Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 is in use this weekend on the Great Central Railway – click here for details. This loco has been visiting the GCR since last September and will stay until the end of April. The loco made a fine picture as she accelerated her train of vans out of Quorn & Woodhouse Station on 28th October 2025. Photo by Cameron Walker © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 has been hitting the headlines again, this time with the announcement that she will be one of the stars at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s ‘COTSWOLD DIESEL GALA‘ that will take place from Friday 24th through Sunday 26th July. This is a very popular event and the sight and sound of a ‘Hymek’ will be a great addition to their planned lineup. We very much appreciate the invitation.
This loco is currently at the Great Central Railway (GCR) and is in use this weekend, so do try and go along to see her if you can. D7018 will be staying at the GCR until the end of April, and will then move to another well-known railway for a few months before moving to the GWSR, and will be back home with us on the WSR in time for the ‘DIESELS at 65‘ event that takes place over August Bank Holiday weekend.
Both of our ‘Hymeks’ were built 65 years ago at Beyer Peacock‘s famous locomotive works in Gorton, Manchester (a place that was very much in the news because of a by-election earlier this week) and these two locos will join their Class 09 and Class 33 stablemates for a combined celebration for our 65-year-olds at the end of August.
FORTY-NINE YEARS AGO YESTERDAY …
The 26th of February 1977 is a day that is permanently etched in the memories of all ‘hydraulic’ fans because it signifies the end of the charismatic ‘Westerns‘ on BR and the end of an era – the end of the great experiment that started with the D600 ‘Warships’ back in 1957, an era that witnessed the rise and fall of the diesel-hydraulic locos of Classes 14, 22, 35, 41, 42, 43 and 52.
The grand finale of the ‘hydraulic’ age was the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE‘ railtour, a 627-mile triangle trip starting from Paddington then heading to Swansea (191 miles) then to Plymouth (211 miles) then back to Paddington (225 miles) with D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ and D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ working in tandem throughout. This sell-out railtour sported one of the largest headboards ever carried by a locomotive, and this enormous headboard still exists today in the safe hands of the WESTERN LOCOMOTIVE ASSOCIATION.
D1013 ‘WESTERN RANGER’ was leading D1023 ‘WESTERN FUSILIER’ as they hauled the 12-coach 1Z52 Paddington-Swansea-Plymouth -Paddington ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour over Red Cow level crossing and into Exeter St Davids Station on the last day of the diesel-hydraulic era, Saturday 26th February 1977. Photo by Trevor Tremethick © CC BY-NC 4.0
Also running on that day were the only other serviceable ‘Westerns’, our own D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ and the WLA’s D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’, coupled together and shadowing the main railtour, although they dodged out of part of it by relaxing at Bristol Bath Road shed while the railtour went to Swansea and back. Luckily, photo contributor Trevor remained at Exeter to get the following shot of these two backup locos as they crossed the ‘Red Cow’. Many thanks to Trevor for sharing his photos with us all !
D1048 ‘WESTERN LADY’ was leading D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ as the work-weary backup pair passed over Red Cow level crossing and through the centre road at Exeter St Davids Station while shadowing the Bristol to Plymouth leg of the ‘WESTERN TRIBUTE’ railtour on the last day of the diesel-hydraulic era, Saturday 26th February 1977. Photo by Trevor Tremethick © CC BY-NC 4.0
Now back to 2026, and another reminder that Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 is going to feature in a special program of running on the weekend of 28/29 March to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the re-opening of the Minehead branch. After closure of the branch by BR in January 1971, the first public services under the auspices of the WSR ran on Saturday 28th March 1976, initially from Minehead to Blue Anchor, then extending to Williton in the summer and then to Stogumber, finally reaching Bishops Lydeard in 1977.
Click here to go to wsr.org.uk to browse the photos from that first year.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the re-opening, long-term WSR resident Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 will be in use on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March 2026 and will be working alongside home fleet steam locos to both kick-off the 2026 season and to commemorate the hard work and dedication of all those who made the re-opening possible, 50 years ago. The DEPG will be hosting an ‘OPEN YARD‘ with public access to lineside seating and viewing, with the ‘Irie 7’ hot food van and Rod’s Model Railway sales stand also available. Click here or on the image below for more details of this anniversary weekend.
