Tornado

So, there is no way for any change, and I guess things will have to continue on, to a slow decline, as long as people ignore the obvious mistakes and carry on donating, and if they don't, well, i am not going to delve any further, it seems to be too unpalatable for some on here, to contemplate. but as ever time will tell.
The people I feel sorry for are the ones who have donated to this, in the expectation of a reconstructed P2, join Tornado on the main line.

 

And that’s what this (ex) Covenantor decided to do – and my short & curlies have never been so financially well off...

 

Sadly the present board already gives every appearance of lacking at least some of the necessary skills. Would a collection of mates off the street be much worse?

 

The thing is, this is a trust that no one can trust. They've got one working loco with no work, except a few days on static display, most of which is at an event they've organised. The six month overhaul took two and a half years, for reasons not fully explained. Another is half completed and seemingly stagnated. Two extra boilers that are nowhere to be seen despite repeated assurances over the years. Communication is nonexistent.

The North Road refurbishment and event shows they can organise things, but even that shows they can't really be trusted - 60007 was initially shown as being there the whole time, when in fact it's only there for the middle weekend. They knew before they advertised it the loco wouldn't be there the whole time due to preplanned commitments. Even now the website states it'll be there from the 23rd onwards, but the SNGLT website tells a different story.

The upheaval in personnel a few years ago has destroyed the trust. To end up with your main source of income sitting idle with no work planned is appalling.

 

Never underestimate the risk of something worse...

More seriously, I would be surprised if the current board are as incompetent as that. Rather, the phrase "lions led by donkeys" comes to mind. If correct, I strongly suspect that one or two changes in key personnel could lead to a significant change for the better.

 

I am particularly saddened that those on the board with long service have in fact chosen to collude with the arrivistes, rather than upholding the historic values and competences of the Trust.

This doesn’t stop with them acquiescing to the, at times, unfathomable decision making, but even to actively promoting the disinformation and deceptions in relation to the overhaul, new boilers and P2 build.

They have also sought to gag those of us who have attempted to hold them to account and lay bare the reality behind the smokescreen. I for one will not rest until they are gone and probity returns.

Incidentally @Sir Ralph Wedgwood has some very senior contacts in the industry, so I wouldn’t bet against him put a board together if the opportunity arises …..

 

Really wish @Sir Ralph Wedgwood every success if he chooses to go down that route.
Might have crossed swords with him early doors, but his knowledge and wish for the best for both loco's and the trust is to be commended.

 

The ‘AGM’ is a closed meeting of the Trustees - I presume you mean convention?

 

Yes.

 

I suppose that the only real glimmer of hope is that the rest of the trusties, realise that there has to be change, and decide they can no longer support the chair, and those who have brought this situation, and apply pressure to make them reconsider, or they resign in protest, Hopefully then the chair, and others, might decide their future lies elsewhere, that could then lead to a change in the way the trust is able to hold its executive to account, by actually having supporters become members, and covenanters becoming shareholders,

 

Have any of you had a look through the accounts? application-pdf

£299k cash in hand. Was £750k last year. So they have burned through about £450k this year.

Donations have gone from £306k to £337k. Gift aid adss another £111k.

Staff costs are where I was wondering if there would be any surprises, but theres only 7 on the payroll at an average salary that is really nothing to write home about, £20k odd, which is very standard charity pay.

They have provided a decent breakdown across all areas. No, im not an accountant, but there is nothing in there that makes me think anything is untoward.

To stay on thread, there must be some work out there for this machine. There are not many that can run on the ECML for instance with that level of integration to the network etc, and there is plenty of time left in the year to find work.

 

Most sensible statement so far on this sorry state of affairs...

 

Accounts are always interesting for what they don't say. Also, don't forget these are for year ending 31 March 2024. So the info is c15 months out of date already. I susepct the donations and financial picture cover the post-covid bounce where the engine was definitely about to go out again.

Note on page three, they don't explain the whole story on the boilers (note as per above they may not have known at that point).
Then in "Engineering issues", note that "important engineering issues"(unstated) were "discovered" and these "have taken considerable ammount of time and expense to resolve". "It was also decided" to fit ETRMS. ie, idea that the complexity of fitting ETRMS causing the delay was not fully correct. The delay was caused by other things.

