All in the FAMILY
After a tumultuous few years, the BR Class 8 Locomotive Trust reinvented itself to provide Duke of Gloucester with a bright new future.
The large door to the single-road, corrugated iron shed at the Crewe Heritage Centre stood open and, in the cold light of a January afternoon in 2014, I gazed at the unique face of No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester.
The locomotive had ignominiously failed on the main line in August 2012, and it now stared back, impassively, as if it were saying ‘Now what?’. A good question, given that the BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust, the locomotive’s new custodian, had just held its inaugural meeting on January 29 2014.
As Trevor Tuckley, Ron Mitchell and I stood there, the cold reality of what we were taking on was clear: approximately 160 tons of rusting and deteriorating scrap metal – out of service, out of ticket, out of money and most definitely out of luck – or was it?
The private company which owned the ‘Duke’ had no funds, the original trust – which had so successfully transformed the ‘8P’ from a scrapyard failure into a record breaker – also had no funds and had reached the end of the line, having collapsed into acrimony. To say that the joint reputations of both trust and locomotive were past their best would have been putting it mildly. So far, so bad.
A mountain to climb
However, the final months of 2013 and early 2014 had been filled with frantic activity. The original trust voted to surrender control of the ‘Duke’ back to the owning company in September 2013. The company then decided that the way forward was to set up a new trust (as a charitable incorporated organisation). This was approved by the Charity Commission in November 2013. The original trust, at an extraordinary general meeting held on January 16 2014, then voted to transfer its assets to the new trust and wind itself up.
Both decisions must have been hard, given its long history with the ‘Duke’. However, this shifting of the tectonic plates allowed for a total break with the recent past, and a completely clean sheet on which could be drawn a new future, more attuned to the 21st-century railway landscape.
The assets transferred consisted of the locomotive and tender (plus tools and spares), support coach, some £13,344 in cash, approximately 150 members and an annualised income of £10,000, including Gift Aid. Given that the locomotive needed a ‘heavy general’ overhaul, which would involve a boiler lift, plus investigation as to the reason for the locomotive’s failure in traffic, and an upgrade to the support coach, it was readily apparent that costs would likely be well in excess of £600,000. (In fact, the final total for the works to the ‘Duke’ and the support coach are likely to be the thick end of £1 million). This was a bit of a mountain to climb financially, plus there were also the very real issues of credibility for both the new trust and the ‘Duke’ itself.
On January 29, the BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust held an inaugural meeting at which trustees were appointed, with Trevor Tuckley appointed as chairman. From the very outset, the trustees delegated the day-to-day management of the trust’s
business to a management committee (chaired by Trevor) which included non-trustee members. Also, from day one, the decision was taken that there would be clear lines of responsibility and that the trust would follow strict professional business practice with regular, minuted management committee meetings, proper cash flow forecasts and discipline and, in due course, working parties, a newsletter, website and so on.
With those strong foundations in place, attention then turned to the two largest challenges facing this new kid on the block. These were financial – how best to raise the necessary funds – and reputational; the acrimony and infighting which marred the latter years of the old trust was perceived to have rubbed off on the main line reliability of the
‘Duke’ itself.
Helping hands
At this point the Crewe Heritage Centre (not unreasonably) asked the trust to remove its locomotive and the East Lancashire Railway asked the trust to remove a container and shed full of spares, tools, patterns and so on.
One of the very early matters addressed by the new trust was the question of where the locomotive should be based, and this was linked to which organisation was going to be engaged to undertake the necessary work to the locomotive.
It almost was without question that the new trust would not be undertaking the work ‘in house’.
In the early years of locomotive preservation, there was no choice but to rely on the hard graft of the enthusiastic volunteers. Now, however, there were professional, steam locomotive-focused centres of engineering excellence and their skills and experience could be utilised, on a commercial basis, to return the ‘Duke’ to the main line in first class fettle.
After seeking the views of several leading steam experts on the scope of the likely works and the approximate cost, the decision was taken to engage the LNWR Locomotive workshops, which occupied premises immediately next to the Crewe Heritage Centre. This enabled the locomotive to be removed from the Heritage Centre plus the other assets to be transferred from the East Lancashire Railway.