Five of our diesels celebrate their 65th anniversaries this year, so the WSR have arranged a DIESELS AT 65 event that will take place on the three days of the August Bank Holiday weekend, where an enhanced timetable will provide interesting haulage opportunities featuring Classes 09, 33 and 35. The details are being worked out now, but meanwhile, KEEP THESE DATES FREE in your diaries and make a plan to attend to enjoy a great weekend of 65-year-old ‘modern traction’ !
The DIESELS at 65 event adds to the KEY DATES FOR 2026, some of which covered in the graphic below. The WSR’s EVENTS and EXPERIENCES web page gives details on some of these events, and will be expanding soon to include the recently-announced events. Click here or on the graphic below to go to the WSR Calendar Page for details and dates.
t
SUMMER DIESEL FESTIVAL
The WSR have announced another visitor from the Wensleydale Railway in the form of Class 47 47714 (D1955, 47511), wearing the striking ‘Rail Express Systems (RES)‘ livery. This loco was built by Brush Traction at Loughborough and was one of later deliveries, entering service as D1955 in November 1966 and allocated to the ‘Western Lines’ pool of the London Midland Region (LMR). The loco became 47511 after conversion to Electric Train Heating (ETH) in March 1974 and was selected for conversion to push-pull operation, becoming 47714 in March 1985. While our own Class 47 47077 (D1661, 47613, 47840) ‘NORTH STAR’ is away at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, it will be great to have a ‘47‘ back at work on the WSR and this loco will no doubt be very popular.
Previously-announced Class 37 37250 (D6950) is another crowd-pleaser and will definitely help swell the crowds and make the event even more enjoyable than usual.
DEPG locos of classes 08, 09, 14, 33 and 35 will also be in use and Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ will be open to visitors at Williton Yard, along with Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 and Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF 1).
The DEPG depot at Williton will be open to the public and will be offering hot drinks and snacks from the ever-popular ‘Irie 7’ team, together with a seated viewing area, Rod’s Model Railways sales stand and the DEPG merchandise stand, plus cab visits to locos on shed and depot tours. NOT TO BE MISSED !
Click here or on the image below to go to the WSR’s event page:
Our popular DIESEL RUNNING DATES page is in the process of being updated to cover the planned diesel-hauled services for 2026, but it will take a little longer to define the loco allocations. Meanwhile, the basic framework is there and the loco allocations will be added as soon as the information has been confirmed by the WSR. There is a lot of diesel running planned for the WSR this year. Click here or on the image below to take a look:
08401 (D3516) Dual Braking Conversion Project – UPDATE
L-R: Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 (ROF1) stands in front of Class 33 ‘Crompton’ D6566 (33048) in front of Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7017 on No. 1 road at Williton while Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) stands on No 2 road on a very damp but mild Saturday, 21st February 2026. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 4.0
The appeal for donations toward the estimated £5,200 cost of converting recently-acquired Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) from air brake to dual brake has been very successful and is now almost at the 80% mark and on the home straight to achieve the full target during the coming weeks. We would like to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who have supported this request for help. The ability to go out and buy the parts that we need will allow us to speed up the job of converting this loco to dual braking.
In addition to funds being raised via the popular fundraising site Gofundme, donations have also been received via our online store, via our membership app ‘Membermojo’ and directly into the DEPG bank account. The balances of these four fundraising channels have been totalled up and are as follows:
| Donations via |
Donation amount |
Gift Aid |
| Gofundme |
£1,595 |
£242 |
| DEPG online store |
£310 |
£65 |
| Membermojo |
£250 |
£62 |
| Direct to bank |
£1228 |
£307 |
| TOTALS |
£3,383 |
£676 |
| COMBINED TOTAL |
£4,059
|
Donations to the 08401 Dual Braking Conversion Project, as at 27th February 2026
THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all who have donated to this cause !
This is EXCELLENT NEWS for 08401 and will help us get the work done in the shortest possible time and help to get this loco into service on the WSR. This loco has never been used for passenger haulage, so 2026 is going to be a big year for 08401 !
