Firstly, a bit of bad news. You may have already seen on social media that the Cotswold Diesel Railcar Limited (CDRL), the owners of our DMU fleet, have taken the decision to place the Class 117 set, L425 (vehicles W51363, W59510 and W51405) up for sale. A versatile part of the motive power fleet, the DMUs have always struggled for attention as, unlike all the other owning groups, the CDRL have never really had a stable group of volunteers looking exclusively after the DMUs and have relied on other groups to help out when workloads were quiet. In more recent times a core handful of volunteers have stepped up to keep the '117' operational, as well as complete the overhaul on the Class 122 'bubble car', however changes in domestic circumstances have meant a couple have had to reduce their volunteering workloads.
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| L425 sat at Toddington on a grey overcast day. The unit is sadly up for sale after the owning group decided to 'downsize'. |
It'll be a huge shame if the three-car does leave the railway - it seems the hope is a new group will take it on who will keep the '117' at the GWSR and bring a solid group of volunteers to keep it maintained and fit for traffic however time will tell what the outcome will be.
The Class 122, it is hoped, will remain at the GWSR along with Class 117 DMBS W51360, with a hope that the 'bubble car' will be back in 2025. The 'spare' DMBS will potentially be used to 'strengthen' the Class 122 capacity - as was done during the 1970s and 80s under BR on rural branches, particularly in Devon and Cornwall.
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| Class 122 after release from Carriage and Wagon in August 2022. It was undergoing asbestos removal before the interior could be refitted. This will be staying on the GWSR as part of the CDRL fleet. |
The CDRL are also still looking at finding a buyer for the 'forgotten' spare Class 117 DMBS, W51372, which is currently sat at the end of the north siding at Toddington.
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| Also still for sale is DMBS W51372. It is currently dumped up in the north siding after component recovery. |
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| 47105 with its celebratory cake during the BT4F's 'Members Day' on 2nd August. (Courtesy of the BT4F's Facebook page) |
The '47s' were also in heavy use throughout August as the operational loco mileages are evened out towards the end of the running season.
The following week saw The Growler Group and Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group have their running day for their specific celebrations. 37215 and D6948 had started the week off with their 'Double Up Sunday' event on the 11th August.
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| Sunday 11th saw a contingent from the Gloucestershire Mini Owners Group turn up for the morning. Prior to the brake test they requested a big green backdrop for some pics! D6948 obliges and poses in the Parlour Road. |
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| From the other side. |
The weather was good, although overcast first thing, but this didn't deter a horde of extra punters (not just enthusiasts but families too) who, no doubt, were enjoying the last throes of the school Summer Holidays. It was great to see a Sunday so busy with both the diesel-hauled and steam-hauled trains busy throughout the day.
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| D6948 prepares to lead 37215 away from Toddington on the final run back to Cheltenham on the 11th August. |
The main events were on the Friday 16th August where the '37s' were utilised on one train for The Growler Group's 60th Birthday Celebrations for both 37215 and D6948. 45149 was utilised on the second train for the CMDG Members and Fundraising train. Turnouts for both trains were excellent with numbers hovering around the hundred marks for both trains. Again, the weather was superb and this bade well for The Growler Group, in particular, as the day was being filmed by Hellfire TV for a celebration DVD of the event. You can see the promo edit of the DVD here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-aGfBbI7vc Details of the release can be found in due course on the Growler Group website.
On top of this, the Group also had a full article in Railways Illustrated where yours truly (in my role of GG Publicity Officer) was interviewed to publicise the event as well as the Group in general.
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| Front cover of Railways Illustrated....looks good! |
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| Many thanks to Andy Coward and RI for the article. Hopefully the first of many to come. |
The two 'Tractors' were faultless throughout the day right up until the last arrival at Broadway. D6948 had been leading from Cheltenham, giving myself and John G (who were crewing on 37215 a bit of a break), however as we prepared to run round the train to return to Toddington....nothing happened! A minute or so later and Tony B, one of the crew on D6948, appeared at the droplight window to inform us that D6948 couldn't create vacuum to release the brakes.
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| Preparations for the celebrations ahead. 37215 and D6948 bask in the early morning sunshine on the 16th as the crews (myself included) got the locos ready. |
With the locos working in tandem (the multiple working on 37215 is isolated), it meant that we would have to operate using '215s' exhausters to create brake to get us back. Not a massive hardship as, when we had run round and '215' was leading, this would be normal operation anyway. It just meant that for the run round, and getting the locos back on shed, we had to be a little more careful when D6948 was leading. This hick-up failed to dampen the day and the hundred or so attendees all went home happy, with some calling for similar event in 2025.
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| After D6948 decided not to play anymore, 37215 prepares to lead the final service back to Toddington after a hugely successful day. |
As for the CMDG, the 'Peak' ran faultlessly during the day having had repairs completed on its heat exchanger cover which had failed during the Diesel Gala in July. The 'Peak Army' were definitely out in force to help the CMDG raise some much needed funds, increase their own exposure but also celebrate 45149 and D5343 having passed the decade of running in preservation mark - both locos made their debuts during the 2013 Diesel Gala. As a weird twist of fate, it was D5343 failing during that Gala in 2013 that indirectly ended up with me volunteering for the GWSR!
