Vintage loco works to offer shares as it raises £3m to secure future
FANS of steam power are being given a unique chance to own their very own slice of beautifully restored locos in Birmingham.
Vintage Trains, which runs Tyseley Locomotive Works, hopes to raise £3 million from the share offer which it claims will put the city on the map as a globally important tourist destination.
The firm said it was the first initial public offering of its kind for more than 100 years and the move is expected to create up to 11 full-time roles. Community share members will have voting rights, travel benefits on the company’s services and after six years members may also have the opportunity to receive interest payments on their shares and to withdraw their capital.
Vintage Trains restores and cares for a collection of historic steam engines and carriages at its works in south Birmingham, preserving traditional skills and ensuring locomotives from a bygone era remain in everyday service.
The company also promotes steam excursions to destinations including York, Oxford and the Cotswolds but said it now needed to raise £3 million to secure the future of the historic collection.
Through the share offer and investment, Vintage Trains said it hoped to boost Birmingham’s tourist economy by running more trips to attract visitors from the UK and beyond alongside educational programmes.
A spokesman said: “Vintage Trains aims to put Birmingham back on the map as the original hub of high speed rail innovation long before HS2. Beyond the running of steamhauled tourist services, Vintage Trains aims to promote Birmingham’s railway heritage and its longstanding role in the history of rail innovation.
“Part of this will be through working closely with the city and HS2 to develop a heritage gateway to the city, that incorporates the Grade I-listed Curzon Street and restored Moor Street terminus.
“Eventually this area will form part of Birmingham’s new HS2 station.”
An apprenticeship scheme will also be created to preserve old skills to continue the tradition of carriage building and maintenance at Tyseley under the name Metropolitan Rail- way Carriage & Wagon Co. It once built royal saloons for emperors and princesses in Argentina and China, as well as coaches for the Orient Express, Le Shuttle and Virgin Pendolinos.
Chairman Michael Whitehouse said: “This offer is for everyone who believes there is magic in the sight, sound and smell of a steam locomotive pulling out of a station or hurtling across the countryside and for everyone who wants to experience the thrill. Together, we will create a new golden age, for new generations, and put Birmingham back on the map as the hub for rail innovation.”