That was the gala that was!

The weekend just passed saw the annual Diesel Gala - the department's chance to parade our wares and have the line to ourselves for 3 days to celebrate all things diesel locomotive. This year was hoped to be a big year with Class 50, 50035 'Ark Royal' joining us from our friends at the Class 50 Alliance up the road at the Severn Valley Railway, being the 2nd of its class on the line - 50021 'Rodney' was resident on the line between 1994 and 1996 - but the first to reach Cheltenham Racecourse AND Broadway, and the return to service of our Class 24, 5081 after its 3 year bogie overhaul, as well as being joined by the Bus Gala on the Sunday.

Sadly, best laid plans and all that, fate conspired to try and put a dampner on things. For the 3rd year in a row the weather had been blisteringly hot up until the weekend of the gala only for rain to nearly wash out a day and for it to be overcast and cool for the remainder! Typical!

Saturday of the Gala was a wet one! E6036 arrives at Toddington in one of the many spectacular downpours!

After having visiting Class 26, 5310, ruled out from taking a service role earlier in the month and Class 20, D8137 being ruled out with a Traction Motor issue, we also had to contend with losing 5081 on the Sunday before the Gala after it was failed whilst rostered on the GREEN timetable. The loco had been a little slow to load up and it had been noticed that something had been arcing in the engine room. It would appear that the Load Regulator was sticking when winding back and causing a short. One of the 'star' locos was now out of the running. Cue mad timetable re-write #1! 

That wasn't to be the last thing, either. On the Thursday an incident caused damage to the point work on the lead in to Broadway station. This point is operated by a ground frame and the incident caused severe damage to the point blades taking them out of service meaning that we could not facilitate run rounds. Cue mad timetable rewrite #2 to put top and tail operation in to practice! Hopefully there wouldn't be anymore! And, luckily, other than the weather on Saturday, there was nothing that couldn't be dealt with. 

So, to the Gala weekend itself. Friday was a fine day and many took the advantage of the sun to take some spectacular photos. Many of the Class 50 fan club had scheduled to attend the Friday to sample 50035 before traveling to Derby on the Saturday for a railtour utilising Garcia Hanson's Class 50, 50008 'Thunderer' (my particular favourite!) - the first railtour the loco had performed in 28 years! This meant that the services on Friday were very well patronised and all locos performed exceptionally. I couldn't get the day off of work to be there but one of our fellow operational volunteers is also an intrepid photographer and was on hand to take some excellent photos. Thanks Alex.

D6948 heads away from the Aqueduct as it heads towards Toddington on 26/07/19. (Courtesy of Alex Raybould)

Visitor 50035 'Ark Royal' makles it's second trip through Bishops Cleeve on its way to Cheltenham. (Courtesy of Alex Raybould) 

Earlier in the day, 50035 powers away from Cheltenham after becoming the first of its Class to reach Cheltenham Racecourse. (Courtesy of Alex Raybould)

With the disappointment of not having double headed Class 26's abated, resident D5343 powers through Hayles Abbey Halt on its way to Cheltenham. (Courtesy of Alex Raybould)

After a quick telephone exchange with the photographer to find out his vantage point, Driver Rich Scott opens up 'Peak' 45149 as it heads under the aqueduct on its way towards Toddington. (Courtesy of Alex Raybould)

Toddington, again, provided the main focal point with the Diesel Shed open allowing the paying public to have an insight into what we do and to, perhaps, part with some hard earned 'readies' at some of the sales stalls. In the shed on display were Class 20 D8137, Class 47 1693 and Class 24 5081. The Class 20 was displayed with its body side doors open so that people could look at the internals of a locomotive. 

Late retired 5081 sits in the Diesel Shed as a static exhibit. The loco was failed the prvious weekend with Load Regulator issues. 

D8137 heads the line of display locos, including 1693 and 5081, inside the Diesel Shed. 

