Manchester United - the locomotive - to be rebuilt in new £1.8-million scheme

All you need is an Asian millionaire Manchester United Fan to impress... and there's quite a few of them.... now if you found one in China or Hong Kong... they may even buy 5 of them and have them made locally.

You could even do it surreptitiously.. buy 4979.. decorate it as Manchester United.. take it to Old Trafford, have fireworks from the chimney and declare it only needs £1.8mn to make it work again... I bet you some would buy into it and would never know the difference when the real thing was built... You could then take 4979 to Chelsea, Man City etc etc..

 

They should set up a "£1 to bid" comp like the "chose the colour" one recently - choices are Man Utd, Arsnil, Leeds Utd etc - first to £1.8mil gets built... if it went to plan you could end up with enough cash to build a fleet!!! LOL!

They need to play on fan rivalry not support! Maybe suggest that the other one being built is going to be called Chelsea or Liverpool, watch the cash roll in to ensure Man Utd remains top of the (turn) table.

 

As a lifelong Red Devils fan (and yes kids, I remember only too well when Liverpool won everything and seemed unbeatable), I certainly won't be.

My money goes to existing projects which restore the unique and irreplaceable, not the plethora of post-Tornado "me too, me too" new-builds. Daft project, hopefully soon to sink without trace...

We already have a family of skint Yanks, thanks. That's all we can cope with just now...

 

It might only need a small proportion of United fans if this were to go viral - £1.8m is not a lot in their world. Once you have a B17 and a ball you can hang any nameplate you like on it for pictures

 

Agreed, if you asked the players to donate their cars and leave them behind after a match you'd have enough money to build it.
I wouldn't bother tapping up the local fan base, or the regular fan base...

instead I'd be taking a presentation pack around the corporate box and consider a hiring a coach on a VSOE steam excursion to give a demonstration to those interested.

 

If they'd gone with the men in pale blue they could have just popped the question to Mario Balotelli who I'm sure would have handed over a fair wedge!

I think the basic ideas behind this has legs... and should the patterns be there there's nothing to stop another B17 be produced should some wealthy backers from another club decide they want one. There's so many Man U fans out there that there should be enough interest amongst a small minority to help drive the project on. In terms of new builds this one has a very interesting USP.

 

to be based where? East Lancs would seem to be the most logical place, and they're not exactly overrun with decent traction

 

Who would name it, now if the plan was to build a footballer and name it "Sir Alex Ferguson" or "Sir Matt Busby" i think that would be far more fitting

 

Sir Matt BuSby - that famous ex-Liverpool player who also managed the Red s***e at some stage.

Bob.

 

cos they name it after the club and the club is always bigger than the player/manager...

 

Would the Glaziers try to claim it and then sell it to raise money for their next take over

 

So there were no takers for Accrington Stanley, then? I remember I used to 'support' Manchester United in the days when fellow schoolmates used to ask 'what team do you support?', and gave those who answered anything other than Manchester United a thumping. I've never really been interested in football, but I do keep track of Accrington's progress from time to time, as lower-league football seems more interesting than the staid, over-paid dross of the Premier League, where the usual suspects always ended up in the top three (although I believe things have changed a bit of late). So you could say I'm a closet Accrington supporter, and I have the shirt to prove it (but don't ask me how they are doing at the moment!).

 

Naming it AirbusUK would be an interesting one to explain...

Airbus UK Broughton FC

 

Interesting! I'm a domino player :would it be possible to find a club of dominos for sponsoring of a modern wheelbarrow-silent block and radial ball bearings-??? (colour scheme: black and white with a small rose in the middle):behindsofa:
squeaks regards
noel

 

Er, won't it need to be repainted if it clashes with any other red engines on trips away from it's base? You know, perhaps white with black frames or all yellow.
If there'd been a "Coventry City", would it have ever got painted burnt umber for such visits?

 

Regarding the supposed "split" - seems quite amicable when you read the Heritage Railway article:

They seem to have a unique selling point which may net them far more money than I think is being given credit for. The locomotive, if it is made to mainline standards, has the potential to be MUFC's own "engine" and the idea of football specials down into London for Wembley finals and the like, is not beyond the realms of fantasy if it is built.

I think we may yet see movement on this one, and quickly, because they have that all important thing down straight away - PR and getting it out to the widest audience possible.

 

I think the only B17 were going to see is the Flying Fortress at air shows.

 

of course Man U is a railway club, albeit L&YR not GER