SVR Loco Newsy News / discussions

I wouldn't have thought the svr management would have wanted an appeal for funds to purchase 45110, potentially taking away donations from their appeal to save the railway.
I believe 45212 is on a ten year loan agreement from the KWVR and don't know how long that has left to run.
Could be putting two and two together making five?

 

Welcome to being a PLC. It's great when it's working, but....

 

It’s not its irrelevance to SVR pre-preservation history that matters but its relevance to be BR Steam history that’s important. That last bit makes it more than “just another black 5”.

 

Just like 44871.

 

You could well argue that Carnforth is a more historically accurate base for it on that basis, it's closer to the route of 1T57, even if not the bit 45110 hauled.

 

Maybe we ought to have two minutes silence for 44781, then?

 

Well I must admit I can understand why members would weren't told nought about decisions (something which I find quite a bugbear).

At least this is somewhat a positive isn't? the SVR has some cash to stop going bankrupt, it would been a long time to get 45110 running again and the engine might be running quicker.

Although if it is West Coast who's brought 45110 why they not using that money for door locks?

 

I would call it a fair question, albeit one unlikely to get an answer.

 

You wouldn't think Carnforth is short of motive power but I guess they have plans they need to meet. Locking doors are largely pointless if there's nothing available to pull them.

 

Equally a shed full of locos is largely pointless if they can't pull anything with passengers on them.

Just because it's gone to Carnforth doesn't necessarily mean WCRC Ltd have bought it though, some other locos in the WCR stable are owned by various private owners aren't they?

 

Or they could be undertaking work for another owner. All speculation at this point, fun though that is.

 

The 8F is owned by Smith and I think Galatea is as well.

 

I understand they are owned by a trust, something similar to John Cameron's locos.

 

I am 100% behind this decision. Hears why:
Over the last 3 years the railway has incurred losses in excess of £1m inspite of receiving grants, appeal funds and furlough
payments of many millions. They are in breach of their banking covenants and have debts of c£1.5m. The interest charges on this
debt are c 100k pa and capital repayments required of c300k pa. The survival appeal for £1.5m is, in my view, going to provide
nowhere near that amount of money. Its about 400k now.

I was at the AGM earlier this year and asked the GM if the company had considered asset disposals to reduce the debt level.
He looked me in the eye and said all options were being considered and that there were no sacred cows. In my view there was no
need for the board to consult the shareholders on what is a commercial business decision. Interestingly it has been stated that
further asset disposals may be considered. All good provided the monies realised are used to pay down debt and not frittered away.

The debt is like a millstone around the company. The Blackie has been stored away at the back of the carriage shed for years.
It has been said that an overhaul could cost in the region of £1m, money the company does not have, and even if it did there
are other calls upon its capital. The loco isn"t needed. 13268, 75069, 7714 will all be available next year and hopefully 7812
will have returned from its holidays in Somerset. 82045 and 4150 may be ready by 2025. If you are going to overhaul a loco
then 1501 would be my pick. Withdrawn in good condition and would be considerably cheaper than 45110.

I appreciate the emotion behind the Blackie. I was on the Fifteen Guinea special and stood on the footplate of 45110 on
the evening of August 11th 1968 at Lime Street. I threw my steam gear like goggles, hat etc into the firebox. I was going to be
finished with the hobby. In fact I forsaked the mainline for the fledgling Severn Valley Railway where I became a volunteer
in 1969. But this was all 55 years ago for Gods sake. The world has changed.

There is some new blood on the board. They have a tough job. That involves tough decisions. This is a good start.

 

I may get burnt at the stake after this but to our customers to all heritage railways will have probably never heard of 1T57 or the date.

I keep repeating in conversations, enthusiasts need to take the rose tinted glasses off and realise we are not in 1970 anymore trying to recreate what was 2 years previous. We are tourist attractions that run steam/ diesel trains.

 

This is not meant to be a comment on whether 45110 should or should not have been sold , but while I fully accept that there are harsh realities that the heritage movement needs to face, the enthusiast/heritage movement has a key role as custodians of our heritage reaching beyond tourist attractions running trains.



Jon

 

I rather hope that we are a bit more than that. Preservation is very much dependent on the tourist market, true, but we also preserve and recreate history; if we forget that, what's the point? Why not just send them to Alton Towers or Blackpool Pleasure Beach? We aren't alone. This country has its share of historic buildings, historic road vehicles, historic ships and historic aircraft. The tourist income is important to all, but so is the preservation of history.

 

I would turn this comment on its head - 45110 is a significant locomotive and it has an important story to tell. I also think our railways have a duty to tell these stories - as more go for charitable status perhaps a legal one at that too.

Joe Public IS interested in such things if the story is told in an appropriate manner. Many people may like to post on Facebook or Twitter / 'x' (whatever it is called now), 'I was pulled by the last BR steam loco'. It has a bit of gravitas, is something different.

However, this story is only told if the loco is alive and active, not gathering dust in a shed.

 

A good illustration of that was yesterday’s train to Weymouth. You would think that giving out information and sales leaflets to the largely non enthusiast passengers would be fairly quickly done but no, people ask questions, when was the engine built, what’s its history, where is it kept and all sorts of other questions. I spent sometime talking to a 14 year old who was on a trip to the seaside with his parents, he’d never seen an engine in steam before and was really interested in how it works. If our ten minute chat has sparked an interest that makes him one of the next generation of volunteers then it’s all worthwhile.