In the car park at Toddington Class 37, 37215, and Llangollen's Class 26, 5310 were parked on the unloading road and made available for cab visits and tours. We had hoped to have 5310 available in some capacity over the weekend before it has its extensive Traction Motor work completed and, with thanks to the Llangollen Diesel Group, an agreement could be reached. Both locos were incredibly popular with enthusiasts and families getting up close and personal with two of British Rail's most iconic locomotive types. 

Sitting out its first gala in a long time, Class 37, 37215, sits on its accommodation bogies in the car park at Toddington providing the opportunity for the public to get up close and personal with a 'Welsh Deltic'. 

Llangollen's Class 26, 5310, keeps 37215 company in the car park at Toddington. 

Our colleagues at Carriage and Wagon in Winchcombe also threw open their doors to allow the public the opportunity to see behind the scenes with the crucial work that goes on in restoring our rolling stock to such a high calibre. 

  
Saturday morning and I was allocated to cab visit duty on 37215. Great!! I get to stay in the dry!! Leaving Bristol in glorious sunshine, by the time I hit Gloucester on the M5 it was now overcast and decidedly murky. Low cloud, drizzle and it was only getting worse. The Cotswold edge was shrouded in very low cloud and the rain was incessant. Strangely, the other side of the Cotswolds was reasonably dry! It didn't put off a surprising number of intrepid visitors and most train services were very well patronised. Cab visits were also seeing a number of people who, rather than just heading for the dry, were actually quite interested and a number of impromptu engine room tours were conducted by myself and Alex (of photo fame earlier). Prior to prepping the blue 'Growler' for its admiring audience I went for a mooch around the yard after signing on. More clearance has gone on where the new facilities block will be sited. The old toilet and shower block has been....squashed flat and you can now get a good view of the Toddington Up Home bracket, Signal Box and the rusting carcass of Class 107 DMS, Sc52029. With work focused on the Class 117 and the Class 122 'bubble car', this DMU car (along with Class 117 DMBS, W51372) has been left to the elements as it awaits its turn for restoration.

Class 107 DMS, Sc52029, in its coat of many colours. The toilet and shower block has now been flattened in front.

In the yard ED Class 73, E6036 was being readied for its rare sojourn on passenger services. The loco is generally relegated to operating the P-Way and Ballast trains on the line however, this year, was the first year in two since it worked passenger services. One for the haulage nuts!

E6036 is prepped for a rare outing on passenger services. 

Also in the yard two stalwart Western Region locomotives were being readied for their next turns of service. Our visiting loco 50035 'Ark Royal' was keeping esteemed company with fellow WR express locomotive 6024 'King Edward II'. Both locomotives would have been been based at Old Oak Common TMD and were used on the same express services from London Paddington to Bristol, Devon and the Midlands....albeit 30-odd years apart. What a great sight to see on Toddington MPD.

Two ex- Old Oak Common stalwarts sit in the rain on Toddington MPD.

Class 47, 47376 'Freightliner 1995' was also in the yard being prepped for its turns of the day.

Type 4 heaven! 

Our returning shunter 'DES' was also in the yard being prepped for a morning of training with potential Drivers. Because it has been out of service for nearly 2 years no one is competent to drive the powerful shunter and, with Bryan Parson's Class 04, D2280, needing time out of service for tyre turning, the gala weekend was seen as the perfect time to do it.

DES in the yard on Sunday morning having a rest after its day of training new Drivers on Saturday. 

Other pictures from Saturday......

'Peak', 45149, arrives at Toddington with a Broadway bound service. 

D6948 moves away from siding 1 in order to drop onto the back of a Broadway bound service. 

Class 26, D5343, makes a spirited getaway from Toddington with a Cheltenham bound service. 

'Hoover' 50035 'Ark Royal' makes a typically smoky departure from Toddington with a southbound service. 

Class 47, 47376 'Freightliner 1995' awaits departure time with a Cheltenham service. 

