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| The line-up of 2022!! (Courtesy of Alex Raybould) |
Into the new year and the final 'Mince Pie' trains were run on the 2nd Jan. 37215 worked the last service from Cheltenham Racecourse under a clear, moonlit sky with domino headcode blazing....at 1640! It was surprising to see the number of people that were still on the train to experience the Class 37 in the dark!
The last day was also quite poignant as it was likely to be the last time that GWR 2-8-0T, 4270 will run on the railway - it's boiler ticket has expired and the loco's owner is yet to disclose what is going to happen. There are a lot of people, across all departments, that are sad to see the engine go. I am, for one, as there is a family link to the 'kettle' in that 4270 was the engine that my Grandfather passed his Fireman assessment on in 1946 when based at Aberbeeg (ABG/86H)!
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| 4270 passes 37215 on it's last trip to Broadway before withdrawal. |
Anyway, back to the diesels!
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| 37215 is prepped and ready to relieve 4270 for the last round trip. Despite being rather chilly, it was a lovely winter's day for it. |
Work was also continuing with Class 26, D5343 and it's overhaul. The CMDG have received some support from our friends at Bo'ness with regards the cabs and the required metal work for correctly securing the new front end.
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| Our friends at Bo'ness have fabricated these skirts from the original Class 26 drawings for D5343. All correctly lined up with the securing holes. However..... |
....the group still have to overcome the problem of the damaged, repaired, buffer beam. If you remember back in the last tome, the group had discovered that the Secondman side had received repairs leaving a significant slope to the buffer beam. It has now been identified, from the trial fitting of the new skirt, that the Driver's side has had the same treatment!
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| Although not as pronounced as on the other side, you can just see the slope on the Driver's side caused by the crash repair. |
The joys of restoration!
Despite the 2nd Jan being the last running day of the 2022 season, the running didn't end there as 37215 was utilised again on the 3rd for stock moves. The weather couldn't have been any different! Carriage and Wagon had requested that the main rakes were taken to Winchcombe so that they could have their maintenance completed and that they could be reformed for 2023. Rake 3 would go to Toddington and, finally, a flat wagon of sleepers to Didbrook ready for the winter P'Way works.
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| With the incessant rain turning the ex-EE siding at Winchcombe into a mud bath, 37215 is hooked up ready to drag rake 3 into the platform. |
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| With rake 2 at Winchcombe, rake 3 in Toddington station, it was time to take rake 1 from the North Siding to Winchcombe. |
With the movement of the coaches completed, Neil C fired up Class 03, D2182, and brought the flat wagon into P1 at Winchcombe.
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| Neil inches the '03' up to the coaches to leave enough space for 37215 to get in front and not foul the signal and track circuit. There was probably about an inch clearance between the signal and '215's buffers!! |
With the wagon attached behind, it was off to Didbrook to see which of two identified sites were the best to park up the wagon. One of the prerequisites was leaving enough space for the telehandler to unload and turn.
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| With the best site identified, Neil C sets the handbrake on the wagon and Paul gets ready to uncouple. |
With the wagon scotched and the handbrake on, it was time to head back to shed and have a well earned cup of coffee.
With things finished off it only seems right to have a bit of a recap and a look towards the 2023 season.
2022
From a diesel perspective, 2022 was quite a successful year. Fleet availability has been good, with only D6948 and D5343 being long term absentees (I won't count 20228 as this is yet to run on the railway). 47105 completed it's first full year since it's return from overhaul and, along with 55019, was the star turn at the year's Diesel Gala. 37215 returned to action after repairs to it's generator and has run reliably for the remainder of the season.
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| 47376 'Freightliner 1995' arrives at Winchcombe during the 2022 Diesel Gala. |
Our Gala saw the first ever appearance of a Class 55 'Deltic' on the line with the arrival of 55019 'Royal Highland Fusilier' in cooperation with the Deltic Preservation Society. Originally, the plan was for 'RHF' to have been our guest for 2020....but, we all know what happened to that! So, we had to wait until 2022....and, it was definitely worth the wait with numbers being on a par with 2019 and a good level of profit to be made. Feedback was excellent and a new relationship forged with the DPS.
