The New Season is Here!

Our new season of services has begun, but also Spring seems to have made a pretty spectacular arrival with some excellent weather over the last few days putting the memories of the multiple storms firmly behind us. For how long though? We all know what the British weather is like!!

Anyways, the 2022 season has well and truly begun with two weekends of services now under the belt as well as the Race trains for the Cheltenham Festival. The diesel fleet is never involved with these, unless there is a failure, so it gives us a little extra time to get ready for the season and finish off the B Exams that the serviceable locos must have before they are fit for service. However, that wasn't the case in late 1960s and 1970s when steam had gone and diesels reigned supreme. Race Trains would come from a variety of UK cities that including London, Cardiff, Bristol and Southampton in the south and Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds in the North to Racecourse station which, by this time, was the only operational station on the line - albeit only opened on occasion of racing at Cheltenham. Visiting traction would include Class 35 (Hymek), 45, 46, 47 and 52 (Western) amongst others. Below we have a couple of photos provided yet again by long-time volunteer and supporter, Tom Cullimore, from the lens of John Medley. It shows Class 46 'Peak', 138 (later 46001) arriving at Cheltenham Racecourse with '1Z21' Cardiff - CRC on 16th March 1972 (although there is doubt as to whether it was 1971 instead).

Class 46, 138, slows for CRC as it is photographed from the Evesham Road bridge looking towards Hunting Butts. (Courtesy T. Cullimore/J. Medley)

After arrival and disgorging its race-goers, 138 is made ready to travel ECS towards Bishops Cleeve. (Courtesy T. Cullimore/J. Medley)

So, following on from where the last blog finished, work has been progressing on getting more that just 47105 serviceable. The good news is that 'Peak', 45149 has had its fuel leak repaired as well as having it's no. 2 compressor (yes, the noisy one!) refitted after it's repair away from site. This enabled 'Benson' to take it's place on the first diesel-hauled service of the new season on the PURPLE timetable of the 12 March. 

45149 awaits the late arrival of 'Merchant Navy' 35006 before coupling to the rear ready to work the last train from Broadway to CRC. (Courtesy N. Whitehead)

The first day didn't go to plan as the Steam Department were trialling a potentially new fuel due to the ongoing wrangles around coal. The department had acquired a consignment of coal anthracite 'Ovoids' (larger versions of the fuel used on arga's) to see if these would work instead of coal. The answer was a resounding 'No' and, although the 'Peak' was not required to perform a rescue, the timetable slipped sufficiently to mean the last service from CRC was over 90 minutes late! 

In the run up to the start of services, 47105 was utilised on more ballasting services through the end of February and into early March. One of those saw myself crewing with Dave M, a chance for me to finally get up close and personal with the one loco I had never crewed - it was removed from service about 6 months before I joined the railway. I could see for myself just how comprehensive the internal  restoration and overhaul was. It was a cold, if fine day down at Dixton so we were both glad (as was Alex C, C&W blogger and our Guard for the day) that the cab heaters were very effective! It was fascination to watch how quickly a Dogfish wagon emptied, especially after the length of time it took to load up, and the skill of Dave F on the telehandler when filling the wagons. He barely spilled anything and ensured the wagons were very full. 

47105 was kindly left in P1 at Toddington by Tim L the previous day. In P2 is the P'Way train awaiting it's return to Winchcombe. 

With wagons already partially loaded, it was decided to do a pass and unload at Dixton first before heading to Gotherington to re-load. With the loco having 2550hp at its disposal, it was a challenge to maintain a steady and even speed but we quickly got into the groove. It didn't help either that 47105 is a 'series parallel' Class 47 meaning the pick up of power is much more immediate than sister, 47376.   

After dropping the initial load, it was off to Gotherington to load up again before reversing back to the drop site.  

After dropping that lot, it was back for another loading. Fair play to Dave F on the telehandler. He managed to crowbar nearly all the ballast delivery into the two loadings without spilling any. Top effort! This load would wait for the next drop day and so we took it back to Toddington. 

On the way back we propelled the wagons. We were held at Winchcombe as C&W were shunting. Time for a quick pic! 

With the wagons safely secured on siding 1, it was time to put the loco to bed. Another first for us as we were routed into the yard using the re-laid southern turnout at Toddington MPD. 

47105 also made it's 2022 season debut this weekend (19 March) on the diesel diagram of the PURPLE timetable, but not before it was used on the 16 March to take the Class 122 'Bubble Car' to Winchcombe and then Set 3 to Broadway for use on the Race Trains. 

47105 basks in the early spring sunshine at Toddington on the 19/03/22. It had been shunted in to the yard to allow Class 26, D5343 to use the diesel shed. 

Speaking of the 'Bubble', W55003 is now at Carriage and Wagon at Winchcombe awaiting it's turn in the paint shop. It will be receiving a new coat of BR Green before coming back to Toddington for the remainder of the interior to be completed. 

W55003 sits outside Carriage & Wagon, Winchcombe, while it awaits the date with the paint brush. (Courtesy GWSR DMU Facebook page)

Class 117, L425 has also been readied for the new season and was used on the Sunday BLUE timetable on the 13 and 20 March. However, after it's first day it was noticed that oil seemed to be getting into the exhaust. On 19 March, the group investigated the issue and found that one of the engines had been leaking oil, potentially due to a broken piston ring. However, this didn't prevent the unit running on the following day. 

