The 10A Allocation

That was the general opinion in BR days too.

 

Its been at Carnforth for c.2.5 years in a period where one assumes that they have not had much general maintenance needed on the wider fleet meaning possibly a workforce that can throw resources at her, so possibly not that unbelievably quick in the big scheme of things.

Plus if she's been stripped down to the bare bones as part of this could be a relatively straightforward air fitting (to a class where one assumes WCR will already have a pretty good idea of the installation having operated the Riley ones for many years) rather than trying to retrofit to others.

 

I was informed a few months ago 45110 was being restored for pres line use in 2026…

 

Anyone able to remind me of the current status of 46115?

 

Its boiler cert should have been up in December.

 

Thank you Harry - I couldn't recall last time it steamed mainline or otherwise on any HRs

 

Last out in August for the trip to Derby for The Greatest Gathering, alongside shedmates 44932, 45699 and 35018. 44932 has since been to K&WVR.

 

That's true although I don't think it was steamed for the GG?

 

Arrived and left by rail though, so would have been in steam for that.

 

I know she is at Carnforth but has it ever been confirmed that she is a WCR/Mr Smith asset or just went there to be overhauled?

 

Yes oos

 

Also attended SVR last July under its own power.

 

Nothing is confirmed ..but it’s a group owned asset .

 

Seems something of a change in WCR policy to be overhauling their locomotives for purely heritage line use, possibly a clue as to where the strategic direction of the company is going then?

 

I wouldn’t have thought so, there is no way the cost of an overhaul could be recouped with heritage line hire fees

 

I think there can be very few groups who could claim that it is possible to keep their locos running without the subsidy from fundraising. Without the income from the Jacobite, I think even Ian Riley will struggle.

 

It's equally unlikely a loco recovers anywhere near the cost of an overhaul from what it earns on the mainline.
If, for arguments sake, 45110 is hired back to the SVR for 10 years, earning £50k per year, that might cover the cost of maintenance and overhaul undertaken in house at 10A. Or it might not.
The same amount might be yielded from 10-15 RTC charters per annum but there's also the additional extra cost of kitting a loco out for mainline use, perhaps more onerous maintenance, insurance etc regime and annual certification costs to take account of.
Whichever route you take, it's a case of offsetting some of the expense rather than recouping the entire cost. Remember the old adage about the way to make a small fortune from a steam loco is to begin with a large fortune......
That's why, predominantly, mainline loco owner operation is largely the preserve of two very wealthy individual 'collectors'.
There are, of course, non-monetary aspects for an individual owning and operating a steam loco, the pleasure/satisfaction derived must also be a significant motivation, otherwise probably nobody in their right mind would do it!

 

At a guess, based on 46115 returning to use late in 2019, the annual certification will have expired late last year and not been renewed because the seven-yearly exam/replace small tubes probably falls due during 2026. Given there isn't, currently, any work for it in the immediate future, workshop priority expenditure probably lies elsewhere. If the mk1s return to use then the retube to get it through to year 10 becomes more viable, hopefully. It would be very depressing to think 'Scots Guardsman' had roared its last.

 

To be honest I was only basing what I said on the post copied below which suggested heritage line use for 45110...

In other news it would appear that someone has applied for LBC to remove the Selside signal box from Steamtown. https://planning.lancaster.gov.uk/o...ils.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TAWIZ1IZK9M00

 

Stuart?