34039 Boscastle WC class

The Shed Tours were very busy - particularly on the Saturday which had sunshine and the event had a good feature on Friday's ITV news.
However it is a serious concern that we have had no response to our requests for help using various means. This particular forum is read by many enthusiasts - both armchair and existing volunteers. There has been a good insight into boilerwork by several posters - but nothing about offering work to help complete Boscastle.
What can we do?
How should we go about getting more people involved?

 

I think perhaps part of the problem is that many active, existing volunteers are already working at or near capacity in terms of their time or energy - that's certainly the case for me. I also think if you're an active volunteer at a railway other than the GC there may be political issues if you are suddenly going to start sharing your time between your existing railway and the GC
For armchair enthusiasts who aren't currently volunteering at a railway - there could be any number of issues. Some you cannot control - things like people's time or money to commit to volunteering. Others might be people thinking they aren't able to help because they don't have an engineering background - so you might benefit from both encouraging people that you don't need an engineering degree or prior experience to help with working parties and/or highlighting other, non-engineering based ways people can help

 

It's quite common for volunteers to be involved with two railways. I can think of lots of people who fall into that category and it was something I've done since 1964 until last year. You tend to look at one as your main base and the other as a holiday line. I even know of one person that had involvement with four lines until relatively recently, treating two as local at weekends and two as holiday lines, going for a week or two at a time. If the GC don't like that then they are shooting themselves in the foot but I've heard of that fact in times past.

 

There’s a difference between volunteering in two places, and reducing your volunteering at one to find time to volunteer elsewhere, though.

My own sense is that @ruddingtonrsh56 is on the money with a general point, even if not necessarily on the specifics. People are time poor, and have commitments. Other threads have discussed the evolution from visitor through member to active volunteer; I’d suggest to @Flying Phil that patience is required, together with careful use of direct approaches.

 

But the MNs were the only locomotives listed with TIA. In France, after numerous tests, the SNCF finally deployed the TIA process from 1941 on all SNCF steam engines. As a result machines equipped with TIA managed to travel more than a million kilometres without intervention on the boiler. Fuel consumption was also reduced: to tow 1,000 tons over 1 km, fuel consumption decreased from 65 to 52.4 kg with TIA.

From the Clan Project, https://www.theclanproject.org/design/Clan_Boiler.php

"A steel firebox is more prone to corrosion problems than a copper boiler. After the introduction of the Merchant Navy class, fireboxes were lasting about 5 years before being scrapped with major corrosion issues. This led to the introduction of the T.I.A. water treatment developed by M. Armand, the Director-General of the French Railways; this significantly reduced the corrosion problem."

 

Thank you ruddingtonrsh56, Steve and 35B. This is what was written in our last Boscastle Bulletin for members of the Boscastle Official Supporters Club and to our shareholders.

"How YOU can Help
There are many ways in which our supporters can get more involved with the restoration of Boscastle. Obviously, there is the hands-on work with the locomotive but there are lots of other opportunities ranging from fund raising, secretarial, social media, publicity etc – just let us know that you want to help more and we will find work that you can do and will enjoy! Just e-mail ( news@boscastleloco.co.uk ) or leave your name with one of our Tour Guides – we will certainly get back to you! Please do consider this as we need a person or people to take on the Company Secretary Role for BLL, also, we need extra Shed Tour Guides – full support and training (if needed) will – of course, be provided."

We do also mention these aspects, as part of the shed tours, with interested people.
It is just trying to spread the word and looking at alternative approaches that we may have overlooked.

 

As a general point about recruiting new volunteers, in my experience I find that putting the call out for a particular role is a lot more successful than a general "we need help please". In the past year or so I've had posts put up on our social media advertising for someone experienced in welding , someone with woodworking skills, and people interested in upholstery, no skills required. In all cases we got two or three serious responses and at least one person signed up and in the workshop within a month.

Sent from my PGT-N19 using Tapatalk

 

@Flying Phil - Have you tried asking in the local press, the local BBC News, or local radio?.

