Welcome to the 

WESTERN LOCOMOTIVE ASSOCIATION

Ah, the infamous Western pre-heater.......

Those of you fortunate enough to have enjoyed the joys of preparation and start up an MD655 engine are unlikely to have done so without facing the trials and tribulations presented by the engines pre-heaters. Each locomotive has two, one for each engine, and located behind the cabs and immediately before the cooler groups. The function is to heat the circulated water around the engines to warm them prior to start-up. Whilst the MD655 can be cold-started, this is not recommended, and can significantly reduce service life or even damage the engine. Notorious amongst the crews of Westerns in both BR days and in preservation, the pre-heater remains an enigma - capable of dropping the early-doors preparation team in the poverbial with a steadfast refusal to ignite the fuel pot. However, even if the cursed thing does burst into life, the fun doesn't stop there, and there's many a poor boy (or girl) that can lay testament, and show off their wounds, from wrestling with this beast - with singed eyebrows aplenty. In an attempt to tame the beast (and with a secondary aim of maintaining the heath and beauty of the working members and locomotive crews.... ahem), we need to breath controlled life into a number of these tired and temperamental beasts, and so we are Appealing to you for funds to purchase five new fuel pumps. The Appeal aims to raise £2,500 over the next 6 months in order that the benefits can be derived in advance on the new hunting running season. For the sake of our working members, please give generously......... (Ed. It helps to have a new fire extinguisher on hand - that's on start-up, not for your kind donations, of course)