Spare DMU car making good progress

Work to restore W51360 and have it available for traffic is making excellent progress. The outside has been painted, the internals refurbished and a lot of work undertaken to get the underslung engines to be reliable.

Here it is seen over the loco shed inspection pit on Sunday 23rd October.

37215 gets some TLC

Our blue 37 has been stopped for some long overdue TLC. The first piece of work has been the removal of some very badly corroded steel pipe from under the loco that is a part of the main air system. This will al be renewed in the coming weeks.

Access is extremely difficult but it's a job that needed doing for some time.

47105 update

There has been a lot of activity on 47105's overhaul recently. The most recent work being the removal of 6 of the pistons ready for cleaning and assessment.

Two for the price of one

It was great to see so many people at the Food & Drink fayre at Toddington this weekend and lots of them took the opportunity to have a ride behind our two Baby Sulzers. 24081 & 26043 in their old numbers of 5081 and 5343. Picture by Malcolm Ranieri.

Diesels in action at the GWR

Class 24 (5081) and Class 26 (5343) have been in action on our green timetable this weekend. Next weekend it is the turn of D8137. Come along and enjoy three return trips on both Saturday and Sunday.

GWR diesel gala as popular as ever

Feedback on our latest diesel event has all ben extremely positive and the GWR diesel department would like to thanks everyone who came along and enjoyed the weekend. Below are a selection of excellent pictures of the event from GWR photographer Malcolm Ranieri.

GWR Diesel gala this weekend

Don't forget that we will be holding our second major diesel event of the year on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. The diesel fleet will be out in force on both days with an intensive service of traditional heritage traction.

Newly restored D6948 will be in service and providing steam heat for the first time with its newly overhauled Clayton steam generator.

Come along and join in the fun.

GWR October Diesel Gala

Don't forget our second diesel gala of the year being held on Sat 8th & Sun 9th of October. It would be great to se lots of you there!

Diesels in July at the GWR

Not only do we have our headline gala event at the end of the month but July sees lots of diesel running on the scheduled services between Toddington and Cheltenham Race Course.

Full details here: http://www.gwsr.com/enthusiasts/locomotive-roster.aspx

GWR Heritage Diesel Gala - July 29th - 31st.

Not long to go now before our annual gala. Lots of things going on including the launch back into service or D6948, the former 37248.

Full details here: http://www.gwsr.com/planning-your-visit/2016-events-calendar/heritage-diesel-festival.aspx

The diesel loco roster for June has been finalised. Come along and support the GWR diesel fleet.

Saturday 4th June - D8137 (Red TT)

Sunday 5th June - D8137 (Red TT)

Saturday 11th June - 5081 (Red TT)

Sunday 12th June - 5081 (Red TT)

Saturday 18th June - D5343 (Red TT)

Sunday 19th June  - D5343 (Red TT)

Saturday 25th June - 37215/47376 (Thomas)

Sunday 26th June - 37215/47376 (Thomas)

D6948 Restarted

I though that followers might be interested to read a short insight from my perspective into the successful start up of D6948 yesterday.
 

The loco was fuelled last week and the  various filters checked and changed as required.

 
The remaining decompressors were fitted to the Power Unit and tighten up. All of the Rocker Gear was inspected to ensure no tools or objects were in the way. The Power Unit was barred around by hand to check for rotation. Paul Good Primed the fuel system and rails to get as much fuel into the system as we could. The Governor link was fully lifted to allow some fuel into the pumps etc.

 
The loco was shunted outside and coolant topped up as required. Oil pressure was built up with the priming pump and everything checked for leaks and flows. The decompressor screws were opened, auxiliaries isolated and the start button pressed to motor over the Power Unit for rotation checks. All was good and as required so the decompressor screws were tightened and portable fire extinguishers collected and placed beside us.

 
With the restoration team in place with cameras and videos we were ready for a start up.

Oil pressure was built up, Paul Good gave me the ok and the Start Button was pressed. The Power Unit cranked over for about 15 seconds whilst fuel was pumped into the highest parts of the system. D6948 fired up on the first attempt. 

With the AVR running, Paul and I quickly started our inspections and checks inside the engine compartment. A6 High Pressure pipe needed tightening up and soon the power unit was running smoothly on all 12.

 
A shake of hands and a massive relief from Paul and I.

 
Exhaust soon settled down and loco running smoothly. 

During the afternoon the exhausters and compressors were brought back in and brake created from both cabs.