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| The 'Peak' received a much needed spruce up prior to the Gala, and it still looked tip-top for its running day on the 16th August. |
But, it didn't end there! There was a pair of locomotives that hadn't savoured the 'Double Up Sunday' thus far. Well, that was to change on Sunday 25th August as Class 20s, 20137 and 20228 made their debut on the PINK timetable. Having successfully worked in multiple together during the Gala, it was only going to be a matter of time before they made an appearance on the 'Double Up Sunday' timetable. There will be one final opportunity to spend a Sunday behind them both on Sunday 22nd Sept before owner, Steve M, takes '228' out of traffic to concentrate on getting the overhauled exhauster fitted and operating so that it can operate on its own in 2025 as well as in a pair.
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| The final 'celebration' saw Class 20s, 20137 and 20228 make their bow on the 'Double Up Sunday' services. It would also mark 30 Years in preservation for 20137. |
20137 would also get an extra turn on the 12th when it worked the P'way train during a line possession. We haven't had many requirements to work the P'way and ballast trains this year so this was a welcome change to the normal operation.
On the maintenance front, work has started on the engine overhaul of Class 24, 5081. On the 10th Aug, Tim L and a number of the BT4F engineers maneuvered the 'Rat' over to the A-Frame gantry and started the arduous process of removing the pistons and liners from the block.
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| The first three pistons removed from the engine block of Class 24, 5081. This is the first time they have seen daylight for a long time! |
With the weather being favourable, and very warm, by the end of the day the group had managed to remove all of the pistons and a couple of the liners. Those that were removed appeared to still be in pretty good condition - surprising, considering this is probably the first time they had been removed since the mid-1970s! The rapidly approaching winter maintenance period will hopefully see the repairs completed and the 'Rat' back in traffic for 2025.
Hopefully, it will also be joined in returning in 2025 by fellow Type 2, D5343, as its overhaul continues to check off the milestones. Most, if not all, the new steel has been welded in place around the cabs, smoothed down and primer applied. The headlight receptacles have been fashioned and are awaiting the light units to be fitted. Windows have been removed on the fronts to prepare for painting but also to allow new seals to be fitted, as the previous ones were prone to leaking during heavy rain.
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| The Class 26 sits in the Diesel Shed as a static exhibit during the 2024 Gala. As you can see, no. 1 end cab front has almost been completely rebuilt and huge patches of primer have started to be added. |
Elsewhere, the external refresh continues ready for its new coats of paint. Some of the underframe has been completed in black, as has some of the underframe pipe work. The cabs continue to receive a lot of attention as well, with the fixtures and fittings being repainted and new plastics being fashioned.
After failing at the end of its 60th Anniversary running day, the fault that afflicted D6948 was traced to the brake feed cut-off valves. It is though that this was the same issue that caused D6948 to be failed on the morning of day 2 of the Diesel Gala. The brake feed cut-off valves were removed and replaced with a pair that had been overhauled a few years ago. Those that were removed will also be sent away for overhaul and will be placed back in spares. Both '37s' have also had straight air brake valves replaced over the last few months. These seem to brake quite easily and can be easily identified by the continual leaking of air from below the handle when the straight air brake is released. Other than this, both locos are fighting fit with not a lot of work so far identified for the winter.
With the end of the season in sight, September is the final month where mainline diesels will be out on most days before the 'off-peak' timetable kicks in with the DMU seeing a substantial amount of running. The two 'Double Up Sunday' events of the month will see the Class 20s on Sun 22nd and the Class 37s on the 29th.
September's loco roster looks like this, usual caveats apply...
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Date/TT |
Rostered
Loco |
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Sun 01 Sept - Pink |
47105 |
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Tues 03 Sept - Purple |
47105 |
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Wed 04 Sept - Purple |
47105 |
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Thu 05 Sept - Blue |
L425 |
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Sat 07 Sept - Purple |
45149 |
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Sun 08 Sept - Pink |
45149 |
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Tues 10 Sept - Purple |
20137 |
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Wed 11 Sept - Purple |
20137 |
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Thu 12 Sept -
Blue |
L425 |
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Sat 14 Sept -
Purple |
D6948 |
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Sun 15 Sept - Pink |
D6948 |
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Tues 17 Sept -
Purple |
37215 |
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Wed 18 Sept -
Purple |
37215 |
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Thu 19 Sept -
Blue |
L425 |
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Sat 21 Sept -
Purple |
20137 |
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Sun 22 Sept -
Pink |
20137/20228 |
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Tues 24 Sept -
Purple |
47376 |
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Wed 25 Sept -
Purple |
47376 |
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Thu 26 Sept -
Blue |
L425 |
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Sat 28 Sept -
Purple |
D6948 |
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Sun 29 Sept -
Pink |
37215/D6948 |
