CASHFLOW CRISIS: LAVENDER LINE ‘COULD CEASE TO EXIST’
Volunteer shortages, lack of funds and rolling stock issues threaten future of Isfield-based railway.
THE RAILWAY IS NOW AT A CRUNCH POINT – YEARS OF A PATCHAND-MEND APPROACH ARE THREATENING OUR EXISTENCE
The Lavender Line will “cease to exist unless it receives a substantial capital injection over the next few years,” says the railway’s preservation society.
A newsletter circulated to members of the Lavender Line Preservation Society says ongoing cashflow problems, major infrastructure repairs required and volunteer shortages threaten the line’s continued existence, and states that “for our railway to survive – never mind prosper – things have to change or the current, slow, frittering decline that has marked the last decade or so will carry on until we end up simply unable to continue.
“The railway is now at a crunch point where many years of a patch-and-mend ‘it will do for now’ approach are seriously threatening our existence. We need to make some hard decisions as to where we intend to go with our railway and what we are trying to achieve.”
Proposals to reopen the Uckfield-Lewes route – on which the Lavender Line is built – as part of the national network, have been partly blamed for the lack of any significant investment in its infrastructure in recent years, with the society saying: “There has long been a view that reopening as part of the national network is inevitable and we should not invest in buildings and so on.
“Many years of neglect are now catching up with us and significant money needs to be spent simply to maintain what we have. Were this a normal business, the correct decisions would be obvious: sell out and use the capital elsewhere.”
The society is weighing up its options for the line’s long-term future, and is considering “selling Isfield and becoming a rolling stock preservation society alone. This is not an easy option, as it is by no means clear where we can go, and the costs would be significant.
“Remaining on the site, but no longer operating, would only be feasible if we can find alternative means of funding. Otherwise, there is little choice but to sell up then donate our collection and the money elsewhere.”
In the short term, a “critical” lack of volunteers is threatening the railway’s ability to operate its current services: “At present, we can barely cover the limited operational days being run, and any attempts to increase the number of special events, private hires and so on will require more operating staff. It is likely that we will need to cease regular operation within a year if more staff cannot be found.”
Although the society is formulating a ten-year development plan to try and resolve the Lavender Line’s issues, the railway is still under an improvement notice from the Office of Rail & Road issued in June 2017 (SR470) – which means the society has been “prevented from doing some things until this has been finally resolved. The end is in sight, however, though it must be understood this does not mean things will return to how they were in the past.”
Although the society has abandoned its original intention to restore the Uckfield-Lewes line in its entirety as a preserved railway – “as the costs would simply be too great” – if it remains at Isfield, it says it could change its aim to “the ongoing preservation of Isfield station, including as long a demonstration line as possible… This would not preclude a modest northwards extension. To all practical intents and purposes, going south is now impossible due to the presence of the level crossing, though we need not rule it out altogether.”
However, any development plans will be challenging as the society asserts that “we are solvent, but have no money to invest.
“We are not able to borrow simply to repair the wear and tear, since the very need to do so shows that the business is not sustainable in the long term.”
Much of the railway’s infrastructure also requires major work – particularly the station buildings which need “significant exterior work” including suspected substantial repairs to the roof – while outstanding debts and muchneeded repairs have forced the railway to withdraw most of its own rolling stock and rely on privately owned vehicles to operate most of its current services.
The society says: “Almost everything the railway owns needs work, much of it major. Some hard decisions need to be taken on what we actually intend to keep and restore; much of what we have will need to be disposed of, since we simply cannot afford either the time or the money to restore it over any reasonable timescale.”
Following the departure of Bagnall 0-6-0ST Empress to the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway in September last year (SR485), the Lavender Line’s sole operational steam locomotive is the privately-owned Cockerill 0-4-0VBT Works No. 2945 ‘Lady Lisa’. However, the society says that “running more steam is sometimes suggested as a way of earning more, but the reality is that steam loses money on all but special event days and has only ever made a significant contribution to costs when driver experiences are offered.
“More operating days simply offering a basic train service have also been suggested, but this would not only be difficult to staff, but would make a large overall loss once wear and tear on the stock or the maintenance contribution costs of using privately owned stock was taken into account.”
Despite this, ‘Lady Lisa’s’ owner, Colin Healey, said: “She will remain at the Lavender Line for the foreseeable future and I have no plans to move her.”
Steam Railway has contacted the Lavender Line Preservation Society for further comment.