Sunday saw the car park at Toddington overrun with diesels of another kind......buses. Back last year, the GWSR Board and the Events Teams decided to move the Bus Gala to the Sunday of the Diesel Gala. Seemed like a logical idea given that we could now celebrate two crucial forms of diesel based public transport. This is the first year of it happening and was very much an experiment. From the outside looking in it looked like it worked reasonably well....although I am sure others will have their own opinions. However, it was good to see two forms of diesel transport together at the same event. Having spoken to the Bus event organiser, David, on Saturday, he was hopeful of around 30 buses joining the event with the oldest being built in the 1930s and the newest being a brand new 19 plate vehicle from Reading. Again, services were very well patronised and the stations were a hum of activity. The weather was much better and this helped to promote a really good atmosphere around the railway. I was rostered on Class 37, D6948 and we had an early start, dropping onto the back of the first Broadway bound service.

D6948 in the yard with its English Electric cousin, 50035.

In the station at Toddington ED Class 73, E6036, was sat in the dock siding awaiting a light engine departure to Winchcombe and, in the car park, 37215 was keeping a vintage Bristol bus company whilst the bus's owning group set up their merchandise table.

The ED awaits prepping and light engine departure to Winchcombe. 

Crosville liveried Bristol built L5G Bus of 1950 with BR Blue liveried English Electric Type 3 (Class 37), 37215, of 1964. 

Over the morning the car park was to fill with a wide variety of different buses from a large spread of operators with a huge range of liveries.

A rather rushed shot of the car park as it fills up on the Sunday. 

Overall, estimated numbers of attendees were around the 2000 mark which puts this years event on a par with last years Gala event which is testament to the hardwork put in by the organisers, roster clerks, loco owning groups and those volunteers that rostered themselves in to cover throughout the weekend. No rest for the wicked and the organisers now press on to sorting October's event!

E6036 slows for the token exchange at Gotherington. The legend that is Dave Newman, as Signalman, gets ready for the double change with Secondman Phil Seymour.

Cousins meet at Winchcombe. 50035 arrives with a southbound service as Kev Jarvis and I wait with D6948 on a northbound service. 

D6948, having completed a shunt to re-organise the shed, ticks away after being shut down; its exercise done for the day. 

One of the consequences of the points incident at Broadway sees the timetables changed to accommodate the need to top and tail all services. This means that a diesel will be used all day on rotated turns covering the RED and PURPLE timetables as well as an extra diesel on GREEN timetable days. No information on allocated locomotives will be available until the last minute due to working around those crews that are available at the time. Keep up to date on the GWSR Facebook page and via the GWSR website.

The Eagle (well, Ark Royal) has landed!

We are just a week away (less than that by the time this gets posted!) from the Diesel Gala; final preparations to be completed this week, rosters are written, timetables are finalised, the crews know what time to sign on and the annual impromptu BBQ has been joked about in the mess room! But, the stresses do not subside as the weather looks changeable! Typical!

Still, the visitor for the year has touched down at Toddington successfully coupled with a large sigh of relief from the organisers and the loco owners.

50035 'Ark Royal' prepares to touch down in Toddington yard after its short trip down the M5. (Courtesy of Kev Jarvis.)

English Electric Type 4/Class 50, 50035 'Ark Royal' arrived on Monday after a short trip from its home at Kidderminster and is due to have its Fitness to Run exam later in the week. It is due to run quite intensively over the weekend being the first of it's class to reach Broadway (and, probably Cheltenham Racecourse) but the second to run on the resurrected GWR - 50021 (another 50 in the news having received a new shiny coat of Revised Blue livery) was resident on the line in the 1990s. The line was only in place between Toddington and Far Stanley back then.

Another loco to arrive at Toddington in the last few weeks was English Electric Type 3/Class 37, D6948, which has returned from its 8 week long sojourn down with our friends at the West Somerset Railway. It has, sadly, returned with a slight worsening of a historic air leak but it should be nothing to keep it from running in the Gala and in the following week on the PURPLE timetable. On Sunday just gone (21/07) the loco was run up after having its coarse fuel filter cleaned out and tested by Kev J. The week before had seen the loco's boiler coil loaded onto a lorry and sent away for assessment and repair.

