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Great Central Railway General Matters

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Reading General, Nov 11, 2017.

  1. Ian Milne

    Ian Milne New Member

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    Why is the GCR consistently failing to access lottery and other emergency funding? Even the West Somerset, with all its internal strife, has landed a very substantial wedge.
     
  2. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    It may yet get some, sums over £1 million have yet to be announced, and some railways have been knocking on that figure in the first round of announcements. I have no knowledge either way I should point out.
     
  3. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    One would hope that they will get some of this "free money" which is being thrown about, and, if not, it begs the question of what is actually going on. The original lot of HLF grants were not deemed to be for infastructure related projects, but this current batch appear to be available for such things.
    Considering they now have an ex Government Minister on the GCR Board, they should be aware of what is available......
     
  4. tor-cyan

    tor-cyan Well-Known Member

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    took this photo late this afternoon showing nearly all of renaissance railcars current fleet

    IMG_20201011_163258 (2).jpg

    from left to right the, operational green and blue sets the blue grey trailer car and our latest arrival, class 122 no55009 transferred from the mid Norfolk railway on Thursday.
    the unit is a runner but needs work doing to the cab roofs as there is corrosion where the fiberglass domes join to the metal body work. a nice addition to the fleet.

    Colin
     
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  5. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    It is almost as if the GCR has being not supported, so far, because they are still maintaining and enhancing their infrastructure....also they did not launch an immediate "Help" campaign because their finances have been well managed. I'm sure that they will have been trying for more support though......fingers crossed!
     
  6. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Are you saying those railways that launched appeals did so because their finances were not being well managed? I think you could be the best managed business in the world and still find having your revenue stream turned off overnight would be a pretty existential threat.

    As for why the GCR were unsuccessful: did they put a bid in but were turned down, or did then not put a bid in?

    Tom
     
  7. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    Hi Tom
    I was only writing about the GCR and the fact that they said they had made a conscious decision not to mount a crisis appeal so they obviously believed, at the time, they could cover the loss of income. I believe that they did put a bid in for funding from one Govt source, but it was turned down as being for infrastructure not wages etc.
     
  8. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    It was, if I remember right, an HLF grant that was applied for. While I was disappointed that it didn't come in, I remember not being shocked given the tone of the weekly mailings I'd had from the railway.
     
  9. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I guess the subtext of the question is in what way is the cost base of the GCR significantly different from other comparably sized railways?

    Tom
     
  10. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    One might also ask about the assets and income.
     
  11. Kingscross

    Kingscross Member

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    Does anyone know what the GCR actually applied to the NLHF for? Current NLHF grants are specifically to cover lost revenue and maintenance, not capital projects. My reading of the various quotes in the railway press is that the railway applied for money towards capital works which were ineligible, and the strident quotes from (understandably) disappointed board members may not help their standing with funders in the future.
     
  12. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    It does look like the GCR might have got the wording wrong on the application?
     
  13. Drop_Shunt

    Drop_Shunt New Member

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    Perceived wisdom is that the individuals writing the submissions may not be the best people for that particular task. It also seems unhelpful for a senior memberof the management team to respond the way they did, particularly in the press.
     
  14. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    Having operated a couple of diesel running events on Friday evenings during October, a steam running evening with 45305 has now made an appearance on their events page for Friday 6th November.
     
  15. Legrandanglais

    Legrandanglais New Member

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    Very quiet on the GCR(N) front - not running until next year.... Some Volunteers out and about on Pway, S&T, and 'The Cutting Edge'.
    I don't think they or EMRT applied for funding.
     
  16. Johann Marsbar

    Johann Marsbar Well-Known Member

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    The GCR have finally got some money from the Heritage Emergency Fund according to the e-newsletter I just discovered in my inbox - £250,000 worth.
     
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  17. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    Good news indeed! Thank you NLHF.
     
  18. D1039

    D1039 Guest

    I'm pleasantly surprised, the rules said failed bids could not reapply

    Patrick
     
  19. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    It may have been two different funds? Either way it is good news.
     
  20. Drop_Shunt

    Drop_Shunt New Member

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    Their not running is part of an agreement with ORR. If they don’t try to run any trains, then the ORR won’t take formal action to stop them running any trains . . . .
     

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