Max Power Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 If this loco were to be used with modern carriages to run a year round shuttle service I could understand the expenditure. As a breakdown vehicle for an under utilised heritage railway I can't see the sense. Off the shelf spares for the existing loco may be hard to get but surely we have the engineering expertise in the people who were not made redundant to keep the thing running for the few times it must be used? It makes the money they invest in the MGP festival look like good value for money doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBman Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Diesel 10 for fat controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asitis Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I do believe the current baggage system was bought second hand from Glasgow Airport, who, having installed it, found it to be a complete pile of crap, always breaking down and difficult to maintain. So they sold it to us (probably at no real discount knowing how incompetent our Civil Service is) and got a better, more durable and cost effective system. thanks for the info nevertheless it does work, and for the paltry passenger numbers we have or indeed can expect going forward does not make 3.2 million a sensible solution, if we had need and could label something value for money I would support it wholeheartedly however herself was on Manx Radio last week advocating the use of smaller aircraft to preserve routes ! what happened to easy jet and Ryanair ? pipe dream always was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxy Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 There has to be a bigger picture, but as yet, I can't yet see it. I'm sort of expecting information be out there that explains this. Were meetings about these schemes open to public scrutiny or did they just appear on the day of the budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 They used landrovers to recover trams in Brussels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonatti Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Having worked in close proximity to a government department for many years i have noticed that the saying "make do" does not exist in their culture. Hence the reason why our old busses are off to enjoy many more years service (and no doubt making a profit! ) somewhere else. What scares me most is that we only hear about the large scale waste in our government. Its the day the day waste that we never hear about which is probably costing us millions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannin1 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Whem precedence on available cash is given to providing a new diesell locomotive, and another 12 brand new mercedes buses is put above the education of our dhildern and coupled with the other cuts being imposed on most other separtments, how can this department be permitted to squander our cash at these enormous rates,Lomggone must have a hold over someone surely? Cretters started allpwing it to get out of controk, and now apparently the new so called minister is going down exactly the same path/. I quite often use the term "Fantasy Island" and have been derided for doing so but FFS it is proving to be an accurate description more and more. Buy more trains and buses or keep education which would you opt for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmannin Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Quite often? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartT Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 From a quote earlier in the thread Citizen X is onto something here:- Understand that the 'old boilers' are someway towards their resting place. However, what ever happened to ingenuity and forward thinking. Here we have a item made of fabricated parts to which we are advised are no longer able to be sourced - however there is such a thing as reverse engineering and we should be deploying the skills of local engineers and fabricators to help replace those 'worn' parts and help provide the longevity of the exisiting engines. Surely this keeps it 'local', supports local employment, retains the costs on the island and feeds into the community and economy - not take from it. I am sure that is what 'island' life is supposed to support and portray In the UK certain preservation railways are making a decent amount of money doing boilersmith jobs and overhauling locomotives. There's even a market for total newbuilds. Now given that there is a need in the Island to keep the resident fleet running it would be a great way to develop on this and to diversify. It would provide opportunities for those who want to be more creative and might even make attract people who want to learn how to build or maintain locomotives. You could even extend it to coach maintaining and building (there's not that many railways which are allowed to build and run wooden bodied coaches) Except for the need to invest in such an infrastructure which is unlikely at the minute the only other major problem I could think of is the 'steam racket'..... The figure of £750,000 does seem very steep. Amongst enthusiast circles the general concensus is that a rebuild of the Viking should be undertaken, equipping it with engines more suited for passenger speed running than shunting around freightyards. As regards the IMR and the SMR & MER I realise a lot of people might not really care about this, but the two systems are really significant. The IMR has the distinction of having one of the largest surviving fleet of Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T's plus a rare DUBS built 0-6-0 locomotive (there's not that many anywere in the world still running) as well as a large number of 19thC Locomotives and carriage stock (there's not really that much about in the UK of 19thC Rolling stock). A lot has been lost in the bad years of the 70's and early 80's. As for the MER and SMR they are pioneering and extremely important in the development of Electric traction. The problem with the railways is that they haven't really been marketed properly across since the brilliant work of Alan Corlett who did much to bring the Island's railways to the attention of the worlds enthusiasts. Those of us who have spent a large amount of time around the railways will remember the Haylcon days of the 1990's and the centenary years when many items of stock and locomotives which people thought would never run again were either put back into service or made available for public display. Sadly I guess that perhaps it was overdone a little bit and attendances dwindled in the 00's - again probably mainly due to the costs of getting here. The running of new special events such as a winter train, evening specials, the Easter bunny and the Valentines as well as the traditional Santa trains are a step in the right direction. I'd argue what the Island's railways really need is a proper museum nearer Douglas where many of the hidden gems of stock are available for display. They also need renewed publicity across with the message as to how important these railways are in the terms of transport museum and how much still survives intact here. I think a lot more TV publicity like that of Micheal Portillo's Great Railway Journeys could be useful. Ultimately I think the Island's Railways probably do need to look to working towards a commuter base in the long term. Though this would have to be a very long term plan as it would require faster modern rolling stock for commuting. I would say improved trackwork but the trackwork has already been improved (it's just the Route to Ramsey and Peel which needs 'trackwork improvements') Getting people to abandon their cars is the hard part. I am strongly convinced that the railways and the buses need to be integrated - ie using smaller buses running around communities to feed the railway system. I would also argue it might be time for legislation to get people out of their cars - eg congestion charges, a reduction in road schemes, maybe even a free public transport system for residents. As for those who quibble about the cost of maintaining the railways and the costs of building a railway to commuter standards to the adjacent towns and villages it is important to reflect the vast sums that have been spent on road improvement scheme's to little benefit - if we hadn't build Richmond Hill, Governor's Hill Roundabout, Windy Corner, the proposed QB schemes, Ballakillowey roundabout, etc then there might have been a good deal more capital available for a decent rail infrastructure. The hard part is making those moves to get people out of their cars - and this is extremely difficult given that the car culture is deeply ingrained in Tynwald itself. One thing is certain, if the car culture is not challenged then it's ultimately going to destroy the Island we all love so much.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannin1 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Quite often? well put a more apt and fitting description of your own, and I may start using that, but until that I will stick with "FANTASY ISLAND" and FU. Further in answer to the post above Longgone (or he should be) got rid of most of the craftsmen who DID keep both our rolling stock on the railways and bus sectors going, at a much cheaper rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nosferatu Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Meanwhile http://www.energyfm....cle_193073.html I'm sure there'll be a few nice suggestions for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
local skeet Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Strange order of priority by IOM Government! Lets get rid of front line Police and Fire Officers and buy a freakin Steam Train for £750K!! FFS this place is putting everything other than Joe Public first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Strange order of priority by IOM Government! Lets get rid of front line Police and Fire Officers and buy a freakin Steam Train for £750K!! FFS this place is putting everything other than Joe Public first! Thats about right for this administration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
local skeet Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Just a clarification post - It's as we all know not a steam train! Also - Public Safety should be paramount to all Manx residents, well that's my opinion anyway! The Isle of Man seem a less attractive place to live at present with some flippin crazy decisions being made by our so called leaders! IOM Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierrot Lunaire Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Tired Cliché Gets New Angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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