It appears that the lack of work on the loco for the bulk of its stay at Shackerstone has been interpreted in places as a total loss of interest in the project when 3RD 45/0 GROUP members finally realised the magnitude of the work needed and that the loco had been bought blind - i.e. from purely sentimental reasons rather than having carried out an engineering assessment or with little idea of what would be involved in the future.

This is not the case.

The correct explanation is as follows -

Certainly sentimental reasons were involved with the acquisition of 45 015 but these only formed a small part of the assessment prior to purchase.

The main reason was that the GROUP was unable to reach an agreement with the railway to establish a workshop and store facility onsite after the loco had been delivered to site.

This facility was to be a Mk1 coach (without interior) although it was not purchased until a year after the loco had moved. The bulk of the time prior to its purchase was spent in acquiring some of the parts required for 45 015 and sorting out the thousand and one other things that would be required for the workshop/store.

All those who work on locos particularly ones that have required a substantial amount of work would agree that in order to carry out all the work required on 45 015 (it is basically a total strip down of the loco and rebuild), it was felt essential that a workshop/store should be provided for very sound reasons such as -

All the tools needed in one location
Secure storage of all the parts in one location
To be able to work on the parts undercover whatever the weather
To enable members to achieve the high standards envisaged for the project

Sadly we were not able to reach an agreement with the site owners about the delivery and accommodation of the coach after it had been purchased and it was eventually moved to another site some distance away where it was to be of no real use to the GROUP and remains OOU.

As a result, members felt that the project would be heavily compromised and the work made that much more difficult without the workshop/store onsite and so the decision was made to halt further work with the hope that the matter could be resolved within a reasonable timescale.

Sadly, that objective was never achieved.

The Owner feels that it is now best to close this episode of 45 015 history - it has happened and we cannot rewrite history. All concerned on both sides had their reasons at the time but it would now be best to look to the future and plan ahead for that.

THERE WAS A BID TO SAVE THE 45 015 EARLIER IN 2007 AND MOVE HER TO SOUTHPORT AS REPORTED IN THE PRESS AND IN FORUMS AT THE TIME. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT BID?

The loco was under serious threat of being scrapped in January when word got around that the end was imminent. This was picked up by a group in the NW who contacted the Owner personally and put forward that package that seemed credible.

The leader of this group was an established railwayman with much experience of preservation and restoring locos that required a lot of work. There was discussion between the present site owners and the new group and a solid proposal was constructed that seemed completely feasible receiving the full backing of the 45 015 side. So, for the time being the loco was saved pending its removal to Southport.

Unfortunately, further progress and the move there never took place and the new group then seemed to fade away from the scene. The 45 015 side made several attempts to contact the new group and their representative but received no response. It would appear that they had had second thoughts and had backtracked when concerns were raised on their side.

The concerns were based on hearsay, rumour and malicious gossip and had no basis in fact and so their bid to save the loco could have still gone ahead. But they made no effort to contact the 45 015 side to discuss the concerns and find out the true story.

SINCE THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOUTHPORT BID, THE LOCOMOTIVE HAS BEEN UNDER THREAT OF BEING SCRAPPED AGAIN IN 2007. IS THIS STILL THE CASE?

The loco was again under threat of being scrapped in July when the site owners finally concluded that the Southport group was no longer a serious contender.

It was then that publicity about this setback on the Preserved Diesels Forum led to supporters contacting the Owner and from that, a new Committee has been formed (7 members) to oversee the collection of funds and to transport the loco to a new site.

As far as we are aware, the threat was lifted once the new campaign was launched although deadlines have been imposed and deadlines remain in place. But the removal of the loco depends on the total amount for the transport plus shunting charges at the present site being raised if we are to be successful in saving the loco and getting her to a new site.

This is taking longer that anticipated but credit has to be given to all involved so far and what has been achieved. The website should with input give details of the latest situation about the total amount that has been pledged.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE FUNDING THAT THE OWNER HAD PLANNED TO PUT INTOTHE RESTORATION WORK ON THE LOCOMOTIVE AND ESPECIALLY AS IN THEORY LITTLE WAS SPENT AND THERE SHOULD BE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO TRANSPORT THE LOCO TO A NEW SITE - IN OTHER WORDS, WHY THE REQUIRMENT TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THAT PURPOSE NOW?

