Turkish 8Fs

the problem we have is that there is no recognised national register. some of the j94 owners tried organising something a few years ago whereby they "pooled resource" if one group had a spare con rod they would register it and any group needing one could do a deal. its what the owners of mainline loco's need to do. look at all the bullied's, black fives, halls, panniers, jinties, 8f's, prairies , standard 9f's 4's, 5's etc plus the interchangeable bits between classes all the bits or spares lying around workshops, shed,s lofts etc. if there was a national register you could shave thousands off restoration bills but because people's ego's or complaceny or dare i say it down right unfelpfulness some loco's will very probably, sadly never get restored. i heard of one loco owning group who had 2 spare sets of complete valve gear and wouldnt sell a set to another group who had none now admittedly its their equipment and prerogative not to sell but there's hardly any chance they'll ever need to use all the components from one complete spare set let alone 2. if there was some organisation amongst loco owning groups then they'd find the future of restoring and maintaining their steed so much easier, like minded people helping out others with an engine of the same class would benefit everyone if this doesnt happen in the not to distant future then i believe locomotive preservation will suffer badly. come on loco owners it doesnt take a lot to help others. and you'll feel so much better for doing it. get over yourselves!

 

The spares debate is an interesting one. I agree that you do to a degree need spares and they can be useful. Case in point was when on the WHR 143 had to change onto different power bogies after breaking its own mid ticket and 138s were able to be fitted allowing it to return relatively soon afterwards. I also agree that you can have too many spares and end up with sheds just storing spares that ends up wasting space that could be otherwise used to store other stock for example.

At the end of the day I guess its up to those with locomotives the same type to get together and decide this themselves as to whether they would want to do this.

There was a similar discussion a while back when a Deltic was thought it may be cut for spares.

Regards

Duncan

 

If I were lucky enough to have a Bulleid Con-rod, spare set of valve gear or whatever parts in my loft/garage you would have to separate me from them with Dynamite! Selfish? Yes of course but, they would be relics of my younger days standing next to these machines on a daily basis and would have greater nostalgic value to me personally than say, having a few grand in the bank. However; I would donate them by Will to a suitable home for possible further use, most probably the Mid-Hants who strive to create the nearest thing to what I lived next door to as I grew up.

As for cutting up existing Loco's for salvaging parts for others, I have always hated this idea. If I owned/part owned a Barry wreck I would never have bought onto it in the first place if I had ever dreamed that such a fate awaited it.

 

Anyone buying a Barry Wreck 20 years ago for £8-20k, who has left it to rot in a siding in conditions not much different than Barry for the last 20 years, and probably lost a few more parts off it (or worse dismantled it and now no one knows where the bits have gone)... and now can't afford £1mn to restore it, so they ask £100k-£300k to sell it, or leave it in the siding a bit longer hoping for the solution to roll up and present itself.

Are they not killing the baby with kindness ?

Thing is 20 years ago it would probably only have been £100k -£300k to restore it, with more volunteer labour available, less lost parts and the condition better than an extra 20 years rusting in a siding somewhere in the country.

Problem is the ones that have run, are complete, and can be restored relatively cheaply and quite fast, will always be more attractive to someone wanting to buy a locomotive than a Barry Wreck needing 10 years to make work... yet the cost is not much different... as the years roll people will be more sentimental about that loco they saw in the 70s,80s,90's than some tank that hasnt been seen since 1965.

 

i agree that no doubt it has sentimental value to you and is yours to do with as you please but i wasnt thinking of monetary gain just the satisfaction of knowing i'd made a difference that thanks to me a loco was being given a chance rather than dying a prolonged death! Would it not be put to better use actually making a bullied loco move this year rather than in 5 years while they raise funds to manufacture a new one? its things like this that can make the difference between a loco returning to steam or being abandoned as a project or scrapped. what about the unrestored spam can at the east lancs 249 squadron if all these people who had bits and pieces came together then you might find you have a virtually full set of valve gear thus shaving thousands of the restoration bill and and actually giving it the chance to steam as it is there is talk it may be scrapped which you point out you hate the idea of!

