It seems only last week was the New Year and we still had a long winter ahead before the start of the running season. However, I must've blinked and missed it all because we are already knocking on the door of the new season!! How?!
Firstly, lets start BIG!! If you keep up with some of our other media channels then you may have already seen that our visitors for the 2026 Diesel Gala (24-26 July 2026) have all been announced! This is new for us as we are generally left waiting until after the Steam Department have had their Gala, however we are stealing the march on them this time!
In my last blog I touched on the fact that we had had a regime change within the GWSR PLC (the bit that owns and operates the railway) and that changes were afoot on the timetable front and on how our Gala is organised. Well, this has been a huge change for us as for this year we have been given the budget to go all out and go a bit mad!! This year we will see three......YES, 3......guest locos for the first time ever! We will also have a bit of a theme running which will be 'Small Sulzers' or 'Rats' as we will be joined by:
Class 25, 25262 courtesy of South Devon Diesel Traction Ltd
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| Of the thirteen original 'Eastfield' allocated Class 25s, three survived to the very end of the fleet's active life, March 1987. 25262 (seen above & later to become 25901) was one of those fortunate machines. It is seen here on October 11th 1981 undergoing repair/servicing at Springs Branch depot. (Tony Sayer) |
Class 27, 27056 courtesy of Northampton Type 2 Group
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| Newly refurbished Class 27, 27056 will make its first ever (and first Class visit) to the GWSR for the 2026 Diesel Gala. (Neal Whitehead) |
For our Hydraulic fans, we will be having Class 35, Hymek. D7018 courtesy of the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group.
D7018 makes a first visit to the GWSR from our friends at the WSR and DEPG. (Peter Smith)
As you can imagine this is pretty ambitious for us but will offer you, the punter, with the only opportunity in the UK to have each Class of small Sulzer, all in BR Blue livery, all in one place!
And, we haven't stopped there! On the Sunday of the Gala we will be honouring our Gloucestershire neighbours; the one and only Pathfinder Tours, who ceased trading at the end of 2025. Not only does Pathfinder Tours hold many happy memories for many of our volunteers (as I am sure it does for many reading this) but many of our locos worked Pathfinder Tours over the years, including 20137, 37215, 45149, 47105 and visitor 25262! So, on Sunday, not only will Peter Watts and some of the team be in attendance but all locos will wear headboards from many of the tours run by Pathfinder over the last half a century!
As with the last couple of years we will also be offering the pre-Gala Night Photoshoot. If you are interested in attending this go here - https://gwsr.com/whats-on/toddington-diesel-night-shoot/
It doesn't end there, either! Apparently there is more to be announced in due course. Safe to say, this years' Gala is going to be HUGE!!
For the first time in a long while we operated over the February half term period. Although this didn't offer any diesel running it was a good opportunity to get some early running in and bring some pre-season money in. However, the later start for the diesels doesn't mean that we are resting on our laurels in the department. Far from it!
With the season proper starts on Saturday 7th March with our 'BLUE' timetable there was a real urgency to try and get our Class 122, W55003, fit for traffic for the first time in nearly 15 years! As previously mentioned in blogs, the owning group that looked after all of our DMU vehicles had disbanded and uncertainty hung over the future of our 'bubble-car' and Class 117 DMBS, W51360. However, this seems to have all been resolved and an agreement reached between new owners and the Diesel Department to assist in the maintenance of the DMU fleet. From a budget perspective the DMUs do come under the Department responsibility, so it makes sense - even more so when we have bus engine expertise within the Department.
So, with the new agreement in place, a small group splintered away from those working on the mainline fleet to assist with some of the heavier tasks on the 'bubble-car'. This included fitting of a new fuel tank and, on the 28th Jan the Class 122 was parked over a pit in readiness for the tank to be test fitted.
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| Class 122, W55003 sits over the pit on Road 8 in readiness for the fitting of its new fuel tank. |
The previous tank had been removed as it had extensive rust and was not really fir for purpose so a new one had been ordered by the new owners. This was winched into the pit where Duncan, Andy D and Keith were waiting fit it.
