6201, her new lease of life.

The Facebook post has been removed

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1143704455695588/permalink/1477855135613850/

 

Rather strange, as I've had dealings with Clive on a number of matters and always found him polite and helpful.

 

I know of one group who sent an industrial locomotive to be overhauled by an external contractor. I think the boiler was basically okay but the chassis, pistons, axle boxes etc were very worn out
When it came back it was just as bad, little had been done on the chassis, despite the group spending lots of money. Eventually it left our railway and went elsewhere to be 'done'

The mistake ? They never bothered to properly specify exactly what they wanted doing and check that it being being done. It did have a nice new coat of paint on the water tank though !

Spending money on contractors is not always the way as it is difficult to control what's done. I was involved in a coach project which went away to be done, (it was a 4 wheel body) but when it came back much of the work was substandard and we had to re do a lot of it. Happily the contractor has now folded.

The situation is even worse if the group doesn't have people who can check that the work is done to the required standard.

Also talking to the lads working at another loco overhaul place, they plainly said this loco (a hall) is being done with no expense spared, new tyres etc even though it didn't really need it. Then this other loco (a 56xx) is being done as cheap as possible as the group has little money. I am sure the Princess was probably in the later category.

If loco groups are to survive they need to be able to do the bulk of the work with their own staff/volunteers and only contract out specialist jobs like boiler work/retyring etc. If they cant they don't have a future unless they can raise tremendous amounts of money.

 

He can be polite and helpful but not necessarily objective as to the best interests of the loco as an operational machine? He and his good lady are devoted to the loco but not perhaps able to see how a working future will be accomplished if it means reduced control on their part?

 

How hard would it be to put Lizzie on a plinth in a major civic open space, like outside Birmingham Town Hall, for a week or so, and have a stall beside the locomotive encouraging people to sign up to the society (which is desperately short of members) and help save this historic Royal engine? Combine that with a load of merch to sell...

 

£3k transport and another £5k security for a risky punt at coins being thrown into a bucket? I wouldn't...

 

I'd be looking for (ideally) the donation of such services, but it wouldn't be so much about coins in a bucket as attracting big numbers of people and signing up a load of new members.

 

I doubt it would be possible to get less than cost price for security. The employees have a living to make after all. The haulier would be the same. Unfortunately, I suspect coins in the bucket would be the reality unless there's some serious seed-funding forthcoming to fund the merchandising, and a complete rethink regarding what's on offer to the prospective member. Although it pays to advertise, it needs to be targeted. Who is the locomotive going to appeal to? The net needs to be spread much wider than the current enthusiast segment.

 

Which is precisely why I'm proposing that the loco should visit some non-railway places, to appeal to the wider public rather than enthusiasts.

 

It's a bit harsh to blame Tyseley. Haven't they already made a statement saying they told 6201 how much work was required but 6201 said we only have xx to spend so Ty's only did the amount that they could afford. It was in SR or HR mag the other month.

Regards to general public putting in a load of money..... Well I highly doubt it. From personal experience of doing events and fundraising it's the railway enthusiast that will pay for overhauls and the likes where as the general public only really contribute to a working loco. We took 5551 to the great Dorset steam fair with a great location and superb publicity but in terms of fundraising it was nothing compared to Warley where the population was pure steam fans.

 

We live in a digital world where a man set up a fund raising page to fund his bamboo lunch box and got 50K to invest in a new business.

I find it hard to believe we still have to rely on steam age money raising tactics to get what we want for our projects!

 

As a young person (I'm 22) interested in mainline steam, I'm often baffled by various groups' inability to promote themselves. I've just had a look on the crowdfunding page for 'Lizzie' and noted that if people spent £50 or more they'd be put into a draw to win a Hornby model. Hold the front page, lads.

