Electric Railway Museum to Close.

Likewise. Also plan to go to one of the remaining open days.

 

With regards some of the EMU fleet I do know from their fbook page that the owning group of 4-SUB 4732 are already fundraising to get it shifted to a new home somewhere else. Also:

The 503 could potentially head up to merseyside as merseyrail have the old trainshed & sidings at birkenhead central station which are doing bugger all & i'm sure an arrangement could be made with them for the 503 group to use their workshop facilities as & when time permits.

The 2-HAP could possibly head to fiinmere & join CIG 1753 owned by the network southeast society. Yes finmere will be closing in the next few years as HS2 is routed through the station site, but in certain cases there's strength in numbers.
501 - Not a clue who owns this or what the plans are but is a unique unit (like almost all the coventry stock is).

Rest of their collection, such as the apt power car is the NRMs problem, that could head to shildon to join the APT gas turbine prototype. Also heard that the little 0-4-0 shunter mazda is privately owned so might well end up somewhere new.

I'll hopefully get down in october for the open day & chuck a few quid in towards the museum & various units where I can, as tesco's say every little helps!

 

The 503 is owned by Wirral Borough Council.....
Birkenhead Central was only a running shed, the works were /are at Birkenhead North, with no direct access other than via the Liverpool loop...
although it would be nice to see the 503 back on it's home ground, there is no safe secure depot to keep it, or a support group other than the 502 lot at Burscough.

 

"Could", "Possibly", "Potentially", "Heard"...

Luke is very good at writing posts which contain his opinion and almost nothing else, yet couched in that pseudo-authoritative air that all entirely fact-deficient platform-end wibble is delivered in.

Which may be harsh but is, unfortunately, true.

 

The 503 (all of it) is owned by Electric Train Preservation and managed as a project by the Suburban Electric Railway Association.

The Birkenhead Central idea is a complete non starter and there is no chance of it going to the already full shed at Burscough.

There are options for it but at this stage a return to Merseyside is unlikely as there are no suitable sites as yet identified; and by suitable I mean affordable and within reach of the working volunteers.

 

Don't forget it's one of the remaining Open Days tomorrow - 10:30 to 4:30.

 

Went here today. Although I wasn't sure about it at first sight, the best bit of this museum is the depth of knowledge, friendliness and enthusiasm of all the volunteers there. It was also educational - one museum I have occasional involvement with would do VERY well to learn from how the ERM explains its exhibits and principles behind electric traction.

It would be a terrific loss to the heritage movement if all this knowledge were to be lost and/or dissipated.

 

yes, ironic all this angst about the NRM moving two steam engibes on, 50odd psges on the T3, but only 4 pages on the plight of the ERM. Showsthe true enthudiast balance really doesnt it?

 

It's particularly sad given that electric traction has been around longer than diesel, and is only about fifty years younger than steam as a method of traction - yet is almost totally ignored save for a few dedicated people. It should enjoy more popularity than it does.

It was particularly sad to see the APT-P power car as it was, covered (I assume) in something to protect the bodywork from the British weather: I actually saw that very power car in service back in 1982, but I am grateful that it has at least survived. I really do hope homes can be found for everything there, and the museum and its volunteers can continue somewhere nearby.

I put £25 in the donations box as I left, clutching my beautifully-printed museum guide and a handful of those lovely old OPC postcards from the 1970s; a trifling amount, but I hope it can be of some use to them.

 

414 4311 - https://m.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/trawsblaenaurailway/

 

2HAP may have found a home.

There's a report on Barrie Hughes' 'Isengard' website that the 2HAP currently at Coventry could move to the embryonic Trawsfynydd & Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway. This seems subject to raising sufficient funding, a link to a Crowdfunding page is included in the report. It's pretty obvious where to click to go to latest news! It's the fourth item on today's list.

http://isengard.co.uk/#News

 

Please sign and share this petition requesting support for the future of The Electric Railway Museum.


https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petiti...?source=facebook-share-button&time=1502840097

 

I suppose it does- speaking for myself although I do have a fairly deep interest in electric traction (particularly the history of the UndergrounD) I've certainly spent far less time and money over the years on this than I have on steam based projects. I guess that's just where my heart lies.

 

[pedant]
Wouldn't it be lovely if just once, someone could tell the difference between 'loose' and 'lose'??
[/pedant]

 

Would be great to live in a prefect world......

 

Good points. Without knowing the exact details of the museum's situation, it's impossible for most of us to make any useful comment. Knowing the answers to certain fundamental questions would help. For instance...Is the cause of closure purely financial? Does anyone in the background have designs on the site?

I've taken several current and heritage railway magazines a month for years, trawl t'interweb on rail related matters daily, have been signed up to several forums for a long time, visit more than I belong to and pick up on a fair few low profile activities, yet I have to confess, I was unaware of the existance of this museum before the closure announcement. Am I the only one?

 

The fact remains that these vehicles are only of interest to a very few people, and unless said very few are prepared to shell out serious money then the vehicles/museum have no chance.

 

The welcome might be good - but the offering is not attractive.