D6948 sits in the yard prior to being shunted down the yard and having its coarse filter cleaned and a run up.

D6948's sister, 37215, will not be running this year and will be out of service until much later in the year. Back in March, during inspection, it was identified that the Traction Motors needed some attention and the bogies would need to be removed. With the cables all freed and the loco resting on accommodation bogies down in the yard, myself and Mark S made a start on removing the spent carbon bushes and cleaning the motors themselves.

37215's bogies in the shed prior to moving them outside. 

Firstly, we had to move the bogies outside and over the pit. Not an easy job as there are no couplings and no brakes - other than on the shunter. However, Mark, as a highly experienced Driver, made no mistakes with the Class 04 and we had them over the pit in no time. Once over the pit, we both went down into the pit, the inspection covers were off and access to the bushes could be made. They aren't in easy places and Mark had a tough time getting them out. It is likely they had been in there since the loco was refurbished back in the early 2000s, if not earlier! Some required a gentle amount of persuasion in order to get them out. Lots of cursing, sweating (it was bl***y hot) and running back and forward with various tools ensued before all of them were out! There may have been a few cups of tea involved, as well!

The view from the top of the bogie. access isn't so straight forward underneath!

The bushes are held in the clamped housings on the extreme right of the picture above. Although they look easy to get to access can only be gained suitably from below the bogie! There are 9 of these per motor, a total of 54 bushes! Also required was a full clean of the insulating pots (the 'white' pots at the bottom, centre, of the pic) - there are 6 of these per traction motor, 36 in total!

A few of the bushes laying around on an inspection hatch. 

With all of the bushes out I went around with a high pressure air line in order to blow any crud and dust away from the mechanisms before using an emery cloth and some electrical cleaner to clear the soot and dust off of the insulator pots. Mark then prepared some rather potent cleaners in order to get some deep cleaning done. By the end of the day we had completed all of the necessary cleaning, although more is needed in order to fully prepare the motors for further work. 

As with the Class 24, on the bogies of 37215 was scrawled 'Ex 37165'. Bizarrely, at lunch on one of the social media groups I follow, someone had posted a photo of 37165 sat on Bristol Bath Road TMD in the early 1980's. Weird!

Just visible, the bogies' previous owner. 

37215 keeps 45149 and 5310 (visiting from Llangollen) company down in the yard. 

Our other 'visitor', Class 26, 5310 from the Llangollen Railway is still awaiting a decision to be made on how any work undertaken is to proceed. Originally the plan was to fit a refurbished Traction Motor to the 'McRat', that was owned by the Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group, and to have the loco as a second visitor for the gala, given it is the 60th Anniversary of the Class entering service with BR. Sadly, after investigations conducted on the loco, it was deemed that the work would take much longer and be much more in depth than just a basic Motor swap. Therefore, the loco is in a state of limbo at Toddington whilst the owners and the CMDG/GWR look to find a suitable resolution. Whether it will be on static display at the Gala is a decision still to be made by the Llangollen Diesel Group.

Also not available for the Gala is our EE Type 1/Class 20, D8137, which has also (must be the year for them!!) developed a Traction Motor fault! It is likely that the loco will need lifting and a motor swap conducted. Loco owner, Steve M, has just disposed of the carcass of sister loco, 20035, to the scrap yard but not before removing the bogies along with the Traction Motors attached, so hopefully a swap can be sorted if the motors from 20035 are serviceable enough for a refurb. It is unlikely that D8137 will see service again this year.

A forlorn D8137 in the shed.

However, one loco's loss is another loco's gain. Steve's Class 73 Electro-Diesel, E6036, usually found on ballast and p-way work, will see full use at the Gala. A very rare opportunity for haulage as the ED is restricted to load 5 or 6 and usually not used on passenger services. In fact, I think the last time it was used on passenger services was in 2017. 

E6036 - all prepped and ready to go!

All our serviceable locos have been topped up with fuel, although not from our own fuelling point. Funding has been allocated for us to have a new yard sited fuel tank and fuelling access but it will still be in to 2020 before any semblance of it will be noticeable. For the time being the old fashioned method will suffice!

