With each passing week the diesel loco roster gets healthier and healthier.....and, just at the right time, given the Gala is just 9 weeks away! Don't forget, this one is going to be a biggy as we have 55019 'Royal Highland Fusilier' (courtesy of the Deltic Preservation Society) joining us for the gala all the way through to October - the first time a 'Deltic' will have been on the Stratford upon Avon - Cheltenham line at any time in it's 120 year history.
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| Deltic 19 will be visiting the GWSR from July through to October and will be the headline act of our Gala from the 29th to the 31st July 2022. |
If that wasn't all, don't forget that on the Friday 19th August, in conjunction with the Deltic Preservation Society,
55019 will also be joined by sister loco
55009 'Alycidon' for an all-Deltic running day to celebrate the 40th anniversary of both locos entering preservation on 20th August, 1982. Both locos will also be in use over that weekend on standard diesel turns.
Details can be found on the website - https://www.gwsr.com/
In the meantime, the home fleet continues to be readied for the flag ship event amongst normal timetabled running. Class 24, 5081, is the latest loco to return to service with repairs, and it's B Exam, all completed.
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| 5081 sits inside the shed as it waits to return to active service after being out of service since Christmas awaiting repairs. |
It worked the Purple turn today (24th May) instead of the Class 20 due to crew availability, so adds another serviceable loco to the pool. It is starting to look a lot healthier on the hi-tech TOPS board!
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| The up to date loco board. With just 20228, D5343, 37215, D6948 and DES out of service, things are a lot more rosy than they were at Christmas! |
Although it has a fuel leak, 45149 was the rostered loco for the weekend just gone and, for me, the next loco for me to be signed off on. But, there was a lot to do before 'getting the toys out of the box'! When I arrived at Toddington, there was already a lot of activity ongoing with Class 26, D5343. Jon, Keith and Andy had already made a start on the next set of jobs on the Sulzer block. Previous weeks had seen the liners and pistons, the fuel racks and the rockers all placed back in situ and this weekend was getting everything all tightened up ready for the next stages of re-assembly.
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| With the water rail removed you can see the liners and pistons in situ. |
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| From the other side, you can see the fuel rail, injectors and covers. |
Shortly after, we were joined by Simon and Ian C, and between us we were able to remove the larger of the crankcase doors for cleaning. This included removal of the old, cork gasket ready for a new one. It is an all-in-one piece of solid steel and is a bit of a beast to move. It took four of us to manhandle it onto the trolley.
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| The primed side is all cleaned up ready for undercoat to be applied. |
I was nominated to get it cleaned and remove as much of the old gasket as I could. Cleaning was easy - a bit of Sugar Soap, a bit of elbow grease, and some clean rags and, Bob's your Uncle! However, the gasket hadn't got the memo! Ideally, it would have been best to turn the door panel over and get a wire wheel on to it however, this wasn't a possibility at the time and trying to chisel the gasket off from underneath was a task....this thing did not want to come off! Whoever had sealed it on before did a bloody good job! Even spraying liberal doses of Gasket Remover didn't make a dent. I managed to get some off but, with time running out, it was duly designated a job for the Wednesday Gang!
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On charge. D5343's batteries get some juice as it sits in the David Page shed. Still along way to go until it is back in service, but each week, targets are being ticked off.
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Back in the shed, Tim, Dave and Ian R were busy on the Class 47s. Inside
47376, Dave and Ian were busy with the needle guns in the engine room. Although serviceable, the loco is receiving a bit of a spruce up internally which had started with the cabs whilst awaiting new batteries earlier in the year. With these completed, progress has moved to the engine room.
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| Dave sees me lurking with the phone poised and dives back into the engine room! |
As a drummer in the remainder of my spare time, I am used to loud, metallic noises. However, the sound of two needle guns on steel is another sound entirely and definitely one that requires you to wear hearing protection when in the vicinity of the noise.
Whilst this was going on, Tim was flitting between both 47376 and 47105 undertaking a variety of air pressure tests as part of the scheduled maintenance program.
