Photo (15th March
2009) © David Warwick
The Bodmin & Wenford Trust decided to
dispose of their 73%
share in the ownership of #34007. They gave our Preservation Society
first refusal and the Board took the view that this was an opportunity
too good to miss. For some time now it has been the Board's
long-term aim to own as many locomotives as possible in order to secure
our position on steam motive power and not be dependent upon private
owners. This was a logical step towards that goal - the
engine is 'right for our line' and, with an 8-year ticket still
remaining, will be vital in bridging the gap between those of our
existing fleet running out of ticket and the Black Five and others
coming into service.
The engine will still be owned by the Wadebridge (34007)
Locomotive
Ltd. but we will have three Directors on the board of that
Trust -
Chairman and Vice Chairman of MHRPS Steve Crowther and Jim Russell and
MD, Chairman and Trustee, Colin Chambers - and with 73% of the shares
we will be able to decide where the engine goes and what it
does. The intention is, of course, that it will spend the
major part of its time on our Railway but hiring out is always a
possibility.
Since the purchase was finalised back in July, there have been dramatic developments in the financial global markets and they are going to affect us all and the Railway as well. The Boards are urgently reviewing the situation as to whether this is a good time to be committing large sums of our capital reserves to large scale improvements or whether, in view of the inevitable down-turn in business that we must expect over the coming years, to keep them as cash. The Board has already spent a large amount of that money being held for those improvements in the purchase of the interest in Wadebridge and the situation has been further complicated by the fact that we now know that we have be awarded the Heritage Lottery Fund Grant towards the cost of improvements at Ropley. This carries with it the liability for match-funding of about £550,000 and must be progressed within five years or we will lose the grant.
So, this is where you come in. Thanks to a very generous donation, the shortfall between the purchase price and the donation is just £150,000. If that money could be raised by donations, it would enable the Board to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the Heritage Lottery Fund Grant to progress the improvements at Ropley as originally intended and still make provision for the expected hard times ahead.
Our Railway is enjoying great success at the moment - we are receiving plaudits from every direction. But to survive in a fiercely competitive world, we must go on improving what we have to offer both as a visitor attraction and to fulfil our Heritage Preservation responsibility.
As always your help is vital and I hope that you will be able to support the Board again with your donation. As you will see, we are offering 'incentives' in the form of complimentary Family Tickets and Footplate Rides. Perhaps there may be a present for somebody here?
Please give it some thought - this form is there for you to use.
Thank you.
Derek Seaton
Appeal Co-ordinator
28th March 2009
| The
Watercress Line, The Railway
Station,
Alresford, Hampshire, England, SO24 9JG Tel 01962 733810 Fax 01962 735448 information@watercressline.co.uk www.watercressline.co.uk |
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