 

Maybe Steam should take a leaf out of the aviation industries book..

Most airlines / airports dont hold major stocks of parts, but instead when a plane goes tech, they look into the database for who has what at the home airport / local airlines ops centres.

If there's a part locally but belonging to another airline.. they rent it.

Lets face it most of what went in Barry went in complete, the last of what went out was incomplete, the rest is sitting on shelves of locomotive owners that left earlier. However they were obtained, obviously the concern of selling a part, then finding their own in a few years needs it is a major concern, but if they rented it instead...

then it's a low cost solution to help other locomotives get restored, provides a revenue stream for an otherwise dead asset, saves space & security and it can be recalled if needed, it happens as a sorts now.. but usually after the loco goes tech.. not before it's restored.

 

well the link was only hypothetical but fact still remains. plus one of bulleids had its con rods made in china a few years ago. would've been much easier and more authentic for one that someone had as a mantelpiece decoration to let the engine have it on indefinite loan or donation!

 

bravo adb968008. i wholeheartedly agree.

 

good idea in an Utopian world.However many people are in the Preservation gain mainly for personal gain.

 

Turkish 8f's

What's the latest news on buying these's Turkish 8f's ?

 

I feel that your remark is rather offensive to many people whom are actually out there working on restoration projects , operations and suchlike these people do not get paid they do it because they want to and such like give freely of there time and some even give more than they should so i think before making such a statement you should consider just how many people work hard for little or nothing in return because they get the enjoyment of seeing the things of yore as they should be

 

I agree Jordan, and particularly for those hardy individuals restoring ex_Barry wrecks under a tarpaulin for ten, fifteen or even more years.

As far as spares and such are concerned, I would hope that anyone who does have a "conrod on the mantelpiece"or whatever, would consider it would have a better future restored to a working engine!

I recently donated some items to the Severn Valley loco department that had been in a box in my loft since the early 1960's when I bought them from BR. The SVR had run short of these items and appealed to anyone to donate them if they possibly could.

At least when I visit the SVR I can now wonder if one of my xxxx's is being used on the loco pulling me down the Valley!

Oh, and I emphasise the word "donate". On handing over the items I was invited onto the footplate to "run-round" the stock. Reward enough!

Regards

46118

 

many people doesnt mean everyone but from personal experiance I know people who have gione to great lengths to feather their own nests...there arent many of them but they drive a coach and horses throuigh utopian ideals of sharing spares etc....i suspect many of us know of individuals and organisations sitting on stockpiles of bits and pieces.

 

I think theres a case of lots of everything going on here. Some people may be in in preservation for personal gain, keeping hold of assests for as long as possible to get maximum benefit ie more money whereas some people just want to restore there engine and ensure they have enough spares for their engine so do not part with them though they can be a little over zealous! Remember me saying about a group with 2 spare sets of motion and not selling. Like i said their prerogative not to sell but it seems more than a little unlikely that they will ever need one complete set of motion let alone 2 and then you have mixed in amongst all those people the ones who just strive to see their engine return to steam. I personally pay a guaranteed £30 a month to preservation projects. £10 to a national group and £20 a month to a group i am actively involved with plus all the uncalculated monies on things like paint, tools etc. I just know at the end of the day it'll be worth it when my groups engine steams!

 

What is the weather like in Turkey this time of year? Anyone fancy finding out?

 

If someone willing to pay my air fare il go have a peek :-D

 

Have just seen a posting on the Continental Railways Circle forum. It states that the owning group of the Turkish 8F at Toddington have now bought another two. They have been moved (by rail) from Sivas to Izmir, for onward shipment to the UK. As always - don't shoot the messenger as I'm just passing on the info.

 

Have you read the latest heritage railway and steam railway magazine articles. Both have pictures. Didn't know it was the guys from toddington tho. The group are only keeping the one i think someone on hear said. And the other is being sold for another group to do i believe. Might be wrong tho.