A New Home for No. 9682

NEW HOME FOR No. 9682

After significant discussions, the DFLG has purchased Pannier Tank No. 9682 from the G.W.R. Preservation Group Ltd. based at Southall. Also included in the deal is a Great Western Toad Brake Van which will complement our existing stock of non-passenger vehicles.

A team of members have been busy getting No. 9682, which is currently dismantled, ready to move to Norchard, where it will join class mate No. 9681 whose overhaul is progressing well and will return to service in 2019.

As reported in the railway press, most of the steam fittings with value of £35,000 are missing, leaving the DFLG the task of sourcing or even manufacturing new ones. If anyone can help with this task, please contact us.

The DFLG is initiating a fund-raising campaign and invites you to donate to this project by sending a donation to the DFLG, Norchard Station, Lydney, Glos. GL15 4ET. If you would like to help further with the project and become a member of the Group please download a membership form from the website. The Group is a registered charity No.1164847 so you may gift aid your donation and membership, if you do please download one from the website www.deanforestlocogroup.org. We’re also registered for online donations, via BT MyDonate – simply search for ‘Dean Forest Locomotive Group’.

The 8750 Class locomotive is ideally suited to the scenic and challenging Dean Forest Railway and the thought of two engines consecutively numbered from the same class regularly working together in preservation is eagerly awaited.

Thank you for your support. If you would like further information please email deanforest.locogroup@virginmedia.com

 

Congratulations. For a railway that's always been in the shadows, with the recent Mk2 appeal and now this acquisition things certainly seem to be happening!

 

Excellent news.

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Scrapping the tolls on the Severn Bridges should hopefully attract more visitors.

 

surprised to hear that, I always thought it a lovely line, with an interesting history. Not too impressed with the bottom end but the rest of the line is very scenic . If it has one fault, probably unavoidable, there isn't a lot you can actually see at it's main base.

 

On thing that really surprised me on a recent visit to the forest was the amount of scrap metal along the entire length of the line. Surely a few trips up and down to collect it all and you could raise a lot of £££

 

Fortunately that's exactly what we are doing . It'll take some time to get everything cleared up, as some of this stuff has been lying around for many years, but rest assured we're working on it.

 

Do you really need them? Do you anticipate having more than one of the two in service at a time? If you're liable to be overhauling one whilst the other is in service...

 

Whilst this is great news for the Dean Forest, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for the GWRPG. They are now left with two 0-4-0 industrial locos, neither of which are operational and they seem to have had to sell the family silver (4110, 9682 & 2885) to get the running again. What are the long term ambitions of the group now?

 

A GWR Preservation Group who've sold all their GWR locos. Seems like they are giving up.

 

GWRPG past & present members deserve considerable thanks for saving the 3 GW locos in the first place. That they have had to pass them on to new owners perhaps reflects a trend where a reduced number of owning groups is a future likelihood. There is a limited perhaps reducing number of folk around who are prepared to give the considerable effort required to restore and manage such locos not helped by the plethora of resource sapping new build distractions.

 

Its just a manifestation of the reality that over time small groups will gradually coalesce (by sale or merger) into larger ones.

 

Not really. How many times do we hear what is going on in the Forest? It's one of those lines most of us know about, but rarely make the effort to visit or look up. It's only recently they've started doing things to get themselves noticed among the enthusiast community (summer steam gala / Griffithstown / Mk2 Appeal etc).

 

i've been several times, it's quite accessible, with a good car park. They always seem to be attracting a good crowd, maybe not many enthusiasts amongst them

 

Definitely worth a visit when 5541 is running....

 

Visited in September last (for the first time in many years) when we were staying in Monmouth, with my wife, daughter, her partner and our 6 month old Grandson. My daughter - a steam railway enthusiast who has been travelling on heritage railways since she was a few months old and is an occasional volunteer - described it as the most boring railway she's ever been on - mainly due to the lack of views and items of interest other than forest.

 

The Dean Forest is on my list of lines to visit during my holiday this year.
I have visited before, but that was about 12 years ago, so a re-visit is well over due, especially as there's now no tolls on the bridges.

 

She's clearly not sampled the delights of the Sittingbourne & Kemsley. A nice railway but not one to visit if you want views, unless you're a fan of industrial estates.
(personally, as long as there's a steam loco up front I'm not bothered about scenic views. )

 

There's a report on rumourbook that they are winding down the group and selling all assets. If true we should be grateful both for past achievements and a measured orderly retreat. Not hard to think of examples where stock has suffered from owners desperately hoping something will turn up.

 

Haven't they alreay sold all assets?