Colne Valley neeDS CaSH to FUnD ‘oVeR-BUDGet’ pRojeCt
Pullman coach to be sold and bonds issued to raise funds to pay building contractors.
The Colne Valley Railway’s new lottery-funded museum is complete – but the line is issuing bonds to raise more funds, as its redevelopment of the Castle Hedingham site is over-budget.
The ‘Brewster Interpretation Centre’ is due to open to the public during the August Bank Holiday weekend, with an official opening to follow on September 20. It had been put back by four months from the planned date of Easter because of delays in its construction.
Named after the Colne Valley & Halstead Railway’s first chairman James Brewster, the building houses “£80,000 worth of interpretation” on the light railway’s history, including interactive and audio-visual displays.
It is the latest stage in the ‘All Aboard: Developing the Colne Valley Railway’ project, funded to the tune of £1.75m by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, including the purchase of the station and ¾-mile running line from Australian businessman Christopher Young (SR462).
But the museum, in the words of CVR chairman Paul Lemon, “blew the budget before we even started, because of the need for piling in the foundations” – and has cost double the original estimate of £150,000.
In a letter to CVR members, Mr Lemon warned that the railway has “used all of its reserves and immediately accessible finance” and must “consider other forms of finance to complete our commitments to existing suppliers” pending the instalments of the lottery funding.
As a suitable bank loan was not available, the railway is issuing up to eight £25,000 bonds, although Mr Lemon added that if 12 were to be issued, this would provide match-funding towards the next stage of the project – the £200,000 carriage restoration shed, titled the ‘Cubitt Skills Centre’ after the CV&HR’s first engineer.
The railway is also selling Pullman Kitchen First Aquila to raise money, with “a number of interested parties offering figures in the right ballpark.”
With only 18 seats, 1951-built Aquila is not considered financially viable enough to be kept in the railway’s dining train, which also includes Pullman Parlour Brake Third No. 36 ‘Hermione’ and Gresley Brake Third No. 43571.
The railway may need another major injection of funds in the future to purchase the northern part of the site – including the field currently used for special events – which is still owned by Mr Young.
Mr Lemon added: “We’ve had a lot of donations and loans from members, but like all railways, you can always use more money. I could spend another million on this site without even trying.”