Bulleid Pacifics - Past or Present

Just to re-iterate The Big Give Christmas Challenge, if you wished to see 'Sir Archibald Sinclair' looking like she does in this video, you know what to do between the 6th-13th December

[video=youtube;Vm-hN8S5a5k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm-hN8S5a5k[/video]

Enjoy!

 

I notice ACE Locomotives website has disappeared. I hope this is not bad news for 35011 General Steam Navigation..

 

Well, that was quick! The 40% of match funding from the Read Foundation has already run out for today. So right at the moment, any additional donations TODAY won't be matched.

Advice from our fundraising team is, if you would like to donate to Archie's repair, to be ready and waiting online before 10am tomorrow and click the "donate now" button as soon as possible after 10am: this morning, it took only 4 minutes for all the available funding to be used up...

Sir Archibald Sinclair Restoration a project by Bluebell Railway Trust | The Big Give

Tom

 

To me the 60k target for the repairs seems a little extreme... Considering the funding for 'Canadian Pacific' Overhaul is expected to be only about 100k.

 

Well, more knowledgeable people than me have come up with that figure. It includes doing a lot of the work professionally, either via an outside contractor, or hiring in additional labour specifically to work on that project. That labour represents about half the cost. I suspect you could do it for less cash at the expense of taking up more space in the workshop for longer, which ultimately may not be a smart financial decision.

My own feeling (not really specific to Bulleids, but for all engines) is that lots of railways are in denial about the real costs of running and repairing engines, and in particular because heritage attractions in general tend to be under-capitalised, they often make decisions to prolong timescales so as to save cash, but which end up costing more in the long run.

Just my opinion and certainly not a comment specifically directed at either the Bluebell or the MHR: YMMV, as they say...

Tom

 

£100,000 doesn't buy much locomotive wise in this day and age so what exactly needs to be done on CanPac?

 

£100,000 doesn't seem very much for the overhaul of a loco that was very tired when it was withdrawn, according to someone I know who drove it around that time.

 

I think the £100, 000 quoted for Can Pac is to cover the cost of boiler repairs. The mechanical overhaul being done in house, will be relatively cheap I suspect, providing there are no nasties lurking.

 

The current overhaul of 34072 257 Squadron will cost at least £200,000. That includes a totally new tender, quite a lot of boiler work, and remaking much of the badly corroded outer casing, in addition to regular overhaul stuff like new bushes and bearings. A significant proportion of the work will be done by volunteers. £100,000 doesn't buy much of an overhaul these days if there is any boiler work involved, which is normally the case.

34072 Overhaul Appeal

 

Hope CanPac's boiler doesn't need too much doing if it's a professional job otherwise £100,000 may not be enough. Boilers have a habit of going over budget. As for the mechanics, I presume "in house" = volunteer labour.

 

The 60K to repair the boiler on 34059 is money that should have been spent on the loco in the first place when it was being restored only a few years ago . Its unfortunate that "the that will do " verdict on the firebox has come back to bite the Bluebell on the butt at a time when the loco is needed in service more than ever. However that is water under the bridge now and I wish that the appeal goes well and work can be carried out very soon.

As for 35005. The 100K appeal will go towards the boiler and no doubt the mechanical side can be done in house and within normal loco budgets as the loco is Mid Hants owned some money would have been put aside as well for its overhaul but no doubt the more monies that can be raised all helps. Don't forget it has a newish tender already being used on 34007!

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Tom

 

So if the mechanical repairs are being dne within the MHR's normal budget, it's going to cost more than £100,000 in total then - unless the paid staff earn £0.00 per hour.

 

Exactly Mr B ... Normal MHR budgets apply ... Mind you there are a hell of a lot of retired guys work up there mid week nowadays so theres lots of hands to do stuff. So it wont be a manpower issue and if CP can be done at the works as 925 was space wont be an issue either at Ropley . Time will tell.

 

Whatever the cost, wherever it's done and whatever the division of labour, it will be good to see and hear another MN back in action.

 

Absolutely. 35028 has been flying the MN flag solo for quite a considerable percentage of the 45 years since the end of Southern Steam. Still, things are looking up - great picture of 35006 in the latest Steam Railway, looking not too far off completion, 35018 now looks to have a good future with West Coast and it's good to hear of plans to return 35005 to traffic. Of course, there's 35027 at Bury too, although with so much intertest focussed on 34046, no one has ben asking if anything is being done to Port LIne. All in all, it looks like better times are ahead for this great class of engine.

 

Anyway, just a quick reminder that tomorrow is AFAIK the last day of the "big give" to raise money for Archie. As today and yesterday, it seems to have any chance of raising any money, you need to be online at 10am; the money available for match funding seems to run out each day in a fairly short time.

Sir Archibald Sinclair Restoration a project by Bluebell Railway Trust | The Big Give

Many thanks to anyone who has been successful and donated!

Tom

 

Just over £10k raised so far, meaning just over £20k with doubling. The process seems to have been a bit flaky for two days, but as of right now, there is money available - so if you want to see Archie running in the near future, now is the time to donate!

Tom

 

Money still available as at 11:40am.

 

Money still available - just under £13k raised so far, so just under £26k boost for the project so far.

Donate to Sir Archibald Sinclair Restoration, run by Bluebell Railway Trust | The Big Give

Tom