Some may disagree with that sentiment but, when provided with an opportunity to play host to two of them (instead of the one for our Gala) you have to take it!! And, that's exactly what we have done!
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| The scene at Doncaster Works on August 20th, 1982. Official handover from BR to the Deltic Preservation Society of 55019 'Royal Highland Fusilier' and 55009 'Alycidon' for preservation. (Courtesy of Colin Alexander) |
Whilst sorting the details for this years Gala, our Planner, Peter Smith, was approached by the Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) about helping them to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the first two, production Class 55's entering preservation. With 55019 already scheduled to be at the GWSR from July to October, the plan was to include the other protagonist in this event being offered for a weekend as well. With some jiggery-pokery the plan was concluded and it can be announced that on FRIDAY, 19th AUGUST 2022, the GWSR will host the 40th Anniversary of the preservation of 55009 and 55019 with both of them operating on a special running day (https://www.gwsr.com/Deltic_Running_Day_19th_August--post--123.html). They will also be operating on the Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st, on the diesel turn on our Purple (20th) and Pink (21st) timetables. This is likely to be a huge, never to be repeated event - especially as the Gala would be the first ever running of a Deltic on the 'Honeybourne Line', but now, we will have two for a weekend!! July and August are going to be huge and we hope to see a lot of you attending both the Gala and Anniversary events to sample these iconic locos on our line.
With that announcement done, lets get back to more current happenings. We are now half way through the first complete month and Easter has been and gone. Bank Holiday weekends are normally pretty busy and the Easter weekend was no different.
With the Good Friday weather set to be incredibly warm and sunny, everyone was looking forward to a nice, busy, straightforward day. However, both our rostered steam locos didn't get the memo. 47105 was rostered as the loco for the diesel turn with myself and Dave M as crew and all hopes of an easy day disappeared when our DOO informed us that Dinmore Manor was struggling with the new Columbian coal it was using (which it transpired it wasn't using solely and had been mixed with some Russian coal as well) catching in the ash pan and causing a fire in the pan itself. We were told to get 47105 ready and take over from the errant steam loco when it returned to Toddington.
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| 47105 idles in the North Siding at Toddington awaiting the ailing Manor to return. |
We also heard that there had been an incident with P&O which was the second loco out, but this was rectified and she carried on. However, she was to be failed later in the afternoon with a hot bearing.
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| The ailing Manor shunts from the front of train 1 and heads to shed for hasty repairs. |
Leaving Toddington over 60 minutes late, we arrived at Broadway, disgorging the passengers and running round, leaving as soon as we were hooked on....now some 40 minutes late.
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| A quick run round and we are nearly ready to get going back to Cheltenham. |
After crossing with P&O at Winchcombe, we were well on our way for what should of been the last run south. However, a phone call from James, our DOO, was to indicate otherwise. With the other steam loco being failed there were passengers now stranded at Broadway and Toddington who wanted to get back to Cheltenham. We were therefore asked if we could do one more round trip to ensure that everyone managed to get back to their starting point safely. The day ended with 47105 getting back on shed at around 7pm - our normal finish would be about half past 5!
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| 47105 back on shed after its rescue exploits. |
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| 45149 heads away from Toddington on the last service to Cheltenham on Easter Saturday. |
As I was rostered again on Easter Sunday, I decided to stay at Toddington for the weekend making use of one of our Pods that we have on site. These are for GWSR volunteers who are completing multiple days in succession and don't want to keep going home - especially, if like me, there is a distance involved. On the Saturday evening, I was treated to this view across our car park, looking east....
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| The moon in full glory. One of the many visual delights of volunteering in the Cotswolds! |
Easter Monday would see one of our shorter term, unserviceable locos return to the roster, easing the shortage a little more. 47376 'Freightliner 1995' worked the diesel turn after it had received a new set of batteries and a bit of a cab refresh over the Winter shutdown. Hopefully, this return will be first of many over coming weeks as we look to get the fleet status back up to a decent level.
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| 47376 awaits the 'RA' at Broadway on its return to service. (Courtesy of C. Wall) |
Over the weekend, one of the locos we hope will be back in service soon received some attention to a few issues. Class 20, D8137, has been out of service since it's body lift and traction motor swap in 2019. Whilst nearly at a ready stage to return to service, owner Steve M had identified a couple of issues that could scupper its hoped return at the end of April. One of these was a power fault, meaning the loco would not take power.