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| Duncan leads the conversation on how can we do this. The new tank is on a pump trolley waiting to go under the unit. |
The test fit was successful; it was a perfect fit and a week later was all fitted and plumbed in ready for use. This coincided with some electrical work in the cabs that had been outstanding for a while.
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| The trolley takes the strain as the tank is fitted in place. |
All this work culminated in a long awaited test run for W55003 which took place on 8th Feb. The test run would see the 'bubble-car' reach Broadway for the first time ever in preservation - it would have worked through Broadway when used on the services from Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham St James. In face, W55003 was the last unit used on these services but, when the 'bubble-car' last ran on the GWSR in 2012 Broadway was still a pipe dream!
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| W55003 heads back to Toddington MPD after making several trips up to Broadway and back on it's first test run. (Dave Stanton) |
Despite a few minor issues the test runs were deemed successful enough to set up a Driver Training Day on the 21st Feb in between services on the half-term week. With a handful of Drivers successfully re-certified the 'bubble-car' is scheduled to make it's long awaited return to traffic on the 7th March. This will mean that Hayles Abbey Halt will make a welcome return to the timetable after several years without any stopping services and, on busier days, we can look at DMU shuttle returning alongside the main services for the first time in a long, long while.
However, W55003 hasn't been the only member of the Diesel fleet to be out and about during the winter. Class 26, 26043 has been particularly active with a number of test runs undertaken after some minor fettling works.
On the 18 Feb, the 'McRat' was used to trip a new arrival to Winchcombe for assessment and eventual repair.
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| Class 26, 26043 passes Class 04, D2280 with the Inspection Saloon at the start of the trip to Winchcombe. |
The railway took delivery of a former BR Inspection Saloon which has been purchased privately by a member of the GWSR. The saloon arrived from Llangollen and will eventually be used for private hire parties.
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| The crew of 26043 take the well-used Hayles Abbey Halt opportunity for a photostop during the trip working of the new Inspection Saloon to Winchcombe on the 18/02/26. If only the Saloon was in BR Blue and Grey.....! (Dave Stanton) |
The 'McRat' has also been used assisting our P'way team with moving materials to worksites along the line at the end of February.
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| 26043 was utilised on a rail drop for the P'way Team on 27/02 at Dixton and Defford. (CMDG FB Page) |
Inbetween it's excursions, the Class 26 has been having a number of minor jobs completed to make it ready for it's first vacation in over 4 years. The 'McRat' will be heading to the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway for their Diesel Gala over the 20 - 22 March. The loco will also be undertaking a Driver Experience Day at the CPRR on 1st April. See their website for full details - https://www.chinnorrailway.co.uk/
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| A fluid top up for 26043. |
Another loco to be utilised on stock moves was Class 37. 37215 which was used to move Rake 1 from Winchcombe to Toddington ready for the February Half-Term services.
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| Under unseasonably blue skies, 37215 runs around Rake 1 at Winchcombe before taking the set to Toddington on 14/02/26. (Andrew Stratford) |
Unusually, both 26043 and 37215 have been the only mainline locos that have spent the winter in operational condition with the rest of the fleet out of traffic for maintenance requirements or having been winterised.
Both Class 47s have been out of traffic to allow for a number of jobs to be completed that have been outstanding for a while. The opportunity has also been taken to give the cabs a bit of a touch up and spring clean.
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| The cab seats in 47376 have been dismantled for a clean and repaint. |
47376 has had its cab seats dismantled and the stands removed for cleaning and a repaint. Over the years they can become pretty grotty and the mechanisms can fail meaning the seats will not adjust.
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| Undercoat applied to the first set of seat stands. |
Our BR Blue Class 20, 20228 has had its exhauster fitted and tested in situ. It is hoped that it will now, at some point in 2026, be in a position to run independently on timetabled services - although it will still run together with sister 20137 in multiple. '137' is in the process of being 'de-winterised' with its AVR being refitted as temperatures now start to rise.
