Maybach Traction World News!

News and information about current & projected Maybach engined locomotive workings! Maybach Traction World cannot be held responsible for the reliability of this information - if you intend to cover any of the workings you should check before you leave!

The West Somerset Railway are having a "Mixed Traffic Gala" on 15th-17th June. D832 has been requested from the East Lancashire railway and hopefully D1010 & D7017 should be available for the event too. On the Saturday D1015 will be hauling a special train to the event from London Paddington.

V200 033 is working a special train on 25th August in conjunction with a "Rheine im flammen" event. The train starts at Münster just after midday and then heads in the direction of Hamm, Düsseldorf and Köln and eventually St.Goar where the train pauses while the revellers undertake a scenic cruise on the Rhine. After the firework display, the train returns from St.Goar after 23:00, eventually arriving back in Münster just after 03:00 on the Sunday morning. Just the sort of thing for those who wish to recreate the feel of a rancid european overnight during the early 1980's. For the more energetic, the train also includes a fully fitted bar & disco coach with a resident DJ spinning all the best German euro-pop tunes for the delectation of the participants.

The VLV's "Friesoythe Express" on 24th February ran, although not without some problems. The train was mis-directed at Hamburg-Harburg and had to run to Stelle to reverse [the rain was reported to be "streaming"], causing a seventy minute delay. Then the signal was placed against the train at Rottenburg-Wumme causing the delay to extend to 100 minutes. This was due to an error in the timetable. At Otterburg, the steps of the VLV's doppelstock struck the platform edge, then the train was further delayed by a broken rail. At Bremen Rbf attention was given to a defective brake rod. The train was delayed leaving there by 150 minutes. V200 033 performed faultlessly! The day before, V200 033 had been used to move a "Samba" wagon from Hamm to Osnabrück before heading North to Lübeck.

The 3rd February "Rennstieg Pfeil" trip from Vienenburg to Oberhof [Thür] was a great success, with a decent load and a decent route. The climb from Arnstadt to Oberhof on the outward journey was well worth the trip on its own! Pictures have been posted under the "V200 033" page. One observation made by a far taller member of the English party - about a dozen known faces travelled, not bad for the time of year - was that one of the engines has "SBB 47" written on it in black felt pen. This could indicate that the engine has come from either one of the owning groups of former SBB AM 4/4's or even from SBB. It is likely that this engine was installed as a replacement for the engine that was giving trouble in 2005.

On the 3rd, it operates a Sonderzug from Vienenburg to Oberhof [Thür] in conjunction with a Ski Festival. The route is Vienenburg - Goslar - Kriensen then along the former North - South main line to Eichenburg where the train turns East onto former DR [East German] metals. The route then goes via Leinefelde to Gotha then Neudietendorf where the locomotive changes ends for the final part of the outbound run to Oberhof [Thür]. The return run goes via Eisnach then Bebra to regain the old main line, then passes though Cornberg Tunnel and Eschwege West to rejoin the outward route at Eichenburg.

On the 24th it operates a VLV Doppelstock excursion from Lübeck to Ankum [Oldb]. The route includes some lines and locations that do not normally see a passenger train, such as Maschen & Bremen Rgbf's [marshalling yards], Oldenburg Verbindungscurve [freight only] and Bersenbruck - Ankum [Private freight only]. The train pauses at Ankum for just over 2½ hours before it returns to Lübeck, return route similar to the outward.

On the 28th April 2007, V200 033 is the planned locomotive for a VLV Doppelstock excursion from Lübeck to the former 220 stamping ground of Cuxhaven. As a bonus the route apparently takes in an EVB private line between Zeven and Tostedt. Presumably this means the EVB Route between Bremerhaven-Wulsdorf and Zeven is also traversed.

D1015 has been invited to the Swanage Railway Diesel Gala on 11th-13th May 2007. This visit is subject to the completion of the Furzebrook connection to Network Rail metals.

According to an update on the "Westfälishes Eisenbahn Museum" website, the event scheduled for 10th December has been cancelled because of a shortage of organisers due to illness, however the cancellation notice does mention the possibility of a special train to Lübeck in the new year.

The first is in Italy where D342.4010 is out on a special train run in conjunction with an Olive Oil Festival. Other than the date, Friday 8th December, there is almost nothing relating to this trip on the Internet yet, although a posting ERG on Yahoogroups stated this trip would start from Firenze. A posting on the "Railtouritalia" website differs in stating the tour starts in Siena. In both instances the destination is shown as Torrenieri on an otherwise closed section of very scenic Italian track. The operator is shown as being "Trenonatura" but there is no credible website for this operator. On the Ferrovie Turistiche Italiane there is more information about "Trenonatura" but no further information.

The second event features V200 033 and information is just as vague as the D342.4010 trip! The only reference to V200 033 doing anything is a posting on the "Termine" page of the "Westfälishes Eisenbahn Museum" website which states "V200 033 and her sisters are fifty years old!......which is an event worth celebrating." The date given is 10th December, a Sunday. Of course, the timing is slightly wrong as V200 033 was delivered to DB on 14th November 1956. The two V200's delivered closest to this date - V200 037 [6th December 1956] and V200 038 [14th December 1956] have both been scrapped. In any case, an event worth keeping a close eye on for details.

Pictures of the "Locomotives, Made in Germany" event have been added to the V200 033 & Denmark pages. More pictures of the MA set will be added in the near future.

Some very recent pictures of D1048 "Western Lady" have appeared on fotopic at the following URL:

V200 033 was the star performer at the DSB Museum "Locomotives, Made in Germany" event on 19th/20th August. The locomotive was hauled to Odense in a series of freight trains and performed without fault on both days. Saturday saw '033 work as scheduled from Odense to Nyborg and back & the evening train from Odense to Fredericia and back. On Sunday '033 also worked the first train from Odense to Nyborg in addition to its scheduled turn, due to non-availability of DSB "PR" 908. On return to Odense after its scheduled run, the locomotive went immediately light engine toward Germany, presumably to join a freight back to the Ruhr area. Also performing faultlessly was the sole surviving DSB MA "Lyntog", 460. This Maybach engined unit shuttled between Odense and Tommerup on both days as scheduled.

V200 033 put up a good performance with 012 066 on "The Norderney Express" on 5th August. At least thirty two English enthusiasts made the effort to travel on the train and a good day was had by all. Due to late running on the return journey the train was diverted via Essen due to an engineering block and arrived back at Bochum in the early hours of 6th August. There are some pictures here.

12th August saw D1013 operating for the last time in 2006 - this locomotive has been suffering with technical problems all this season and the wise decision has been made to withdraw it from use after last nights dining special.

A lot of August activity revolves around V200 033: Firstly, because of a considered fire risk coal burning 50 3655 has been replaced with oil burning 12 066. However, the steam upgrade does not come without a penalty as 12 066 will be added to the train at Münster which means it will work in tandem with V200 033 from there to Rheine and back in the evening. This train has been fully booked for over a month.

On Sunday 13th August, V200 033 will work a train from Hamm to Kaldenkirchen in tandem with V200 135. Those wishing to cover this train specifically for V200 033 should bear in mind that V200 135 is not a "Growler" , being probably one of the most silent V200.1's running. The route is also relatively level and the train is timed to cover the distance in three hours so there won't be much in the way of crack performance required from either locomotive.

On the weekend of 19th - 20th August, the Danmarks Jernbanemuseum is hosting a themed event titled "Locomotives Made in Germany", which will feature V200 033 and preserved DSB "Lyntog" MA 460. V200 033 is scheduled to work three trains on the DSB main line, those being the 13:25 from Odense to Nyborg and back both days and the Saturday evening special to Fredericia, which is shown to depart Odense at 18:35. MA 460 is scheduled to work four trains each day from Odense to Tommerup and back.

In England, D1013 is booked to work on the Severn Valley Railways Saturday diesel turns on 12th & 26th August, however it has been less than reliable this year so please check with the Severn Valley Railway before you commit to travel - one of the recent rescue locomotives was very unwelcome to "Western" enthusiasts!

