No respite!

July has started off where June finished.....passenger numbers continue to astound and wall to wall sun with temperatures well into the late 20's and early 30's!

Inside the Diesel Mess on the 1st July, the thermometer read 37.4 Celsius and for those of us attending the mid morning department meeting a very uncomfortable hour or so, slowly stewing in our own sweat! Even copious amounts of tea (or water, depending on your poison) could not keep the collective temperatures down. A slight breeze outside made things slightly more bearable until one got to work!

Whilst the meeting was conducted Mark E was continuing the preparatory work on No. 1 bogie of 5081 which was earmarked for refitting beneath the locomotive on the 8th July. Mark was to join us in the meeting for the last 20 minutes; taking a break from the heat in the shed.

Almost there! No.1 bogie is fully reassembled redy for refitting under 5081.

The brake calipers ready to receive brand new brake blocks.

The painting of the bufferbeam on 47376 'Freightliner1995' had been completed in time for it to take its place for its rostered duties over the weekend.

So clean you could eat your dinner off of it......maybe not!

New steel added to repair corrosion holes. No more drafty cab!

47376 gleams in the sun awaiting its turn of duty on the PURPLE timetable.

The other Brush Type 4, 1693, was also receiving some more attention with sanding continuing along its bodyside and on the front ends. Dave finished off the lower part of No.1 end before removing the tail lamp cases and starting to remove paint from these. He would also go on to do No. 2 end before heading out on 47376. Rumour abounds that a colour scheme has now been chosen by the owning group, however, this remains a closely guarded secret.

Covering everything in the shed in dust! 1693 receives its rub down.

New steel plate for the handrail. Notice the Immingham shed code sticker.....the loco was only based there for 6 months during 1973.

Tail lamp holders removed and sanded.

However, you can catch up with the ongoing refurbishments of 1693 and 5081 (plus other locos in the fleet) during our Gala over the 27th, 28th and 29th July as both locomotives will be on static display. More details are at the bottom of this blog.

Whilst Dave was busy carpeting the shed in paint dust myself, Andy D, Steve M and Ben E ventured outside to perform a little experiment using his Class 73. E6036 is to be used with the Class 117 (as is his Class 20) over the Gala on 'drags'. One problem that was needing overcoming was how to couple up the locos to the DMU. Rather helpfully the vacuum pipes on the DMU are on the same side as any facing locomotive meaning that coupling up was proving difficult. In BR days, a rescuing locomotive would be stopped short, the vacuum pipes connected and then the locomotive would be shunted forward before being coupled to the unit. Time consuming and potentially too dangerous for a heritage railway. A better, and more expedient way was required. Andy had managed to secure a trio of spare vacuum pipes from our colleagues in Carriage and Wagon for us to try. After firing up the ED, we shunted it across to Siding 2 where the 117 was having a spot of running maintenance courtesy of George.

Steve and Ben clamber out of the ED as I have set the road ready to back up to the DMU.

As George, Ben and myself look on, Andy and Steve wrestle with the vacuum pipe to see if a solution can be found.

After trying the shorter extensions, this one worked well. Steve, though, was a little worried about how far down it now hung and the possibility of it catching. 

A winning solution. A jubilee clip, a spring and a hole on the DMU buffer beam. Blue Peter eat your heart out!!

With a solution found and agreed on Andy raced off to get ready for his turn with Dave.

Dave and Andy pass by on 47376.

With not much else happening, Steve, Ben and I turned our attention to 20035, Steve's spares donor. Steve was keen to remove the remaining louvre doors, the sanding pipework and the battery box covers. After initial attempts, the louvre doors were left for another time. Therefore, I went after the sanding system pipework and Ben went after the battery box covers. A lot of the pipe work, given the length of time the loco has been in store (here and in France), has become more than a bit stubborn and, after a lot of cursing, shouting and lubrication, one part of the sanding system came away from the sanding box. The others weren't quite so willing and a date with the cutting disc awaits.

One stubborn piece of Class 20 pipework.

Ben was having much more luck with his angle grinder and the battery boxes. He was able to remove both doors that will now go into Steve's spares reserve for D8137 and 20228.

Battery acid does a lot of damage to the inside of the box. 