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| 20137 rests in the yard at Toddington on 11/02 as it works up to serviceable condition ready for 2026s timetable. |
Work is also continuing on the electrical issues that have kept 'Peak' 45149 out of traffic for most of 2025. This work has had to go on around the continued fettling of fellow CMDG loco, 26043, but it certainly hasn't been forgotten and it is hoped the loco will be fit for traffic soon. One big job undertaken was the refitting of one of the five underframe air tanks that had been sent away for a repair.
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Class 45, 45149 sits over one of the pits awaiting the re-fitting of one of its underframe air tanks. |
This was certainly not an easy task as the suspension brackets are in quite awkward places and need a certain amount of flexibility to reach the bolt holes....let alone fit and secure them! And, that is before the pipes are re-attached. Andy D drew the short straw with myself and Tony R bearing the weight and alignment.
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| The newly overhauled tank awaits lifting into position. |
However, the big job amongst our locos emerged on Class 37, D6948. At the end of the running year the oil in our locos is tested to identify any issues that may be emerging (such as the presence of any metal sherds or water contamination) or indicating potential issues with engine parts. We already knew of a few small jobs that needed doing with D6948 but its oil sample returned a red flag that had the potential to be pretty major. The sample from D6948 showed that water and coolant had managed to get into the engine oil. This is indicative of a failure in the cylinders and so investigations started quickly to identify any tell-tale evidence of this.
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| The evidence - B1 cylinder showing clear evidence of water ingress. (Kev Jarvis) |
After removing all the engine covers it quickly became apparent that the water was ingressing via B1 cylinder. No other cylinders were showing signs of water ingress but a pressure test was conducted to make 100% sure. This identified that it was only B1 showing any sign of failure and so it was decided by the owners to remove B1 piston and liner to look for damage or signs of failure.
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| D6948 is drained of its coolant and water ready for the removal of B1 piston and liner. |
With the loco drained of coolant and water, it was time to prep the loco for the removal of the leaky cylinder set. This required the removal of the rocker head and cover.
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| The rocker head is removed to allow access to the piston and liner. The head is in very good condition and should only need a bit of a clean up. |
With the head removed it was now a case of waiting for a dry day to get D6948 under the gantry in the yard so that the piston and liner could be lifted out. This takes the use of some specialist equipment that needed to be dug out from wherever it had been stowed away the last time we finished using it!
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| Dave H tries to remember how it goes together! |
Luckily the weather has changed a bit over the last month and so it enabled Wednesday 11 Feb to be earmarked for the removal. D6948 was shunted out of the shed and under the A-Frame. Paul G, Keith and Andy T had made a start to enable D6948 to be outside for the least possible time - just in case it did rain! Although it was cold the rain held off!
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| Andy T oversees the lifting of the piston. Paul G and Keith were in the engine room whilst myself and Hugh were in charge of the shunting! |
The end of the day saw both the piston and liner out of the loco and hanging up in the shed. Initial assessments seem to indicate that the piston rings have failed in some way, although it wasn't necessarily evident on the first, quick look. However, it does mean that the loco will be out of traffic until at least the middle of April. Hopefully, it will be back in time for the first 'Double Up Sunday' on the 26th April where it is due to run with sister, 37215.
Rosters
Services start on Saturday 7 March with Class 122, W55003 making a long-awaited return to traffic after a protracted overhaul. Services will also operate every weekend through March with the 'bubble-car' operating. Tuesday 31 March sees 37215 operate the first mainline diesel turn on the PURPLE timetable.
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Date |
TT |
Rostered Loco |
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07 March |
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W55003 |
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08 March |
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W55003 |
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14 March |
|
W55003 |
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15 March |
|
W55003 |
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21 March |
|
W55003 |
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22 March |
|
W55003 |
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28 March |
|
W55003 |
|
29 March |
|
W55003 |
|
31 March |
|
37215 |
