Tornado

Yes of course, it's a forum.

 

What is more than appropriate than the truth?

 

If there is a problem, then rather than have people only getting snippets of the facts, its far better to be upfront about it, accept there is a problem, explain what it is, how you intend to fix it, and get on with it, silence for silences sake works in no ones favour, unless its a legal mater, and then, there are ways to make a statement, telling just the facts, leaving out some detail that might be contentious.

 

This will need more than head scratching.

 

What are you doing? Firing them out of cannons? Or am I misunderstanding what all this is about?

Tom

 

I’d like to see how the costs break down. But if this includes writing safety critical software for what is not just first in class, but first in category, I find it quite easily to believe, simply on the basis of needing x days effort at y rate per day to deliver.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You won't get any facts about this one from A1 trust.
But perhaps santa is the answer to their prayers.

 

Good grief. Either post what you think for discussion or leave it well alone.

Whipping up a fury on an internet forum over some unnamed problem isn’t helpful. For any of us in any in the industry, actually.

It may be that any problem being encountered is having to be dealt with in a delicate manner.

Besides which, it’s not as if the A1 Trust don’t have contact details to go and ask directly if you feel that strongly about it.

But deciding to play the whole “I know something you don’t” routine on a public forum when speaking on a locomotive group is just petty.

Let them and the rest of us get on with fixing our charges in some peace, please.

 

Hardly a fury, the subject of discussion on this thread seems to centre around the signalling system fitment and it's cost.
If you are in the industry no doubt you will be well aware of what is going on.

 

And are you going to give a clear answer?

 

Yes, which is why I do not think it is particularly fair for anyone to go into a thread on an internet forum and start throwing stones without explaining why.

It is up to the A1 Trust how they do things, and as I said earlier, if you feel strongly about it you should contact them yourselves.

Everyone in the heritage railway industry is in it for the love of steam, we may differ on how we do things but ultimately criticising each other publicly does no one any good.

Again, I think you should either "put up" or "shut up" quite frankly, and deal with the consequences of the former if you feel so inclined. But if you are not willing to risk that, then stirring the pot is frankly petty.

 

I learnt a long time ago that those who shout 'I know something but can't tell you', generally know very little and are best ignored.
Learnt that on the school playground I think!

 

Yes I see the connection school playground and Nat Pres

 

Okay this is the elephant in the works …. the word from several well-connected, independent and trusted sources is that the much abused original boiler now no longer fits the chassis, and it’s not just a few mil out.

I have absolute faith in this disappointing news.

Yet had it not been outed on here, I fully expect the A1 Trust would have carried on with their usual ‘everything in the garden is rosy’ PR followed eventually by “it’s not our fault, please send us more money”.

In recent times they appear to have really embraced the ‘new normal’, post-truth way of operating.

This latest situation could have been avoided if the original plan, to which so many contributed funds, had been adhered to, and a new boiler fitted during the overhaul, leaving the old one to be refurbished without time pressures. The additional overspend on this so called time-saving change of plan is said to be well over six figures and that’s before this latest setback.

I know of what I speak, having spent a lifetime in project management, and also having assisted with the overhaul early on (well actually around the time the loco should have been nearing completion, 5 months in). At the point we were still scraping crap off the frames, yet the Trust was selling tickets for tours only a few weeks away. That is the reason I no longer felt able to volunteer with them.

As a supporter, Covenantor, parts sponsor and volunteer over 20 years something needs to change and fast, if they want to regain my respect, and contributions.

 

Crikey.

What a mess.

 

Wow! Long term repercussions will follow both to the trust’s reputation and to the future of both Tornado and Prince of Wales.

 

I am left wondering what has been changed such that the boiler no longer fits! I was under the impression that the overhaul was mainly a case of re-doing stays and retubing; are we now learning that major chunks of the firebox wrapper or barrel sections have been replaced? If that's the case it says little for the durability of the steel used or the boiler design.

 

I really don’t take much pleasure in the glee being expressed, to be honest.

Sheff, thank you for the considered response.

I wish the trust well and I hope all will be sorted in due course. There are no problems, only solutions.