A1 TRUST MAN DAVIES LEADS NEW REVIEW
Where next for the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust? That question is being considered right now by former National Railway Museum Director Steve Davies, who has become the organisation’s first chairman in three years.
Steve – who was already a trustee before this appointment – fills the gap left when Mark Allatt moved in 2017 to concentrate on finishing ‘P2’ Prince of Wales (SR464), something the previous long-time chairman continues to do with some elan.
On April 16, the new boss of Tornado’s owner said he would be “reviewing matters over the coming weeks” to ensure the trust’s activities “are sustainable”.
He has plenty to consider. For while the new-build outfit carved a unique place in the steam movement by creating its own main line engine, these days its activity goes much further than that. Not only does it have the ‘A1’ and an underconstruction Gresley ‘Mikado’ in the stable, but plans are under way for a new HQ in Darlington, there’s an ambition for a new ‘V4’ 2-6-2 to follow the ‘P2’, and the idea has previously been mooted to set up a train of Mk 3s. Plus, of course, there’s the question of the trust’s position on any future running at more than 75mph, following No. 60163’s failure on its first-ever 90mph charter two years ago (SR479). Lots to think about then, even without coronavirus…
“These are challenging times to be assuming the role of chairman, making it doubly difficult to access the information and data needed fully to assess the situation the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust finds itself in,” Steve told Down Main.
“Nevertheless, my trust colleagues, staff and key volunteers are doing all they can to enable me to assess the situation and to put in place measures which will not only protect the trust at this difficult time but also to ensure we come out of the other end of this national crisis still fit for purpose. I will, therefore, be reviewing matters over the coming weeks with a view to ensuring the trust’s activities are sustainable over the short, medium and long term.”