As stated previously, we have a ‘mystery benefactor’ waiting in the wings with a pledge for match-funding that will double the value of all donations towards this cause, but we need to CLOSE THIS APPEAL at the end of this month (meaning tomorrow, Saturday 28th), so donate NOW if you can to help double the effective value of your donation.
As a charity, the DEPG is also able to claim Gift Aid that will add another 25% to the value of donations, where the donor is a taxpayer and agrees to allow the DEPG to claim Gift Aid. It all adds up, so please help if you can and click here or on the image below or further below, thank you very much !
For those who prefer to donate directly, rather than via Gofundme, we have set up several donation ‘products’ on our online store. Click here or on the image below to go to the 08401 donations page:
If you prefer to use online banking, the DEPG bank details are as follows (note – please email contact@depg.org after making Gift Aid donations via online banking, so that we can properly identify your donations):
Sort Code: 09-01-54 Account Number: 79983488
Account name: THE DIESEL AND ELECTRIC PRESERVATION GROUP LIMITED
Click here to visit the 08401 (D3516) dual-braking project page
As the DEPG is a registered charity, any donations made to a defined cause are applied only to that cause, so your donation will make a difference to the project of your choice. Thank you very much !
LOCO NEWS:
Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ – more Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) work took place on the ‘B’ bogie frames last weekend, with Dr. Allgeier assessing the results and investigating the anomalies. So far, nothing major has been discovered, but a few small areas will need to be checked again before a decision can be made. In the worst case, some localised repair work will need to be carried out by a ‘coded’ welder, but we will only arrange this when the full extent of any repairs have been established. We already know that the ‘A’ bogie will require repairs, so we will get all of the welding work done in one session to minimise costs.
Meanwhile, Gordon, Jeff and Leroy took advantage of the milder weather to get out in the yard and underneath the body of D1010, to start applying some paint to the underframe. They seemed to be enjoying themselves while getting covered in paint, but probably had sore arms and stiff shoulders the next morning !
D1010 – the ‘B’ bogie is undergoing Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) using the Dye Penetrant Inspection method. The areas that have been processed (depicted by the white powder coating) were undergoing inspection when pictured along with Thomas at Williton on Saturday 21st February 2026. Class 14 D9518 provided the background and Class 09 D4107 (09019) just made it into the frame on the right. Photo by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
D1010 – the warmer weather provided an opportunity for the team to get underneath the loco body and get a coat of primer applied to the underframe. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 21st February 2026 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
D1010 – the underframe is in very good condition but deserving of a coat of paint before the loco body gets re-united with her bogies – which will hopefully take place later this year. Pictured with Gordon at Williton on Saturday 21st February 2026 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 08 08401 (D3516) – this loco is stabled in the South Yard at Williton and is available for use (in air brake mode) for any shunting duties that might be required. Meanwhile, design work is taking place to draw up the new pipework that is needed to reinstate the vacuum brake system, and the additional electrical control equipment is being assembled and installed where possible. Various missing parts are being gathered, such as the vacuum pipework as shown in the photo below:
08401 (D3516) – a section of vacuum pipework has been obtained, cleaned, inspected and painted and is now ready to be fitted to the loco. Pictured at Williton on Saturday 21st February 2026 by Andy Royal © CC BY-NC 4.0
08401 (D3516) – the control gear and wiring for the exhausters is being installed in the loco now, to get ahead of the curve and be ready for when it is needed. Pictured at Williton on Sunday 15th February 2026 by Ian Robins © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 09 D4107 (09019) – this loco is close to being ready to return to duty at Bishops Lydeard, just in time for the start of the 2026 running season (late March). The cab floor has been stripped back to the metal and will be painted then covered with plywood as a temporary measure (the cab will undergo a heavy repair when Class 08 08401 (D3516) is available to stand in for the ’09’). The loco will be test run this coming weekend and the source of some oil and coolant leaks established, and hopefully remedied.
