The West Somerset Railway has announced that BR Class 35 ‘Hymek' No.D7018 has turned her wheels for the first time in 23 years.
101 BR Hymeks were built up to 1964 and were allocated over the Western Region to be used as medium power, mixed traffic locos.
Hymeks were first introduced in 1961-4, with the final Hymeks withdrawn in 1975. Four Hymeks survived into preservation. Two of which are D7017 and D7018 and are based at the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group on the West Somerset Railway.
In 1995, an engine failure on D7018 rendered the locomotive out of action and then underwent an extensive overhaul.
This week, D7018 had her first loaded test run and was top and tailed with sister locomotive D7017. The two locomotives travelled the 20 miles from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead with coaches in the glorious October sun, making for some fantastic photo opportunities. On their return, the pair double headed.
It is planned for D7018 to be seen a lot more in 2019, more details will be announced soon.
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