On the East Lancashire Railway, D832 will be working the weekends of 19th/20th August and 16th/17th September, while D7076 will be working the diesel turn on Sunday 27th August and on the "Teddy Bears Picnic" day on Bank Holiday Monday 28th August. Both locomotives should be working during the diesel event on 1st - 3rd September.

The 2006 UK operating season has got off to a slow start with the first Maybach outing being with D1013 during the Severn Valley Railways "A day out with Thomas" event on 13th-14th May, followed by D7076 a week later on the East Lancashire Railway. D832 is scheduled to work on 10th-11th June on the East Lancashire Railway. Due to engine problems D832 will not be attending the North Yorkshire Moors Diesel Gala. D1023 was invited to the Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway Gala in May, but the latest news there is that it will not be attending.

In contrast, Germany has seen at least two sonderzug run with V200 033, on 18th February it was seen in the Gerolstein area and on 25th February it worked from Lübeck to Scharrel on a VLV tour. Pictures of the 25th February tour are in the V200 Gallery. There is a tour on 5th August 2006 from Bochum to Norddeich-Mole which features V200 033 & 50 3655. The V200 works the train from Bochum to Rheine, with 50 3655 working from Rheine to Norddeich-Mole. The price includes a ferry trip to the island of Norderney.

D1013 sort of worked on the Severn Valley Railway Diesel turn on 18th June, but suffered a compressor contactor failure which caused it to miss one return journey from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster. It did, however make the final run of the day, much to the pleasure of those who travelled.

D7076 worked faultlessly on the East Lancashire Railway on the 18th/19th June and was appreciated by all who journeyed to cover this running.

Last Saturday, D1013 operated on the Severn Valley Railway. Unfortunately due to a cracked cylinder head the day was run on one engine only. Despite this it was reported that performance was very good.

D7076 will be operating instead of D832 on the East Lancs Railway this weekend, as work on the exhausts of D832 is still awaiting completion.

D1013 continued to perform faultlessly throughout the remainder of the Mid Hants Diesel gala and returned to Kidderminster on the Tuesday after the event. Thanks to all those who sent me pictures which I have yet to select the most interesting for display!

15th May was also an operating day for FS D342.4010 in Italy, where it operated part of a steam tour in the Tuscani area. Thanks to Charles Hinton for pointing this out, unfortunately only on the day the tour ran.

The WLA have been successful in their bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund the repair of the failed transmission in D1062. The HLF have agreed to pay £45,000 for a full overhaul of the transmission to be carried out by Voith in Germany.

D7076 put up a good performance last weekend, with a reasonable number of "the faithful" turning out on the Saturday. Best performances were to be had in the uphill direction of the Heywood extension.

This weekend sees yet another twin engined Maybach double - on Saturday D1015 will be travelling from Paddington to Paignton and then on to Kingswear on the Torbay & Dartmouth Railway and on Sunday V200 033 will be working a sonderzug from Hamm to Korbach rail festival. If anyone manages to cover both, I'd love to hear about it!

While at the Mid Hants, I was shown some video of V200 033 taken on 29th January - I have to say the locomotive both looked and sounded good and would strongly recommend that people should make the effort to cover it if possible.

New dates have been posted in the diary for D832 [30th-31st July] & D7076 [27th-28th August] on the East Lancashire Railway.

D1013 performed well on the Mid Hants Railway today, with only an initial minor problem with an erroneous high water temperature alarm causing a problem during the first run. The second run of the day out of Alresford was spoilt by having an extra load at the front - a Freightliner air brake only 47/3 - though the remainder of the runs were good although the obligatory "gala farce" occurred which caused the timetable to collapse into a state where everything was running over 40 minutes late by the end of the day. On Saturday, D1013 has the ignominy of having to propel one of the most disgusting and decrepit devices ever to have the misfortune to exist on the 09:25 departure from Alton and is again acting as train brake provider for the same 47/3 on the 15:55 from Alton. On Sunday the first D1013 hauled train will be the 09:55 from Alton and a member of the "wrong" class of BR Type 3 locomotives will be propelled on the 11:45 departure from Alresford. D1013 will be returning to Kidderminster in convoy with the locomotives it arrived with on Tuesday. A picture taken during the event has been added to the D1013 picture gallery.

For those with the ability to cover the move of D1013 from Kidderminster to Alton on 12th May here are some timings:

Motive power will be 45112, with 20001 & 20227 being towed along with D1013. Note that these times are very slack so be prepared for the train to run ahead of time as it has a maximum speed of 60mph.

D7017 performed moderately well on the Saturday of the West Somerset Railway Diesel Gala last weekend, however it failed while assisting a "thing" that was in its normal state [failed] and was recovered by a 33.

D1013 has been passed fit to appear on the Mid Hants Railway Diesel Gala this forthcoming Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For those with a slot in this Thursday's diary, the light engine move is scheduled to depart Kidderminster at 09:30 and will then trail around the suburbs of Birmingham then on to Banbury, High Wycombe, North London Line, Clapham Junction and Alton. The "official" reason for this is to avoid running round of the towing locomotive at Guildford.

More details have been posted on the Museums Eisenbahn Hamm for V200 033's trip on 29th May - The train leaves Hamm at 08:30, arriving at Korbach at 11:40. The train then returns at 17:30, arriving back at Hamm at 20:15. Prices range from €34-€49.

On 17th April, E421 worked on the Downpatrick Railway as part of an ITG organised running day. A report can be found on the Ireland page.

At Bridgnorth, D1013 has undergone an ultrasonic examination of the axles in preparation for being towed of Network Rail to the Mid Hants Railway. A Network Rail fitness to run examination will take place shortly. If/when I get timings for the towing move, I shall endeavour to bring them to you.

On the East Lancashire Railway, D832 is awaiting a space in Castlecroft shed so that the repairs to the exhausts can be carried out. At the same time the engine compartments will be painted. D7076 is reportedly okay to run on its running weekend of 21st/22nd May. D1041 is still covered in it nice blue tarpaulin. With so many other engineering commitments, investigation of the reversing problem is a low priority.

On the 28th/29th May 2005, there is a Rail Festival at Korbach in Germany. On the Sunday there is a sonderzug from Hamm which features V200 033 as the motive power. V200 033 will display at Korbach before returning to Hamm in the evening.

D7076 has the potential for Oscar nomination [albeit forty years too late] in the best supporting actor role as it has been confirmed that it was the locomotive used to haul the train during the filming of the Beatles film "A Hard Days Night" on the Minehead branch in 1964. In a recently published book "Ticket to Minehead" [Millstream Press, ISBN 0 948975 75 3] there is a picture of D7076 on the film train.

New dates have been added to the diary, including running dates for D832 & D7076 at Bury, the West Somerset Diesel Gala in May, plus the guest appearance on the Mid Hants of D1013 for their Diesel Gala, also in May. In keeping with their unpublished anti diesel policy, the Severn Valley Railway have reduced the number of dates that the Saturday diesel turn will be running on to nine. Considering how much other junk infests the Severn Valley, D1013 is doing well to get three of these turns and would probably have even less if D821 were available. There is a "bonus" weekend of running for D1013 during the September "Thomas" event. I have no firm allocations for D7017 on West Somerset Diesel running days.

V200 033 appears to be the scheduled power for a special train from Haltern to Wernigerode on 29th January. Information can be found here.

There is no operational locomotives this winter in the UK preserved fleet, with everything being winterised and/or undergoing maintenance. A lot of the groups have got their work out for them during the non running season: For example, D821 has water leaks on both engines and D832 requires a lot of work on the exhaust system. D1062 has a problem with one of the transmissions which could prevent it from making a welcome return in the 2005 season. In Germany, V200 033's return to main line operation has not been without its problems, the locomotive either being substituted or assisted by an electric locomotive on some of the runs. The latest information I have is that one of the engines has failed. The trains this locomotive works are definitely not enthusiast specials - they appear to be operated as part of a German "Club 18-30" style package by a company called "Müller Touristik". The trains leave Köln on the Friday afternoon and haul the "Müller Tanzzug" [Dance Train!!] to Neustadt [Holst], dropping other revellers off in Hamburg on the way. The trainload of revellers [there are many mentions of "Freie Getränke" on the web page] return on Sunday afternoon.