One of the engines on L425 opened up to show the internals. (Courtesy GWSR DMU Facebook page)

Evidence of the engine leaking. A large amount of oil swimming around in the casing. (Courtesy GWSR DMU Facebook page)

Luckily (if you can call it lucky!), the DMU isn't in operation now until later in the year so a full diagnosis can be done and a repair affected where required. 

Back to the mainline fleet, and there has been some good news on the Class 20 front. We should, hopefully, see D8137 back in action at the end of April after completion of it's traction motor and bogie repairs. It still needs a B Exam and a test-run before it can be accepted back into traffic, but it will certainly be a welcome return. It will also mean that owner, Steve M, can then concentrate fully on 20228 in order to hopefully have 'the blue one' ready for the Gala in July. 

D8137 basks in the Spring sunshine in the yard, while 20228 sits inside.

Another loco on the comeback trail is 47376 'Freightliner 1995' which has had new batteries fitted and is currently undergoing a cab refurbishment and B Exam. This has included a general clean and a repaint of all surfaces within the cab - something that has been pushed to the back of the order book with the restoration of 47105 being the priority. Hopefully, the 47/3 will be back in action during April. 

D5343 also continues to take small steps forward in its ongoing restoration. Sanding and paint removal continues on the body work and on the metal work below the sole bar. There has also been the starting of priming the bogies and the cab steps have received their top coat and metal foot plates. Dave S has been busy again with his welding skills as well as the filler as more of the cab sides have been identifies as needing replacing or shoring up with filler before priming and undercoating can take place fully.

D5343 is shunted onto Road 11 to allow Dave S to undertake some welding inside the shed. 

Once complete, it was shunted back outside so that sanding could continue as well as the application of more filler. It would also allow work to recommence in the engine room. 

Dave S finds some more spots that need filling. 

Whilst Dave was busy filling and sanding, Alex R also continued sanding and scraping on and around No. 1 end. He also gave a quick blast of the sander to one of the two crankcase doors that had been removed for paint stripping. 

One of two crankcase doors. There is still a bit of sanding to do before it can receive a new coat of paint. 

Warning plate on the crankcase door. 

Whilst this was going on outside, in the engine room and beneath the loco, myself, Simon T, Tony R and Andy D were busy clearing the bedplate of the engine. With the pistons and liners out you can get very good access and it is amazing what you find swimming around at the oily bottom! With the loco over the pit, myself and Tony descended into the depths to access the bed plate drain. Unlike on Class 37s, where the bed plate drain is on the side of the loco between the fuel and water tanks, on a Class 26 it is directly under the tank...beneath the loco!

 With the block removed, it was time to open the cock to allow the mess in the bottom of the bed plate to drain away. The cock is to the side (centre right) and not the easiest to rotate, requiring four hands, two screwdrivers and a lot of elbow grease!

 Once this had stopped, it was back into the engine room to give the main block a good clean to to try and tease as much of the remaining waste down the drain and into the bucket below the loco. Armed with two squeezy bottles of Kerosene and a small broom fashioned from an old paint brush and a stick, as well as a healthy number of rags, Tony, Andy and I got to work cleaning. 

The inside of the main block of a Sulzer 6LDA28-A power unit devoid of it's pistons and liners. 

Although it wasn't quite as successful as hoped, the progress made means that it won't be too long before the new liners and refurbished pistons can be re-sited in the engine. In the shed, some of the water pipes from D5343 have received their first layers of top coat. 

Blue for water!

The generator repairs also continue on 37215 with most of the brush boxes having been checked and cleaned where necessary. Some individual contactors and arc shields need replacing due to arcing damage and this is being carried out in the coming weeks. After his initial assessment, GG Technical Officer, Paul G, is confident that there is no serious damage to the commutator and that cleaning and preventative maintenance should see it right for the foreseeable future. New insulator pots are on order and these will be fitted when they arrive. It is hoped that the loco will be ready to return to service in May.

Our full timetable gets underway on the 2nd April. We also have the final weekend of services in March. Most days are on the PURPLE timetable where the diesel attaches to the rear of the 1510 from Toddington to Broadway and then works the 1530 Broadway - CRC and 1640 CRC - Toddington. We also see the return of the PINK  timetable on Sundays (except the Easter Bank Holiday) where the diesel will work three round trips of the line starting with the 1015 Toddington to CRC. The roster, as it stands looks a little like this, however the usual caveat applies about failures and changes...   

Date	Timetable	Loco
Sat 26 Mar	Purple	47105
Sun 27 Mar	Purple	47105
Sat 2 Apr	Purple	45149
Sun 3 Apr	Pink	45149
Tues 5 Apr	Purple	45149
Weds 6 Apr	Purple	45149
Thurs 7 Apr	Purple	47105
Sat 9 Apr	Purple	47105
Sun 10 Apr	Pink	47105
Tues 12 Apr	Purple	47105
Weds 13 Apr	Purple	45149
Fri 15 Apr	Purple	47105
Sat 16 Apr	Purple	45149
Sun 17 Apr	Purple	45149
Mon 18 Apr	Purple	47105
Tues 19 Apr	Purple	47105
Weds 20 Apr	Purple	45149
Sat 23 Apr	Purple	45149
Sun 24 Apr	Pink	45149
Tues 26 Apr	Purple	47105
Weds 27 Apr	Purple	47105
Thurs 28 Apr	Purple	45149
Sat 30 Apr	Purple	D8137