This is a very reasonable question.

The Owner would admit that the ability to see into the future has never been a particular skill on his part. Some of the decisions external to the locomotive from where funding for the project was to be sourced (i.e. railway work) have not proved to be the best ones. These decisions were made in the best of faith at the time after having carried out much research and taken advice.

At the time 45 015 was purchased and transported away to its present site, there were funds available to keep the project going for a few years. The type of work that the Owner was engaged on (freelance railway engineer - self-employed) was highly remunerative - the Owner saw no end to the considerable levels of work secured and hence funding that would be generated in the forthcoming years.

However, within 12 months, the climate was quite different and the Owner then saw the need to restructure his work and expand into new areas to remain competitive. This included storage (for existing tools, office equipment, masses of paperwork, etc.) office space, retraining and new tools and equipment. The idea that the (sizeable) expenditure would be recouped in enhanced levels of work and that it would pay for itself. Sadly this did not happen and the Owner was forced to continue to fund those decisions after he had cancelled them. They took all the funding available and have since then soaked up funding at the expense of other matters.

There is therefore no personal funding available for the transport of 45 015 away to a new site at this point in time.

HOW WILL THE OWNERSHIP OF THE LOCOMOTIVE BE STRUCTURED IN THE FUTURE?

The Owner would very much like to see the ownership of the loco move into structure where no single individual has ownership or control of the locomotive but that it is 'owned by the many.' This could be either a Ltd. Company or a Trust and each one has good and bad points. This form of structure is common to many other locomotive-owning groups and societies.

It is also highly likely that shares in 45 015 will be launched or that supporters can simply make a donation to the new group.

There will be substantial debate as to what is the best form for the structure to take and how supporters can contribute financially to this when it is up and running.

The main issue at the moment is of course to get the loco away to a new site and to safety.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN RESTORATION HURDLES WITH THE LOCOMOTIVE?

POWER UNIT

After 45 015 was withdrawn in 1986, the power unit (B series) was stripped of pistons, rods and liners to keep other Peaks in service. The crankshaft journals have since then as a result of exposure to moisture become very rusty and are beyond salvage - the covering of oil seemingly having dried out and not offering any protection to the bare steel surface.

Some have said that the crankshafts could be reground to remove the corrosion and oversize bearing fitted. It has also been said in response that locomotive cranks do not respond well to this treatment and are best left as original size.

The simplest solution would therefore be to acquire a serviceable Class 47 power unit (C series) and install it in place of the existing unit. Some have argued that 45 015 would then no longer be a Class 45 but AFAIK some Peaks in BR days were fitted with a C series unit and conversely, some 47s received serviceable B series units. So exchanges did take place showing that there should not be a considerable problem in fitting a C series unit to 45 015.

ELECTRICAL CONTROL CUBICLE

The cubicle was complete when the locomotive was first inspected in 1994 but sometime the following year, it was stripped out completely by an unknown party.

However, as part of the programme to replace missing parts, some compatible relays have already been acquired for rebuilding the cubicle with possibly 2 other sources available to acquire further parts for it.

BRAKE FRAME

Some cocks and items of pipework have already been acquired and the frame is now mainly missing valves. These should be obtainable from a locomotive fitted with D&M (Davies & Metcalfe) brake equipment such as a Class 47. The brake frame is not viewed as the biggest problem with the restoration of the locomotive.

AUXILIARY MACHINES

The vacuum exhauster and radiator fan motor are still on the locomotive and should refurbish to the standards required.

Compatible compressors could be acquired from other BR classes (47s) but the motor would have to be rewound to 220 Volts for use on 45 015.

Convertor Set - the GROUP was fortunate enough to acquire a Convertor Set as this part would otherwise have been impossible to source.

Traction motor blower motor units are one stumbling block but a possible solution would be to acquire motor units from another class and adapt them for use on 45 015. This would require research in to motors from say 37s and 47s and to see if they could be adapted for use.

Combined Pump Set - compatible units could be acquired from a 47 and rewound to 220 Volts (same as for compressors).

DEFECTIVE AXLE ASSEMBLY

A full set of parts to replace the missing leaf springs, hangers, coil springs and rubber blocks have been acquired to re-instate this axle to load-carrying status so that the locomotive can be loaded up with the correct weight distribution if this is deemed necessary.