D832 performed well on the Great Central this weekend according to those who made the effort to travel to Loughborough.

D1010 did not work on the West Somerset Railway last weekend due to a transmission fault which also prevents it from being available for the Grand Trains Extravaganza on 23rd/24th October. D7017 performed well on both the 9th & 10th October and will be working on the 23rd/24th October in place of D1010.

D1013, D1023 & D821 performed well at the Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala, although D1023 was suffering electrical problems that caused several shutdowns and D821 now has water leaks on both engines, which meant it also didn't work on the 9th October.

For me, the Severn Valley event was tarnished not only by the appallingly bad timetable [despite trains being very slackly timed, there were quite a few instances where it was impossible to cross over from one platform to another because the of the booked arrival and departure times of both trains] but also the downright rude behaviour of platform staff at Bewdley in particular, as well as at Kidderminster. After being part of an incident which saw two of these oafs completely failing to help a couple with a pushchair over the bridge, other than to offer to get the train to Kidderminster held for them, a spotty youth on the platform gleefully denied them access to the train that they were trying to board as "it had been flagged off" as he repeated several times at them. I then crossed back over to find someone to complain to, but decided it wasn't worth the effort as the two bridge oafs were now standing on the platform laughing in their re-telling of the event to their fellow oafs: "You should have seen their faces when they couldn't get on the train! Ha ha ha!". I know that these people are volunteers but I would suggest to them that they should find some other hobby [like football referee or doorman] if all they want to do is derive pleasure from the misery of others. Their attitude and behaviour tarnishes the reputation of the Great Western Railway, the very railway that the Severn Valley Railway is dedicated to upholding the memory and traditions of. I have always had the opinion that the Severn Valley Railway is "anti preserved diesel" and has only tolerated the diesel events as they are good cash spinners; This isn't the first time I have experienced the poor behaviour of the platform staff at Bewdley during diesel galas and I shall certainly think long and hard before I attend another Severn Valley Railway diesel gala. I am sure there are quite a few others who feel the same.

D832 performed up to its usual high standard on the Great Central Railway last week end, although there was a problem with one of the pre-heaters that meant an unwanted cold start had to be carried out on one engine. D832 will be running on the GCR on 16th-17th October, operating the following trains from Loughborough on both days:

On the East Lancashire Railway, D1041, D832 & D7076 performed well during the Diesel Gala, however D1041 was suffering with reverser problems that meant there were some runs made on one engine only in one direction. D1041 will almost certainly not continue run in this condition and it is likely that it will be stopped for a long overdue major overhaul.

V200 033 is back with a vengence! '033 will be working the following "sonderzug" both this weekend and next according to this posting on Drehscheibe-online:

It looks like V200 033 will be used on a train from Krefeld to Osnabruck on Fridays 24th Sept & 1st Oct and back on Sundays 26th Sept & 3rd Oct.

I also have Diagrams for the Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala available as an Excel spreadsheet here , courtesy of PresGen/P.L.E.G - Thanks guys!

I have just learned that D7017 will be working the evening special on the West Somerset Railway next Saturday [11th September].

I have just been informed that V200 033 is now operational and is working a private charter from Köln to Kiel this weekend! I have no information about future plans for this locomotive, but rest assured that when I do get any information I will bring it to you!

D1010 is now the booked locomotive for Sunday 5th September - this was originally a D7017 running day.

Both D821 & D832 ran on Saturday 29th August; D821 suffered a water leak on one of the engines and finished the day with just one operational engine. There are a couple of new pictures of D821 on the "Warship Gallery" page.

Also, from the same source a picture of D1062 has been added to the "D1062 Picture Gallery".

Update from Bury - D832 will be the Saturday Diesel on 28th August as D1041 has problems with selecting which direction the transmissions should be running that need to be sorted out before the Gala on 10th-12th September.

Also D832 will be attending the Great Central Railway Diesel Gala on 17th-19th September.

D1023 is to attend the Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala on 1st - 3rd October, along with some other locomotives from the National Collection.

D832 will not be operating any Saturday diesel turns on the East Lancashire Railway until at least January as the locomotive is in desperate need of TLC, especially to the exhausts of both engines. The train heating boiler is also not currently certified for use. D832 was shown as running on 23rd October and 13th November, these dates will be operated by other members of the Bury diesel fleet.

Some new pictures have been added to the V200 Gallery, a helpful chap in France sent me some pictures of 220's in DEHE Montcocol service. 220 068 is the only one identified.

Also, the links page has been updated - the Diesel & Electric Group have created a new website.

D1013 worked reasonably well on Saturday, mostly on one engine unfortunately. Those who travelled said it was good, despite that.

D1010 did make an appearance on the West Somerset Railway gala, as pilot engine on the train operated by 33048 on Saturday & Sunday. There is some work still to be done to the vacuum system before D1010 is able to operate on its own.

D1010 will not be available for the West Somerset Railway Diesel Gala this weekend, or, at least, it is not diagrammed to work any trains. D7017 is diagrammed to work trains all weekend, though the first one available to passengers will be the 1545 departure from Williton to Minehead on the Saturday, having crawled around on the demonstration freight before then. Considering the West Somerset Railway website states the event should feature "All train services hauled by locomotives typical of the steam-to-diesel transition period in the Mid-1960's, in authentic liveries" surely it would have been better to have relegated early 1970's BR Blue & TOPS numbered 33048 to the "shunting around for the benefit of line side photographers" turns and allowed D7017 to have more passenger running. That's my opinion anyway. I accept that events like this are "subject to availability", before anyone gets annoyed.

As an alternative option to the West Somerset Railway, D1013 will be working the Saturday diesel turn on the Severn Valley Railway this weekend.

A few additions for the diary - Some late summer/autumn dates for D832 & D7076 on the East Lancashire Railway:

The August date for D821's running day has been swapped from 21st to 28th, as the locomotive scheduled to work that Saturday will be out on the main line. D821's problem is reported to be water in the sump of one of the engines.

D1013 should be working today on the Severn Valley Railway, its first run since the engine change.

The "Baldwin Diesel Zone" has come to my attention as a site with some pictures and limited information about the Baldwin built RP210 locomotives.

Some of the dead links have been updated or removed, especially those to the now defunct "Mercurio" site, which have been redirected to the new "European Railway Server". Dead links on the USA, Italy & Japan pages have also been updated. A page has been added to the Spanish page which shows the final status of RENFE Maybach engined locomotives.

D821 has an unspecified technical problem and will not be working this Saturday on the Severn Valley Railway.

A weekend of mixed fortune at the East Lancashire Railway as D1041 was removed from it scheduled turns early in the day as a precaution due to a transmission fault and was replaced by D5054. On the upside, D832 was out on the Sunday as the ELR has a shortage of operational steam locomotives again.

On the Severn Valley Railway, D1013 has recently become fully owned by the Western Locomotive Association after many years of maintaining this locomotive on behalf of private owners. An engine lift to swap the defective engine is due to take place on 11th July and the intention is to have D1013 available for the next running day on 24th July.

There was a report on "European Rail Gen" at Yahoogroups on the weekend that stated FSF 220 074 was in Zagreb en-route to Gredelj works for "modernisation". I do not know what engines this locomotive currently has, but almost certainly authentic Maybach engines will not be replaced.

D1041 will be out on the East Lancashire Railway this Saturday, he first train will be the 0900 from Bury to Rawtensall.

D1013 worked on the Severn Valley Railway today although the running was somewhat subdued as the locomotive is still running on one engine.

I have been informed that D7017 is no longer the booked locomotive for this Saturday [19th June] evenings "Jazz Special" on the West Somerset Railway. The locomotive is now 33048.

