Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society Limited

I have not seen this elsewhere but apologies if I have overlooked but there was a report in the Isle of Man paper recently of a bit of a standoff/disagreement over the locos and rolling stock owned by the Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society Limited but stored on the Isle of Man’s premises

Link is here http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/steaming_row_over_fenella_engine_1_3066373 but I have copied below incase it can not be opened

My basic question is who or what are the Rugby based Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society Limited. Are they a genuine society freely open members who can influence the direction of the society or it is just basically a private company named to sound like a more traditional society so in effect the stock etc are in private ownership. I have had a quick trawl on the internet and I am not much of the wiser.

“A QUARREL between the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure and the Rugby-based Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society has hit an impasse which may see historic locomotives leaving the island forever.
The society’s chairman, Robert Hendry, has labelled the situation the ‘Fenella Fiasco’ after one his engines, the former Isle of Man Railway No. 8, dating to 1894, at the centre of the argument.

Mr Hendry has been asked to remove Fenella and five other engines and coaches from government property by March.
The story dates back to the late 1990s when No. 8 Fenella underwent a full renovation when a new boiler was made for her by a specialist steam engine firm in Bridgenorth, Shropshire. However, the new boiler was lent by IoMRTPS to a department-owned engine – No.1 Sutherland (the island’s oldest loco, from 1873) – so that she could take part in the ‘Steam 125’ celebrations in 1998.

The boiler remained on No.1 for five years, before being transferred back to Fenella which was in active service until 2008. Since then a contractual wrangle over Fenella’s operation has occurred, meaning she has been out of public service.

Mr Hendry said: ‘The Society signed an agreement in February 2009 and returned it to the department, where it was signed on April 1, 2009, so a completed agreement over the use of No. 8 exists.

‘Sadly the department was afflicted with the Manx equivalent of ‘manana’ (leave it to tomorrow in Spanish), and did not bother to return the signed agreement for the next few months. By this time a new director, Ian Longworth, had been appointed, and as the agreement had not been physically returned to the Society, the department decided to dump Fenella.’

But Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure David Cretney MHK replied: ‘The department prepared a renewal of the agreement for the use of locomotive No. 8, Fenella, with the Society in 2009, but prior to the exchange of contracts made a final review of the provisions, deciding that the contract as drafted did not offer good value for money to the taxpayer.

‘I asked my officers to negotiate a revised arrangement for the use of locomotive No. 8. In an attempt to finalise a solution, both I and my officers met Mr Hendry on June 17, 2010, and Mr Hendry accepted a new agreement for the continued use of No. 8. Unfortunately, the Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society decided subsequently that it would not progress this revised agreement and locomotive No. 8 remains in storage on the department’s property and covered by its insurance.’

Another issue claimed by Mr Hendry is Fenella was used without the owner’s consent and therefore without proper insurances, in May 2010’s Rush Hour on the Railways event.

The final brickbat is that engines Nos. 5 Mona (1874) and 9 Douglas (1896) are contaminated with asbestos and have been stored on railway property since they were purchased. The department is unhappy that neither has rent been charged nor ongoing expenses recouped.

Although both parties agree asbestos needs to be removed, work to safely deal with the problem is stalling due to a sizeable differential in quotes for this work. The impasse has meant that the department wrote to IOMRTPS at the end of November asking them to either discuss the matter further, or remove their rolling stock by the beginning of next month, or else remove it to the open-air Dhoon Sidings.

Specifically, the Society would have to remove a Manx Northern Cleminson coach, IMR locos Nos. 8, 5 and 9, MER loco No. 23, and MER freight car No. 26, all of which have been in the island for 100 years.

The Manx Independent has confirmed that the Society has ‘of necessity’ been making enquiries off the island, has potential homes for two of the above vehicles, and is actively seeking sites for the remaining items. They sincerely hope they will not have to go to America.

On January 26 the IOMRTPS wrote to Chief Minister Tony Brown and to the Treasury to request a Declaratory Resolution of Tynwald that the measures proposed by the department are not implemented.

Whatever the outcome, this one looks set to roll and roll.”

 

My basic question is who or what are the Rugby based Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society Limited. Are they a genuine society freely open members who can influence the direction of the society or it is just basically a private company named to sound like a more traditional society so in effect the stock etc are in private ownership. I have had a quick trawl on the internet and I am not much of the wiser.

Well it's registered as a private company at Companies House

http://tinyurl.com/68ejzt6

 

The Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society were formerly known as the Isle of Man Railway Society which was itself formed by Mr Hendry and his late father when they left the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters Association in the early 1970s. They bought several items of surplus rolling stock from the newly nationalised Isle of Man Railway (and also the Manx Electric Railway) in the late 1970s. As far as I know, it is a society which anyone can join although how, I don't know as information seems very scarce.

There is a lot more discussion on this issue here:

http://www.iomsrsa.com/forums/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1264595355/0

 

I had been following on the IoMSRSA website, I registered but mainly a lurker rather than a poster, and in the local media.

I had also downloaded the accounts etc of Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society Limited. Not a great deal of use as it is a guarantee company so no details of shareholders/member but detailed subscriptions of just over £300.

With the dispute looking like it will not be resolved I just thought that if it was a genuine society and obvious/easy to join then it was probably a society that could be improved with a good influx of new members, would take control at the next AGM and act in a more amenable way. Having looked at the history though the lack of info it does look like an individuals private company rather than a genuine society as the public might understand.

I have to admit there are a couple of other societies that appear to be in dispute with each other where I sometime get the feeling that if one basically flooded the other with members it might not be gentlemenly but it would resolve a few long term squabbles.

 

Statement today in Tynwald re the dispute over the IOMRTPS stock. Seems that a resolution is hopefully within sight.

http://www.iomsrsa.com/the-news/93-2011/905-dvd-crt

 

It was the other way around. The Supporters' Association was the breakaway group, following a disagreement over policy - the Supporters wanted to adopt a political stance regarding Manx railway policy whilst the Hendrys preferred to 'keep in' with management and politicians. The Rugby-based organisation always had a small membership, most of the members finding their way onto the committee at some time. I don't know what the current membership is but I don't imagine that it's very large.

Peter Johnson

 

According to JIC Boyd's definitive history of the railway (and the copies of IOMSRSA Journals I have), the supporter's association was formed as the Manx Steam Railway Society in 1966 when the old company first shut the railway down (the name was changed in 1967 when Lord Ailsa took over the lease of the railway). According to one of Mr Hendry's own books, the Railway Society was formed in 1973/ 1974.

 

Mr Johnson is not quite correct, it was the Hendrys that left what had become the IOM Steam Railway Supporters Association in order to set up the IOM Railway Society. He is however spot on with the reasons as to why the split happened and the dates.