'Peak', 45149 gets a fill up from the local Ford Fuel Oil Driver. (Courtesy of Kev Jarvis.)

Out in the yard, behind the machine shop, clearance work has started in order to progress another capital project for the whole Motive Power Department. For years the Steam and Diesel Departments have had separate mess rooms - Steam in a MK.1 coach next to Siding 1; Diesel in a porta-cabin opposite the entrance to the shed. Toilet wise, we all had the use of this salubrious 5* facility......

Toilets (Unisex-ish) to the left, showers to the right!

It has served all departments well for at least 6 years (I joined the railway in 2013 and it was in pretty much the same condition!) however, not least of all because of more female volunteers requiring facilities, this will change in the near future with the building of a new shared mess facility in the yard behind the machine shop. It will contain full mess room with toilets, showers, changing rooms, lockers, teaching rooms and medical rooms. It will truly be 5* when built.

The space where the new mess facility will be built. The machine shop is in the old, original, GWR Goods Shed. 

In the shed, Matt P continued with some needle gunning on Brush Type 4/Class 47, 1693. Lots of priming and prep work have continued in the last few weeks including a start being made on the battery boxes under the main chassis.

1693's overhaul continues.

Battery boxes and fuel tanks have been needle gunned and primer added.  

On the shunter front DES is now back in full service having had a successful Fitness to Run exam. However, because of the 18 month lay off out of service, no drivers are certified to operate it at present. Over the next few months training will take place that will allow DES to fully return to service and allow Bryan P's Class 04, D2280, to be removed from service for tyre turning.

One item of rolling stock that will be on display in the shed over the weekend will be Class 122 'Bubble Car', W55003. Another of the long term projects, along with 1693, the 'Bubble' has been having regular work to its bodysides over the last few weeks courtesy of the small, dedicated team. The weekend just gone saw the perfect opportunity for some top coat to be added over the initial coats of primer. The solebar has also been cleaned, primed and top coat added. A couple of pictures courtesy of the CDRL. You can keep up with the work being done to the whole GWR DMU fleet on their website. Go give it a look.

The first bits of top coat added to W55003. (Courtesy of CDRL/GWR DMU)

The solebar, black top coat applied, on W55003. (Courtesy of CDRL/GWR DMU)

The Class 117 set is not scheduled to run at the Gala so it gives the owning group a weekend that they can get to grips with any issues that have arisen during the running season. The sets' original DMS, W51405, is still at C&W at Winchcombe having its interior seen to.

So, with the rosters and timetables finalised (within normal operating caveats), you can access all you need to know by clicking the following:

Friday Timetable
Saturday Timetable
Sunday Timetable

A heritage bus service will run from Cheltenham Spa to Racecourse Station on Saturday and Sunday ONLY.

To book tickets, click here.
General information, including 'What's On, Where', visit the GWR Main Site

We hope to see you there!



































  

Will it, won't it....

As we nudge into July the reminder emails from various quarters start to fly around the department........Gala preparation is in full swing! What trade stands are booked in? Are the locomotives going to be ready? Is there enough volunteer coverage for safety critical roles? An exercise of military-like organisation.

This year sees the Diesel Gala being 'gatecrashed', in a good way, by the Bus Rally on the Sunday, 28th July. A true showing of the United Kingdom's diesel engineering heritage in one place. Up to 40 buses are scheduled to be appearing coupled with the usual trips out into the Cotswolds for those who fancy another experience to their trip down memory lane. If you are a bus enthusiast, as well as a diesel loco fan, and you have Facebook, then you can access the Bus Rally's page at https://www.facebook.com/GWSRBUSRALLY/

(Courtesy of the GWSR Website)

Of course, the major focus for us is the railway side of things. For the first year since I started volunteering in 2013 there have been a few issues that have reared their ugly heads that could put paid to all the fleet being available. Class 37, 37215, is most definitely out of the reckoning as it is awaiting work to start on its bogies that were removed some weeks ago. The EE Type 3 looks likely to be joined on the sidelines by our 'visiting' Class 26, 5310. Part of the deal of 5310 coming to the GWR from Llangollen for its Traction Motor change was the hope that we could use it with our own Class 26, D5343, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the class starting work on BR. After a thorough examination by the Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group and the Llangollen Diesel Group more issues were identified that will prolong the work needed. Whether the 'Rat' will play some part in the Gala is still to be confirmed.

