It's been that long since the last blog that I really couldn't remember what I had written! So, after a quick scan through, we have this one. Some of it I may have gone through last time, but probably needed another mention because it is important....like the Gala. Photos are a little light as I haven't been able to get around to taking as many in recent visits, but where I can I have included some. I know how we all like photos of the locos!
So, what has been going on since the last blog? Well, considering that was posted at the beginning of March there is nearly two months to cram in...and quite a bit has happened!
Our normal running season started at the beginning of March with our BLUE, off-peak timetable. Fingers were well and truly crossed that our Class 122 'bubble car', W55003 would be ready to take its bow for 2026. With the question marks regarding ownership and maintenance all sorted out it was just a case of whether the final examinations, tests and repairs could be completed in time and...they were! W55003 successfully completed it's test runs and was wheeled out on March 7th for it's first revenue-earning trips since 2012.
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| Class 122 'bubble-car', W55003 sits at a gloomy Broadway during March 2026. This is the first year that the 'bubble car' has visited Broadway. (Courtesy of Jack Boskett) |
The return of the 'bubble-car' has not gone unnoticed as it has proved very popular with the early season visitors. It has performed well although, of course, there are some little teething issues to sort out - some of the Drivers have requested a bit of tweeking to the power train as it seems rather sluggish! Drivers, eh?!
Hopefully, the Class 122 will continue to perform well as the new ownership group work towards reinstating Class 117 DMBS, W51360, which is being overhauled with a view to eventually work with the Class 122 on days when more seats are needed. It is good to hear the rasp of a first-generation DMU on the line again.
Having W55003 back in traffic has also been a fitting tribute to one of our longest serving department and Railway volunteers; John Lees. John sadly passed away on the 25 March. John was one of the 'originals', working on the resurrection of the railway pretty much from Day 1, and would continue volunteering until Covid took hold and his health started to falter. A regular with the P'way team, although he would work across most departments during his 40+ years on the GWsR, John was also one of the regular DMU Drivers - a role where most volunteers would probably know him from - and almost single-handedly operated the DMU during the landslip at Chicken Curve which split the line in two, for which he was presented with an OO Gauge model of the 'bubble-car' in gratitude.
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| John receives his model of W55003 for his services to DMU Driving at the GWsR. (Courtesy of Chris Morgan) |
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| The legend. Rest easy John. (Courtesy of Richard Drewitt) |
However, unexpectedly, the Class 122 has not been the only single vehicle railcar on the line during the start to the season. It was announced during March that we would have an early season visitor through to the end of May - GWR Motor Railcar W22 courtesy of the Great Western Society at Didcot.
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| Another fantastic photo from our very own Jack Boskett sees GWR Railcar, W22, at Gotherington during a photo charter after its arrival. |
Although not regular visitors over the Honeybourne Line, these elegant railcars would traverse the route on occasion and were certainly not unusual, so to see one back on the GWsR is a nice experience. Built in 1940 and first based at Newport Ebbw Junction, W22 would eventually find its way to Worcester shed where it would, on occasion, have ventured over our patch. The railcar will have a few more running days before it leaves us at the end of May. Running dates are listed at the bottom of this blog or on our website (www.gwsr.com) and social pages.
Having had at least one railcar in operation on the GWsR has come at a very timely moment as the railway suffered landslip on the embankment section between Gotherington and Bishops Cleeve. Although it has not hindered the running line it had started to creep across the formation of the old 'Up' line and, to plan ahead and get it stabilised, the section from Gotherington to Cheltenham Race Course has been under a weekday possession so that works can be completed to stabilise the bank and repair the slip. This has meant services only running between Broadway and Winchcombe during the week.
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| From this photo from the GWSR Facebook page, you can clearly see the slip and how close it is to the running lines - if we were double track, the Up line would have disappeared down the bank! |
In relation to the slip and the rectification work, we had another unexpected arrival in the shape of Class 03, D2069. The Class 03 had rocked up with no-one in the Diesel Department having any knowledge of its arrival. It transpires that this was the doings of C&W who had become frustrated with the serviceability of their current Class 03, D2182. By all accounts it was becoming increasingly difficult to conduct vacuum pressure tests on the rolling stock utilising D2182 and so they had requested a replacement....hence the arrival of D2069.
