Tornado

I dont have any evidence, and I'm only going by what the indications look , but, I think the A1 trust is in serious trouble, and the board have no way or idea of how to change things round, Tornado will in reality be managed now by Carnforth, who will be in charge of the loco whilst its in their care, It makes sence for Carnforth to organise the bookings and tours direct from their own offices, I would think that 21st railtours, might not be doing much, and would not be very surprised if there are changes afoot with the A1 Trust, with some people standing down, and being replaced

 

May well have a West Coast driver or route conductor, not sure VT drivers are cleared for the entire route.

 

Your evidence for this what?
The trust themselves are so confident they have cancelled other (presumably revenue-earning) activities as there is "risk".
This would be the same loco that has been running with an out-of-square boiler, a damaged cartazzi truck, was pulled recently for regulator issues...

 

All very true, but Tornado has not yet ran for extended periods at 75mph, It should move to Carnforth but will it be under its own steam, or with a diesel pilot, I would expect that it will move with a diesel pilot, and only run unaided once Carnforth have given it a though inspection and are happy with it.

 

I hope you're right, but am less inclined to give the A1 trustees the benefit of the doubt based on how we've got to here.

 

Martin read the email, it states the loco is undertaking its light test run - engine and support coach. This indicates it will be under it's own power.

Don't read too much into what we don't know, people are filing a vacuum with there own supposition here, much of it negative.
On the basis of what we do know these are positive steps towards an A1 returning to the mainline, which I am sure all of us want deep down.
The A1 Trust need the work, West Coast need the A1 - it's in everyone's interest for this to work out.

 

I think it is an ugly bit of drafting, but deconvoluted I think they are saying:

"we have reached agreement with Railway Touring Company and West Coast Railway Company that covers us to 2028 to provide Tornado to them for a significant number of tours each year during the current certification.

In other words, within the current period of the boiler ticket, they have reached an agreement with West Coast that goes through to 2028. They are not implying any kind of certification lapsing in 2028.

Boiler certificates last according to the organisations written scheme, but normal (mainline) practice would be a gross certification of 7 years, but with annual re-inspection and sign off by the boiler inspector. That "annual" normally has a bit of leeway: 14 months is common (but it is considered poor form to push the limits of that so as to get "seven years for the price of 6", as it were). The annual would normally involve non-destructive testing and observation cold and in steam; the seven yearly would typically require stripping at least as far as necessary to enable a complete internal and external examination of the boiler from foundation ring upwards.

Tom

 

All fair comment except maybe for the last sentence. From the information available it seems that WCRC have pretty well dictated the terms of the agreement, with the donors who have provided funding over the years having no say at all. If WCRC's word goes on the livery then presumably it goes on other aspects too, such as how much they pay the Trust for each day's work that Tornado does for them.

 

The language in the letter is ambiguous - it refers to "its base at Carnforth" where the grammar refers to Tornado but the sense suggests WCRC. As for livery, the clear implication of the letter is that the livery change is part of the deal - whether that is then "what Mr Smith wants" is perhaps a matter of speculation.

 

One would hope that the trustees have made a judgement on the value on offer - if they have just accepted a take it or leave it ultimatum on price and terms, then that leaves them exposed.

 

The Trustees have a duty to do what they consider is in the interests of the charity - that includes declining a deal if they feel the terms are insufficiently favourable.

As has been rehashed at many times on both this thread an others, there are no members of the A1 SLT, and therefore donors have no right to a say as to how the loco is managed. A wise Trustee would certainly consider their wishes in as much as pissing them off may have very material impacts on the future ability of the Trust to fund its activities, but that doesn't go as far as any right of formal involvement.

Tom

 

The press release says:

As part of this arrangement, we have agreed to enable the locomotive to appear in late 1950s condition​

Presumably that means a repaint into middle chrome green. I'll make no comment about whether that has been done at the request of Mr Smith or not, but the repaint seems to be part of the deal at least.

Tom

 

I'm wondering if this might finally push supporters into organising a coup at the Trust. However, its setup makes that unlikely, if not impossible. How could you remove the top table?

 

An operation that has a somewhat "Geldof-ian" approach to funding...

 

Well maybe, though other organisations are available.

FWIW, my own personal view about making donation is - well, they are donations. Once given, I don't expect a reciprocal right to manage how those donations are spent (beyond the broad confines of a charity having ring fenced funds for certain areas of its activity). YMMV.

Tom

 

It is not yet entirely clear how favourable or unfavourable the deal is, but it seems to me that declining it would have left the Trust with little opportunity to run Tornado at all.

What has finally pissed me off is not the WCRC deal, for which the Trust evidently has little alternative, but their failure to respond to my enquiring why I should continue to support them. (As a reminder, the Office Manager did pass my emails on, but after two months no-one higher up has bothered to give me an answer.)

 

They have two operational generator cars - BG 6310 and Mk2 BFK 17105. Both have been out in recent months, though they at in blue and grey. Maybe 60163 should go in large loco blue to match!

 

Because a loco can not access the mainline unless it has passed tests and had certification to do so by an independent vehicle inspection body. That is the rules and prevents Joe Bloggs driving his Jinty with square wheels into Birmingham New Street at rush hour.
The email states Tornado passed all it's mainline certification checks at the end of February.
It now needs to pass light and loaded test runs, which begin tomorrow, but it would not be allowed on the mainline if it had major defects.
Of course, running at 75mph may reveal some issues that can not be picked up at a static test, that's why you do light and loaded test runs! Blue Peter last year had vibration at speed during tests, hence a visit to the wheel lathe at Toton.

 

Perhaps the major customer; Railway Touring Company requested the change of protective coating colour?