So, back to the question of funding and reputation. Trevor recognised that the marketing of the new trust and its message and progress would be key to addressing these twin issues of funding and credibility. A sounding was taken from the editor of one of the country’s leading railway magazines, and he imparted the good news that he felt there was a reservoir of goodwill towards the locomotive and that if we could demonstrate professionalism and progress, we would get the necessary support.
160 tons of rusting and deteriorating scrap metal – out of service, out of ticket, out of money and most definitely out of luck…
Much encouraged, Trevor and I came away from that meeting, resolved to work with the railway press to ensure that we built relationships and gave them what would help them sell copy. In other words, get our message across in a way that was helpful to both parties – a win-win.
As for funding, a discussion with Mark Allatt of Tornado fame convinced us that we should look to build up a membership base of people paying by monthly direct debit – ‘little and often’, just like the controlled firing taught by the LMS. This has the big business advantage of providing predictable cash flow, which helps enormously with financial planning.
Eventually, we hit upon tiered levels of membership which – between minimum and maximum levels – enables new members to pay whatever they can afford. All our members are treated equally because they are valued equally. We have some members who have supported the ‘Duke’ from the start but who are now on limited budgets, and we also have members who have increased their original monthly payment a number of times as their circumstances have allowed. We know this is the sort of family our members wish to be part of. In answer to the question ‘What extra benefit do I get if I pay more?’ comes the reply: ‘You help get the ‘Duke’ back on the main line quicker.’
Win-win situation
We were, by now, well and truly up and running, with monthly management committee meetings, the members ploughing through their individual areas of responsibility. Then – disaster.
Trevor was taking a well-earned break on a river cruise in Budapest with his wife when, out of the blue, he took a phone call from Jeremy Hosking. He explained that his LNWR operation at Crewe was going to be concentrating on building up the business there, and that they would not be able to get to the ‘Duke’ for the foreseeable future. He was very professional, apologetic and helpful, and
offered to meet the cost of moving the locomotive and its associated tools, spares and so on to our selected new location.
Trevor, having considered the options, rang Bob Meanley at Tyseley, explained the position, and asked if Tyseley would be prepared to take on the task of the ‘Duke’s’ overhaul. To his great credit, Bob said yes and so the ‘Duke’ made the journey south, which has since proved to be a delightful, professional partnership which is blossoming and becoming more fruitful with each passing year. Win-win yet again.
When the new trust was set up, it was known that the relationship between it and the ‘Duke’s’ owning company needed to be arranged in such a way as to ensure that charitably donated funds could not be used for the benefit of the company’s directors.
Legal advice was sought, and the resulting legal agreement entered into by the owning company and the trust gives the trust sole legal custodianship of the ‘Duke’ for, initially, 50 years. This period has since been extended to 100 years with the option for this to be extended in 50-year tranches at the discretion of the trust. There is thus absolute security for trust members that their contributions can only be used for the benefit of the ‘Duke’. This agreement was accepted by the Charity Commission, which confirmed that it fully met its requirements. That this was an extremely important milestone is undeniable, as the Charity Commission has the right to close down the trust and distribute its assets to a similar charity of its choosing if its requirements had not been met. Particularly important from the trust’s perspective was the fact that the agreement meant that member’s donations had been safeguarded.
A family affair
By this time, there had been regular working parties at Tyseley for some time and, as the locomotive was stripped and the boiler lifted, these increased in intensity and scope.
In answer to the question ‘What extra benefit do I get if I pay more?’ comes the reply: ‘You help get the ‘Duke’ back on the main line quicker.’
The developing relationship with Tyseley meant our working parties were entrusted with more and more work, with our emphasis always on being professional and recognising that it was a privilege to be allowed to work within Tyseley’s precincts.
The rising membership and expanding responsibilities at Tyseley have led to an expansion of the management committee – the philosophy adopted by the trust being to improve things by evolution, rather than revolution. It has been a delight to see how new members have ‘come through the ranks’ up to and including trustee level and have blossomed within the ‘Duke’ family.
I have made mention of the ‘Duke’ family several times and I must emphasise that this is not mere semantics. Nothing would be possible without our members and their valuable, individual, financial contributions. Everyone can also help in other ways if they wish – from hands on with the cold steel and copper, to archivist through to a painting of the ‘Duke’ by a member which he kindly donated to be sold on the ‘Duke’s’ behalf.
