APPEAL: Restoration of Drewry Car DB998901 at Middleton Railway

For those who have expressed concern, sympathy and support following the senseless vandalism of our Railbus RDB998901 'Olive' at the Middleton Railway in February the EM2 Locomotive Society can now formally announce the launch of 'Operation Phoenix' to restore her to her former glory.

Olive is the unique survivor of two vehicles built in 1950 for the Woodhead and Great Eastern electrification schemes and was converted to passenger use by volunteers between 1997 and 2000 and then used at the Middleton Railway in Leeds until the arson attack in February 2016. We now intend to move her to Vintage Carriages Trust at Ingrow in the first half of 2017 for professional structural and bodywork repairs. Once she is repaired and watertight Society volunteers will complete the interior repairs and return her to service.

If you can help with the costs of transport, repairs and materials then please see:

https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/5250#/DonationDetails
or
https://www.facebook.com/EM2LSofficial/

If you can make a donation - however small - then your support is much appreciated. If you have any questions then please contact info AT em2ls.org.uk

Thanks in advance

 

Thanks for all the donations so far but we have a very long way to go yet! There are now details of the appeal on the Middleton Railway web page (http://c9425687.myzen.co.uk/MRT2/index.php/development-projects/project-phoenix) and a new EM2LS web page is under construction.

Every little helps!

 

Thanks for the ongoing donations for Olive https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/5250#/DonationDetails. We also have a new website in an advanced state of construction at http://em2ls.jimdo.com/

 

If all goes according to plan our arson damaged Railbus 'Olive' will be moving to the Vintage Carriages Trust workshops in Ingrow in mid January for contract bodywork repairs to commence. This afternoon we undertook a tour of inspection to see what else needs doing to the interior. Whilst the interior is basically gutted, beneath the floor everything is basically intact. Whilst she will need a complete rewire above floor level we lifted the removable floor panels today and there is plastic wiring conduit below the floor which is completely untouched by heat or fire damage. We will need a new wheelchair ramp though...

There's a lot of work to do before Olive runs again but it's all achievable given time, effort and money. Today was the first time we have felt generally positive about it.
One thing we are definitely short of is money. Whilst money has come in following appeals in the railway press and elsewhere we are short of the target we set ourselves. We can cover the transport to and from Ingrow and most of professional body repairs but we need more to cover the interior materials. We're looking to raise another £5-7,000 on top of what we have so far. It seems a lot but anything - however small - will push us on the way to get this unique vehicle up and running again.

You can help by making donations via CAF donate at https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/5250#/DonationDetails or sending cheques payable to 'EM2 Locomotive Society' to 21 Harper Grove, Idle, Bradford, BD10 8NX. Further details at https://em2ls.jimdo.com/operation-phoenix/ or by e-mailing infoATem2ls.org.uk

Thanks in anticipation - and Happy New Year, it certainly should be the latter for Olive!

 

This is one of those items that get ignored by a large proportion of railway enthusiasts, so it will be good to be this back up and running.

 

It certainly is. Money is coming in - but very slowly - every little helps please! It is now likely that she will move to Ingrow late April/early May 2017 for the bodywork repairs. The rest will be directly proportional to the money coming in I'm afraid..

 

After lots of emails and phone calls we finally managed to get Olive on a lorry yesterday and she is now safe and sound in the VCT workshop at Ingrow with professional bodywork repairs due to start imminently. If all goes according to plan then we should have a watertight vehicle back at Middleton by the end of the summer and then we can start the rewiring and other internal repairs ourselves.


The money is coming in slowly but surely – and thanks to those who have contributed – but every little really does help. Broadly speaking the insurance and money raised so far will cover the transport and professional bodywork repairs but we still need to raise at least another £5,000 to cover materials. Not a lot to see a unique vehicle back in traffic, anything you can spare would be gratefully received.


You can help by making donations via CAF donate at https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/5250#/DonationDetails or sending cheques payable to 'EM2 Locomotive Society' to 21 Harper Grove, Idle, Bradford, BD10 8NX. Further details at https://em2ls.jimdo.com/operation-phoenix/ or by e-mailing infoATem2ls.org.uk

 

Fantastic progress on our arson damaged railbus with most of the fire damaged roof removed and the first new steelwork now in place. Thank to VCT engineer Chris Smith for his expertise and hard work in the two short weeks Olive has been at Ingrow.

Today saw three volunteers from the Society removing the last window frames ready to receive the new windows in due course and doing some general tidying. It's very light to work.in with no roof on!

Now the bad news. We have reached the stage in the process where the bills start coming in and the funds start going down. Whilst Olive was insured that won't cover all the cost of materials and transport. We need to raise around £9,000 to cover all of these and we are only about a third of the way there. Thanks to those who have already donated but every last pound really does help. The last few posts we have done around olive have each been seen by around 4,000 people. Just a pound from everyone would make a huge difference to us. We know money is short but we have literally had two donations in the last two weeks! It's not a high profile locomotive but it is a unique survivor and nearly 70 years old.

The Society will press on with the restoration and the volunteers are keen to see Olive run again - but at the moment this will depend on funds rather than labour. Please help to restore this arson damaged railbus if you can.

You can donate by using the link below or by sending a cheque (payable to 'EM2 locomotive society' to 21 Harper Grove, Idle, Bradford, BD10 8NX. If you would prefer to do a bank transfer please email info AT EM2LS.org.uk for details. We are a charity so Gift Aid is available too!

https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/5250#/DonationDetails

Thanks!

 

The dust has now settled and Olive the arson damaged Railbus has now returned to the Middleton Railway. Chris Smith of the Vintage Carriages Trust has done a superb job on the bodywork repairs but now the real stuff starts - a complete rewire, two new exterior doors and frames and a complete refit of the interior. From the outside she looks very smart and complete but the interior is a different matter and we have a long and expensive time ahead. Just to get to this stage, bodywork complete, most new windows fitted (and now covered) and transport to and from Ingrow has left us with a deficit of around £3,600. That's before we start spending money on materials for rewiring and refitting the interior. We have a team of volunteers ready and willing to do the work, but funds are needed too.

You can donate by using the link below or by sending a cheque (payable to 'EM2 locomotive society' to 21 Harper Grove, Idle, Bradford, BD10 8NX. If you would prefer to do a bank transfer please email info AT EM2LS.org.uk for details. We are a charity so Gift Aid is available too!

https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/5250#/DonationDetails

https://www.em2ls.org.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/EM2LSofficial/

Thanks!