6024 King Edward 1

Well, they were interested enough to bankroll it to the tune of £3/4m, even for Mr Hosking that's an order of magnitude or two beyond what you might chuck in a collecting tin on a whim...

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I would expect them to as it was effectively 'their asset!

 

And have then spent a considerable amount more on the work at Crewe. If I wanted to seize control of an asset by the back door, there are plenty of other cheaper ways I could do that.

 

Although it was so much more than just an asset to the people who spent thousands of volunteer hours working with her over many years.

 

Possibly. But if someone has given £750k towards what you love, you kind of need to ask what the deal is. It's not as though Hosking is known for a hands off approach to his enthusiasms

 

I'm not going to give details of the 'deal' but he is not a man who is given to sensible around the table discussion lets say.

 

I didn't suggest that he is or was. But that does not explain why it proved necessary to redo so much work - or if the previous work was defective, would do so without requiring remediation by the 6024 Society.

 

Well you tell me! Quite a few of us would dearly like to know!

 

Indeed. But this neutral is starting from the perspective that it would only have happened if required, not as a matter of choice.

 

This is 100% uninformed speculation, because I have absolutely no information about what has gone on, but it occurs to me that there could be circumstances in which it was found necessary to dismantle and inspect in detail for QA or documentation purposes without actually needing to redo the work.

 

Noted and agreed

 

Yes in principle, though it is also the nature of a steam locomotive that if for any reason you have to dismantle parts of it, you do in some cases end up redoing the work! Obviously some things can be removed, checked and put back with minimal fuss, but for some, to inspect is to re-do the work: an example as I recall being the investigation of the mill scale problem on the Patriot essentially leading to removal of cylinders and other frame parts which had already been fitted once. The simple matter of investigation resulted in a significant amount of rework.

Is it on record precisely what work LSL felt needed to be done once the loco moved there?

Tom

 

Not publicly, no. Obviously there are rumours but very little information has come out of Crewe officially. It's been there for 3 years, work has been carried out intermittently during that time, but ramped up over the last few months since 5029 entered service.

 

Back in the 'good old days.' Bristol/Kingswear every Sunday.

 

This was arguably peak mainline steam in Britain post 1968. Unassited almost everytime, proper locos such as Kings and Castles and what looks to be far better weather!! Very different to today.

 

Mid to late 90's was the peak I think. Large variety of locos, new routes, engines working hard, unassisted steam, heads out of the window etc. It's been slowly downhill since then.

 

Agreed. Now too much focus on dining which is out of the reach of many.No quarter given to the enthusiast these days. Unassisted steam working hard virtually gone. I used to love standing for the trip in a vestibule, listening to the loco working. The fun has gone out of it now, for me anyway. I shall continue to be lineside as I don’t like dining. Give me cattle class and a window any day!

 

Whilst I agree dining may be out of the reach of many (as are concerts or Premier League football matches as examples) you are making a correlation I think is incorrect.
Belmond, Statesman, Northern Belle all do well on a dining product that is often or always diesel hauled. For steam tours the standard class market seems to be slowly dying and what there is of it is often not full anyway. People who have the money want a bit more these days for their day out it appears, especially comfort. Extra coaches that are added are for First or Dining normally. In the main tours have also become much longer days with short breaks at the "destination" not giving time for lunch, or to be back to get something in the evening, so for many unless you want to spend the day eating sandwiches dining will be the way to go, and for my time stewarding that includes paying the table for two supplement, as they always sell out first.

 

I think that the very nature of rail tours these days has more or less completely put off the average enthusiast. No standing, many times sitting in stock that is air conditioned so that you can’t hear the locomotive working and the prices even for Standard class are quite hefty especially for families. I agree that it is expensive these days to put on a rail tour with coal and water prices, plus network access. Dining folk generally couldn’t care less what is on the front bar a few, and I feel that in a few years the likes of the Belmonds and others will be the only ones left. Rail tours with steam will eventually die out as it’s easier to stick a diesel on the front and have passengers dining as it brings in more money. It’s very sad for me to see but that’s the way to me that things are going. Thank goodness for our Heritage Railways.