Mid-Hants buys No. 73096
Never say never – MHR’s purchase draws a line under acrimonious long-term relationship.
In what is being seen as one of the most bizarre and unlikely locomotive ownership changes of the steam preservation era, the Mid‑Hants Railway has bought BR Standard Class 5 4‑6‑0 No. 73096 from John Bunch, the line’s former locomotive superintendent, who has been banned from the railway for the past 18 years. The engine – the first ex‑BR locomotive to be bought by Mid‑Hants Railway plc (as distinct from the Mid‑ Hants Railway Preservation Society), was delivered to Ropley from Southall depot where it has been in store for the past three years, on November 17, and will await its turn for restoration back to full working order. The ‘Watercress Line’ says No. 73096 “has no special priority.” The purchase price has not been disclosed, but in a brief statement issued in November, the MHR admitted it had paid the going rate for a fully operational Class 5 engine, whereas No. 73096 has not run for more than six years and requires a full ten‑year heavy general overhaul. The statement suggests that payment for the engine will be in stages, and adds: “Upon final payment being made, the parties have agreed to extinguish all claims” – a reference to the political and legal entrenchment which has separated the two parties for a generation. John Bunch ran the Mid‑Hants Railway’s Locomotive Department at Ropley for 23 years, but was unseated in 2000 in a bruising power struggle with then‑MHR Chairman David Snow and co‑directors Bob Gordon and Mark Walden, who launched an attempt to have him prosecuted for misappropriation. The attempt backfired, and Mr Snow was forced to issue a public apology, admitting that Mr Bunch had done nothing wrong. The action cost the MHR tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees, and the railway was also ordered to contribute to John Bunch’s legal costs – but hit back by banning him from setting foot on MHR property. Only months before his exile, Mr Bunch had signed an agreement giving the ‘Watercress Line’ full control of his five ex‑BR steam locomotives for a period of 15 years, from August 1999 until August 2014. The five engines were Maunsell ‘Moguls’ Nos. 31625, 31806 and 31874, Bulleid ‘West Country’ No. 34016 Bodmin – and BR Standard ‘5MT’ No. 73096. The Riddles 4‑6‑0, a former Patricroft, Manchester engine, was used extensively on Mid‑Hants Railway trains, and also on MHR‑promoted main line charter workings, mainly in the south of England during this time. The engine’s last main line run was on December 15 2004, when it worked a ‘Cathedrals Express’ (Steam Dreams) tour from London Victoria to Canterbury and Dover – but it remained in traffic at the MHR until its boiler certificate expired in September 2011. Because of the ban on him entering MHR property, the owner was denied access to
So far aS i’m coNcErNEd, thiS WipES thE SlatE clEaN JOHN BUNCH
The ban on John bunch was lifTed some years ago. if he wanTs To Turn up and buy a TickeT he’s welcome To Travel Colin Chambers, managing DireCtor, mhr
his locomotives throughout the 15-year lease period, but after the agreement expired in August 2014, Bunch removed all his engines from the MHR, the two ‘U’ class 2-6-0s and the ‘N’ going to the Swanage Railway and Bodmin going to the West Coast Railway Company’s Carnforth depot, where it is understood now to be owned by West Coast chief David Smith; No. 73096 was moved into store at the former BR steam shed at Southall, West London, part of which is leased to West Coast. Plans by John Bunch at that time, to bring No. 73096 back to full main line running order, were put on hold. The engine was initially cleaned, de-rusted, oiled and greased at Southall in anticipation of mediumterm storage. The ‘Standard Five’s’ arrival back at Ropley was almost three years to the day since it left the ‘Watercress Line’, on November 18 2014. John Bunch told Steam Railway in November: “I suppose it’s true to say I had second thoughts about restoring the Class 5 myself, and for several reasons: I’m 70 next month, the main line scene is not what it was, and it has become more difficult to operate steam charters out of London. “So back in June or July I put a toe in the water, made it known that 73096 was on the market – and the Mid-Hants came up with the best price. Their money is as good as anyone’s.” Negotiations between solicitors for the owner and the purchaser had already been in progress, with a view to the MHR overhauling the locomotive “to extinguish all claims”. That element has now been incorporated into the sale agreement. “So far as I’m concerned, this wipes the slate clean,” said John Bunch. “There is no animosity. The Mid-Hants wanted to draw a line under this, the same as I do. As far as I’m aware, I’m still banned from the railway – the MHR has never told me otherwise – but it’s not important any more. I have moved on.” However, soon-to-retire Mid-Hants Railway Managing Director Colin Chambers told Steam Railway: “The ban on John Bunch was lifted some years ago. If he wants to turn up and buy a ticket he’s welcome to travel.” He confirmed that 73096 would have “no special priority” in the overhaul queue at Ropley. He added that the next locomotive to emerge from Ropley Works will be the Urie Locomotive Society’s ex-Feltham 4-6-0 No. 30506, which will take its place in the working fleet “some time in 2018, but not for the start of the new season.” The MHR is overhauling the engine at its own expense, in return for its past and continued use.