Loco was powered up in EO from both cabs and control air checked with the master gauge.

 
Idle and Full Power RPM was checked. Temperatures checked with a reflective thermometer.

 
We tried for power but that's a job for another day.

 
A massive team achievement and one that I am personally very proud to have helped with. Thanks to Paul Good for making a great cuppa and taking the time to teach me so much.

 
A snagging list is on the white board. We are all a step closer to seeing D6948 steaming at the head of a train.

D6948 successful start-up

The Growler Group were delighted that D6948 started up with very little trouble following the engine work recently undertaken. A snagging list is now being worked through with the aim for the loco to return to service at the July diesel gala.

D8137 almost ready for the summer season

The final touches are being applied to D8137 following its recent partial repaint. It should be back in service on the GWR during May.

D8137 gets a new look

During the last few weeks our resident Class 20 has been having its nose and cab ends repainted into the later 'full yellow' style. This will brighten up and improve the locos appearance for the new running season. It will continue to have its weather worn green on the bodysides, although this may change in 2017/18.

Diesel services for Easter

37215 has been woken up from her winter slumber and will be used on the Red timetable at the GWR on Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.

http://www.gwsr.com/planning-your-visit/2016-calendar-and-timetables.aspx#R

The service departs from Toddington at 1555 for a return trip to Cheltenham Race Course.

First loco roster for 2016

This is our initial plan for early 2016 services:

Saturday 2nd April (Green TT) 45149
Sunday 3rd April (Green TT) 45149

Friday 8th April (Driver Experience course - sold out) D5343

Saturday 9th April (Green TT) D5343
Sunday 10th April (Green TT) D5343+5081

Saturday 16th April (Green TT) 47376
Sunday 17th April (Green TT) 47376

Saturday 30th April (Red TT) 5081
Sunday 1st May (Red TT) 5081
Monday 2nd May (Red TT) 5081

We would love to see you, so please come along and support diesels at the GWR.

47105 making excellent progress

You might think that the winter time would be quiet for activity with our diesel fleet but that couldn't be further from the truth. There's a huge amount of maintenance activity going on and the owners of 47105 are working really hard on their overhaul program.

The roof section from the equipment room was put back onto the loco in summer 2015 which allowed us to trial fit the roof after having metalwork repairs, the section is still stripped of all radiator elements and fittings and the roof mounted fans. The radiator elements have been pressure tested to find the good ones that will be refitted and see how many need to be replaced. The equipment room is on its way to having everything in place again however the exhausters are still away for refurbishment, when these are returned the roof will need to be removed again to allow access.

With the equipment room roof temporarily back on ‘105 the engine room roof was removed and placed on the wagon, this section of the roof had heavily corroded areas which have been cut out and replaced. The Brush Type 4 Fund are indebted to Mark Stanley for the work he has done (and continues to do) on the roof and the loco as a whole.

Having the engine room roof off has allowed us to carry out repairs in the engine room without having to crouch and with decent light. The trunking on the B side has been repaired and new sections welded in, this was found to be corroded so has had a full refurbishment. New metal has been welded into some sections of the floor at the generator end to replace corroded metal as a result of the leaky roof.

The B side of the engine room was also completely stripped of all old paint then primed, undercoated and a fresh coat of grey applied. All light fittings and fire piping was also refurbished and refitted before the trunking was reconstructed. This side of the engine roof is now covered with old curtains to protect the resplendent paintwork.

Preparatory work was done on the A side of the engine room and this side is now ready for its first coat of primer. A side is a much harder task than B side due to the large number of pipes running along the wall. Luckily we have some very patient members of the group who have ensured that all of the old paint is removed, it is a shame that the pipe work has to be painted as they look great stripped and polished.

The main air intake filter box has been removed, steam cleaned and is being repainted, with this out of the way some parts of the generator insulation, not normally accessible, have been given a heavy clean.

The electrical cubicle is getting a cosmetic restore with the frame stripped and repainted and the doors to the cubicle in the process of being refurbished. Paint stripping of these revealed several repairs from 105’s BR days. Additional work needs to be completed to rebuild the corners before a final coat of gloss can be applied and the doors refitted.

While all of the other work has been taking place work has started on No. 2 end cab. Several desk panels have been taken away to be stripped and have attention to the fixings and fasteners.

Next on the agenda is the A side intercooler which needs to be removed, this has suffered from a minor coolant leak since we bought the loco in 1994! The intercooler will either be repaired or replaced.