A Tortoiseshell Butterfly takes a break from the heat on the Timken wheelcap. 

The following weekend - 8th July - saw an important milestone in the refurbishment of Class 24, 5081. When I arrived at Toddington Road 10 was strangely vacant with only D8137 in attendance. 47376 was sat in the sunshine outside. The mess room was also eerily quiet! After a quick search round I found Martin, Tim, Mark S, Dean, Paul G, Mark E and Dave M all in the David Page Shed! No, they hadn't defected to the Steam Department. 5081 had been shunted onto Road 7 where the Motive Power Departments lifting jacks are located and was being prepped ready for lifting and repatriation with bogie No.1. It is a very exact science, not least of all because of the weight being moved. Paul, Tim and Mark are all railwaymen and the importance of getting it right was not lost on any of us, least of all them.

The refurbished bogie sits in the sun ready for resiting under the locomotive. 

5081 sits on Road 7 whilst the lifting jacks are moved into position. 

A precision job. One of the jacks is positioned next to the lifting point and is raised until the pin can go through both the jack and lifting block. Any unevenness could result in the loco falling from the jack.

The final pre-flight checks.

Tim, Paul and Mark deep in conversation as the loco is suspended above the shed floor.

Flying high!

With bogie No.2 then removed, No.1 was repositioned back under the locomotive. The 'spare' bogie was also removed, to be turned on Monday and repositioned back under the locomotive in place of bogie No. 2.

Out front in the car park, heritage of another persuasion was taking place. The 8th saw the railway's annual Bus Gala taking place. This year a record 40+ buses had confirmed attendance ranging from more recent DDA compliant single deckers to 60+ year old Bristol buses. The weather, again, was stupendous - the temperature in the low 30s (although the thermometer was showing 43.8 in the Diesel Mess!), which saw a bumper crowd attend. Many taking the opportunity to ride up to Broadway on one of two open top Bristol buses in attendance.

National Welsh...brings back memories!

Diesels of a different persuasion.

Another that brings back personal memories....a Bristol Omnibus Bristol RE. 

Crosville's open top Bristol Lodekka.

Back in the yard, George had moved the green DMBS W51363 onto Road 9 for a little running repair.

George positions W51363 over the pit on Road 9.

The Saturday had saw more work on Brush Type 4, 1693's overhaul. The tail light holders had been removed from the loco, sanded and primer added. They were hanging on makeshift hangers, the heat in the shed aiding drying.

Tail light holders, primed and drying out. Flame cuts from two of RES's Class 47 fleet adorn the rear wall.

More sanding!

Matt continued with some sanding on No.2 end of the loco. At the end of the day the loco was positioned in the car park ready to have the roof section lifted on Monday after 5081 has its bogie turned. 

I was rostered on the last turn of the day with Kev on 37215. After things had calmed down a little the blue '37' was moved out into the yard (along with D6948 to minimise the amount of dust getting on to the body work) and prepped. Matt was observed doing it by Kev before I went and completed the prep ready for service as part of my Driver training and Gala preparations for Matt. Prior to this Kev was busy repairing one of the Growler Group's tail lamps. An audit had been done in the previous week that had identified that none of the electric tail lamps worked in the department. Under new ORR regulations all have to be operational so it meant sorting out the lectrics and testing batteries. However, these aren't any old batteries and are very difficult to source.

You won't find these in your local Halfords. The acid crystals give a definite indication of why they failed!

Work was also continuing on the 'Bubble Car', W55003. With a lot of the body work completed and awaiting painting, the majority of the doors refitted, attention has moved onto the electrical systems and on the mechanical side of things. The Class 122 will also be on display for our Gala.

No filter required!

The only other thing to be happening over the weekend was some of the more mundane Gala preparation. Around the walls of the shed we have some presentation posters that give people information about the fleet, the department and how they work. Its probably been about 4 years since they were at floor level and cleaned. Also, with the shed being off limits for most of the year, not a lot of people actually see them! One of the things I have been charged with was getting them down, cleaning them and then looking at how else we could present them so that more people would see them - or at least the ones describing the fleet. Paul beat me to it, as he was up during the week. He managed to get them all down and cleaned some. These were refitted on the wall inside the shed except the one that gave an overview of the Department. This one, he bolted to the outside of the shed next to the entrance so that anyone going down into the yard can read it. During the DMG meeting it was quite noticable the number of people that stopped and read it! The remainder I cleaned up ready for the Gala. Most would be place next to the respective locomotives or by the respective owner group stands.