Note, anyone saying I'm reading too much into this needs to understand the statutory framework. The accountants won't sign off the accounts if not "true and fair". The company will wish to disclose the absolute minimum. Thus, this is the best spin they can put on it.

 

Here is the A1ST fluff, I wonder if the "other side" will counter any of this

"It has been a very busy time for the Trust of late with No. 60163 Tornado operating a busy schedule, activities in Darlington closing in on a complete and operational main line connection to our new works, and the tender wheels for the P2 off site being balanced. Whilst this is an exciting and positive time there has also been a development which will have an immediate impact on Tornado’s future main line programme.

Since our return to the main line in the Spring we have enjoyed operating a variety of tours, many helping to cover for the current shortage of available steam locomotives. Indeed, we have run an additional eight railtours, covering over 2,000 miles, to assist the Railway Touring Company (RTC) and West Coast Railways (WCR), in addition to already planned tours.

The A1SLT team have been content with the operating arrangements thus far, enjoying working with the WCR crews, and finding the agreement reached with RTC and WCR to be both fruitful and balanced. However, WCR management have subsequently advised that they are not content with the way the relationship has evolved and have now informed us that they do not wish the Trust to continue as an operating partner. Our well-established operating policies, procedures and governance, including our prioritisation of maintenance time and compliance with our maintenance regime, were recently at variance with the demands WCR placed on us.

To reiterate, we have found the arrangement until just recently to be balanced for all parties and we would be happy to continue working with WCR going forwards, should a compromise be reached. We are open to further discussions with WCR at any time, however, until the issue is resolved the locomotive will not be operating with them. This affects tours with RTC on 3rd, 16th and 31st August 2025. Naturally, we intend to develop alternative partnerships with other Train Operating Companies.

Tornado is scheduled to appear at The Greatest Gathering in Derby later this week, and our thanks go to the event organisers and DB Cargo for facilitating this movement. The locomotive will then be in and around Darlington for most of September and early October (including appearing at our annual Convention), before its visit to the Bluebell railway in mid-October.

An additional challenge to our main line operation has been damage to the support coach 21249, which suffered from a significant wheel flat when working in Scotland on 10th July. This was caused by an unsolicited brake application via the distributor on the coach. This application was initiated by vegetation encroachment on the lightly used Longannet freight route near Alloa, and necessitated 21249 being detached in the nearby loop at Alloa. With the support of our insurance company and the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) the vehicle was moved to Bo'ness by Direct Rail Services on 22nd July, after a wheel skate had been fitted by Rail Support Services. The coach will now be repaired as swiftly as possible and returned to traffic with Tornado in the coming weeks. We thank all those who helped with the movement of 21249."


Andrew

 

They survived on legacies which of course and one-off and unpredictable

 

I've just received an email too

 

I’ve got that too. I suppose it’s unusual for the Trust to actually keep us informed but I’m not sure we have the full story there, they have a huge credibility gap to fill. Intending to develop partnerships is just BS, there are none that can give them the volume of work they need. It now leaves RTCs August programme with no locomotives available, they are the ones I feel sorry for.

 

Statement leaves the door firmly open to continuing to work with West Coast and that decision to suspend operations lies firmly with 10A.
For everyone's sake I hope this is resolved ASAP, people I feel sorry for are customers of RTC - situation is now dire with the poorly health of 45212 & withdrawal of 34067. One or 2 men's egos are devastating the railtour industry unfortunately. Personally I think a takeover is needed even more urgently in Carnforth than at Darlington. It's not as if there is a shortage of steam locos..
Noteworthy that DB have quickly put Tornado on their books to move to Derby.

 

What from I've heard from a family member who works for DB, the crews have been very fond of Tornado and have long expressed a willingness to have it back with them. So I can see how it's been sorted quickly.

But on the other matter I agree and feel heavily for RTC in all this, if only they could have their locos and stock supplied by another company. That won't happen though.