Rant

Hello,

Just want to have a quick rant, this will likely be deleted and I will be penalised as a result, but never mind!

Collection X, the fabled Phylis Rampton Collection. If anyone on here at all knows the share holders please could they just drop a word in for me. Why can they not just take a picture of all their locomotives and publish it somewhere, or let Heritage Railway magazine view the collection for a one off special just so I know and can see everything that is there and be happy! Because I love me some narrow gauge, and the thought that there are so many locomotives that I have no idea what they look like, that could be steaming around so many beautiful railways just makes me saaaad!

Anyways, never mind, I am pretty much resigned to the fact that I will never see these locomotives. Shame

 

Why Heritage Railway?

Andrew Charman
Managing Editor
Narrow Gauge World

 

Because if they do that now then there will be less incentive for people to go and view the collection when hopefully one day they get round to putting it in a museum.

I look forward to the day we found out what's in there, but I'm in no furry, it's only some rusty metal...

 

I've met Peter Rampton (at Abergynolwyn Station) and found him a charming gentleman who has invested a huge amount of his own money in saving NG locos from around the world as well as investing in the operation and renewal of the Vale of Rheidol Railway.

I really think it is counter-productive to rant about the Phyllis Rampton Trust.

 

Exactly, moaning isn't going to help. No doubt this will eventually get addressed out by someone well meaning complaining to the charity commission on whatever pretext. That may not be the right way to go about it though in the interests of preservation.

 

There actually evolves an idea out of what Mr Auckland has said in his first post. If photos were taken of all the engines and there was a page on each with a little bit of history writtern next to the photos of the engine along with how it was saved, where it came from, and techncal details. The trust could produce a small book or large magazine which could go on sale to those are interested creating a bit of money to help fund these restorations. Not up to us to say what the trust does i think we're lucky that Mr Rampton and the trust has saved this collection of engines for us in the first place, although u say that you may never see them in your lifetime down to Mr Ramptons forsight you may or maynot see them where as if he hadn't have saved them then you almost certainly wouldn't have seen them.

 

I think that's a great idea. A small book or magazine article would be very interesting. I'm not really interested in the actual trust, it's motives etc but I would like to see some of the engines it owns. Perhaps Andrew at NGW could take up the challenge of producing something?

 

I don't see why people think they have an automatic right to look at someones private possessions. If someone rang you up and asked you to photograph everything in your house what would you say? Why should the trust waste it's time photographing everything for the benefit of a few nosey enthusiasts when that time could be better spent restoring the collection and finding somewhere to display it. I doubt the collection is stored in a way that would make photographing it worthwhile anyway.
Tim

 

I don't think anybody feels they have a right to view anything but if someone rang me up and said they were interested in seeing something I owned and would give me money for the privilege, ie pay for a visit, magazine article, proceeds from a guide book etc I wouldn't mind. If it doesn't happen then so be it but there's no harm in asking.

 

Post Deleted

 

The trust fulfil's its charitable status obligations by making part of it's collection freely available for all to view and experience (for a fare) - the Vale of Rheidol Railway.

 

The problem there being that the trust has nowhere near enough time to restore everything in the collection. It was a fantastic resource to save some rare stuff when less groups were around - but with the manpower now, isn't it time some bits and pieces went to potentially better groups?

It'd be nice to see the IoM coaches back on the island for example....

 

right to reply to the original post here im sorry but why should a bloke 'have to' show off his PERSONAL collection!! would you like it if hoards of stamp enthusiasts came round to your house and kept banging on your door wanting to see your collection of stamps? i dont think you would! so why should Peter! as a paid member of staff at the VOR i find it hilarious that there are people like you around! now dont get me wrong i am a steam nut but i dont go around other railways wishing to look at every single piece of tractive power i am just happy to know they exist and that something will eventually be done to restore them!

 

Wow wow wow wow...how am I hilarious!? All I wanted was the chance to know visually what the collection was like. If I had a stamp collection and they were especially rare and people wanted to see them, I would be more then happy to indulge them, as, if I was into the 'hobby', as I presume I am if I had such a large collection of stamps, then I would more then understand why people desired to see such a rare collection of stamps! Thats basic logic really.

I am not demanding by any means that anyone should show me their stamp or train collection, all I was saying is how much I would like to see it, which I am sure we all would. Then again, I didn't have to resort to a personal attach to say that either...

 

This is one of those places that has caused many an argument in the past. I tried to email the trust a few times several years ago, just for confirmation the loco's still existed more than anything else. I received no reply. I won't hold this against them as many of the main NG operating lines have completely ignored my emails in the past as well. Some people are interested that you are interested, others don't really care for your interest. This trust seems to be the latter. However, I appreciate this is their choice and have no obligation to myself or anyone else to provide visits to their private property or provide Information. I also understand people's grievance's at being kept in the dark about what is going on with a collection which does consist of some rare locomotives. I agree with SpudUK that a pictorial record with some details, future plans for the locomotives currently stored, that are not viewable for the general public will help to appease a situation that has caused much conflict in the past.
With only assumption left to work with I feel the locomotives are probably closely packed together and now in a very poor state after many years in storage, albeit under cover, so photo's are not very likely or favourable to the owners.
Steve

 

I do get so irritated when 'enthusiasts' consider that they have a 'right' to view privately owned items. The same problem exists in the aviation world where plane spotters feel they have the right to enter private hangers to take registration marks.

This is the 'Ian Allen Syndrome' where every loco/plane/bus has to be 'cabbed' by some spotter type whether it is privately stored and owned or not.

 

This is a very odd thread, many posters seem to be mentioning the "right" word yet nobody has actiually said that they feel they have the right to view the collection. People are just interested - at the end of the day it won't make a whole load of difference!

 

Folks, approaching the Trust and requesting to view the collection will be rejected. You'll find you are wasting your time. If one individual is allowed to view the collection, then everyone will want to! Try and put yourself in their position and you might see! This is a private collection after all and the owners are well within their rights to restrict access. As has already been mentioned, had the Trust not saved these locomotives in the first place, then they would almost certainly been scrapped and lost forever. I agree with lynton&barnstaple's view of an Ian Allen syndrome, as nice as it is to be able to say you have seen X, Y and Z, it is not always feasible - You are just going to have to cut your losses on this one. There are plans a foot to develop museum facilities on the Vale of Rheidol, but this, as all things is a long term project.

 

In what way would that differ from the current position? Scrapped or locked away for ever - same effect.

Had the trust (was it a trust in the early days?) not "saved " these locos, there is a possibility that some of them would have been saved by someone else.

 

The possessions are not somebodies private possessions, they belong to a charitable trust. Charity No 292240 if anybody wishes to have a look on the Charities Commission website.

This states the objectives shall be:

to preserve, exhibit, display and loan for demonstration for the public benefit and for the advancement of technical, historical and general education, steam and other railway locomotives, rolling stock, equipment, machines and relics which are historical, operational and of general interest and in addition are of educational value. The objective of the charity is also the preservation, maintenance and promotion of narrow gauge railways

There is also a statement under public benefit which is ambiguous whhich states that the public can see the lococomtives in operation on open days without charge. The ambiguity is wether this relates to the VoR or the locos etc owned by the trust.

I would suggest that there is a clear statement that the locos will be exhbited for dispaly to the public and therefore presumably the public have the right to view at the times the trustees designated. Presumably therefore there is no right to demand to see locos at any time, but equally it would be a requirement that from time to time they should be on public display.