D7076 was out today [Sunday 13th June] to rescue failed 33117 which in turn was scheduled to be running due to the cancellation of the Steam Gala on the East Lancashire Railway. D7076 apparently picked up the diagram for the remainder of the day with the 13:40 Bury departure toward Heywood.

New Saturday dates for the diary on the East Lancashire Railway - D1041 is out on 26th June & 28th August while D7076 is out on 17th July - this makes a choice of two Hymeks to go for as D7017 is also out on the 17th July on a West Somerset Railway "Jazz Special".

D821 has had full yellow ends applied over the green nose ends that she has carried for the last few years. Full yellow ends were applied to this locomotive for the July 1998 East Lancashire Railway Diesel Gala, although they didn't remain on the locomotive very long once it returned to Kidderminster.

D832 will be attending the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway for their diesel gala on 19th & 20th June. The K&WVR is well known for being steeply graded so this should be a good opportunity to sample a Warship working hard. I have been told that D832 makes almost two return journeys on each day: I understand that each day D832 will have to suffer the indignity of piloting or being piloted by another guest "thing" with a very low power-to-weight ratio, the class number of which I shall not mention here. Consider yourselves forewarned!!

I have been informed that D7076 failed during its running day on the East Lancashire Railway last Saturday. Not sure what the reason was, though I am expecting a report from someone who was present.

On the Severn Valley Railway, D821 is working all this week - 17th - 22nd May - as one of the regular steam engines has failed. D821 was scheduled to be out on 20th-22nd in any case.

D1010 will NOT be running on the West Somerset Railway Diesel gala this weekend due to winter maintenance work not being completed in time. There are also various rumours flowing on several UK rail newsgroups that D7017 may not be running either, although if it is running I understand that it is only diagrammed to make only one full return journey each day paired with another locomotive, except for Sunday when it is diagrammed to work one return trip on its own.

Further to previous reports of last weekends diesel running on the Severn Valley Railway, D821 & E6005 covered for D1013, although D1013 did work the last train of the day on the Sunday, albeit with only one engine operational due to a split hose.

On the Severn Valley Railway, D821 covered for D1013 on the Sunday & Bank Holiday Monday. D1013 is unavailable because of an engine change.

I have had my attention drawn to a V200 railtour in Germany on the 1st May, with V200 002. Although this locomotive is known to be fitted with "engines other than Maybach manufacture" the tour has been poorly booked so far and the concern is that future tours like this, which could feature more pure examples of the V200, might not be run. The tour starts from Gleis 6 [I thought they were Bahnsteig!] of Nürnberg Hbf at 08:38 on the 1st May and goes to Eberbach and back. Price is €59 and details are available on the DB Nostalgia website. The contact for booking, who speaks English, is a.bickel@db-museum.de ( Anna Bickel ).

The last two weekends have seen a lot of Warship activity - Over the Easter weekend, D821 had a good couple of days out on the Severn Valley Railway, according to those who attended. Some good performances were had on both days and hopefully we have seen the last of the unreliability issues with that have dogged this locomotive over the last few years. As there is a shortage of operational diesel locomotives on the SVR until at least June, D821 may be out at short notice on the Saturday diesel turn during May.

Last Saturday on the East Lancashire Railway, D832 performed to an appreciative audience but failed to last until the final curtain due to fuel starvation and was replaced on the last train by inferior motive power.

A posting on the Yahoogroup "UK Rail Gen" quotes D1013 as no longer attending the Mid Hants Railway's Diesel Enthusiasts event on 21st-23rd May due to unavailability. The Mid Hants Railway website has yet to be updated, so I would recommend that anyone wishing to travel to the event specifically for D1013 should check before they commit themselves to anything.

D821 recently underwent a successful test run on the Severn Valley Railway which allowed a few problems to be ironed out and also means that D821 will be operating this Bank Holiday Weekend, on Sunday and Monday.

A message from the Bury Hydraulic Group about last weekend's Mini Hydraulic Gala:

On behalf of the Bury Hydraulic Group would like to thank you all who attended the Hydraulic Day on the E.L.R. This was one of our best attended Hydraulic Days for years. As all who attended would agree, Locos 832, 7076 and D1041 did us proud and hopefully gave some of you some memories to cherish for years to come.
Thank you all for your loyal support and no doubt we will all see you again.

BURY HYDRAULIC GROUP"

There are also a couple of new dates for the diary, both at Bury - D832 on 17th April and D7076 on 15th May.

Despite the very blustery weather, the East Lancashire Railway/Bury Hydraulic Group Mini Hydraulic Gala and Nightrider event went very well. D1041, D832 & D7076 performed without problem throughout the day and in D832's case, until midnight on the Saturday. D1041 performed well on the Sunday, in top and tail mode with D5054, which also heated the train. The inclusion of a very dubious locomotive for train heating on the set that D1041 was using was very disappointing (I know of at least two people who refused to travel and stayed with D832 & D7076 all day), but unfortunately necessary to provide heat for the coaches. As the message above testifies, the event was very well attended and I think that I am not alone in wishing to congratulate the Bury Hydraulic Group for putting a great deal of effort into providing three operational hydraulic locomotives for service on one winter weekend and the East Lancashire Railway for allowing the event to happen.

This weekend D832 is out on the Saturday Diesel turn on the East Lancashire Railway. First train is 0900 from Bury to Heywood.

Also at Bury, one of the Bury Hydraulic Group has been spending his spare time creating a Microsoft Train Simulator add-on pack featuring very good digital recreations of a Western, a Warship and a Hymek, complete with authentic audio provided by D1041, D832 & D7076. The price is an incredibly reasonable £5, with all proceeds going toward the restoration of Co-Bo D5705.

On the weekend of 20th/21st March, the East Lancashire Railway's Hydraulic Theme Day/Nightrider Event/Mothers Day Diesel roster has been finalised. The bulk of the running on Saturday will be top and tail, with D1041 operating the starting turn - 0900 Bury - Heywood then 0925 Heywood - Rawtenstall, while D832 & D7076 work the second turn - 1025 Bury - Heywood then 1045 Heywood - Rawtenstall. D832 & D7076 spend most of the day in "top and tail" mode, apart from one train where D7076 is tailing D1041 toward the end of the day. D832 then is the locomotive for the "Nightrider" event until the change over to 40135 with the 0040 Bury - Heywood on Sunday 21st. 40135 continues through until the 0900 Bury - Heywood when D1041 & D5054 take over. The other Sunday turn will be steam operated. D832 is the only hydraulic locomotive with a working steam heat boiler, so you will certainly need to wrap up warm if you want to cover D1041! 40135 & D5054 both have working steam heat boilers which is one of the reasons why they have been used.

I have finally completed the addition of new V200 pictures to the V200 Roll Call pages: Malcolm Tirel has kindly provided me with images of 220 007, V200 009, 220 013, 220 014, 220 015, 220 016, 220 018, 220 020, 220 029, 220 030, 220 031, 220 033, 220 039, 220 041, 220 065 & V200 075 plus images of Bw Lübeck, "Fablon" nameplates and other miscellany.

I have also had an update on the condition of V200 033 with the Hammer Eisenbahnfreunde, courtesy of Doug Tompkins:

"Due to extensive work being undertaken on their preserved steam locomotives, in particular 80 039, which is again operational, the work on V200 003 has been slow. However, work on the overhaul of the bogies has been done.
At the present time work is ongoing with regard to the brakes and electrics, including new batteries. This work should be completed in the summer so that for 2004 we are unable to give any concrete plans with regard to the locomotive's use. Towards the end of the year, and after this work has been completed, we will have a clearer picture. The locomotive still has her 2x Maybach MD650 power units."

At the East Lancashire Railway, D832 had a good run on 14th February with a good turnout of followers according to one who attended. D832 will be out next on 13th March, then on 20th March as part of the ELR mini hydraulic gala and Nightrider event.

Dates for D821 have been added to the diary page. There appears to be some midweek running for D821 in May due to a shortage of steam locomotives.

