Latest News
News 15/06/08
FOLLOWING A MEETING OF MEMBERS OF THE LLANGOLLEN DIESEL GROUP, IT HAS BEEN DECIDED THAT THE GROUP'S MAINLINE DIESEL LOCO FLEET IS TO BE OFFERED FOR SALE.
THIS IS SIMPLY A DOWNSIZING EXCERCISE AND WE WILL ENDEAVOUR TO FULFIL ANY OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR THE TIME BEING IN OUR CONTINUED ROLE AS SUPPORT TO LLANGOLLEN RAILWAY.
Serious enquiries should be directed initially to the Webmaster using this link.
Expressions of interest should be received by the 31st July 2008.
The Llangollen Diesel Group can also confirm that 37901 will unfortunately not now be returning to the line.
News 15/05/08
D1566 is rostered to work three return trips of the line on Saturday 5th July. The railway is holding a charity event on this weekend, with trains running to an intense timetable. Departure times from Llangollen will be posted when confirmed.
News 14/04/08
A massive thank you to everyone who attended the diesel gala. The event was a major success and the visiting class 73 went down very well indeed, not to mention it's ridiculously loud radiator fan, superb stuff !!! I'd also like to thank Luke, Chris and Paul for accompanying the loco, hope you enjoyed your brief stay with us. Photos from the weekend are here.
News 02/04/08
The Spring Diesel Gala timetable is now available for download here. Alternative web and PDF versions are also available.
Due to weight restrictions on Dee Bridge, certain diagrams will be top and tailed as opposed to being double headed.
Visiting Electro-Diesel loco 73101 has now arrived on site and is expected to stay until shortly after the Gala. 25313 has been receiving attention to its turbocharger and is expected to work over the Gala weekend following some test runs.
37901 has been invited to attend the Severn Valley Railway and possibly the East Lancashire Railway for a spell after the Diesel Gala, providing transportation can be organised in time. The loco is expected to return in July.
News 18/02/08
37240 has now had its B3 piston and cylinder head re-fitted and is awaiting final assembly. A massive thank you to David Long at D & L Diesels Ltd, Wigan for his assistance and very helpful, friendly service. 37901 has recently experienced starting problems, a faulty start contactor has been replaced and the loco is currently back in service.
News 29/01/08
The first working of 2008 was an EMRPS photo charter featuring 25313 and the railcar group's class 108. This was a night shoot held in Llangollen station. Unfortunately, the weather was poor, but it added to the overall effects. Click the thumbnails below for a larger image.
37240 is currently receiving attention to B3 cylinder (again) to hopefully put a stop to the smoking problem the loco has suffered in recent times once and for all. D1566 is currently having its starting contactor linkages modified in a similar fashion to 46010's, the loco should be back in traffic after these repairs are carried out in the next few days.
News 20/11/07
A belated thank you to all who attended our October Diesel Gala. For once we were blessed with excellent weather on all 3days and visiting class 27 D5401 went down very well indeed with the punters. Next year will hopefully also see visiting traction for both April and October Galas, so watch this space folks.....
Some photos of the gala can be found here.
D1566 has recently been used on a local Fire Brigade training exercise, simulating an emergency rescue inside Berwyn Tunnel. During a major shunting exercise, D8142 gives the impression of a train arriving from Ruabon !! See the photos below ( photos: M.Perry & Webmaster )
News 02/10/07
D5401 arrived safely on site this morning courtesy of Alleleys, photos below.
 
Photos:T.Pickthall & J.Kettlewell
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D1566 has received its new yellow ends and attention to the rest of the roof areas, also number one end cab interior has been re-painted. EE favourite 37240 has also now received black headcode panels and has had a replacement brake valve fitted.
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News 30/09/07
A slightly revised timetable for next weekends diesel gala is here.
News 23/09/07
The Diesel Gala timetable is now online. The Friday of the event will have a strong Sulzer theme with D1566, 46010 and visiting class 27 D5401, all in action. The Saturday and Sunday of the event will feature the above and also English Electric stalwarts, D8142, 37240 and the unique Mirrlees engined 37901. Note also one of the rakes will be in the form of a freight, where passengers can enjoy the ride from a brakevan.
The usual Saturday evening run will this time, if all goes to plan, feature something a little different to the usual brakvans. Why not come along and find out ?
News 04/09/07
We can now confirm that class 27 D5401 will be visiting Llangollen for our Autumn Diesel Gala. The loco will move from its current base at the GCR in late September / early October to Llangollen and its stay will be limited to the period of the Gala weekend. The loco will then return to its home at the Northampton and Lamport Railway shortly after.
D1566 is still receiving some attention to its bodywork, work is now at an advanced stage and the loco will now feature red buffer beams also.
  Photos:
Left: A.Bretherick
Right: M.Perry |
News 11/07/07
Exhaust system repairs on D1566 are now at an advanced stage, with final assembly and application of new yellow cab fronts taking place shortly. Latest photos below. Click the thumbnails for a larger image.
News 21/06/07
The work on D1566 is progressing well. The cab roofs are currently receiving attention to the paintwork and are due to be repainted shortly. The faded warning yellow on the cab ends is expected to be repainted in the near future also. The silencer has had the corroded areas cut out and is awaiting welding, along with the area inside the loco which the unit sits in. Recent photos below.
Photos left to right show number 2 end cab roof in undercoat, number 1 end partially rubbed down and the underside of the silencer. The silencer is of the straight through type, not baffled as we originally were led to believe.
News 29/05/07
D1566 has had its exhaust silencer removed today due to its previous failure on the underside of the unit. A large hole was found underneath, along with corrosion damage to the area the silencer sits in. The unit will be repaired shortly and refitted once all repairs are complete.
The above photos show the silencer in place in the loco with the roof panel removed, a close up of the hole on the underside and the damage to the heatshield area below where the silencer is fitted.
News 21/05/07
37240 is the rostered power for the service train on June 2nd.
News 20/05/07
D1566 has had a replacement engine run solenoid resistor fitted due to the failure of the previous example. D8142 has suffered from poor starting lately. This was due to the failure of several battery cells. New replacements have been ordered and will be fitted shortly.
News 05/03/07
37901 is the rostered power for the service on April 14th.
Thanks to all who attended the diesel weekend. Faded blue stalwarts 46010 & 25313 were re-instated for the weekend, albeit not as a double header as planned due to weight restrictions on Dee Bridge. Despite the date being put back a few weeks in the hope of avoiding the inclement weather, the Sunday afternoon turned into a blizzard in places, as the right hand photo below shows.
News 05/03/07
The diesel gala timetable is now online here. It is now hoped that faded blue stalwarts 46010 and 25313 will feature at the event.
News 20/02/07
37240 and 901 have both worked their respective diagrams over the Thomas event, in alpine conditions early in the week.
News 30/01/07
37240 and 37901 will be de-Winterised this weekend, in readiness for the forthcoming 'Thomas' event. Loco allocations for this are now on the Running Dates page.