Preserved class 52 Westerns, status and updates (originally about D1048).

[reddragon]

Thanks....shame I sometimes can't remember what I did five minutes ago though!

Probably best you can't remember the last 2 years!

 

[D6968]

I’m really looking forward to Ranger coming back. I was on one of its last runs before it was taken out of service and reading through the work they’ve been doing on it, when it comes back it’s going to be one of hell of a machine.

Are the WLA still planning to go Mainline with it or has that plan changed?

 

[xotGD]

As a nine year old, I saw Westerns during a family holiday to Cornwall in 1976. I might have even had one or two for haulage - I'll never know.

Golden Rail Holidays - remember them?

 

[Cowley]

As a nine year old, I saw Westerns during a family holiday to Cornwall in 1976. I might have even had one or two for haulage - I'll never know.

Golden Rail Holidays - remember them?

I’ve definitely heard of them but I’m not sure what they were?

 

[randyrippley]

I’ve definitely heard of them but I’m not sure what they were?

Rail / boarding house package holidays in Devon & Cornwall

funnily enough my mother bought several sets of Golden Rail cups & saucers new from the local market - presumably fell off the back of a restaurant car..........

 

[Cowley]

Rail / boarding house package holidays in Devon & Cornwall

funnily enough my mother bought several sets of Golden Rail cups & saucers new from the local market - presumably fell off the back of a restaurant car..........

I do like some of the stuff BR did back in those days.

 

[Ashley Hill]

In the early 70s about once a month my mother used to drag me shopping to Plymouth,the highlight of the trip was the Western haulage. Being young I did not record any of this. The railway also passed the bottom of my grandparents garden so hence the interest in railways and the memory of Whizzoes roaring towards Tigley. Sadly I did not start writing numbers down until about 78 and those records are long gone.
I also have a Golden Rail tie in a drawer somewhere.

 

[Strathclyder]

Excellent thread. Despite having never seen one 'in the metal', the Westerns are my fave of the hydraulics (barring the NBLs ofc lol), just so different to anything else.

Martin Loader - aka hondawanderer - has a selection of pics of all 7 preserved examples, including D1048. This one of D1013 at Kidderminster is my pick of the bunch, as it captures the magic of the Westerns to a tee.

D1013 Kidderminster 13 October 1996

 

[Cowley]

Excellent thread. Despite having never seen one 'in the metal', the Westerns are my fave of the hydraulics (barring the NBLs ofc lol), just so different to anything else.

Martin Loader - aka hondawanderer - has a selection pics of all 7 preserved examples in preservation, including D1048. This one of D1013 at Kidderminster is my pick of the bunch, as it captures the magic of the Westerns to a tee.

D1013 Kidderminster 13 October 1996

Very nice shot of D1013 there. It’s quite telling that Martin only has one photo of D1048 though…

 

[Strathclyder]

Very nice shot of D1013 there. It’s quite telling that Martin only has one photo of D1048 though…

Yeah, I wasn't at all surprised to see that he only one pic of Lady in view of her protracted restoration and overall elusive nature. Am pleased to see that she is being worked on however.

A few more of my faves from Martin's Western collection:

D1015 & 40145 Tackley 15 May 2010

D1023 & D1013 Bewdley 2 October 2004

D1041 Leigh Woods Crossing 18 May 1997

I do like some of the stuff BR did back in those days.

The Network Days are something I wish I had been alive to experience, the video/picture evidence of such events border on violating the proverbial watershed! Perhaps a subject for another thread...

 

[reddragon]

The Network Days are something I wish I had been alive to experience, the video/picture evidence of such events border on violating the proverbial watershed! Perhaps a subject for another thread...

They were one huge party!

 

[Strathclyder]

They were one huge party!

To put it mildly!

 

[Ashley Hill]

There's a thread discussing those excellent Network Days elsewhere on this forum.

 

[Cowley]

There's a thread discussing those excellent Network Days elsewhere on this forum.

There was indeed!

Network day in the 80's. .. And of finding overnight trains.