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| Given the amount of use it has seen since coming back into service, 47105 has a well deserved break from it all. |
Another loco on the home straight is
37215, which has been out of action since early December after suffering a generator flashover. With the loco having had its repairs completed and its traction motor assessment (to check for any further damage), the loco now needs its B Exam finished before a test run can be conducted. A return to service day has been pencilled in but this will remain undisclosed until nearer the time.
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| 37215 over the pit on 03 May for it's traction motor assessment. (Courtesy of Kev Jarvis) |
Back to Saturday, and after lunch, it was time to prepare
45149 for it's afternoon exercise. I was rostered with Simon (who is one of the Instructor Drivers on the 'Peak') so that I could increase my loco knowledge by also signing the Class 45 along with the Class 37s. This entailed demonstrating the ability to complete the prep and disposal as well as basic fault finding and rectification.
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| Siding 1 is back in commission and a quick opportunity to take a picture whilst we wait our train. |
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| Any guesses where we are? |
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| At the end of Platform 1 at Toddington is the 9.5 miles marker, which tells you that you are 9.5 miles from Honeybourne...a good aiming point for stopping the 'Peak' with 7 coaches on. |
45149 was out again on the Sunday on the
Pink timetable, enticing a few of the 'Peak Army' down from the Severn Valley where
D4 'Great Gable' and
D182 were starring in their Spring Gala.
I caught up with both of them at the Swanage Gala a few weeks ago, the first time I had seen one of the original Class 44 'Peak' locos.....and D4 was in great form. It was also the first time I had sampled the Swanage Railway.
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Class 46, D182 keeps 50026 'Indomitable' company in the loop at Swanage station during the railway's Gala and Beer Fest on Friday 06 May 2022.
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D4 sits in the loop at Swanage while it awaits it's next turn during the railway's Diesel Gala and Beer Festival.
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It's always good to get out and sample another heritage railway and to see how they do things. I must admit that I was very impressed with the way the railway operated, given the space constraints they work within compared to the GWSR. Some more pics from the 06th May....
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| One of the new 'Body snatchers'! Class 69, 69004 in the livery of Derby RTC. I'm still not sure what to make of these, I quite liked the Class 56, but I will say one thing.....they are rather loud! It's also pretty cool of GBRf to be painting them in 'heritage' colour schemes. |
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| 31128 'Charybdis' arrives with a service from Corfe. |
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| 'Bagpipe' Class 33/1, 33111 arrives from Norden. |
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| GBRf's Class 73/1, 73136 'Mhairi' paired with 33111 arrive at Corfe. |
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| The main reason I went! 50026 'Indomitable' rests on the stops at Swanage during it's return to service. The loco is a credit to the owner and his team, who have a tentative connection to the GWSR via their other Class 50, 50021 'Rodney'. 'Rodders' was the first mainline diesel to be based at Toddington and was also due to be in attendance at Swanage, but was not ready in time. |
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| 'Heavyweight' Class 37/7, 37703 arrives at Swanage. |
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| Finally, 33012 'Lt. Jenny Lewis RN' fresh from repaint at Arlington, Eastleigh. You could still smell the paint fumes and it looked immaculate! |
Back to the GWSR and, the Sunday also saw some work on the Class 117. L425 had been sat in the yard for some time without activity - except for a P'Way Assessment train earlier in the month - but will have a weekend out over the 27/28 May for the Steam and Ale Festival. It will also see one of the Class 47s on the Friday and D8137 on the Saturday running on the usual diesel turns (the Class 20 also gets an extra round trip on the Saturday).
As well as having some of the spares sorted and cleaned, the unit was given a thorough clean to get it ready for the weekend festivities.
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| Let the hose down commence! (Courtesy of the GWSR DMU Facebook page) |
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(Courtesy of the GWSR DMU Facebook page)
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The unit also received some cleaning to the underframe as well, removing some of the oil and dirt that had accumulated.
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(Courtesy of the GWSR DMU Facebook page)
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(Courtesy of the GWSR DMU Facebook page)
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If you are intending to attend the Steam and Ale Weekend (to sample the beers or ciders responsibly, and the Diesels, of course! 😉) then you can get more information on our website, including the list of beverages available at both Toddington and Winchcombe. ===>>