There is also a doubt as to whether our EE Type 1/Class 20, D8137, will be available as it has been stricken with a Traction Motor issue that is proving difficult to rectify and has seen it's owner remove it from the active roster.

D8137 sits outside Toddington TMD awaiting attention for a Traction Motor fault that could see it miss out on the Gala. 

The major exhibit is, of course, the second only visit of an English Electric Type 4/Class 50 to the Honeybourne Line in the shape of the Class 50 Fund's 50035 'Ark Royal' from the Severn Valley Railway. Our only previous visit of a Class 50 was way back in the early years when 50021 'Rodney' was in the care of a number of members of the embryonic Diesel Department and was resident on the GWSR.

50035 'Ark Royal' some years back on the West Somerset Railway. (Courtesy of the GWSR Website)

But, the gala isn't all about the Class 50. We also see the return of our ever popular Class 24, 5081, after its successful bogie overhaul and brake mechanism renewal as well as seeing the return of our 'Green Machine', D6948, from a very successful stint down at the West Somerset Railway. Throw into the equation our ED/Class 73, E6036, which will be making a rare appearance on passenger turns, 4 rakes of coaches and the usual trade stalls and we should have another successful 3-day event! Keep an eye on the website for more details regarding timetables, loco rosters etc. You can access it here for all the up to date information and ticket bookings.

Do remember that, although there will be general access to the station sites, you will need to purchase a relevant ticket for travel on any services. There is also no lineside access or passes for photography. Please stay the right side of the fence line.

As mentioned above EE Type 3, D6948, is due to return to the GWSR after a highly success full visit to our friends at the West Somerset Railway. On the weekend of the 20/21/22 June the loco was one of the star attractions at their Diesel Gala. Throughout the loco's 3 month stay at Bishops Lydiard it has performed flawlessly and looked right at home in the rolling Quantock hills as it does in the Cotswolds. Below are some pictures from the Saturday at the WSR Gala.

D6948 arrives at Minehead with a service from Bishops Lydiard.

On the turntable to bask in the midday sun!

All of our serviceable fleet of locomotives have now had time on timetabled services however there are always little issues that raise their head from time to time. Some issues can be related to age but sometimes the weather can cause little issues that cause some head scratching. One such happened to Class 26, D5343, back in mid June when the speedometer was inaccurately reading. Water ingress had caused short circuiting of the electrics and hence a mis read. After allowing it all to dry out, and a little fine adjustment, the speedo started to read correctly.

Simon and Andy check the speedometer cable and housing on D5343 prior to service. 

Elsewhere, a welcome message was received from the owners of DES. The Fitness to Run exam had been completed in early June and the industrial shunter was declared fit to use. After nearly 2 years and a lot of hassle DES is now back in service....and, not a moment too soon as Class 04, D2280, is in serious need of tyre turning. One final stumbling block is that no one in the department is now competent on DES because of the length of time out of service. Therefore, before the Class 04 is removed from service training has to be completed for a number of the department to re-familiarise themselves with DES and its operation.

Back in service! DES sits in the yard having successfully passed it FTR.

Finally, we had our whole railway AGM at the end of June held in the plush surroundings of 'the Home of Jump Racing', Cheltenham Racecourse. As part of the AGM there are awards for those volunteers that reach a certain length of service. This year saw two of our most respected members of the department achieve 25 Year awards.

Congrats to Mike Pember (left) and Tim Leverton (right), pictured below with our HoD, Andy Durham, on the steps of the main grandstand. Nice one!