4920 Dumbleton Hall

However, those are upfront decisions where the options are laid on the table and decisions are made following discussion. If a P were sold and you thought it were being sold for one thing and then it turned out that this were not the case and it then ended up on a boat minus most of its parts would you really be indifferent to what had happened because it was one of several?

 

Exactly, that is the main issue here. The potential lack of transparency with some stakeholders, who might have made a different decision if they’d had the full facts.

 

There is certainly a sizable interest in UK heritage in Japan. I was recently contacted by someone writing a feature on UK heritage railways for the Japanese 'Mr Partner' magazine (http://www.mrpartner.co.jp/ for those of you who read Japanese ). It will feature several railways and is scheduled for the March 2022 edition.

 

But we don't know what was said or agreed during the sale process. Have the previous owners made any comment or threatened any action? It is *their* responsibility to sell it in the correct manner, based on whatever rules applied to the loco, and for *them* to take any action (if they feel this is necessary, affordable or achievable) if they believe that they were deceived in some way.

 

I do wonder how this will affect any future donations towards the South Devon Railway and any projects they may have.

 

There are two separate issues which are upsetting people, summarised in these two posts. the first is, whether 4920 was sold for export without consulting or informing the shareholders. Would they have agreed to such a sale if they had known? This has the potential to lead to all manner of accusations and unpleasantness, although in the absence of any official statements, we can only surmise what may or may not have gone on.

The second is that, understandably, quite a few enthusiasts feel sad that a UK-built loco has left the country with no guarantee that it will return. As Tom has pointed out, however, 4920 isn't lost and quite well may not be gone for ever. Never mind the Binbrook Crab, 3612, 48518 and 7927 are all gone for good with 5227 likely to join them, 30841 looks highly unlikely ever to steam again as its frames are damaged and its boiler in on 825, 92245 probably is another lost cause and 34073's prospects don't look that good either unless Mr Hosking wishes to add a "Flat Top" to his collection and whoever now owns it is willing to sell.

I would say that there is more likelihood of 4920 returning to steam one of these days than these locos.

 

There are also, of course, the precise circumstances regarding what it has been sold for.

 

What it has been sold for is to form part of an exhibition, safely under cover. If it was going to be exported at all, what other purpose overseas would have been any better? (Excluding the vanishingly implausible case of restoration to running order and operation on a railway.)

 

The advert on the page todays is Harry Potter the advert must be controlled by them and they just rubbing the salt into the hounds. I’ve never seen a harry potter one on here ever before. I’m not sure if I’m happy about it all or not as the pictures show it in a really bad state and the Japanese will look after it better than sourth Devon railway ever did. But it should be here really and it will probably be a good idea that steam railway book does a appeal to get it back like with pendernis castle. It is not good that all the railways don’t look after the engines well enough really that they have to go abroad for better homes or scrap them like the sentinel. One idea I had once was that all the railways go together to buy a museum that they send all the engines that don’t work to to make them not rust away. The railways will pay a tax to pay for it but people can look around and the engines are safe

 

An exhibition that would display it as something it is and not something it is not.

 

Before people start to assertain blame, What was the reasoning the loco was sold? If i remember correctly the SDR 's axle loading makes the Hall to heavy to run even if it was restored, Every railway has just come out of a period when revenue has been hit very hard by restrictions placed on it by Covid, So, were the SDR, who owned the loco, and who own the branch faced with a situation where finances were dire, and they had this asset that they could never run on their railway, and that someone had made an offer to buy? lose the loco, use the money to save the railway? that sort of equation What i will agree with though is the committee should have been more open with the shareholders , if they knew the reason why Warner bros wanted the loco, and what it's plans were, prehaps then the sale might have not gone through, or if members had been told we need the money, and our axle loading prevents us from running it, and to increase the axle weight, would mean more expenditure, might they have been pragmatic about it?

 

I believe the SDR has (at least in the past) been Red Route Rated - I'm sure they've had a 5600 there in the last 10 years or so which is similar axle loading to a Hall. Plus they've had locos like 60009 run over their metals to Buckfastleigh for repairs. So I think it could have run (unless, like the WSR, they have since downgraded their maximum axle loading), but a Hall arguably doesn't fit with the Branch Line vibe the SDR are going for (which I think is a similar reason to why 3803 is up for sale).

 

It's based on your browsing history. If you've googled "Harry Potter" or looked at a related website in the last few weeks, those are the adverts you'll see. It isn't a deliberate attempt to rub salt into anything, let alone the poor hounds.

 

Who are 'them'......?

 

Indeed, I am old enough to remember the previous complaints from some posters that all the adverts related to where one could obtain a foreign bride from...

 

Well, whomst among us has not etc