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| Visiting 'Deltic', 55019 'Royal Highland Fusilier' enters Winchcombe during the 2022 Diesel Gala. |
This new relationship meant that the DPS approached us to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the first two 'Deltics' being accepted into preservation - 55019 and 55009 'Alycidon', which were handed over to the DPS at Doncaster on the 20th August 1982. The offer was to have a 'Deltic Running Day' on Saturday, 20th August 2022, with 019 being joined by 55009 for the weekend - 40 Years to the day, however, this was nearly scuppered by the railway! So, a solution was found to run it on Friday, 19th August 2022. This didn't diminish the event or the turnout, with near to a 1000 people enjoying the sound of two Class 55's in the Cotswolds, coupled with fantastic weather. 55009 was also used on a Sunday running day before it was whisked away. An amazing weekend of double Deltic action!
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| 55019 and 55009 prepare to work the final service of the day from Cheltenham Racecourse back north - the slightly diverted 'Flying Scotsman' on 19/08/2022! (Courtesy of Andrew Stratford) |
Deltic '19' also saw use on a number of running days, as well as a couple of Driver Experience days that brought some much needed revenue to the railway coffers on top of what we would normally expect.
The summer was a record breaker because of the weather, and this meant that a UK wide steam ban was implemented to reduce risk of fire. This meant that, at short notice, the diesel fleet and crews were needed to continue running services. To our credit, and the wizardry of our Roster Clerks, we were able to fulfil all the required services and ensure that the railway continued to operate successfully.
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| During the 'steam ban' the diesels were introduced to keep the railway running. 47105 and 37215 wait for the 'off' with their respective services. |
Sadly, this didn't do much to change the rather one-eyed opinion in certain quarters that 'people only go to heritage railways for the steam engines!' Still, sights like the photo below, courtesy of Alex Raybould, still bring a huge sense of satisfaction and a smile to the face!
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| Toddington MPD - All Diesel, All BR Blue (except 20137 at the back!) with Motive Power Types, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 all on show!! |
Not forgetting the DMU's, either, as our Class 122 'Bubble Car', W55003 was repainted into a new coat of BR Green with 'speed whiskers' as part of it's long term overhaul, although the Class 117 set only had occasional opportunities to stretch it's legs on the line.
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| W55003 sits at Winchcombe during the 2022 Diesel Gala in it's new coat of paint. |
At the end of the year, the fleet status stands like this -
Shunters
D2182 - Serviceable
D2280 - Serviceable
11230 - Serviceable
'DES' - Unserviceable awaiting generator repairs.
Mainline
20137 - Serviceable
20228 - Overhaul and test
5081 - Unserviceable. Engine Governor repairs
D5343 - Unserviceable - Bodywork restoration
37215 - Serviceable
D6948 - Unserviceable - Repairs and test
45149 - Unserviceable - FV4 fault
47105 - Serviceable
47376 - Unserviceable - General repairs.
DMU's
L425 - Serviceable
W55003 - Unserviceable - Overhaul and restoration
W51360 - Unserviceable - Overhaul
W51372 - Unserviceable - Awaiting restoration
W59505 - Unserviceable - Awaiting restoration.
So, what about 2023? Services are due to restart on the 04 March and will be in a similar vein as 2022 with just some minor changes to times. This will see the DMU on a BLUE timetable. The first 'mainline' diesel turn comes on 01 April (no joke!) on the PURPLE timetable.
From a diesel perspective a loco (or the DMU) will be utilised on the following timetables:
PURPLE - Two train timetable, as per 2022, with diesel turn at the end of the day.
RED - Similar to the PURPLE but with a later start to services. Diesel turn at the end of the day.
PINK - As with 2022. Two train, Sunday timetable with one steam and one diesel all day.
GREEN - A RED timetable with added DMU shuttles between Toddington and Winchcombe. Diesel turn at the end of the day.
BLUE - As with the PINK timetable but with the DMU on the diesel turn.
The Diesel Gala has been shifted forward slightly (not sure why!) from it's slot at the end of July to the beginning of July. It will now be on the 07, 08 and 09 July 2023 with the Mixed Traction Gala on the 28 and 29 October 2023. A Gala visitor hasn't been mooted yet, although a number of possibles have been identified but, the Gala Committee are still in discussions.
From a motive power point of view, we are hoping to see D6948 and 20228 back in traffic along with the 'Bubble Car' taking it's bow at some point during 2023.
For now, though, it's time to get the spanners out and get busy with the Winter maintenance regimen so that the locos will be fighting fit for 2023. We hope to see you out on the rails!
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