Sunderland Council withdraws funding from Bowes Railway

Just seen this on Facebook:

This is an absolutely criminal act on the part of the local authority, especially given all the work which has been done lately to get the Bowes back on its feet.

 

Criminal maybe, but maybe there are higher priorities for scarce resources. It is particularlyregretable given the unique nature of the Railway

 

There undoubtedly are, but the Bowes is a potential earner for the area and we're talking here about a matter of a few grand which the railway could repay many times over in terms of its effect upon the local economy. Far be it from me to offer the proposition that funding has been withdrawn because the railway is taking up space which could be filled by shoddy flats built by the chums of Sunderland's elected representatives. The very idea is preposterous.

 

The Bowes Railway is not of merely local significance, it is a major piece of railway archaeology and deserves national funding if Sunderland Council is so short-sighted. 10K is a drop in the ocean in the great scheme of things - surely it can be found somewhere in the country?

 

Fascinating to railway buffs (never been there) but hard to promote to Joe Public I imagine.. ("we pull wagons up a hill with a rope..." won't appeal to many non-enthusiasts and most Ladies (who decide the nature of outings) would not be impressed :-(

 

It might be worth approaching the National Trust, which after all has some interest in railways, about taking the line on.

 

While this is clearly bad news for a unique piece of railway and wider industrial heritage, I suspect I am not alone in being slightly surprised that a UK heritage railway was in receipt of a subsidy towards running costs from a local authority in the first place. We are all used to seeking state funding for capital projects, but does any other UK heritage railwaysreceive running cost assistance from local or natioanl authorities?

(I know it is very usual in the former East Germany - the Harz and Dresden area lines both receive significant state funding for running costs).

Steven

 

Unless I'm mistaken, since the vandalism of the winding engine they don't pull wagons anywhere with a rope. They do/did provide rides in loco hauled wagons though.

 

Aren't there two engines, one intact and one practically destroyed by metal thieves?

 

It was the Blackham's Hill engine that was damaged beyond repair and that was the one they used to give demos. Not sure about a second one though. 2008 was a bad year as not only was the winding engine wrecked but several wagons were lost in a suspected arson attack.

 

there are but that's not their Unique Selling Point

 

It is a great shame that it has come to this, but in honesty I think it has only been a matter of time before this actually happened. I do feel for the guys and gals that have put so much into the place.

I doubt this will be the only Heritage railway "casualty" in the coming years as others will also find it impossible to make ends meet.

 

Sadly you are right, the writing has been on the wall for some time. It's very sad if it cannot be turned round.

 

With the website closed down and no entries on their Facebook page since Nov. 2013, it's hard to find out just what their USP is at the moment.

 

Back in the 1970/80's a lot of railways became very dependant on Job Creation and LA funding - when it stopped, many struggled including Tyseley.

Public funding is usually only allocated on a year to year basis and in the case of LA funding, decisions about funding from April onwards are only made in February when budgets are agreed. Thus, sudden "cuts" are common.

It emphasises the need for railways not to become dependant on public funding for business as usual stuff.

 

The news at Bowes is now being placed on a Blog - http://www.bowesrailway.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Poor old Bowes, always swinging from one crisis to another.

It's unlikely the council have ambitions for redevelopment of the site; Gateshead is hardly short of brownfield land and the buildings are mainly scheduled ancient monuments - even more protection than a Grade 1 listed building in terms of planning.

Part of the problem with the railway is that Springwell isn't easy to find and when you do its surrounded by modest suburban housing. But the Mount Moor incline ends a short distance from the Angel of the North, close to a modern family-restaurant style pub. If a way of carrying passengers up the incline could be found (as far as I am aware this incline was never adhesion-worked) to meet with steam hauled trains at the summit, could the Bowes tap into the hundreds of thousands who visit the Angel? It would probably cost a bit, but could give it a very prominent shop window and provide a real link between the old and the new north east.

 

Any news from the EGM?

 

As a new member here, I wish to set straight a couple of points.

Of the two Haulage engines, its the Black Fell one that has been vandalised beyond restoration, and there is a scheme in hand to convert the building into a workshop with residential accommodation, so what little of the BTH/Ropey Hauler will be removed.

The other engine at Blackham's Hill which was used to control both of the preserved inclines, (Which is in it self a rare item, and one of the reasons as to why it was preserved and "Listed" in the first place.) the Metro Vic/MB Wild one is still in working order, and was last turned over in January this year. Most of the operating equipment remains, although some of its lifted and in storage, other pieces are missing. There is a lot of work to be done to get both inclines working again, and it will be a long job, if the funds can be found.

As for that the railway has placed appeal letters in two of the "Railway" press, and a piece in the local news.....

http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2014-04-06/the-crunch-comes-for-historic-railway/

Time will tell if these efforts work...

One thing that may have helped the railway in the recent past, was an attempt to gain "World Heritage Site Status" for the railway as part of a larger group of early railway relics in 2010, supported by various groups including the Local Government of some of the various sites, but not those who own Bowes...

As for the EGM, all I can say is that the fight is not over, far from it....

The difficulty of the task ahead can not be underestimated.

If you have not guessed by now, I am one of the those who has returned, with the skills and knowledge to revive the haulage side of the Ancient Monument, and indeed I turned the engine over .