 

Hi Bristolian, sorry for the delayed reply. We have not tried those methods as they seem a bit too "general" in terms of their audience. We will be having "Boscastle Shed Tours" this coming weekend for the Spring Steam Weekend (March 1/2nd) and our guides do talk about the various volunteering opportunities as we go round the shed.

 

I can assure you the GCR have no problem with this... GCR volunteers who I know personally also volunteer or have volunteered at railways as far flung as Swanage, West Somerset, Ffestiniog and Strathspey, to name but four...
I think the point about many of those who would like to volunteer having already maxed out their free time are valid though. (Personally, I have never been so time-poor as at present (blame the kids for that) and my volunteering time has suffered. I'm not happy about it, but that's where life is at, currently.)

 

The GCR might be fine with it but their other railway may not be so keen, especially as there are some railways where historical politics mean their relationships with the GC are not as good as one might hope...

 

I concur with the time element.

We run out own small business and have young kids so my opportunities to volunteer are very finite, and also reliant in cash flow at the time.

I'm lucky we have the local industrial museum and miniature railway only a few miles away, so sometimes I can pop in just for a few hours.

Chris

 

Do you think having the current ownership structure (private limited company, apparently beneficially owned by a number of individuals, the majority shareholder being Jeremy Hosking - all info from Companies House) is an attractive structure for seeking volunteer assistance?

 

If I had transport (sadly I don't, being unemployed) I'd have loved to be able to help.

 

As with several other preserved locomotives, the ownership structure has actually evolved over the years. Initially the locomotive was purchased by an individual (James Tawse) in 1973, who used his own money to fund the initial part of the restoration (Plus much support to the MLST/GCR). Then he offered effectively shares in the locomotive via a "Syndicate" structure whilst retaining half the shares. This funded the return to steam in 1993.
When the locomotive was withdrawn from service in 2000, the initial work ran the cash reserve out and the Private Limited Company was formed in 2005, with the syndicate members receiving pro rata shares in the PLC. The remaining share sales ....and subsequent share issues, have funded the overhaul to date. Many of the volunteers are also shareholders and from the syndicate days.
We all want to see Boscastle steam again....and be first to cross the "Gap"!

 

Thanks. I understand that the structure has evolved pragmatically to suit the circumstances but I do wonder whether a non-shareholder would find it attractive to volunteer.

 

It's an interesting question. I'm not involved in Boscastle and I've also never (knowingly) met Hosking, but I have heard it mentioned in the past that he 'loves Bulleids' and stumped up some cash to bail out the loco. When James Tawse initially ran out of money there was a very real chance the loco would have had to be sold, and everything after that was done to keep it at the GCR. What Hosking's motivation for providing significant funds for this loco is, is his business, but based on the Companies House information he's never been a board member so it would appear that he's content to sit in the background as a major shareholder, and leave it at that. I've never heard any talk of the loco going main line, for example, which would seem to indicate that it isn't part of his longer term plans for LSL. Of course, pure speculation on my part, but I'm sure if people feel there's a risk it will leave the GCR then they can factor that into deciding whether to help the project or not. (It has been there 52 years though... my guess is it isn't going anywhere.)

 

My question was not so much about the personalities involved but the concept of providing voluntary labour for someone else's benefit. So in view of the corporate set-up of BLL, a volunteer's efforts would appear to accrue to the economic benefit of the shareholders. Some volunteers may be happy with that of course.

 

Huochemi makes a very valid point, but I suspect it could apply to many projects associated with volunteering. The GCR is a PLC and I volunteer there, the Windcutter wagons are owned by the DCRT which is a charitable trust....and I volunteer with them. As a volunteer I freely donate my time ( and often money) for a variety of reasons. There is the camaraderie of working with others, the pleasure of seeing our work in action and it being appreciated by others, the knowledge that I am putting something back, into what has given me pleasure over many years. There are of course other benefits of physical exercise, mental engagement, social engagement, self discipline etc.
Most volunteers enjoy most of what they do, most of the time...... and are happy to do so.

 

That of course assumes that railway preservation generates "economic benefit". It would be interesting to know what returns have been generated to those shareholders, in comparison to the money they've put in.