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| On the Friday, Steve was busy continuing to investigate what might be causing the power issue with D8137. |
In between trying to get D8137 back on to the loco roster, Steve is also continuing with the restoration of sister loco, 20228. This includes putting the cabs back together. On the Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday I assisted Steve with some paint removal on some of the cubicle panels.
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| One of the cubicle panels from 20228 after having the original paint removed by way of Nitromors and wire brush. The handle is still covered in paint, but this was gone a little while later. |
Steve was back up on the Sunday to go back to D8137 with support from Mark S. Around lunchtime there was a long missed eruption as the 'chopper' was started to enable fault finding to identify if a change of components had rectified the power fault. It was good to hear the familiar sound of a Class 20 once again echoing across the yard.
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| D8137 chirps away as Steve and Mark continue working in the cab. The front louvre door is open to allow access to the compressor and engine compartment. |
Hopefully, the 'chopper' will be fit to take up its anticipated return to service on April 30th. That would then mean that the roster is starting to look a little more healthy. Also on the comeback trail is Class 24, 5081, which is waiting for the arrival of some new motor seals to replace worn ones that have caused a long standing power issue. It is hoped to have the 'Rat' ready for service at some stage in May.
Work continues with the Class 26 refurbishment. More work has been undertaken with the body sides, which has included more sanding, cutting of old steel, welding of new steel and, below the sole bar, needle gunning and priming.
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| D5343 out in the Easter sun. The tarp is to prevent any water getting into the engine room. |
Over the last few weeks, the engine block, sump and bed plate have all received a clean out so that the new liners can be fitted back into the block. This was completed over the weekend of the 26 March with all six being fitted snuggly into position.
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| After removing the casing, the liners were lifted into position and slotted in. (Courtesy of Simon Townsend) |
There is still plenty of work left to do on the '26' throughout the rest of the year to get it in A1 condition, including a full repaint.
The Class 37s in the fleet are not fairing as well and, in the case of D6948, there is no end in sight for the bogie lift that will allow the underframe and traction motor repairs to be completed with the loan of equipment from our friends at Bo'ness being pushed back a little further. Things are progressing nicely with 37215's generator repairs, however. Technical Officer, Paul G, and the 'Wednesday Gang' have replaced a number of the brush boxes and the damaged contactors. The new, larger ceramic isolators have also been fitted in place, however there is still a wait for the delivery of the smaller sets that are required. There is still a way to go, including checking for any damage beneath the generator which would require the loco being over an inspection pit. Fingers crossed that things progress well enough to allow at least one of our 'Growlers' to be back before the Gala.
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| There is something about an all BR Blue rake of locos! 37215 sits sandwiched between 20228 and 5081 in the shed at Toddington. (Courtesy of Andrew Stratford) |
Down at Winchcombe, Class 03, D2182 has had its repairs completed and is now back in service as the designated C&W shunter. This has meant that 11230 has returned to Toddington, where it will allow D2280 to spend some time out of traffic for some running repairs to be ticked off the list. Also down at C&W, Class 122, W55003 is continuing to be prepped for its external repaint with plenty of rubbing down of the bodywork. The DMU Team were also down at Winchcombe over the Easter weekend fitting guttering bridges to hopefully reduce water runoff over the windows. Back at Toddington, the Class 117 was not neglected as it received some new driver's blinds to prevent glare during evening running.
For up to date Gala information, you can access the main GWSR webpage at this address ==>
The roster for the remainder of April looks like this ==>
Sat 23 Apr | Purple | 45149 |
Sun 24 Apr | Pink | 45149 |
Tues 26 Apr | Purple | 47xxx |
Weds 27 Apr | Purple | 47xxx |
Thurs 28 Apr | Purple | 45149 |
Sat 30 Apr | Purple | D8137 |
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Sun 1
May |
|
D8137 |
|
Mon 2
May |
|
D8137 |
|
Tues 3
May |
|
47xxx |
|
Weds 4
May |
|
D8137 |
|
Thurs 5
May |
|
47xxx |
|
Sat 7
May |
|
45149 |
|
Sun 8
May |
|
47xxx |
|
Tues 10
May |
|
D8137 |
|
Weds 11
May |
|
D8137 |
|
Thurs
12 May |
|
45149 |
Obvious caveats apply and locos may change at late notice.