Ever wondered what the inside of a Class 47 looks like?

It was then time to get 37215 out to the Signal Box to await the arrival of the last train from Broadway so that we could take it forward to Cheltenham. Its lucky that we get such a good view of the Cotswolds.........

Waiting for GOD........Dinmore Manor!

So......GALA news!

As previously mentioned we now have TWO hydraulics visiting for our Back to Broadway Gala. We have Beyer Peacock Type 3 'Hymek', D7017 courtesy of our good friends at the Diesel Electric Preservation Group at Williton (WSR) as well as the previously advertised BR Type 4 'Warship' D832 'Onslaught' from the Bury Diesel Group (ELR). Timetables and provisional locomotive allocations are available on the gala section of the GWSR website or by clicking HERE.

This year's Gala will be the first to offer a fully open site to visitors - therefore not requiring those people who just want to have a nose around the sites to buy tickets. However, do remember that if you wish to travel on any train service over the three days YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE A VALID TICKET/WRISTBAND TO TRAVEL! Ticket inspectors will be travelling on all services and penalty fares will be in operation. Also, Hailes Abbey Halt will not see stopping services during the event.

If you want to know more, or you want a stand or bring a model railway to the event visit the GWSR Gala page HERE.

We hope to see you there to share in the biggest Diesel Gala the GWSR has ever hosted.

GALA 2018 Update

A very brief update on things.

Just when you think everything is ready and plans have fallen into place.....a curve ball is thrown! However, on this occasion, it is a pleasant curve ball and a very positive update on the subject of our 2018 Gala - 27-29 July 2018. It is set to be the largest and most intensive gala ever run at the GWR and we had thought that bringing in Class 42 'Warship' D832 'Onslaught' for the party would be good enough. But, no, it needed to be bigger! So, hot of the press, the organisers are pleased to announce (drum roll and fanfare, please).......a SECOND guest locomotive!! Courtesy of our good friends at the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group at Williton (WSR) we welcome back.......

Class 35 / Type Diesel Hydraulic 'HYMEK' - D7017.

Our good friend D7017 returns to fulfil a request from the DEPG. Pictured at Loughborough (GCR) in 2017.

On its last visit to the GWR in 2014, the members of the DEPG requested that D7017 (or D7018, if it was fit to run) be allowed to return when Broadway was open, something we are happy to accommodate for our summer extravaganza. It will be the first time a hydraulic has run through Broadway since the 1970's, the first time that two hydraulics have been on the line in preservation and, we will have two of the three currently operational Hydraulics at one gala!! Couple that with our home operational fleet of Classes 20, 26, 37 (x2), 45, 47 and 73 along with both Class 04's (11230 and D2280), Class 24, 5081, Class 47, 1693 and Class 122, W55003 on static display, it plans to be a weekend not to be missed!

The timetable will see up to 10 departures from Broadway each day using our three rakes of Mk 1s and our DMU on drags utilising Class 20, D8137 and Class 73, E6036.

Please remember, however, that to travel on services you will need a valid travel pass and wrist band. Ticket inspectors will be operating on all services. For more up to date information, including loco allocations (to be confirmed), click HERE.

Elsewhere, the weekend just passed (23/24 May) saw the first of our two hostings this year of that 'most useful' engine...Thomas the Tank Engine! The weather was superb and the crowds plentiful.

The crew warm Thomas up ready for the exhertions in the heat.

The 'Thomas' weekend gives three of the diesel fleet the opportunity to stretch their legs. It is the usual preserve of two of our BR Blue liveried locos - normally 37215 and 45149. However, the 'Peak' is currently undergoing a little electrical work so it was an opportunity to go all 'English Electric' with our BR Green Class 37, D6948, joining its sister on timetabled turns.

An EE invasion at Winchcombe.