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| Our second, new diesel arrival being utilised on the P'way train at the landslip repair site. (Courtesy of Simon Pedley) |
Or was that the reason? It was known that the railway was after a shunter that had good vacuum brakes for use on the ballast train. Although both D2182 and Class 04, 11230 have working vacuum brakes, there have been concerns over D2182 and the vacuum brakes on 11230 have not been used for a considerable time. D2069 has been put straight to use on our ballast trains working between Cheltenham and Gotherington rather than using one of the mainline diesel fleet. How long the Class 03 is due to stay with us is not known but it is likely to be based at Winchcombe once free of ballast duties.
We also have a third arrival, although this is known about, due to arrive at Toddington as I type this. We had been offered use of a Class 08 for our Gala, although this was in some doubt, however things have moved along to the point that its arrival has been agreed, although the number is not known. This will be the first Class 08 to be at the railway for over 15 years and, it is hoped, will play some part in the Gala at the end of July.
On the subject of the Gala, the last blog revealed the booked locos to attend. This year will see the largest number of visitors as we welcome 'Hymek' D7018 from our friends at the DPEG and West Somerset Railway, 25262 courtesy of South Devon Diesel Traction Ltd., and 27056 courtesy of the Northampton Type 2 Group and the Great Central Railway. Like last year, the Gala will feature shunter rides within Toddington Yard, behind the scenes look at our locomotive facilities and an intensive timetable. Further details and link for tickets can be found here - https://gwsr.com/whats-on/cotswold-diesel-gala-2026/
Sunday 26th July will see a homage to our Gloucestershire neighbour, the legendary Pathfinder Tours who recently bowed out on retirement of founder Peter Watts. Each train will be adorned with a historic Pathfinder Tours headboard to commemorate the company and the many tours it organised - some of which were hauled by locos in our fleet! This will be the final time that the Pathfinder Team will attend an event and it is quite an honour that their final one will be with us.
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| 37215 basks in unseasonable February weather during a stock move between Winchcombe and Toddington. (Courtesy of Andrew Stratford) |
The CMDG's Class 26, 26043, was incredibly busy during the early part of the year with a few stock runs and p'way trains hauled - giving the loco more 'running in' after it's return to traffic last year but, also getting it ready to head away on it's travels!
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| One of 26043's early runs was to take this new arrival, a former Inspection Saloon, to Winchcombe for restoration at C&W. If the saloon had been in BR Blue/Grey you could have been mistaken for thinking this scene was in the wilds of Scotland! (Courtesy of Dave Stanton) |
As one of the lighter locomotives on the railway, the Class 26 is always in demand as a guest at other railways. It's spectacular restoration has heightened the demand and, by the time you read this it will have already appeared at the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway Diesel Gala and the recent Great Central Railway Spring Diesel Gala - where a little glimpse into our Gala could be had when it was paired with Class 27, 27056! It returns to the GWsR in time for its rostered turns at the end of May.
Our other Type 2 Sulzer, 24081 was also pressed into ballast use during April where it was used to undertake ballast drops at several points along the line - yes, our P'way Team have been incredibly busy over the winter!
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| 24081 exits Greet Tunnel with the ballast train on 13 April 2026. (Courtesy of Mark Elvey) |
Both Class 47s, 47105 and 47376 'Freightliner 1995' have made their 2026 bows with 47376 being used during our recent Bricks event and 47105 operating an unscheduled PINK timetable day on Sat 18 April after the failure of one of the allocated steam locos. During the Winter both locos had some minor attention with the cabs being given a new coat of paint in places to give them a refresh.
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| Some of the bits being repainted from 47376 air out in the shed after the application of undercoat. |
20137 has also made it's bow for 2026 having operated during our Vintage weekend in mid-April. The loco was de-winterised in March with the re-fitting of its AVR and some testing to make sure everything worked as it should. The owners' main focus has been on the refitting of 20228's exhauster, with the work reaching a conclusion. This should, hopefully, see 20228 put through its paces on test before being allowed to work service trains on its own.
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| 20137 sits in the yard at Toddington prior to being de-winterised ready for the new season. |
During the upcoming Gala, the Class 20s will be paired up and will be working in multiple, as they have done so far.