I'm very much in the 'I'll donate if I can see what I can get out of it' group. So far, I've not donated to any projects, bar buying mainline charter trips - and even then you're asked for money. At the risk of going off-topic, on the Cornishman charter with Tornado I was asked why I don't donate by three different people and the simple fact of the matter is that for your tenner or whatever a month you get diddly squit. Where's the incentives to reward people with (small) discounts on future charters, for instance? Or small discounts for young people?

Never mind the fact the day itself (in the Cornishman's case, as I treated myself to the food class) cost near as dammit £300.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still pay for charters - I've been on six so far this year and have another two booked up - but I'm in the minority.

I wish Lizzie's team well, but as others have said, people need to cast the net beyond gricers. I wonder if they've contacted the countless websites that follow royal movements? I'm no expert (despite working in the media), but I suspect the type of person who likes to know what Kate and co are up to and waves a flag at the queen may chuck a fiver towards helping out a loco named after the queen if they read about it on wheresprinceharrynow.net.

Despite my moan about the A1ST above, they've hit the nail on the head so many times by getting mass appeal. I'm sure Lizzie's team could do the same if they thought outside the box. As a bit of an example, look what Richard Herring is offering backers on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ester-square-theatre-podcast?ref=thanks_tweet

 

Depends on what you're selling. If your merchandise is aimed primarily at the enthusiast then it will be mostly enthusiasts who buy it.

 

Donations can attract tax rebates to the recipient charity through Gift Aid but AFAIUI if there is benefit to the donor, then no Gift Aid i available. Thus a charity may not want to offer tangible rewards in exchange for a donation.

 

Lumbering 100+ tons of locomotive around the country to new places isn't the answer, and it'll probably do damage to the axleboxes in the long term. What is needed is better marketing, and a USP that enthuses people- and this shouldn't necessarily require the plonking of a steam locomotive in Chamberlain or Victoria Square in Birmingham.

Increasingly, I'm of the opinion that the only hope for some single-loco mainline groups is the Heritage Lottery, yet this is by no means a healthy state of affairs due to fierce competition, periodic government raids on the funds for other projects and the amount of work required to establish a wider programme of work encompassing community and educational outreach, which would require a change in approach and mindset from the traditional 'flog a mug' way of doing things. As hard as it sounds, John Cameron may have hit upon the long-term answer with what is proposed for 60009 and 61994; at best, this situation could last until a critical mass of money has been gathered for a solid start.

 

Cameron's plan for his locos in the arse end of nowhere in particular in the middle of Fife, miles from anywhere of significance, is bonkers and unworkable. Few will visit, and his putative museum (built at immense cost) will fail. It'll then be left to his offspring to sell the locos.

Mugs and T-shirts may be a primitive means of marketing, but it's effective. I watch a lot of guitar-related content on YouTube, and when e.g. Andertons of Guildford aren't trying to sell you 3 grand's worth of Gibson Les Paul, they're trying to flog you mugs and T-shirts. How do non-retail channels like That Pedal Show survive? Patreon, mugs, T-shirts, beanies, string bags, plectrums (and a signature overdrive pedal). These guys are smart about digital marketing, they've built huge followings, and Andertons' e-commerce is second to none, but the T-shirts and mugs are still an important part of their overall business.

OK, granted, perhaps my idea of hauling Lizzie around on a UK cities roadshow needs rethinking - but how about doing it with e.g. a 7 1/4" live steam model of the real thing?

 

I still don't think you get my drift. Of course it shouldn't be in the 'a**e end of nowhere', but neither should it live a nomadic existence whilst out of action. It needs a decent base that prevents deterioration while the fundamentals are addressed. The large-scale model would indeed be a better idea than taking the whole thing.

To be honest, I strongly suspect that 60009 and 61994 will be financially safe as houses in Fife for the long term.

 

Important in what way? Turnover? Volume? Profit? Brand identity?

Without understanding that, or how many people are in their target demographic, it's impossible to know how that experience might translate to a preservation group trying to raise funds in the here and now. And that's without considering the implications of running that kind of business, let alone the cashflow required to sustain it - before that stock will add a penny to funds, it needs buying.