Standard Class 5 Found in Council Office

73129 has been rumbled; today's Derby Evening Telegraph reports that 'several councillors' are 'surprised' to learn that DCC owns a Standard.

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Der...0-steam-loco/story-22299353-detail/story.html

Expect a committee meeting to recommend a change to hydrogen fuel cells; all-over advertising; sponsored livery chosen by a chain of local estate agents; selling off the bogie because we all have to make sacrifices and downsizing to an 0-3-0 (as engines with an odd number of wheels are under-represented).

 

The link's not working, but the paper's front page is quick to quote the loco's alleged value - £350K. We know how politicians' minds work when money is mentioned; might we now see 73129 on the market? No doubt at a premium price

 

and 25321

 

Merely an expression to give extra (and unwarranted) weight to unimaginative thought in the same way as "it stands to reason". Such may be common enough but whether they are sensible is open to debate.

Anyway mods, this debate has, IMHO, got to the stage where it needs to be transferred to the soapbox/Speaker's Corner section.

PH

 

Indeed - so what do you think the council should do ?

Jon

 

This reminds me that Eastleigh council money was used to buy s15 828. Do they still own any part of it?

 

Once upon a time there was going to be a transport museum in Bristol's Wine Street. The museum wasn't built because of rising costs. However the City Council had acquired three Bristol built 0-6-0 saddle tanks; a Fox-Walker, a Peckett and an Avonside. In addition (I'm told) they bought GWR 2818. As the Bristol museum wasn't built it was loaned to the NRM and the Peckett at least went to the Council owned Bristol Docks Railway.
If Derby decide to sell off their loco asset, Bristol may follow suit.
How many other Councils own things, such as ships, aircraft, buses etc, they might decide to sell off?

 

Didn't Plymouth City Council also have an interest in 75079 when it first went to the Plym Valley Railway as well?

 

If Derby Council's finances are as dire as the article makes them out to be, from their perspective it would make sense to put 73129 on the market. I would expect there would be quite a bit of interest. However, that would be very tough for the group which has put in so much effort restoring this engine unless the would-be buyer intended to keep the engine at Butterley under the care of the same people.

 

I'm not so sure.

Firstly, Derby Council has an annual revenue spend of £222m (source: http://www.derby.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/council-budgets-and-spending/council-budgets/) and a planned capital spend of £276m. A one-off capital windfall of, say, £250k is neither here nor there, while having the capacity to create a lot of bad publicity, not least in how the city views its railway heritage - which, remember, is not only of historical interest, but also a vital part of the wider city economy. I also suspect that they would not want to be seen to pull the rug from one of the county's tourist attractions.

Secondly, if they are not careful, they could in any case lose more than they gain. As an example, Northampton Borough Council recently sold off an Egyptian statue in a fund-raising move, but without going through a proper mechanism for de-accessioning part of the museum collection. The result was that their council museums lost their formal accreditation from the Arts Council. One big effect of that is the withdrawal of grants and the ineligibility to apply for new grants, wiping out the gain from selling the statue. Potentially, the council has more to lose than gain from a sale.

Having worked for a large council during time of major budget cuts, I know from experience it is not a pleasant time. But it is also a time that the managers and politicians should be focused on the big picture of revenue savings: if they are fiddling round the edges with controversial sales to generate tiny amounts of one-off capital, they aren't doing their job. This just looks like headline grabbing by a pressure group.

Tom

 

Interestingly, 73050 is owned by Peterborough City Council.

 

You'd think someone might point out what a shrewd investment it's been by the council, as the likely current value of the loco almost certainly far exceeds the inflation-adjusted amount they bought it for. And they've managed to get it stored and restored for practically nothing. Maybe a time will come to sell it, at which time they could almost certainly make a significant profit.

Well done Council people!



Simon

 

There is no reason why dcc cant hold onto 73129. The loco can become self sufficient with hire charges. She is proving massively popular at the SVR at the moment. Nobody wants to let her go back. She has also been popular everywhere she has been.

 

Sell it.

If councils sold off their locos there's chance for 46235.

 

All these locos belong to their respective Museum Collections. Cannot be sold. End of.