| Friday 1st was the first day of the Spa Valley's diesel gala. After behaving itself during the previous day, the loco decided to suffer a brake fault and missed its first journey. The fault was diagnosed as a defective relay valve which was attended to immediately the loco got on shed. After testing on shed, 37254 joined 33063 for a trip to Groombridge and back (the train was booked for 33063 only but it got the 37 into the right place for the next trip). 254 performed perfectly for the rest of the day and the three evening runs were a good example of how noisy a 37 can be! Throughout the day, Meridian TV were filming the news programmes from the railway and the railway gained a massive amount of publicity through this. Three of the presenters visited the loco during the day and seemed to enjoy blowing the horn as well as touring the locomotive.
Saturday 2nd saw 254 work two return trips before failing not far from Tunbridge Wells West with what turned out to be a load regulator fault! Rescue came in the form of 33063 with "AA" on the blinds... 254 was parked on shed and work was commenced on rectifying the defect. After a couple of hours working on the loco, 254 was up and running and was tested in the yard. 33063 and 37254 went out for a short test run in between the 17:26 arrival and the 17:40 departure and the loco was fit for traffic yet again! The loco picked up its booked workings from the 19:40 service that evening (with 73140 accompanying the loco in case of any problems - not needed though)! 37254 decided that two off-days in a row were enough and performed superbly all day on Sunday 3rd (the last day of the Summer Diesel Gala)! In the afternoon, the loco was tested in multiple with 33065 around the yard and then they went out paired up on the 15:00 departure from Tunbridge Wells West. Once 254 had arrived back at The Wells with its train, it was tested in multiple with 33063 and these two locos worked the 17:00 departure together. We had been wanting to test the multiple working equipment for quite some time and it was proved to be working! A big thank you to all the visitors to the Spa Valley Railway's gala - we hope to see you in October for the next diesel gala. Workings for the month: 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 33063+37254+5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 01/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 73140+33065+5 x MK1+37254 01/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065+73140 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 33063+5 x MK1+37254 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33063 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 02/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+73140+5 x MK1+33065+33063 02/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 33063+33065+5 x MK1+73140+37254 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33065+5 x MK1 (loco's in multi) 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+5 x MK1+33065 03/08/2008 Tunbridge Wells West Groombridge Loop 37254+33063+5 x MK1 (loco's in multi) 03/08/2008 Groombridge Loop Tunbridge Wells West 37254+33063+5 x MK1 |
1440x2160 Meridian_TV_weather_presenter_Gemma_Humphries_on_254_-_picture_courtesy_of_Chris_Burgess.jpg |
800x533 37254 Poke Farm Crossing 2G07 030808.jpg |
800x533 August_Diesel_Gala.jpg |
800x533 37254 Poke Farm Crossing 2T08 030808.jpg |
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