Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway

That’s not what I meant by my post #533 above.

 

Being brutally honest, that may, just, be the saving of this project, by removing the most controversial member of it from the scene.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

How sad, deepest sympathies to his family and friends

 

RIP fellow Railway lover. You weren't conventional as most of us are, but maybe that's a good thing.

 

There were reports a couple of months ago that he was too ill to be his usual combative online self.

My sympathies to his family and everyone who worked alongside him on the T&BFf

 

Article in The Daily Post

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/goodbye-loveable-rogue-behind-project-14898878


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

The mention of "lovable rogues" has sent my memory back some 30 years to the abortive Brighton Locomotive Works scheme.
Does anyone know what became of Mike Cokayne?

 

Is that the same Mike Cokayne who started the group to build a Patriot? If so I believe he lives near Oswestry. But this is from about 4 years ago.

 

It would be, In the past he did mention this ambition of his, but I never realised that it was him who actually started the Patriot project. He must be getting on, now. I do hope he's still around, and gets to see his dream to fruition. He was a smashing bloke, if rather unconventional. I think the problems of the Brighton project just about tipped him over the edge, but hardly surprising. It really was a Hydra.

 

The project he started was in the 1980s I think. Nothing to do with the LMS patriot project, he was a member of ours until 2015 but then never renewed.

 

Wasn't there a Steamport, Southport connection with his proposed project?

 

IIRC Gordon Walker, the first? chairman, had proposed doing a new-build Patriot. I think this was after his idea of building an L&Y Dreadnought.
Ray.

 

I remember when I first joined the LMS patriot project there were stories of a couple of failed attempts at building a Patriot. One being the Mike Cokayne and there was another with someone else. If my memory serves me correctly the second one, the person who started it actually managed to get loads of drawings and when we approached them to see if they were interested in joining and helping we were told where to go. No idea who that was though.

 

See

See post 552 for identity.

Bob.

 

Hello,
can anyone summarize what hapened in the past months and what's the current situation of the Railway line? And what are the plans (the facebook page isn't telling much…)?
https://www.facebook.com/BFRHT/

 

To find the full details of whats happening its probably best to become a member or wait until some information is gradually released to the public domain.

The new trust was formed from the AGM of 3rd February this year and numbers have been steadily increasing since then. The committee has just launched its 30 page Strategic Plan to the members which includes references to phases of works and costs (hint its more than the £1.5 million mentioned here previously!). There is a lot of work to be carried out to get to the stage where they are back on the line so nothing will be (or is expected to be) quick. Probably best to become a full member to get copies of the newsletters and to be able to read the Strategic Plan in full and the various phases documents as they become available.

 

This might be of interest to some: from FB this morning:



https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/St...Vi2tAuhHReF9u1MFK4_UCNCKwuEh-pIf_Q4GJNa6RdjEA

 

Perhaps somebody who subscribes to Farcebook could enlighten those of us who don't.

Bob.

 

I can't see it either despite being on Facebook, perhaps a screenshot @nick813 ?

 

Here's the file attached, from the Bala and Ffestiniog Railway Heritage Trust Facebook page.