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Western Locomotive Association has just a few
drivers allocated to drive Western Ranger and Western
Courier. Here are a a few details of each driver,
including their photographs, where available. Just
click on each photo to enlarge and, if you have a
better shot please send them to Roger Smith at info@westernloco.com |
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Graham
Gant
Graham Gant was born in Doncaster on 31st October 1956
and was educated at Danum Grammar School, Doncaster. Graham
served British Rail Eastern Region at Doncaster Works for
21 years, starting off as an Apprentice. Graham then moved
on to become a Production Engineer at Masonpinder Toolmakers
Ltd and now works as a Sales Estimator for Newburgh
Engineering at Hope Valley, Derbyshire. Graham's admiration
for Westerns started from spending a week's holiday
at Dawlish Warren in 1972 when he spotted 51 Westerns
and where at an impressionable age, the sights and
sounds were not easily forgotten! Graham has been a
working member for the WLA since 1976 (originally at
Kingswear!) and has long developed an affinity to Western
Ranger when he was asked by Graham Howell (WLA's Mechanical
Engineer at the time) to "keep an eye on D1013" from
1979, which he has now done so for over 20 years! Graham
is often involved on the technical side, especially
on the air and vacuum brake systems. Graham qualified
as a Class 52 Driver on the SVR on 31st July 1995 and
has so far driven D1013, D1023 and D1062. Graham states
that "Western Ranger always seems to be the better
locomotive, especially when it comes to being quick
off the mark!" |
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Don Shadwell
Don Shadwell was born on 4th August 1948 and was
educated at Bewsey Secondary Modern at Warrington, Cheshire.
Don started work in 1963 as a relief signal man at three
signal boxes in the Warrington area but often went on
"shed bashing" trips all over the country to
follow up his hobby for railways. One such trip
involved a visit to Crewe works where Don saw the Westerns
being built and his first sighting of Western Ranger
(a Swindon built loco!) was actually in the mid 1960's
at Swansea, very early one morning! During 1964, Don
was transferred to Warrington Dallam Shed where he
became a Fireman for 4F's, 8F's and 9F's
for freight work before being transferred to Warrington
Central shed. Don's last steam working was a 9F
- No 92218 and then he became a Second Man for Class
24 and 25 diesels. Don then moved to Birmingham to
work as a Guard and would often catch a Western back
as a passenger from Gloucester to Birmingham on a Plymouth
- Manchester working. Don now works as an Engineer
for British Telecom and works on the SVR as a volunteer.
Don says that he has always appreciated the aesthetic
design of the Western and was pleased when Western
Ranger and Western Courier arrived on the SVR and even
helped to unload all the spares! Don was one of the
first SVR drivers for Class 52's, having qualified
on 22nd June 1979. Don is also a Traction Inspector
on the SVR and is qualified to drive the Warship and
all types of SVR steam locomotives. Don does not have
any particular favourite Western but says "the
Westerns just provide a really enjoyable day out!" |
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Mark Smith
Mark Smith was born on the 10th February 1964 in Coventry and was educated at the Heart of England school. Mark's first encounter with Westerns and Warships was in the late 1960's whilst on holiday in west Cornwall. He says "I vaguely remember maroon loco's but the greater impression was the sound of them working hard!". His real interest in railways began in 1978 and was disappointed to discover he had missed the last days of the hydraulics by just 12 months. He joined the WLA and visited Bridgnorth in 1980 when D1013 was in sky blue livery and attended running days regularly during the 80's and 90's. He became a working member in 1995, progressing to Secondman in 1999 and to driver in 2005. Mark now works full time on the railway for Maintrain in Birmingham, having spent 20 years in the motor vehicle parts trade in Coventry. |
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Roger Smith
Roger Smith was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex on 17th January 1958 and
was educated at Ardingly
College, West sussex. Roger currently manages his own company "Stirling
Business Solutions", which is a management consultancy business,
specialising in selling businesses. Roger's interests
in Westerns go back to his school days and once during
the school holidays cycled 90 miles in trainers, jeans
and a rugby shirt to see a couple of Westerns passing
by at Twyford station! Shortly after starting work
in 1976, most of the salary was used to fund tickets
for the last Western railtours and so here the affinity
with Western Ranger began! Roger has been a working
member of the WLA since 1986, and is the WLA Chaiman and also a Director of the Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC. Thanks to some intensive
training from John Glover, Roger became qualified for
driving Class 52's on the SVR on 25th June 1999.
So far, Roger has driven D1013, D1015, D1023 and D1062.
Roger's states that his favourite machine "has
just got to be D1013" which he purchased in 1995,
so no surprises here! |
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Derek Wright
Derek Wright was born in
Plymouth on 22nd July 1938 and was educated at Plymouth
Public Secondary School. Being based at Plymouth,
it was not long before Derek became familiar with
the Westerns and first noted D1001 Western Pathfinder
(in maroon livery with yellow buffer beams) when
driving past Laira for work at Tecalemit Ltd in 1962.
Derek's
first encounter with Maybach MD 655 engines was actually
with the RAF from 1958 to 1962 when he was working
as a trained engineer for Air Sea Rescue launches in
Germany, which even included training at the Maybach
factory. The majority of Derek's career was spent
with the Fire Service for some 35 years where he became
an HM Fire Services Inspector, reporting to the Home
Secretary. Derek first recalls seeing Western Ranger
on "The Bristolian" excursion in 1975, where
D1013 hauled the train in both directions from Bristol
to Birmingham. Derek also recalls asking a Laira fitter
about the best Western in the fleet and was told "Ranger - the
best one, without a doubt!" Derek has been involved
with the WLA from the early days and started work at
Kingswear in 1978. Derek became the Chairman of the
WLA from around 1982 to 2004 and was originally part
of the maintenance team to look after Western Ranger
with Graham Gant and Hugh Searle. Derek recalls the
time when they managed to get D1013's steam heat
boiler working (long since removed!). Derek describes
Western Ranger's performance as "like a racehorse" and
mentions that "it's just a good, reliable
locomotive; a very nice machine to drive!" Perhaps
you should be visiting Western
Driving Courses to see for yourself?! |
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