D4107 (09019) – the cab floor has been stripped back to the (not so bare) metal and coated with ‘Ferricon’ which will need time to react with the rust and turn black before receiving a coat of paint and a layer of plywood. Pictured at Williton on 21st February 2026 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 33 D6566 (33 048) – this loco is outdoors on No 1 road and is next in line to enter the loco shed so that her leaking engine room roof can be removed and repaired. While in the shed, several other maintenance tasks will be carried out, including the removal and replacement of one of her two vacuum exhausters.
Class 33 D6575 (33 057) – this loco is based at Bishops Lydeard where she will remain ‘on duty’ and available for use if required.
D7017 – this loco is being prepared to participate in the 50th Anniversary celebrations that will take place on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March, just four weeks from now. Pictured at Williton on 21st February 2026 by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7018 – this loco will be IN USE on the Great Central Railway this weekend as a special guest for their SPRING STEAM WEEKEND. This loco will remain at the GCR for some charter services and also for their DIESEL GALA in April before moving to her next vacationing spot and then to the GWSR before returning to the WSR in August.
Please do try and go along to one or more of these events to show your support for D7018 and help ensure that her visit is a big success !
Here are the running dates for D7018 on the GCR:
We have been made aware that an ADDITIONAL DATE of 29th April has been announced for DRIVER EXPERIENCE opportunities on the GCR – click here or on the image below to go to the GCR website. The initial batch of places were sold very quickly, but if you are interested, get in touch right away to grab this new opportunity.
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9518 – the two teams (Saturday and Tuesday) are pushing ahead with work on the engine (mostly on Tuesdays) and on the cab (mostly on Saturdays), with the new team members getting involved and the additional hands helping to move the project along. This week, the photos show the progress with the engine ancillaries such as the oil pumps, oil transfer pipes and the counterbalance gearing. New volunteer Rob joined us last Tuesday and we look forward to seeing him at Williton again in the very near future.
D9518 – displaying No. 7 in her headcode boxes as a precursor to being outshopped eventually as NCB Ashington No. 7, this loco is receiving a very thorough and careful rebuild at Williton. Pictured in the shed with Class 09 D4107 (09019) for company on Saturday 21st February 2026. Photo by Jon Tooke © CC BY-NC 4.0
D9518 – Nick and Linda carefully transport the oil pump drive assembly toward the engine, ready for re-attachment. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 24th February 2026 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 4.0
D9518 – the oil pump assembly has now been re-installed on the engine, which has been rotated on its side in the special turnover frame to make this task a whole lot easier. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 24th February 2026 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 4.0
D9518 – viewed from the other direction, the oil pump assembly can be seen at the far end of the engine, which has been rotated in the special turnover frame to be on its side. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 24th February 2026 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 4.0
D9518 – John attaches the oil strainers and oil transfer pipe to the newly-installed oil pump assembly while Nick keeps an eye on proceedings. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 24th February 2026 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 4.0
Class 14 ‘Teddy Bear’ D9526 – this loco is currently based at Bishops Lydeard where she will remain until relieved by Class 09 shunter D4107 (09019). To keep her in good condition, this loco will undergo an engine run tomorrow and will be warmed through and have all of her systems checked over.
Class 47 47077 ‘NORTH STAR’ – this loco is based at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway but has been ‘stopped’ because of an issue with her ‘triple pump’ – which is an electrical machine that is a combined water pump, oil pump and fuel pump, all driven from one big DC electric motor. The spare has been taken from stock at Williton and sent to a specialist subcontractor for reconditioning before sending it to the NYMR for installation into 47077. This work is taking place now and involves the complete rewinding of the armature, so it is likely to cost around £4,000 in total. The loco will then need to go out for tyre turning, which will be a convoy move over the main line from Grosmont with other NYMR diesels, when the line re-opens.
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0DH 578 – this little loco was moved from Number 4 road to Number 1 road at Williton last Saturday so that her batteries could be re-charged. However, after start-up, the loco refused to run smoothly and is thought to need some attention to her fuel filters. Attention will be given when the resources are available and the weather permits. Meanwhile, Class 08 shunter 08401 (D3516) is available for shunting duties.
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 Saturdays and Tuesdays 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 !
NEW CLOTHING RANGE:
Feeling the cold ? Go ahead and order a fleece jacket or sweatshirt via our ONLINE STORE, just click on this link or on the images below to give it a go !