I have had my attention drawn to an event that will be happening in York between 29th May - 6th June, Railfest 2004. The event is to celebrate the last two hundred years of railway history and will feature a selection of motive power through the ages, including D1023.

First update in ages- Firstly, the diary page has been updated to include events on the Severn Valley Railway and the West Somerset Railway.

The SVR dates are all shown D1013 running days - I have no information about D821 or D1062, though if D1062 is deemed as fit to run in 2004, it may take over some of the D1013 dates.

The WSR dates include less Friday running than last year, instead there is more Saturday evening running on several "Fish & Chip" and "Jazz" specials. As you may notice on the diary page, these trains are only available for travel to those who have booked tickets in advance - you have been warned!

Also, the Netherlands page has been updated, with some more inaccuracies corrected and some pictures added, courtesy of Patrick Meeder.

New dates for the diary: D832 will be operational during the winter season on the East Lancashire Railway. Booked dates are 10th January, 14th February and 13th March 2004. I have also removed the D1015 railtour from the diary on 13th March 2004 as it probably won't run.

I have finally posted some information about the Dutch MAT34/DEIII units. This can be viewed by clicking the "Netherlands" button on the left menu.

After another apparently slack period [on this site, not in the world of Maybach!], I have the time to add some interesting news to the site. Yesterday, D832 should have worked on the East Lancashire Railway, though I am waiting for a report on its performance.

In Spain, it appears that the 353 Talgo locomotives are making a comeback on the Madrid - Badajoz trains. The reason for this is the continued shortage of 354 Talgo locomotives which have a pretty nasty habit of catching fire. 353005 has been reported as being on a test run in the last week or so.

The last few days have been really interesting, with another country to be added to this site - The Netherlands - and more information about an existing one - Finland.

In 1934 the Dutch railways had constructed a series of multiple unit trains based on the German SVT137, some of which were fitted with Maybach engines. Once I've gone through the information kindly provided to me by Patrick Meeder, I'll add a new page. One unit survives in preservation.

With Finland, Olli Keski-Rahkonen has kindly provided me with some more detailed information on the Hr11's and also told me of some more Finnish Maybach engined locomotives that pre-date the Hr11. Again, once I've gone through the information I'll post an update on the Finland page.

D832 will be used as the "tail" locomotive on the East Lancashire Railway's Heywood Branch during their Sulzer day this Saturday - the "top" end locomotive will be 27103. Last weekend, both D832 & D7076 were out, my correspondants both reported D7076's runs up the bank to be "Hellfire!".

Don't forget that this weekend D832 & D7076 will be out on the East Lancashire Railway!

I understand that D1010 will be operating on the Sunday only of the West Somerset Railway's "Grand Trains Extravaganza" - D1010 starts from Bishops Lydeard at 0940.

A while since the last update, events that have happened in between include the Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala with D1013 & D821 (the only time its worked this year) making the most of their last runs of the season. D1062 was also running during the gala, making some light engine runs at Bridgnorth. On the East Lancashire Railway, D832 was used on the "Thomas" event and last weekend D1010 & D7017 were out and about on the West Somerset Railway.

While the general running season is now over, there is still some winter running available on the East Lancashire Railway, where D832 [with working steam heat!] will be operating on the Saturday Bury - Rawtenstall service on 1st & 22nd November and 13th December. On 1st-2nd November D7076 will be one of the two locomotives on the Bury - Heywood shuttles. Dates for next years main events have been added to the diary page too - the usual ELR Gala's in July and September, plus a Hydraulic mini-gala on 20th March 2004 which is also hoped to feature overnight running.

Don't forget that this weekend you can experience D1041 & D832 on the East Lancashire Railway - D1041 will be working the Bury - Rawtenstall section and D832 will be working the Bury - Heywood section with Class 24 D5054 as the engine assisting at the rear. First train is at 0900 on the Saturday, with D1041. On the Sunday, D1041 & D832 will be out again, so if you can spare the weekend, it'll be well worth it.

After two consecutive weekends of Maybach action, a peace descends across Britain! The East Lancashire Railway diesel gala was great event for lots of Maybach thrash and clag on the newly opened Heywood Branch, with a 1 in 85 leading grade there was no other alternative but to attack it! On the West Somerset Railway last Saturday, D1010 pleased the assembled Maybach followers by performing a very acceptable Maybach virtuoso.

And so to the Severn Valley Railways' ~~Diesel Gala~~ English Electric Gala in two weeks time. I have been sent (from many different sources, thanks!) a copy of the diagrams for the locomotives and I have to say that it is a pretty poor show for resident locomotives D821 & D1013. If you are going to cover this event, I strongly recommend that Friday 3rd October is the day to be there because you will get at least two full runs out of D1013, although you will miss out some on D821. On Saturday the reverse is true - two full runs with D821, while D1013 leaves Bridgnorth at 0935, does a pilot turn from Kidderminster to Bewdley and back then comes back to Bridgnorth with the 2210 from Kidderminster. Sunday is almost a total loss, with D1013 leaving Bridgnorth at 1030 and not returning from Kidderminster until 1715, which means you can't cover much of D821 which leaves Kidderminster at 1545. Aside from the fact that D1015 is unable to attend as billed, there seems to be far too much imported tat for this event including the "every gala has one" 47/8 and class 56, to the detriment of the long term members of the home fleet.

A World Diesel List (at Yahoogroups) posting stated that the three former JZ 761 locomotives were recently moved from Sebotica to Belgrade, with the possibility that at least one would be restored to working order.

At the forthcoming East Lancahsire Railway Diesel Gala, the following trains will be worked by Maybach engined locomotives:

D7076 - 1720 & 1805 Bury - Heywood and back (40135 tail loco), with 1823 from Heywood working through to Rawtenstall with 40135, D7076 working 1915 Rawtenstall - Bury and finish.

I have just had it confirmed that there will be NO public service whatsoever [including the Rawtenstall line] as part of the East Lancashire Railway's Heywood line opening celebrations on the 6th September. If you do turn up on the Saturday, all you can do is watch. On Sunday however, D832 & D7076 should be working.

D1010 worked successfully on the West Somerset Railway last Saturday, pleasing those who made the effort to cover the event. The Saturday evening Fish & Chip special was also a respectable load and the after dark running was especially enjoyable, although the whole evening was dulled somewhat by the continuous display of bloody minded pettyness by the organiser in not allowing people to stand in the front vestibule of the front coach on departure from Bishops Lydeard or allowing people to use the buffet car.

At Bridgnorth, D1013 is expected to be available for the Severn Valley Diesel Gala on the 3rd-5th October after some rectification work is carried out on various previously reported faults.

Don't forget that D832 & D7076 will be out and about on the East Lancashire Railway next weekend, though D832's movements on Saturday 6th may include operation on trains not available to "turn up on the day" passengers.

Finally, D7017 is currently having full yellow ends applied to both cabs in preparation for the running days on 19th-20th September. It is probably wishful thinking that D1010 could have a similar application of yellow paint.........!

Just to remind you (I know it's a bit late!) but D821 is not out on the Severn Valley Railway this Saturday. All is not lost though, as you can go to the West Somerset Railway for D1010 instead. D1010 will also work the Saturday evening Fish & Chip Special, for which only those who have pre-booked can travel. First train is 0940 from Bishops Lydeard.

After another reasonably successful running day on the Severn Valley Railway, D1013 has been stopped to allow time to fix leaks in the Serck system (which runs the cooling fans, quite critical!) and analyse results of an oil analysis from a sample taken from the middle axle final drive on B bogie. D1013 will not be running this Saturday in place of D821, nor at the "Thomas" event on 6th-7th September. Whether D1013 is likely to be available for use during the Severn Valley Diesel Gala in October remains to be seen, though if D1013 isn't available it shouldn't reflect badly on those people that have done a sterling job to keep this Western flag carrier going for many years.

