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/
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| (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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| D6948 arrives at Minehead with a service from Bishops Lydiard. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