So far, we have launched the 50 YEARS of HYMEKS range and a configurable HYMEK and WESTERN range, and we now have the new design for the Class 33 ‘Cromptons’ featuring two locos side by side, one in green livery and the other in blue, or both in blue. Please let us know if you would like to order a combination that is not obvious on our online store – we are adding more options on a weekly basis. We intend to offer a Class 14 design in the coming weeks.
The range of colours has been expanded and the range of sizes now includes LADIES SIZES. Please let us know via our CONTACT FORM if the colour and size combination that you want is not showing as an option online.
The new designs are available in the following garment types, some of which have not yet been added to our website, so again please use our CONTACT FORM to let us know what you want. Here are the prices:
| Garment type |
Price |
| T shirt |
£22 |
| Polo shirt |
£25 |
| Sweatshirt |
£35 |
| Hoodie |
£37 |
| Fleece |
£40 |
| Other ? Tell us what you want ! |
Use our CONTACT FORM |
These garments are really nice pieces of work, and the ability to personalise your choice is another definite advantage. Delivery is currently around ONE WEEK from receipt of order, so place you order now to take advantage of this short lead time.
We look forward to receiving your order, the profits from which will directly support the DEPG !
ON SHED – this week, another photo from MARK BLADWELL but this time to the south-west and the spiritual resting place of the ‘Westerns’, an appropriate choice as we remember the 49th anniversary of their demise on mainline services. Although the ‘Westerns’ were distributed between all of the main sheds of the WR initially, the decision to phase out the ‘hydraulics’ resulted in the whole fleet being re-allocated to Plymouth’s Laira depot from 1971 onward, as a logical step toward concentrating expertise and equipment in one location for the planned run-down of the Class.
The staff at Laira looked after the ‘Westerns’ with affection and went to great lengths to keep as many of the fleet in operational condition as they possibly could, in the face of severe parts shortages and corporate instructions for minimising expenditure on the outgoing locos. Fans of the Class owe a debt of gratitude to the staff at Laira, aided as they were by sympathisers from Swindon and other covertly-supporting depots, as they managed to keep some of these locos going for six full years !
Mark’s photo shows a typical scene in 1975, when the ‘Westerns’ still held sway but were the last of the hydraulics to remain in service (the ‘Hymeks’ having been withdrawn in March of this same year).
Many thanks to Mark for sharing his memories and photos with us all.
Please continue to send in your photos of locos on shed, at the platform or in action, because we appreciate them all, any Class, any place, any time, the more varied, the better. Use our CONTACT FORM to get in touch. Thanks !
NEW BOOKS ON SALE
In addition to the two recent releases from Bernard Mills, namely Parts 2 and 3 of the ‘PADDINGTON TO PENZANCE during the Diesel Era‘ trilogy, we are also offering two new books that will be of particular interest to like-minded members and supporters as they both feature diesel-hydraulic locos and are therefore guaranteed to have a good market, such is the strength of the following for the types.
Above: A very interesting new book about the early days of the diesel hydraulic preservation movement. Well worth a read and reasonably priced at £15.99 – click here or on the image above to go to our online store page.
DEPG NEWS: the restoration of the Niftylift ‘cherry picker’ is reaching the final stages and the machine will soon be ready for inspection by our insurance assessor, and then we can start training our volunteers in the safe use of this versatile machine. Well done to Tony, Gwyn and JT for their work in restoring this machine and bringing it back into useful work.
The Niftylift ‘Mobile Elevated Work Platform’ – more typically known as a ‘cherry picker’ – has now been fully restored and is ready for testing and certification. Well done to volunteers (L-R) Tony and Gwyn, plus ‘JT’ and the others who have all played a part in bringing this machine back to life from the dilapidated condition in which we acquired it. Pictured at Williton on Tuesday 24th February 2026 by Terry Deacon © CC BY-NC 4.0
The DEPG is a charity and is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom give both their time and their money to the continuance of work on the locos in the DEPG fleet. If you have been enjoying the roundup for free, have you considered joining us for just £1 a month ? You can then add your name to all of those helping out on the above projects and play your part in the future of our locos for a lot less than the price of a cup of coffee!