On the East Lancashire Railway, D832 is now out instead of D1041 on 6th September. D832 will be used on one of the Heywood line opening trains, though I am not sure if these are available to speculative travellers on the day. On Sunday 7th September, D832 & D7076 will be used on trains, with D832 on the Sunday Diesel diagram and D7076 assisting steam on the Heywood line.

Further to that, there should be some Maybach magic over the steeply graded Heywood line during the East Lancashire Railway diesel Gala on 13th-14th September and there is now a new date for D1041 & D832: The weekend of 27th-28th September, with D1041 working the scheduled diesel trains to Rawtenstall on both days with D832 being used to assist steam on the Heywood branch both days!

D1010 was observed at Norton Fitzwarren by the travellers on the "Royal Duchy" railtour. Later in the day it disgraced itself by failing with a reverser fault in the Watchet area, causing over an hour's delay to the West Somerset Railway's timetable. D1010 was rescued by 33048 and was last seen dumped in the yard at Minehead. Whether D1010 will work the Sunday DMU diagram is open to question, though D7017 may be called out to play in D1010's place.

The German page has been expanded to inlcude information about the pre war "Fliegende Hamburger" trains and their derivatives.

What a day - a further Australian Maybach survivor has come to my attention, this one in the Australian National Railway Museum.

A surprising find in a surprising country - Finnish Railways operated five Maybach engined locomotives of class Hr11. A Finnish page has been added to celebrate this fact.

Another interesting discovery, this time on the Indian subcontinent! Apart from the 2ft 6inch gauge MD435 fitted MaK DHG700 locomotves of IR class ZDM-2, I have found that Henschel built some broad gauge main line locomotives for India, these though are right at the other end of the Maybach MD catalogue with the 20 cylinder MD1080 engine! Details can be found on the updated India page.

D832 was on fine form, performing for a loyal collection of Maybach enthusiasts on the East Lancashire Railway on Saturday. I have also obtained and posted the Saturday diagram for the West Somerset Railway which includes an additional working (0900 from Bishops Lydeard) to the WSR/Network Rail boundary with D1010 to allow viewing of the D1015 railtour to Penzance. If you were unlucky not to get on the tour, you can still have a nice weekend on the WSR.

D832 is out on the East Lancashire Railway this Saturday, first train is at 0900 from Bury Bolton Street, for the usual five return trips to Rawtenstall.

D821 is still undergoing engine repairs so will not be out this Saturday. The alternative locomotive also bear a Warship name, but will not be of the same equal high quality, so have a good lie in.

Of course, those of you going to the event in Exeter tonight would probably need a lie in tomorrow. It seems it'll be a good do, so if you're in the area do support it!

After D1013's spectacular performance last Saturday, Paul Targett has informed me that B engine has a water leak in one cylinder which needs to be closely monitored. The obvious culprits are either a cracked cylinder head or a leaking cylinder liner.

For those going to the West Somerset Diesel Event next weekend, I have some diagrams for you:

D1010: Departures - 0940 Bishops Lydeard, 1110 Minehead, 1305 Bishops Lydeard then 1645 Minehead and finish.

D7017: Departures - 1135 Bishops Lydeard, 1450 Minehead, 1545 Williton then 1730 Minehead and finish.

D1010: Departures - 0900 Bishops Lydeard - Norton Fitzwarren [to see the D1015 Railtour] 1020 Norton Fitzwarren - Minehead [1135 Bishops Lydeard], 1450 Minehead, 1545 Williton, 1730 Minehead and finish.

D7017: Departures - 0940 Bishops Lydeard, 1110 Minehead, 1305 Bishops Lydeard, 1645 Minehead amd finish.

D1010 Only: Departures: 0940 Bishops Lydeard, 1110 Minehead, 1305 Bishops Lydeard, 1450 Minehead, 1545 Williton then 1730 Minehead and finish.

D1013 was on top form on Saturday, according to information received! Those who were able to travel left the Severn Valley Railway with their Maybach cravings well satisfied and their eyes stinging from the exhaust! I hope to have a fuller report tomorrow.

D1013 will be out again this Saturday, first train is 0955 from Kidderminster. Last Saturday was not without problems as water was discovered in one of cylinders of B engine during the preparation of the locomotive, which could not be vented due to an awkward compression cock. During the turn around at Bridgnorth on the second run, the cock was opened and the water purged successfully. Fortunately the water turned out to be rainwater which had entered the cylinder through the exhaust and turbocharger during a rainstorm and not a cracked head, the common cause of water in a cylinder on a Maybach engine. The oil was checked for water contamination with no problem and D1013 completed the day with two engines running.

Late notice addition to the running diary, D1010 & D7017 will be out this Saturday on the West Somerset railway. The first train is 0940 from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead with D1010, which then works the 1110 Minehead to Williton, then 1205 Williton to Minehead, followed by the 1450 Minehead to Williton. D7017 then takes over for the remainder of the runs, which are the 1545 Williton - Minehead and the 1730 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard where D7017 will operate the Saturday evening Fish & Chip Special (pre booking required), which is 1850 from Bishops Lydeard, 2115 return from Minehead.

A new page has been added!! Clive Barlow has yet again pointed out to me another type of Maybach engined locomotive, this time a bit nearer to home than Japan. Between 1958 and 1987 the Italian State Railways operated up to 19 locomotives of classes D341.4, D342.4 & D442.4 18 with a twin engine/hydraulic transmission layout and one with a single engine/electric transmission layout. Several of these still exist and at least one is in working order and used on special trains.

Yet another gain for D1013 - this time at the expense at one of the "inferior type 4" locomotives that exists on the Severn Valley Railway, or in less cryptic terms the SVR diesel turn for 19th July will be operated by D1013 instead of an "inferior type 4" locomotive. The reason passed to me was the owners of the "inferior type 4" locomotive are in the process of repainting it and don't want it to get dirty before it goes to Doncaster Open Day. As there isn't anything else happening on the UK Hydraulic front, why not drop in on the SVR for a ride behind D1013? First train is 0955 from Kidderminster. I will also remind you that you might want to double check with the SVR later in the week that D1013 is still working.

I have received news that D1013 has replaced D821 on this Saturdays Diesel turn on the Severn Valley Railway.

D1010 will not be out on the West Somerset Railway on 2nd/3rd August - no reason or alternative locomotive has been mentioned. D1010 will be working the DMU turn on 26th July however, this by special request. D1010 will also be working throughout the whole of the weekend 8th-10th August, along with D7017. On Sunday the 10th August, one of the Hydraulic locomotives will be working on the scheduled DMU diagram, according to the West Somerset Railway website.

On the East Lancashire Railway last week, all of the indigenous hydraulic fleet worked with little trouble other than D1041's intermittent reminders that she is the boss!

How quickly news gets overtaken by events! There is now no diesel out on Sunday on the East Lancashire Railway as there are now two steam engines available to work the two train timetable.

D1041 made five return trips on the ELR, though not without problems from the outset! The locomotive had problems with starting in the morning, then B transmission refused to reverse at Bury which meant that all the remaining trips out of Bury to Rawtenstall were made on one engine. The return trips were able to use both engines.

There are still problems with D821 on the Severn Valley Railway - apparently a further engine lift is required to investigate a problem with low oil pressure. It is likely that this locomotive may not be running on 12th July.

Either D1041 or D7076 will be out and about on the East Lancashire Railway this Sunday (29th June) due to a shortage of operational steam locomotives. D1041 will be out on Saturday 28th June, but if a trained Western crew isn't available on Sunday then D7076 will be used instead. I am not sure which of the Sunday turns will be diesel hauled, the first Sunday turn departs Bury Bolton Street station at 1000, the next at 1100.

I have been passed a flyer for an evening event in Exeter on 1st August, for the purposes of recalling memories of Westerns and the showing of slides and moving images. The event will be held in the Great Western Hotel, which is just outside Exeter St Davids station, from 1930. If you want to pop along (and I suggest you should!) the flyer gives more details.

