomotives that were judged to be outside the area of preservation the group wish to concentrate on in the future. The membership gave the DEPG council their full support to progress with the disposal of these two locomotives to a new home where their restoration can be completed and we can all enjoy to see them operational again. This would also allow valuable undercover storage space to be freed up on site to enable us to store more of the other locos in winter and help prevent damage caused by the weather.
The second project related to the disposal of the former British Railways Class 103 ‘Park Royal’ Twin car multiple unit. This project is more emotive in that the unit saw much service in the early days of the West Somerset Railway and was only withdrawn when more modern units with greater seating capacity became available. The unit is some 60% overhauled and the DEPG would like to retain it and carry out the work however the DEPG council judge that the group have insufficient resources to complete the work in terms of space and people in the foreseeable future. So the membership were asked to consider disposal to a new home, where once again the restoration could be completed in an acceptable timescale and the unit returned to service for the pleasure of all railway enthusiasts. The membership gave their full support to the council to progress the disposal of this unit to a new home.
The third project was to authorise the purchase of Class 35 Hymek D7029 from the Diesel Traction Group. This loco had originally been offered to the group in late 2004 and discussions have been steadily ongoing since then to move towards a position where the DEPG council felt they could consult the membership and bring negotiations to an end. Much work has been undertaken behind the scenes in getting to this stage. However at the very last moment the Diesel Traction Group withdrew the offer of sale for the loco bodyshell and it’s many component parts. We understand D7029 shareholders have bought out other colleagues share in order to progress the restoration themselves on the Severn Valley Railway. There were mixed emotions regarding this decision but a united feeling of offering our best wished for those who are taking this major project forward. We look forward to seeing D7029 back in service and appearing alongside D7017 and D7018.
Regarding the Park Royal class 103 DMU and the 0-4-0 Diesel Electric Brush Bagnall locomotives, written expressions of interest can now be made from fellow preservationists.
Please write to:
John Cronin,
Company Secretary DEPG,
The Old Goods Shed,
Williton Station,
Williton,
Somerset,
TA4 4RQ
For those groups who have already submitted formal expressions of interest, the Company Secretary will be in touch within the next couple of weeks to establish points of contact. Please note we are not accepting expressions of interest via email, they must be written please.