A comment on the Caledonian sleeper thread triggered a memory. Wonder if anyone has the answer ! Someone commented about passenger coaches being attached to mail trains and it instantly triggered a memory of a ' network day' in the 1980's. For those who are not as old as me; these were days at...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Ploughman]

Back in 76 I think. Spent 2 days with a Rover ticket Exeter - Penzance and back with as much 52 haulage as I could find.

 

[Cowley]

Back in 76 I think. Spent 2 days with a Rover ticket Exeter - Penzance and back with as much 52 haulage as I could find.

Did you manage to get many in the book over the two days?

 

[Ploughman]

There were a fair few.
Alas the book did not survive. So just a memory.
Some on passenger, others on freight and stabled up in Newton abbot shed or tucked away in the station at Penzance.
Even spotted a couple of Hymeks at Laira.

 

[Cowley]

There were a fair few.
Alas the book did not survive. So just a memory.
Some on passenger, others on freight and stabled up in Newton abbot shed or tucked away in the station at Penzance.
Even spotted a couple of Hymeks at Laira.

Lovely stuff @Ploughman .

 

[33117]

Great to hear that campaigner is getting some love again, hasn't it previously had transmission or other issues which have rearer their heads again?

Seems like it's getting some fairly extensive repairs, the bodywork alone looks like a huge task.

 

[DelW]

Great to hear that campaigner is getting some love again, hasn't it previously had transmission or other issues which have rearer their heads again?

Seems like it's getting some fairly extensive repairs, the bodywork alone looks like a huge task.

It's the first time for some decades at least that the body is getting a full overhaul, taking it back to bare metal throughout. The good news is that it's reported that most of the bodywork is still in good condition, with the main repairs needed being around the cabs, and to the front valances, one of which had been rather crudely repaired decades ago following damage. Wherever necessary new steelwork is being welded in, and the opportunity is being taken to rebuild the damaged valance to its correct profiles, so the ends match each other. When finished, the body should be structurally sound and weatherproof for many years to come.

The B end transmission failed in service in 2018. Dismantling the transmission for repair needs specialist skills and tools, and it's hoped that this will be done by a specialist workshop in the next couple of months or so. The extent of repairs needed will of course depend on what the dismantling reveals.

 

[DarloRich]

Let’s be honest, a journey behind either of them on a service train for a couple of hundred miles would be an assault on the senses compared to anything modern

my first train journey a few days after I was born was via a Deltic from Durham to York to meet some relatives. Didn't get the number. Sorry. Had been a tough week.

 

[Cowley]

my first train journey a few days after I was born was via a Deltic from Durham to York to meet some relatives. Didn't get the number. Sorry. Had been a tough week.

I actually had a trip over the Woodhead line when I was about two years old and I completely failed to write down any of the numbers or log what I had for haulage that day…

Back to Westerns.
There’s an update on what’s going on with D1015 here:

Diesel Traction Group - D1015 D821 D7029 D8568

Diesel traction group website - proud owners of D1015 Western Champion and many other fine locomotives

www.westernchampion.co.uk

 

[DarloRich]

Back to Westerns.
There’s an update on what’s going on with D1015 here:

Sounds positive! Getting the engine overhauled must be "fun".

 

[33117]

It's the first time for some decades at least that the body is getting a full overhaul, taking it back to bare metal throughout. The good news is that it's reported that most of the bodywork is still in good condition, with the main repairs needed being around the cabs, and to the front valances, one of which had been rather crudely repaired decades ago following damage. Wherever necessary new steelwork is being welded in, and the opportunity is being taken to rebuild the damaged valance to its correct profiles, so the ends match each other. When finished, the body should be structurally sound and weatherproof for many years to come.

The B end transmission failed in service in 2018. Dismantling the transmission for repair needs specialist skills and tools, and it's hoped that this will be done by a specialist workshop in the next couple of months or so. The extent of repairs needed will of course depend on what the dismantling reveals.

Thanks for the update on 1010, can voith still help the preservation movement with transmission repairs/spares if they still make any???

