Didcot drops main line ambitions
Great Western society to focus on hiring locomotives out to preserved railways only.
Pendennis Castle will never again assault the infamous South Devon banks, following a decision by Didcot Railway Centre to end its main line ambitions.
Just weeks after launching a £50,000 appeal to complete the overhaul of ‘Castle’ No. 4079 (SR499), Didcot announced that, following the success of recent visits by some of its locomotives to other railways, “the Great Western Society has concluded that this is the best way to optimise access to its locomotives and will pursue this, rather than attempting to run them on the main line, which involves reducing the height of the cabs and fitting a considerable amount of non-original electronic equipment.”
GWS chairman Richard Preston said: “Not only have we found that allowing locomotives to visit other heritage lines maximises the number of people that can enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the locomotives in action, but they are also very accessible to our members and supporters in a way that we cannot achieve with main line running.
“Financially, we have found that by hiring to other railways, we can more reliably achieve the level of revenue we had hoped to earn from main line running, so this is undoubtedly the best route for us as a responsible charity looking to ensure a sustainable future for the items in our collection.”
Speaking to Steam Railway, DRC Marketing & Events Manager Graham Hukins commented: “The decision was driven by how we can reach the most people with the collection and how our volunteers can be involved. Our experience with locomotives visiting other heritage lines in recent years is that our volunteers can get involved and help more easily than would be the case on the main line, and the engines are also more accessible to our other members and supporters.
“The move isn’t primarily financial, and over the long term is broadly neutral; the higher fees from main line running are offset by the fact that this would be on relatively few days and incurs significant up-front costs during restoration and then for certification, fitness-to-run exams and so on, whereas for use at DRC and other heritage lines, the restoration and certification will be less costly. While hire fees are significantly lower, the number of days is likely to be higher and the risk to revenue of a breakdown is considerably lower.”
Regarding Pendennis Castle,
Mr Hukins said: “It will retain its authentic appearance and will work at Didcot and is likely to visit other lines. The focus now is to complete the restoration; at this stage, discussions regarding visits away from DRC are premature.”
Following the DRC’s decision to abandon main line running, King Edward II will return to fullheight chimney, cab and safety valve bonnet, and revert to its original draughting arrangements. Although the Collett 4-6-0 would be out of gauge, it will still be able to get in and out of Didcot, “hauled at very low speed, via the Network Rail sidings, to Didcot West Yard,” said Mr Hukins.
He also confirmed that
No. 6023’s boiler ticket expires in 2020 but that its overhaul “is unlikely to commence immediately as there is limited workshop space and volunteer resource.”
While work continues on the overhauls of 0-4-0ST No. 1340 Trojan, ‘1361’ 0-6-0ST No. 1363, ‘14XX’ 0-4-2T No. 1466, ‘8750’ 0-6-0PT No. 3650, Pendennis Castle and Hunslet 0-6-0ST Works No. 2409 King George, “the plan is to outshop two or three of those before starting further overhauls,” said Mr Hukins.
He added: “The ‘Saint’ will spend most of [next] season at Didcot but may appear at galas at other heritage railways, although nothing has been confirmed yet,” and that while “the policy of making engines from the working fleet available to heritage railways when not required at Didcot will continue,” nothing had been confirmed as to what engines would go out on hire in 2020.