D6948 was used on the Cheltenham - Winchcombe shuttle services, whilst 37215 fulfilled its usual role sharing the Toddington - Winchcombe services with Thomas.

The gathering cloud darkens the BR Green on D6948's body side as she runs round at Winchcombe.

Taking a well earned break. 37215 takes a breather from shuttle duties and cab visits at Winchcombe.

Not to be forgotten, our Class 117 three- car set was utilised on the Broadway - Toddington shuttles mascaurading as 'Daisy'. With the timetable seeing a lot of mainline steam services of late it has given the CDRG volunteers time to undertake some niggling and long standing issues and she ran faultlessly throughout the weekend.

'Daisy' waits for passengers to disembark at Toddington before heading back to Broadway. (Courtesy of the GWSR DMU Group/CDRG) 

W51405 continues to receive a substantial amount of TLC down at Carriage and Wagon, Winchcombe. This is a much larger job than first anticipated and will see the DMS at Winchcombe for a while longer. You can keep up to speed with all the happenings on W51405 HERE. The 'Bubble Car' also continues to receive work on its body and internal structures over weekends.

D5081's No.1 bogie overhaul nears completion and it is hoped that in the next few weeks a time can be found to get the loco on to the jacks in the David Page shed ready to replace No.1 bogie back under the loco, remove No.2 bogie and reset the donor.

Brush Type 4, 1693's overhaul continues with the bodysides now being rubbed down. The front ends have all been rubbed back and now the bodywork above the solebar has now gone back to the metal.

Locomotive roster for July.....

PURPLE TIMETABLE
30 June/01 July - 47376 'Freightliner 1995'

07/08 July         - Class 37 (TBC)

14/15 July         - 45149

21/22 July         - D6948

31 July              - 47376 'Freightliner 1995'

BLUE TIMETABLE
03/04/05/10/11/12/17/18/19/24/25/26 - DMU

Make hay whilst the sun shines!

Its been fairly quiet at Toddington TMD over the last few weeks as the summer season approaches and the railway sees a lot of special events that take over the Diesel Shed, meaning that weekend work has to be carefully organised around these weekends. May is certainly always the busiest month for events and it means that any work either has to revert to weekdays or be postponed - allowing some us to help out with the running of the events. However, this doesn't mean that we drop the ball....the locomotives still receive attention as they are needed.

The larger scale projects continue with the work on Type 4/Class 47, 1693, progressing further. On the 20th May, with all cylinders now ensconced in their respective liners, work on the power unit had moved to the external body work. Tim L was busy rubbing down around the cabsides and the front ends. At either end, work had already started on priming and painting the locomotive's buffer beam and pipework.

Tim L gets to work with the sander on 1693/47105.

Primed and ready for painting. 

The amount of dust covering the floor at the end of the day was testament to the amount of paint that was removed. A new colour scheme has yet to be chosen for 1693, however, given that the loco was one of the few to remain in BR blue until withdrawal, the options are perhaps a bit limited.

Next to 1693, on Road 10, the wheel set refurbishment on the first bogie of Class 24, 5081, was nearing completion. The Traction Motors had been repainted and repositioned between the wheels allowing the remainder of the braking system to be refitted. Most of this work has been going on during the week and it has been quite surprising to see the speed with which the refurbishment has moved into the final stage of phase 1. It won't be long before the locomotive is moved back onto the jacks for the removal of no.2 bogie and the refitting of no.1 bogie.

The screw mechanism for the hand brake on 5081's refurbished bogie. 

No, not a black box!

Out in the yard preparations were ongoing for the Cotswold Festival of Steam with two of the four visitors sat in the yard. On walking out into the yard, it was a little strange to find one of the visitors ticking!! Diesels tick; they are fitted with Spirax Valves to allow the release of moisture from the air system and can be heard for hours after a loco has been shut down. But a steam engine with a Spirax valve? Well.......this one has them!

WD S160, 5197, visiting from the Churnet Valley Railway.

The American build S160 Class had air powered auxiliary systems similar to those found on Diesels. The source of the ticking was the Spirax Valves under the tender!