There is a great spirit within the membership, and we go to great lengths to keep everyone up to date, including regular newsletters during the recent lockdown. Everyone can access any member of the management committee and the trustees at any time. None of this has happened by accident, as we have been acutely aware from the outset of how factions, personalities, argument and division ate away at the original trust until it was destroyed.
However, do not just take my word for it; Dave Oliver started as a volunteer and joined the Tyseley working parties. Over the last few years, he became team leader, then engineering manager and now engineering principal. In addition, he has become a trustee and says: “The ‘Duke’ family means a great deal to me. I have made many friends; there is a great atmosphere among the support crew, management and trustees. Everyone looks out for and helps one another and, of course, there is the great goal we are all aiming for – seeing the ‘Duke’ back on the main line.”
Phil Sanderson, shortly after joining, volunteered to man a stall at one of the Tyseley open days. He was impressed by the attitude of the people he met and decided to volunteer his services on a more full-time basis, ultimately becoming senior principal, engineering liaison and secretary.
He says: “Being a member of the trust has far exceeded my expectations, as the principles we follow, whereby every member is treated equally and is part of a family, are all important to me. Nothing is more important in life to me than family and although it is now a big family and still growing, I feel privileged to be part of it.”
The importance of the ‘Duke’ family, its values and ethos are also echoed by senior principal, finance and general administrator Steve Wakeland, Eric Bond – our social media principal plus the youngest member of our management team, Andrew Bailey, our projects principal, along with Christine Marlow our accounts manager. These latter three are relatively recent members who put their kindly heads above the parapet.
We must also include Stuart Sladdin, Trustee Emeritus who has been part of the ‘Duke’ family longer than any of us and his input and counsel is valued.
I like to regard the ‘Duke’s’ designer, Robert Riddles, as the original father of the ‘Duke’ family. No. 71000 was his baby, and he applauded the work being done by the original trust in rebuilding the locomotive from scrapyard condition. It is a great pity that he did not live to see what the ‘Duke’ accomplished once returned to the main line. Colin Rhodes was the driving force behind the original rebuild when much new ground was broken, and Ron Mitchell, the businessman who provided sorely needed funds to ensure that the rebuild was completed. Peter King was ‘gaffer’ and the force behind professionalism and quality of turnout of both locomotive and support crew in its first tour of duty on the main line.
It is a great pity that Robert Riddles did not live to see what the ‘Duke’ accomplished once returned to the main line
Bob and Alastair Meanley at Tyseley, whether they know it or not, are honorary members of the ‘Duke’ family, as indeed are our friends in the media.
Our Chairman Trevor Tuckley is the principle driving force behind the current trust’s success. His focus, as mentioned above, on good business practice from the outset, plus his laser-like focus on cash, cashflow, properly minuted meetings and delegation of responsibility have underpinned our progress at each stage. It is also Trevor who has insisted that everyone should be treated equally and that our focus and our efforts should be on the ‘Duke’ family and professionalism in all that we do. We are by no means paragons of virtue, but we all do our best and Trevor makes a point of telephoning each new member to welcome them into the ‘Duke’ family.
Into the 21st Century
The BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust has now been in existence for just over seven years since its inaugural meeting in January 2014, and we have come a long way in that relatively short, seven-year period. Compared to the number of members we inherited (150), we now have 511 effective members producing an annualised income stream, including Gift Aid, of £94,000. This, of course, is increasing with each new member.
Our cash flow forecasts show that the cost of the overhaul of both the ‘Duke’ and the support coach will be covered, and a start has now been made on creating the required positive working cash balance. That achievement is much to the credit of each and every one of our ‘Duke’ family.
So, the impossible dream that started 48 years ago with Colin Rhodes’ inspired removal of the rusting hulk of the ‘Duke’ from Barry will be finally completed this year. The rebuild from scrapyard condition took the locomotive back to its days as a BR prototype with the first ‘tweak’, which was the fitting of the Kylchap exhaust and double chimney. This current overhaul has included all the additional fine tuning which we believe Riddles himself would have incorporated, had he had the time.
The ‘Duke’ was intended as a prototype for the next generation of express passenger steam traction, which would have carried British Railways through to electrification. Now it will carry the banner for what might have been well into the 21st Century.