Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

To generate several more pages of waffle?

 

Ideally there should be more one off generous donations, but unlikely. Looks like one condition was to make it mainline certified
"The group hopes people can see Wadebridge departing London Waterloo in 2025"
and if it did some occasional mainline runs could help the MHR with extra income and publicity.
https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2020/11/mainline-return-for-steam-locomotive-34007-wadebridge.html

 

For clarity, is that purely on running and in service maintenance costs, or does it include allocation of restoration/overhaul costs as well?

 

My concern is that do we have to many loco projects chasing to fewer funds, be it a new build or just the restoration of an NRM artifact?

 

I did say I wasn't going to comment further, but that's a reasonable question so I will. It did not account for the difference in overhaul costs which are generally driven more by condition than by size of loco ( though obviously a new inner firebox for a MN will cost more in materials than a boiler for Talyllyn engine).

 

Future overhaul plans for the MHR have centred on the smaller locos. It doesn't look like it much because CP is one project and 34007 is another. The first is sadly long overdue as a result of far more extensive boiler work being required than could have been foreseen. Among other things NTD failed to find some of the faults later identified. (This led to a change in the way NTD is done on boilers).

34007 has come up the queue because money was available to do that specific loco thanks to a generous benefactor.

Here are two examples of the common reasons why overhaul of a steam engine in the 21st century doesn't run according to obviously logical business plans

All overhauls need space, people and money. All can be adversely affected or stopped by any of these. It is counter productive to keep starting overhauls until you have created the space, got a funding plan in place and identified the people. That's why 850 is still patiently waiting its turn.

 

Thank you - and I promise not to probe further!

 

And if there were fewer projects, there would most likely be less funds too. People will donate to projects that interest them, not a small set of projects dictated to them by others.

 

You do need space, people and money, and for that funding to keep up with the work plan, To me common sense says, that once 75079 is done, that the team, who overhauled the engine, stay together and work on either 73096, or 80150 depending on what can be raised from a fund raising appeal, as ever the boiler is the most expensive part, but assuming that its a 4-5 year programme to overhaul an engine from what is scrap yard condition, there needs to be a far more active appeal to get a rolling restoration plan funded, over time to at least get the mechanicals done, frames, wheels motion tanks , once done the frames can always be shunted into the head shunt if the boiler work is not keeping up with the chassis, Maybe the team who did the overhaul on 35005, could start on 34058 , possibly at Eastleigh, the main thing is this, there needs to be a program of active fund raising , to fund each stage of the work, working on the 80000 tank, would mean that there would be a medium size engine availible to the railway, in time, plus an appeal to overhaul what are engines that have never steamed in preservation, might work better than trying to raise funds for an engine that has ran previously,

 

Possibly. But people also respond to needs, so appeals based on providing what’s necessary might not do so badly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

An Ivatt is perfect and efficient for 4 coaches, she could do more and has done 5 in its current ticket and done considerably more in steam days and previous tickets as those who remember her mainline career can attest

However the MHR isnt a 4 coach line for all sets, the primary Alresford set is currently 5 minimum and on a Sunday Countryman is 6 including a restaurant car which is heavier than a standard mk1

A good class 4 is optimal, but you have to take what you can get, a 9f was appreciated on snowing Santa days as she just worked

Also the Ivatt is a class 2, but she more than out performs most class 2's in her range

 

It was rather late at night Peter, and I was what’s known as ‘knackered’ after a long shift across 2 sites, I merely quoted the number in 61264’s thread (although I thought it wasn’t quite right , I did know what locomotive he meant though)

 

Reading all the above posts, most people are saying MN and possibly a light pacific are just too big for a preserved Railway and the optimum loco would be a class four or possibly a class five in the power range. How does a 9F compare to a class 4/5 ,I only ask because a 9F firing grate is 40.2 sq ft.

thanks

 

80150 is a wreck with a huge patch in the firebox, most of the motion missing (I think the group have obtained some coupling rods) no injectors etc, and I doubt the tanks and bunker are salvagable. I'd have thought an overhaul would be multiple millions. This was an engine which got left in Barry for reason.

There are far better out of ticket engines to tackle.

 

Most of what you list are fairly standard items for an ex-BArry engine, but even locos that have been restored and run some years can cost a great deal as wear is uncovered in the course of an overhaul. The NYMR are having an entirely new copper firebox built for 80135, for example. Personally I would think that it's better to spend a bit more and get a loco better suited to what is needed. You don't say wwhich locos you think are better prospects, I imagine 45379 might be one of them but early AW black 5s are reaching a stage where they need a lot of work. The NYMR's 45428 has been said to be in need of new frames before too long and 54379 might be in a similar state.

 

Said that for absolute ages.

 

I have seen it elsewhere (45293's website) that 45379's frames are very tired and required not inconsiderable attention during her last spell in traffic.

Chris

 

Not much different to running a standard 4 bizarrely

 

Out of interest, what is the latest on 76017 itself? Is she still marooned at Sheffield Park?

 

Yes - though there are timings for 19th November for a movement to Southall on RTT...Realtime Trains | 5Z19 1707 East Grinstead Sidings to Southall Wcr | 19/11/2022