News from the Severn Valley Railway from Paul Targett - Last Saturday D1062 had its engines started as a test of the Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVR's) and the battery charging circuit. An initial attempt was thwarted by two dead cells in the battery, which were bypassed. Once the engines were both started successfully and the checks revealed that the A end charging circuit wasn't working properly, a problem traced to two wires connected the wrong way round and easily rectified. As Paul said "This ain't bad when you consider that loco has had a complete re-wire!"

As well as D1062 running, D1013 was out and about too, due to the failure of a steam engine (GWR 1501 suffered a broken axle spring) so D1013 was pre-heated in 30 minutes - a lot quicker than normal due to the higher than normal air temperature - and placed on the diagram that the steam engine would have worked. Paul also asked me to point out that there is absolutely nothing wrong with D1013. As I wasn't at the running day on the 31st May I have to rely on reports from those lucky enough to be there, so the reports of variable performance I received are not attributable to the locomotive. D1013 will be out this Saturday (21st June) on the diesel turn, first train 0955 from Kidderminster.

At the East Lancshire Railway, D1041 was started for tests after having some work carried out: A defective dynastart damper coupling was changed in an attempt to reduce vibration in A end cab and a new preheater also on A end, which had A engine up to temperature in under 40 minutes. Both engines were started, A end with a few vapour locks and lots of smoke then settled down and B end with no problems at all. The locomotive was moved under its own power with no problems and will be out next on 28th June on the Saturday Diesel turn. There is also a chance that D1041 will be out on Sunday 29th June as the ELR is short of working steam locomotives.

The theme days for the East Lancashire Railway Diesel Gala on 2nd-7th July have been published - the Hydraulic theme day is Wednesday 2nd July, which this year is the home fleet of D832, D7076 & D1041. On Saturday 6th July all available locomotives will be used so there is a chance of a bit more Maybach engined travel and on Sunday the theme day is based on that of visiting locomotives with the possibility of using members of the home fleet. No diagrams have been published so far.

Next Saturday (21st June) D1013 is working the diesel turn on the Severn Valley Railway.

I have just added two pictures of the former Yugoslavian 761 locomotives that now stand decaying in Subotica, taken on 23rd May 2003. Thanks go to Hannibal for these!

I have received news that D7076 is no longer visiting the West Somerset Railway between July & September. The diary page has been updated accordingly. While this is a shame, I understand the reason was the high cost of moving D7076 from and to Bury. The turns D7076 was supposed to work will most likely be operated by a member of the D&EG hydraulic fleet, D1010 & D7017.

While on the subject of the West Somerset Railway, D1010 performed very well all weekend including the Saturday evening "Fish and Chip" special. On Sunday there were some problems with one of the WSR steam locomotives which meant that D1010 had to be removed from its train to perform rescue duties. D1010 then stepped up its turn and ended up double heading with the class 25 on its last train. D1010 was removed from that train at Williton, much to the disappointment of the faithful.

On the SVR, D1013 also performed well on 31st May, much to the appreciation of the large gathering of followers.

This Saturday (14th June) see D832 out on the East Lancashire Railway on the usual Satuday Diesel turn, first train 0900 from Bury Bolton Street station.

A recent visitor to Greece reported to me that he was informed by local enthusiasts and confirmed by sight that nine of the ten OSE A401 locomotives had been cut up in recent months. He was told by a Greek enthusiast that OSE had given him an assurance that at least one would be put aside and parts from the remainder used to restore it, but it appears that OSE failed to tell its staff of this agreement as the eight locomotives stored at Acharne and the single locomotive (A410) stored at Piraeus works were comprehensively disposed of, including engines and generators. The sole survivor (A407) is located at Larissa, which probably prevented it from being cut up. What the future holds for this locomotive is uncertain, but rest assured, we will probably only discover when it is too late.

Concurrent with the news from Mark Alden about D1015 (Mainline page), Mark has also given the following update on D7029 at Old Oak Common:

"On the Hymek front D7029 has undergone a thorough internal body clean and painting inside is well under way. Work has started on removing the corroded cab side panels at the A end and a metal cutter has been purchased to cut and fold the new skin into place. It may be necessary to remove the complete cab to carry out repairs to the cab floor decking and to correct a defect in the cab door apertures which were caused by an accident in March 1970, both door apertures are 'over-opened' by approx. 1/2" which resulted in a poor cab door fit. It was not enough to warrant further structural repairs by Swindon Works but as we have the cab in a stripped down condition it is a good time to correct it. "

In Spain, the only bright spot in a week which has seen RENFE suffer another fatal train crash which left nineteen people dead and forty injured and destroyed RENFE Talgo locomotive 354.007 (one of the 1982-83 non Maybach locomotives), has been the return to service of 353.005. As reported on the "European Rail Gen" list at "Yahoogroups", 353.005 has returned to traffic working trains T200/T201 to/from Burgos.

D832 is working on the East Lanchashire Railway Saturday Diesel turn on 14th June (a few people have e-mailed me about it asking if the BHG site is correct because the date isn't on my site - sorry people, but I don't tell them when to run their locos!) and D1013 worked its first turn of the year yesterday (31st May) although there were reports that the locomotive was running at low power at various points during the day. I hope to have an update to this soon.

Also, I recently received an e-mail from Clive Barlow about some Japanese MD870 engined locomotives that were constructed in Japan between 1966 and 1971. The transmission is quoted on one website as being "Mekydro" so presumably this was a K184u. A Japanese page has been added to accommodate this new information

This weekend, D832 will be working on the East Lancashire Railway, during the "War Weekend". D832 will not be working passenger trains but will be working a freight train that will be "attacked". Also on the ELR, D1041 has been moved to the running shed at Castlecroft so that a new pre heater can be fitted to A end. Last Sunday (18th May) D7076 worked four return trips on the ELR due to a shortage of steam locomotives. Last, but not least from the ELR, D832 will be one of the exhibits at Crewe Works open day.

On the Severn Valley Railway, D1013 passed its fitness to run exam on 18th May. There was only one fault, an incorrectly calibrated brake valve, which was replaced with a good unit. D1013 will be out and about this Saturday (24th May) on a "line inspection train" which will most likely consist of the GWR Observation Saloon and will NOT be available for travel by the general public. Of course, it can be photographed! D1013 will be working a driver experience train on Friday 30th May (also not available for travel by the general public) and will be working the diesel turn on Saturday 31st May, which starts at Kidderminster at 0955 for two return trips.

A bit more on D1062's engine start, courtesy of Western Locomotive Association working member Paul Targett:

"As you had stared on your site, 1062 has had both of it's engines run up. The 'A' engine was a newly overhauled unit and this was its first start up. All went well with it. It has now run for a few hours at low engine speeds and is settling down nicely with a beautiful sound and very little smoke. The re-wire will continue and with some additional checking, it is planned to start and run both of 62's engines at the same time as this has not been done yet as a few more electrical checks are required, namely with the AVR's (Automatic Voltage Regulators)."

While there is obviously still a lot of work to be done before D1062 can be found at the head of a train, an event like an engine start is an obvious morale booster for all involved.

D821 will not be working during the Thomas event this weekend on the Severn Valley Railway, nor will it be working on the 7th June, which is the Saturday of the SVR's Heavy Horse Weekend event. As this weekend is sponsored by EWS, the alternative motive power (provided by the sponsor) fits the agricultural theme perfectly - 37422.

D1010 worked without problem last Saturday 10th May and now also sports a nice new set of correct size headcode blinds both ends.

On the Severn Valley Railway, D1013 has had a new set of name & number plates fitted and very nice they look too! This new set has been fabricated in metal. The fitness to run exam for this locomotive should take place on 18th May - the first date for D1013 is Friday 30th May for a driver experience course (no passengers carried) and Saturday 31st May on the SVR diesel diagram.

D821, also on the SVR, has had the replacement engine started but there were problems which may very well preclude this locomotive running on the "Thomas" event on 17th/18th May. If you intend to cover this event specifically to ride behind D821 you should check with the Severn Valley Railway first.