Our Class 45, 45149 has been out of traffic for some time with electrical issues however, with the Class 26 now fully operational, the CMDG have been able to spend time on the 'Peak' and have resolved the issues to a point that the loco has been declared fit for traffic and will make it's bow during this weekend's (2nd and 3rd May) 'Cab A Loco' event where, if you are 18+,
you can get your hands on the controls and take charge of a 2500hp, 139 tonne diesel loco as we resurrect our 'Driver for a Tenner' at Cheltenham Race Course.
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| Work goes on to get 'Peak' 45149 fit for the 2026 season. |
The heavy work can be found with Class 37 D6948. At the end of last year an oil sample test flagged up that the oil in the loco was becoming contaminated and the hunt was on to find where this was happening. It was pinpointed to be in B1 cylinder (No. 1 end, Drivers Side of the engine) where we identified that coolant was leaking into the liner and through to the sump. The engine was pressure tested to identify any further leaks but non were found. This meant removal of B1 piston and liner for inspection.
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| Inside the block and you can clearly see the coolant ingress on the far side. |
The rocker head was removed and the liner and piston pulled our for inspection, replacement of parts and general cleaning. Whilst this was being done a number of smaller faults were identified to also rectify. This has included removing the oil feed pipe for the heat exchanger so that an oil leak could be investigated and parts of the exhaust system removed and checked because of the same reason. The heat exchanger pipe was identified as having failed gaskets and so these will be removed and new ones fitted from stock. The exhaust bellows removed appear to have failed in some way and so this will be replaced from spares. We can then investigate where the oil is coming from that is getting into the exhaust. We also need to change a leaking fuel filter.
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| Under threatening skies, Andy T oversees the lifting of the B1 piston from D6948. Thankfully we only had to take out the one!! |
Once repairs have been made to the piston and liner, and the head cleaned, these can be refitted and tested for leaks. We can then, hopefully, test the loco under power and, when all other work is completed, we can see her re-enter service - especially as we have had to look at rescheduling the Class 37 Double Up Sunday and there is the upcoming Gala.
She also needs to be fighting fit for Friday 21 Aug where the Growler group will be hosting a running day to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Growler Group in 1986. Details can be found on our website - https://thegrowlergroup.org.uk/ or on our socials. As it is not a GWsR event, no GWsR travel vouchers will be valid and only tickets purchased for the event will be accepted.
Although a Growler Group appearance, we will be representing the whole Diesel Department and railway in general, the Group will have a stand at the forthcoming North West Rail and Transport Collectors Fair at Crewe Alexandra FC on Saturday 13 June 2026.
As mentioned above, this weekend (2/3 May) sees another event rolled out with our 'Cab A Loco' event. This is a new one for 2026 and follows hot on the heals of our Vintage, Railwayana and Bricks events. Our Marketing Team have really ramped up the events on offer across the railway this year with many of our weekends now having an event theme attached.
The 'Cab a Loco' weekend is exactly as its says - you will get the opportunity to cab both steam and diesel locomotives across all our main station sites (except Broadway) where we will have some on static display or, as mentioned above, you can have the chance to get to grips with our 139 tonne, 2500 hp leviathan....45149! At Toddington, we will have a few of our locos available to 'cab' inside the engine shed and in the car park. Meanwhile, down in Winchcombe, 'bubble-car' W55003 and one of the Class 03s will be available to cab.
Loco Roster - May 2026
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Date |
TT |
Rostered Loco(s) |
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Sat 2 May |
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20137, 45149, W22 |
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Sun 3 May |
|
20137, 45149 |
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Mon 4 May |
|
20137, W22 |
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Wed 6 May |
|
W55003 |
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Thur 7 May |
|
W55003 |
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Sat 9 May |
|
24081 |
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Sun 10 May |
|
24081 |
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Tue 12 May |
|
W55003 |
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Wed 13 May |
|
W55003 |
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Thur 14 May |
|
W55003 |
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Sat 16 May |
|
47105, W22 |
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Sun 17 May |
|
47105, 47376 |
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Tue 19 May |
|
47376 |
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Wed 20 May |
|
47376 |
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Wed 27 May |
|
45149 |
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Thur 28 May |
|
26043 |
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Sat 30 May |
|
45149 |
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Sun 31 May |
|
45149 |