Seem to remember someone telling me once that western transmissions are complex tricky sods to deal with.

Mechanical wise what's state of its 2 MD655s? Seem to remember before it went off it was a decent runner.

 

[DelW]

Thanks for the update on 1010, can voith still help the preservation movement with transmission repairs/spares if they still make any???

Seem to remember someone telling me once that western transmissions are complex tricky sods to deal with.

Mechanical wise what's state of its 2 MD655s? Seem to remember before it went off it was a decent runner.

The most recent update is here, and describes the transmission and the repairs :

Weekly Roundup – 30-Jan-22 | The Diesel and Electric Preservation Group

depg.org

Headlining this week is the long-awaited move of the torque converter rail from the transmission of Class 52 D1010 ‘WESTERN CAMPAIGNER’ which has now been delivered to a specialist engineering firm for disassembly. This is a major step forward in the resolution of an issue that occurred during the first day of the 2018 Diesel Gala when the ‘B’ end transmission seized and the loco had to be withdrawn from service.

Whether the transmission dismantling is being undertaken by Voith or another organisation hasn't been made public AFAIK.

As far as I recall, the engines were fine when the loco was in service, though I'd assume they will need some TLC after several years out of use.

 

[Cowley]

As far as I recall, the engines were fine when the loco was in service, though I'd assume they will need some TLC after several years out of use.

I was on one of the last runs before the transmission problem and I seem to recall one of the engines was blowing fumes through its breather just by one of the bogies. That might not be a major issue but it may indicate that it required some attention.
The engines did still sound fairly smooth though.

 

[JKF]

Growing up in Ashton Vale on the west side of Bristol with the main line at the top of our road I probably saw a fair few of them in the early/mid 70s but too young to have been paying enough attention. I remember lying down watching the tops of trains through the gaps in the plank flooring of the ‘black bridge’ footbridge (which is grey these days with a solid floor alas) and the only specific memory is of seeing a train with ‘old fashioned’ chocolate and cream coaches which were probably pullmans. Didn’t really start paying detailed attention until the WR namer duffs caught my interest on a family holiday at Teignmouth around 80/81. There is also a vague memory of a national news item on the TV about a type of loco retiring and crowds coming out to watch which might have been the wizzos, as I was probably more switched onto things when the Deltics finished and would have remembered that in more detail.

Did they all finish service in 77 in blue with full yellow ends or did any retain older liveries to the end?

 

[37114]

Growing up in Ashton Vale on the west side of Bristol with the main line at the top of our road I probably saw a fair few of them in the early/mid 70s but too young to have been paying enough attention. I remember lying down watching the tops of trains through the gaps in the plank flooring of the ‘black bridge’ footbridge (which is grey these days with a solid floor alas) and the only specific memory is of seeing a train with ‘old fashioned’ chocolate and cream coaches which were probably pullmans. Didn’t really start paying detailed attention until the WR namer duffs caught my interest on a family holiday at Teignmouth around 80/81. There is also a vague memory of a national news item on the TV about a type of loco retiring and crowds coming out to watch which might have been the wizzos, as I was probably more switched onto things when the Deltics finished and would have remembered that in more detail.

Did they all finish service in 77 in blue with full yellow ends or did any retain older liveries to the end?

All the last ones were Blue Full yellow ends

 

[Strathclyder]

This image of D1013 Western Ranger & Class 56 No.006 (copyright of Martin Loader) at Bewdley during the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel Gala - dating from September 2000; 006 was still a EWS-owned machine at this time - should be of interest to some here. Two classes that had an incredibly small window of overlap in BR stock; 56006 was the first of it's class to be accepted by BR (on 25th February 1977, the day before the Western Tribute tour on 26th February & 3 days before the last Westerns were withdrawn wholesale on 28th February) and two types that consequently - thanks to both that small time window and the geographical seperation - had zero chance of being seen together under BR ownership. Of course, anything goes in preservation.

56006 & D1013 Bewdley 30 September 2000

 

[pieguyrob]

I thought The Lady was a helicopter?