The afternoon diesel turn was being covered by EE Type 3, D6948, and a shunt was required to get her out of the shed. Myself and Richard Scott were rostered as crew so a shunt was in the offing. Our ED, Class 73, E6036, was sat outside so, with the Class 04 being used with the 'kettles' and DES still out of action, the ED was fired up and used as the depot Super Shunter. As a locomotive that doesn't see much use away from the P'Way train I haven't had much experience with this particular locomotive and Richard is one of only a handful of people who can drive it.

One of the unsung 'heroes' of the railway, Class 73, E6036.

One of the locos redeaming features, making it ideal for ballast work, is the fact that it is the only mainline engine in the fleet that can be driven from either side of the cab. It also only has a 600hp English Electric engine making it more suited to slower speed workings.

The cab of the Class 73 is symmetrical making it driveable from either side of the cab. D6948's nose can be glimpsed through the rectangular windows!

Richard eases D6948 out of the shed. 

Elsewhere in the yard the ever shortening time that Class 20, 20035, has with us was more evident. After removing the side doors and roof, the frames have now been cut away giving easier access to the power unit. Once a concrete platform has been laid near to the mess room the engine can be removed and placed in storage.

20035's exposed power plant. Although it doesn't look particularly healthy, apparently, it is in pretty reasonable condition.

Generator, Traction Motor Blower and Fire Extinguisher stand in front of the electrical cubicle. 

On a more positive note, DES's extended period out of traffic could soon be at an end. The owners have been in contact with Timken with regards the correct grades for steel for the spacers and the information gained has allowed progression on the new abutment rings. Spacers should be forthcoming shortly, although, the spec has to be exact. It is hoped that the wheelset will have returned by the end of June and the loco up on the jacks by the end of July. In the meantime Paul, Chris and the team have been busy cleaning up the traction motor brush boxes. The main generator brush boxes have seen similar work, one brush box was found to be loose and has been repaired. The air compressor was removed to address an issue with the fixing bolts and has now been refitted. Finally the batteries have been removed to address corrosion in the battery compartment.

Chris was hard at work finishing off the refurb of the battery box. 

It was then off to prep D6948, however the loco seemed to have acquired a particularly strange, and previously unnoticed, hood ornament!! Dean, one of the loco owners, was busy giving her a bit of a spruce up!

Not quite a Silver Ghost or a Jaguar!  

The weekend of the 31st May - 2nd June saw Class 26, D5343, having a very last minute jaunt to the Mid Hants Railway for the 'Watercress Line's' Diesel Gala. The McRat was a very late call up due to a locomtive withdrawal from their original line up. Originally, I was planning a nice weekend of doing very little but a phone call from Simon T on the Friday night ended up with me making a two hour trip down to Ropley early on a Sunday morning to help crew the locomotive over the famously steep line. With a ruling gradient of 1 in 60 from Alresford and 1 in 100 from Alton, with the summit at Medstead, it makes any loco work very hard, let alone a Type 2 with 1160hp! The loco had worked well throughout the weekend and the Sunday was no different. It was certainly very different to crewing a loco on the relatively flat GWR and the 26 would spend a considerable amount of time at full power! A good chance to blow out the cobwebs!

D5343 waiting to leave Alresford with the 0945 to Alton. 

We had worked down with Class 47, 47579 'James Nightall GC' which shunted in to the dock siding. This loco was on hire from the Mangapps Railway.

D5343 waits in the late afternoon sunshine at Alresford for a clear path back to Ropley.

The Class 26 returned to Toddington on the Monday and, come Saturday, was to be found parked outside Road 10 enjoying the warm sunshine.

Recovering from it's exhertions on the MHR. Very reminiscent of its time in Scotland. 

Meanwhile, in the shed, evidence of more work on 1693, and thicker layers of dust in the immediate area. It also appears that it has undergone a bit of a identity crisis......

No.2 end has had a visit from the sander with some of the body side also given a rub down.

Not another one!!!! A recurring in-joke amongst Class 47 fans.

June sees a down turn in diesel loco running with only the DMU seeing regular running on the BLUE timetable during the week (Tuesday to Thursday). The weekend of the 16th/17th June sees 47376 'Freightliner 1995' work the last train of the day on the PURPLE timetable while, 37215 and D6948 will be out for the Thomas and Friends weekend over the 23rd/24th June.