A Locomotive for National Preservation/Heritage Community

Should a project go ahead, how would people prefer to contribute? a monthly donation? one off payments?

It would be good to also find out what in terms of experience people could bring to the project. Once something is decided a "skills list" would need to be acquired and those willing to undertake specific tasks.

 

Whatever happens, if it goes ahead, and if its successful - the Nat Pres project gets a Facebook page only when there are photos and videos of it running to share, and to tell people where it is!

 

Joking aside, decent space on the Nat-Pres site for the project is essential for promotion, as would be the usual leaflets, presence at galas and events etc etc

 

whereas 28 might not be the loco to choose, maybe a National Collection loco is the way to go as there would be no ownership conflicts. How about the three cylinder 2-6-4t?

 

Ok Everyone, Given the fact I work in IT I should probably know the answer to this, but I just tried to create a Poll to get a simple Yes/No from our community but it doesn't seem to work?

I was thinking a National Collection Loco - Lets just be careful we don't go down the line of "Lets steam Mallard or Evening Star" because we just won't get anywhere...

 

I've been a web developer for 13 years and i'm stuck on a javascript issue!

 

It would seem rather ambitious. I like the idea in principle but talking about buying and restoring Merchant Navy's is bit like copper-boilered J39s. Start with something much more modest like a 4 coupled industrial and see where that takes us.

 

I would suggest starting with some further back, a coach maybe? To test the waters with teamwork, organisational etc

 

That's a good idea, but we would need to do something with our vehicle, maybe use as a promotional tool for our bigger project?

 

Knotty Coach Project would be ideal.

- Simple 4-wheeled vehicle
- Active Group (2x Coaches restored, 3rd on the way with a 4th planned - All that is missing is money/labour!)
- Central location (HQ at Foxfield, with support from CVR)

http://www.knottycoachtrust.org.uk

 

The problem as i see it is this, if its an already active restoration project such as the knotty Coach then you risk upsetting the people already working on it and you are limited by the work that can be done, for instance only a few people would be trusted to do woodwork, so you either need several projects in regions, or you limit it to just the area that the coach is in, many people will feel that they cant or wont be allowed to help, from my own experience the team already working on a project will dictate who works on it and does what, you may be a first class woodworker but may if not known be allowed to do any work
thats why its in my view best to earmark a project that uses skilled and un skilled labour , after all cleaning frames and wheel sets, painting bits that are hidden can be done by anyone with a brain cell, setting up valves etc, you need the trained people to over see, and ensure its done right

 

I put forward 35025 because as i see it, its an engine that stands very little, if any chance of getting restored , the same could be said of any other barry wreck , one i would not put foreward is the Crab, without a boiler its that step too far
the only way i would be interested is if Nat press got the use of something to bring back from the dead, to restore and operate , that way everyone gets chance to see it, i would want it to be a hands on project, not something you fund for someone else to decide what it does, where it goes, if we as an organisation are to do this then i think it has to be something that we have a large say in,

 

I would suggest any project, would have to be a project run by National Preservation and it's members. Not joining in with any other group.

 

Given that even a wagon restoration can easily cost a few thousand by the time you allow for purchase, transport, any specialist work (welding etc.), materials (timber / steel / pa*nt), research (drawings / copying), and that's before you find a friendly location who will allow you to plug into their electricity supply and boil their water in your kettle... I'm sorry but I just can't see a bit of forum tin-rattling ever restoring anything, let alone a steam engine.

If you want to set a group up to do something, get some mates together, either ones with money or the gift of the gab and some good connections, and get on with it. You may not have time to update Nat-Pres about it, however.

I speak as someone who has put a considerable amount of time, effort and money into a number of projects, most of which remain resolutely unfinished!

 

Out of interest, what professional / specialist skills do people have on here?

 

Project management for £200k plus projects, team leadership, web development, programming, good with a paintbrush/sandpaper/oil can ?!

 

There seems to be a fair amount of support for a project of some sort, but as I feared no hint of consensus as to what, and also little indication so far of how many of us would be prepared to stump up how much cash.

Maybe we should start with the latter: see how much we can reasonably expect to raise, and then look for a project in the right price range.