This weekend the West Somerset Railway have their "Cross Country Past and Present" event featuring lots of imported motive power (much of it of dubious quality), to the detriment of the home diesel fleet. This means D1010 is working on just one day, Saturday 10th May. D1010's booked trains are:

0905 Williton to Minehead arr 0935 light engine ONLY (does not convey passengers)

1935 Bishops Lydeard to Williton arr 2000 light engine ONLY (does not convey passengers)

On the Severn Valley Railway, D1062 & D1013 both had their engines started, D1013's as a test for the beginning of the season and D1062's in recognition of her 40th Birthday (or near enough - service entry date is quoted as 6th May 1963). There were some problems which need to be investigated, though after five years of inactivity this is only to be expected. Importantly this event should be recognised as a major milestone in the restoration of D1062 and is a credit to the dedication and enthusiasm of the WLA working members who have carried out this work in less than ideal conditions at the end of the headshunt at Bridnorth.

Also, D7076 was 40 yesterday - service entry for this locomotive is quoted as 3rd May 1963. Belated Happy Birthday!!

I received a telephone tip off that the Western Locomotive Association's D1062 may have undergone an engine start today at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway.

I have received news from Bury that if D832 has not had its air tanks re-certified as fit to use, D7076 will be the diesel for this weekends East Lancashire Railway "Thomas" event. Also, new Saturday running dates have been published for D832 & D1041, 2nd August for D832 (also clashes with D821 on the Severn Valley Railway) with D1041 getting days out on 28th June & 6th September (clashes with D1013 in a "Thomas" event on the Severn Valley Railway).

D7076 is out on Monday the 21st April only, Sunday the 20th being worked by D8087.

On the East Lancashire Railway this weekend you are likely to be treated to some additional Maybach haulage - due to a shortage of operational steam locomotives, D7076 is likely to be used on one of the turns on Sunday 20th and Bank Holiday Monday. During their Thomas Event (3rd - 5th May) it is also possible that D7076 could be used instead of D832 which has an air tank that has passed its inspection date and may not be passed fit for use by then.

Additional dates have been passed to me for the West Somerset Railway - D1010 is out on its own on Saturday/Sunday 2nd-3rd August and with D7017, D7076 and other members of the WSR Diesel fleet on Friday 19th September 2003. Don't forget that the 7th/8th June D1010 running weekend was likely to be poorly attended until the clashing D1015 railtour to Penzance was postponed, so you can still do a Western in the West Country on 7th June if you so desire and show some support for the efforts of the D&EG!

More pictures have been added to pages under the "V200 Roll Call" page. V200 015, V200 030, V200 036, V200 039, V200 051, V200 053 & "V200 Miscellany" have all benefited from more pictures courtesy of Keith Bullock.

D832 is confirmed as the locomotive for the Diesel diagram this Saturday at the East Lancashire Railway. First departure is at 0900 from Bury Bolton Street Station, with further D832 hauled departures at 1100, 1300, 1500 and 1700. The diagram was originally supposed to be operated by D7076, but problems with the boiler water tank and pipe work meant that D7076 couldn't heat the train. At least the substitute is a locomotive of equally high quality!

After a quiet week or so, a new page has been added to the "V200 Roll Call", called "V200 Miscellany" which is intended to place V200 pictures that don't really fit on any one V200 page or are noteworthy for other reasons.

Phew! A further batch of V200's have been added to the "V200 Roll Call" - Tom Sawyer passed me a fat envelope on the Western Quarryman tour filled with pictures and slides, some of which I've managed to process! New up are V200 004 (thanks to Keith Bullock), V200 035, V200 049, V200 052, V200 056, V200 064, V200 067, V200 070 & V200 076!

More V200's have been added to the "V200 Roll Call", again courtesy of Keith Bullock who has got the scanning bug! V200 079, V200 081 & V200 082 have been added, while further pictures have been added to V200 001, V200 005, V200 011 & V200 022. I hope to add V200 004 soon!

A posting on European Rail Gen at Yahoogroups stated that on 9th March 353 001 was damaged by fire while working the 1550 Irun - Madrid, in the Alsasua - Vitoria area. There was no indication as to whether the locomotive will be repaired, but in the history of Talgo locomotives fire damage usually means withdrawal. This leaves 353 005 as the only Maybach engined Talgo locomotive and indeed the only Maybach engined locomotive anywhere in the world in regular passenger service.

On the German "Lok Report" website (which seems to have a very strange view of what exactly a "Lok" is judging by the vast amount of pictures of multiple units, coaches and trams!) there is a picture of two of the three former Yugslavian 761's in their current location of Subotica, taken on 28th February 2003. The picture is toward the bottom of the "European News" page. Quite how long it will remain on this page is open to question, as "news" about new units, coaches & trams gets placed at the top the older articles get pushed off the bottom.

V200 005, V200 038, V200 044, V200 047, V200 077, V200 078 & V200 083 added to the "V200 Roll Call", again courtesy of Keith Bullock.

An update for the diary: D832 will be working on the East Lancashire Railway on 29th March instead of D7076. This is because D7076's train heating boiler is unlikely to be working by that time.

A fine time was had by all who attended the East Lancashire Railway for one or both of the days last weekend! Apart from a few niggles - D7076 being taken off the first train on Saturday so that a split union on a hydraulic hose could be repaired, the first train of the day being taken by D1041 (I don't think anyone complained!) and some trespassing by some members of the local youth on Sunday, all four locomotives ("Peak" 45135 "3rd Carabinier" being granted honorary "Hydraulic" status for the purpose of train heat & extra dead load for D1041 & D7076 on Saturday) performed well up to the high standards that are now traditional at Bury. D7076's train heating boiler water tank has been removed for extensive repairs as the pipe work inside the tank had decayed to such an extent that it was practically non existent. During the water tank removal work it was noted that the Mekydro K184u transmission currently fitted to the locomotive was one of the 25 Maybach built sets delivered around 1960 to get Hymek production started before J. Stone & Co. were up and running with production. An interesting piece of history!

After only a short period of time, the V200 Gallery has been redesigned so that the V200 pictures could be displayed in a "by numbers" form. The existing V200 galleries (Germany, Denmark and "Seminar!") will remain untouched for the time being, but some of the pictures may be duplicated in the individual locomotive pages. Additionally, Pa

Location	Arr	Dep	Notes
Kidderminster SVR		09:35
Kidderminster		09/45
Stourbridge Jn		09/58
Smethwick West		10/19
Galton Jn		10/30
Soho South Jn		10/32
Monument Lane	10:35	10:49
Birmingham New St		10/53	Platform 3
Proof House Jn		10/56
Tyseley		11/08
Dorridge		11/25
Hatton		11/32
Leaminton Spa		11/40
Fenny Compton		11/54
Banbury Jn		12/02	Goods Line
Banbury	12:05	12:58	Up Goods Line - Pathing stop
Aynho Jn		13/05
Bicester North		13/18
Prince Risborough		13/37
High Wycombe		13/46
Gerrards Cross		13/58
West Ruislip	14:08	14:14	Up Passenger Line
South Ruislip		14/19
Greenford West Jn		14/24
Greenfor South Jn		14/34
West Ealing		14/45
Acton Main Line		14/51
Acton Wells Jn		14/54
Willesden SWS		14/56
Mitre Bridge Jn		15/01
North Pole Jn		15/02
Kensington Olympia		15/06
Latchmere Jn		15/12
Clapham Jn		15/22	Windsor Lines
Barnes		15/28
Richmond		15/32
Twickenham		15/37
Feltham		15/49
Staines		15/56
Virginia Water		16/04
Addlestone Jn		16/12
Byfleet & New Haw		16/22	Slow Line
Woking		16/32	Platform 5 - Slow Line
Pirbright Jn		16/43
Ash Vale		16/52
Aldershot		16/59
Farnham		17/04
Bentley	17:11	17:21	Platform 2
Alton	17:30	17:34	Platform 2
Ropley MHR	17:59

News (Updated: 17/03/2007)