❖ Llangollen ceases contract work
Independent review criticises structure and sets out five-year strategic plan for North Wales line
THE SCALE OF CHANGE REQUIRED IS SUBSTANTIAL
L&R CONSULTING
The Llangollen Railway is closing its contract engineering business, following an independent review of the line’s activities.
Commissioned by the railway from L&R Consulting, the review has been under way for 18 months and produced a five-year strategic plan for the railway, in which it recommends a major restructure of the North Wales line.
It identified weaknesses in the Llangollen Railway Trust, the registered charity that holds the assets of the railway, and its trading arm of the Llangollen Railway plc – including a governance structure that it described as “outdated”.
Although the report recommended that the railway should “consider the transfer of the engineering function to a new business entity”, the decision to cease all outside contract work was taken because “we have been unable to sustain a financially viable position for this department over a number of years”, explained Liz McGuinness, chair of both the plc and trust, in a letter to members on July 3.
The railway’s chief mechanical engineer, Gareth Winter, has left and three members of its engineering staff have been made redundant, leaving six still employed.
At the time of going to press, Jeremy Hosking’s ‘9F’ 2-10-0 No. 92212 had already left the line, having only arrived for a planned contract overhaul in March. Mrs McGuiness confirmed that the owner had not been asked to remove the locomotive, and that the expected departure of ‘B17’ No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham (see story, below right) was “mutually agreed”.
Peter Greenwood of Locomotive Services Ltd said: “Jeremy has been trying to help the LR for a while. This included discussions around the chassis overhaul of the ‘9F’. After lengthy discussions, it has been agreed that the ‘9F’ is going to take up a large amount of space which may hinder the LR’s own maintenance programme. As such, we have agreed to remove it from the LR pending discussions with other potential workshops with the capacity to deliver 92212’s overhaul.”
Also expected to depart are ‘Large Prairie’ No. 4160, new-build ‘Night Owl’ No. 4709 (SR505) and Avonside 0-4-0ST Desmond, while “discussions are ongoing” with other engine owners and groups.
Work will continue on boiler contracts that are currently under way, namely ‘2884’ No. 3814, No. 4160 and ‘Small Prairies’ Nos. 5532 and 5539, after which the remaining engineering staff will concentrate on maintenance of the home-based fleet. Former CME Dave Owen is to return as a volunteer on ‘Large Prairie’ No. 5199, and East Lancashire Railway engineer Dave Reynolds is also to assist the line for one day per week.
To put the railway on a secure footing for the future, the review recommended that a “significant restructure of the boards is needed”, stating: “Today, the expectations for charitable organisations, in terms of good governance, professionalism and transparency are myriad and demanding… in many areas, the railway has not kept up with these requirements. The scale of change required is substantial.
“Recent challenges that the business has faced suggest that there should be a better balance on the boards between those who bring evident skills and knowledge of heritage railways and railway operations, and those experienced in the operation and financial oversight of a complex and multifaceted visitor attraction and contract engineering business.”
“The trust and the plc hold joint board meetings and most of the trustees of the former are directors of the latter. For both of these reasons, boundaries of responsibility can become blurred and perceptions of lack of transparency can arise. A clear separation of responsibilities is recommended, with the trust focusing on strategy and the plc on operational delivery.”
Mrs McGuinness stated that the board “has endorsed the principal findings of the review” and also announced that, in line with one of its recommendations, she would be stepping down as chair and from both boards once a new chair is appointed, but remaining General Manager of the plc.
She also stressed that there was no connection between the report and the fact that two directors, Peter Lund and John Bearne, have stepped down from the railway’s board and Trust. A third, Peter Evans, had resigned as a director of the plc on May 22.
She said: “The board members who stood down were standing down this year, and as the annual general meeting has been delayed they decided to stand down now.”
The railway intends to hold a series of open workshops for members to ask questions and discuss the plan, on dates to be confirmed owing to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Mrs McGuinness commented: “While the report identifies the need for change in several areas, it equally highlights many strengths the organisation should build on… whilst recognising that this will be a very challenging period, it is only a good thing for our future.”