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34081

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by Spamcan81, May 8, 2010.

  1. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    There's been lots of rumour and speculation surrounding 34081 over the past few months but I'm now in a position to reveal all.
    On Thursday May 6th the Battle Of Britain Locomotive Society and the Nene Valley Railway signed an agreement that will see 34081 return to Wansford for the overhaul to take place. Exact details of the agreement remain confidential of course. The Society would like to place on record its gratitude to the North Norfolk Railway for giving 34081 a home when it needed it and in many ways we shall be sorry the leave. The NNR did make a very fair offer to assist with the overhaul but the fact is that few of our volunteers are in a position to regularly make the trip to Norfolk to work on the loco and we were faced with either a long drawn out job or a very expensive one contracted out - money we don't really have. Our small team is mostly local to the Nene Valley and will be able to put in many more hours on the loco once it is back on their door step so to speak. So there you have it.
    Cue livery question. :)
     
  2. David Withers

    David Withers New Member

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    Well done, Ian & co. I know that the mechanical engineering volunteers at the NVR are pleased that '92 Squadron' is coming back to Wansford. What I don't know is how many of them agree with me that Malachite is the very best colour for this loco!
     
  3. class8mikado

    class8mikado Part of the furniture

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    Matt or gloss ?
     
  4. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Satin?
     
  5. Dan Hill

    Dan Hill Part of the furniture

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    I would love to see the loco back in Malachite as 34081. I have fond memories of this loco. While going on a holiday to Yorkshire me and family stopped at Wansford and saw 34081 pull a train in and hadn't been in traffic long as it hadn't been given its Brtish Railways lettering on its tender. Then later that year I saw it at the Bluebell. Then again at the Bluebell in 2001 and 2007 (though in brunswick). Plus if the Bullied Society can get enough cash and overhaul 34023/21C123 and be in malachite as well then those lovely double headers would be great to see again.
     
  6. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Artex??!! :)
     
  7. Fireline

    Fireline Well-Known Member

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    Just wallpaper it. Much easier, and it hides the fingermarks and runs!
     
  8. craigy

    craigy New Member

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    I've got some brill pics of this loco shortly after being restored back in 1998 in Malachite Green at the NVR. Was my first ever footplate ride on a full size loco too on the same day so I have fond memories of the engine for that reason. Was an amazing day for a 14 year old!
     
  9. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    Good news for the Nene Valley, less so for the North Norfolk I think. The NNR has easily the smallest loco fleet of any of the lines with aspirations to being in the top flights and you do wonder how thwey are going to bolster their fleet. As was mentioned in an earlier thread fro the Churnet Valley, some locos may come up for sale but competition will be fierce for good ones, and if they are coming from the bigger lines they'll try to hang onto them if they are any good. There is defiitely a sense of "unto those that have, more shall be given"!
     
  10. thegrimeater

    thegrimeater Member

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    Our fleet isn't too small.

    N7
    J15
    5619
    Ring Haw
    Black 5
    Another Visitor is being explored
    Back soon we have
    B12
    Wissington
    Y7

    92 squadron hasn't been part of the running fleet for 2 years now
     
  11. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    You've effectively proved 61624's point with that list. 5619 isn't a permanent resident, nor is the Black 5. If you discount Wissington and the Y7 as being of no use on normal services, then that doesn't leave much. J15, B12, N7, Ring Haw and 90775 (don't forget that one!).
    The advantage that the NNR does have, though, is that it can happily manage its services with the larger industrials, even if it desires to move away from them, and industrials do not command the premium prices of ex BR locos.
     
  12. thegrimeater

    thegrimeater Member

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    5619 is here for 2 years.
    I don't think the railway want too big a fleet- on normal service days we only need 1 or 2 locos. I believe 5 locos is the magic number for the summer season so the current fleet is fine. I probably didn't write the list very well but 5619 is covering for the lack of the WD and the Black 5 is the summer loco, which happens every year (5521 did that last year).
     
  13. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    Steve has summed up my thinking well - the NNR's core fleet is very small. There are only four large-ish engines based there - and the N7 is only on loan, it may be recalled to the EARM once the agreement expires. Hire engines are all very well but you tend to be in competition with other lines for them and that situation is bound to get worse as more lines fight over them. As Steve said, there seems to be a wish to move away from ex-industrials (wasn't an Austerity sold?) but nothing much coming in to replace them.

    The NVR is in a similar, if not worse, position so the move has certainly benefitted them.
     
  14. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Hire engines will probably always be a significant part of the heritage railway scene but, to rely on them is always going to be a minefield and it will get worse as time goes on. Despite the doom and gloom merchants, the heritage railway bubble continues to grow and the laws of supply and demand will rule. Railways must have a core fleet of owned locos. Just look what happened to the East Lancs motive power situation recently, fortunately only short term, but they rely heavily on hired in locos.

    Having said that, I hold my hand up and say that the NYMR, which is moving away from hired locos towards owned ones, has just had a hiccup in its available motive power!
     
  15. kieranhardy

    kieranhardy Well-Known Member

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    I have heard quite a few times that the N7 may well be leaving when the loan agreement ends. The volunteers at the EARM have mentioned she may be visiting her home in October, not sure how long the loan agreement has left but i would have thought it could be nearing an end?
     
  16. Wansfordman

    Wansfordman Member

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    Excellent news :)
     
  17. Wansfordman

    Wansfordman Member

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    But would you say hired in loco's are the way to keep heritage railways going? Especially with overhaul costs for lines?
     
  18. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    Overhaul costs are much the same for owners whether they are individuals, groups or railways - the only significant savings come through work being carried out by volunteers. That means that unless a hire engine is earning a realistic fee each time it is steamed its owners are effectivelysubsidising the line they visit. I can't see that being a tenable situation for too long and some owners will fall by the wayside or fees will have to increase. We've already seen it happen - it was the reason given by the WSRA for the sale of their 64xx.
     
  19. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Does the NNR really need an arsenal of superpower for a line 5 miles in length with one loops and a max gradient of 1 in 80 ?, i';d imagine 4 or 5 loco's of class 3 or 4 power would be adequate, the current setup of a J15 trundling along on 4 or 5 to me is more appealing than a 9F being worked so easily.

    There's no point in the group having 34081 if it's stationed so far away that hardley anyone can see and work on it.
     
  20. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    I won't rake over old coals on a public forum but we had good reason for going to the NNR when we did. Sadly the initial enthusiasm of having our loco at a new home did not translate into lots of helping hands making the move with her. We had hoped that we'd get an influx of new helpers from the local area but this didn't really happen either. The workload therefore fell upon the shoulders of an ever smaller bunch of helpers and we did struggle at times to keep on top of things. The NNR lads helped when and where they could but
    understandably their own fleet had priority. The need to use as much volunteer input as possible was the main reason for our decision to return to the NVR and we think it's the right one.
     

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