Chairman’s Chat – August 2025
By Neil Taylor
Reflections on “The Greatest Gathering”
Well, it’s all over! I am sitting down having a restful day after a hectic 4 days at The Greatest Gathering. I have to say that this was a real ‘once in a lifetime’ event. It is a long time since I saw so many locomotives in one place. For me, the last time was probably a works tour at Crewe in the late 1970’s. It has to be seen as a huge success for the organisers. The look on people’s faces was something to behold – a mixture of awe, delight and intimidation. The only real downside was that I doubt whether any individual truly managed to see everything. I was there for the best part of 3 days and I am sure I still didn’t see every area, let alone every exhibit.
I am clearly biased, but 82045 was one of the stars of the show. Our locomotive was placed right next to “Locomotion”, and this was a fantastic juxtaposition of a locomotive which originated in 1825 paired with a build of 2025 vintage. In steam terms this was the contrast of the start and the end of Steam Locomotive development in Britain spanning 125 years. In the future we will look back fondly for being part of this prestigious event. By the next iteration of the sequence (Rail 250) I am sure that I will not be in attendance, but of the many exhibits there is just the slimmest of chances that 82045 just might be. Indeed, there is a possibility that future caretakers of the trust may have kept her running!
We should also take a positive boost from the hundreds of positive comments that we had while stood by the loco or on the sales stand. I am not exaggerating at all to say that the volume of comments left the team overflowing with pride. It was especially good to meet so many members shaking our hands and enjoying the opportunity to see the loco “up close”. It was still a real challenge to persuade some people that the locomotive was indeed new. It took me three attempts for one chap who thought that I was joking.
Matthew Strong setting up the sale stand before nearly 40,000 people descend on us.
A Standard in 2025 next to the design standard of 1825 – A literal Rail 200 image
Over the three public days we talked to people who had worked on the class in the locomotive works and sheds. We definitely talked to two former firemen. One who had actually passed out for firing on the footplate of one such class member. Another who clearly remembers firing on a trip from Leamington. I am quite emotional to think that we enabled these folk to take a trip back in their lives to remember their younger selves.
We will remember the days for what they were. A very intimate contact with the public and a reminder of why we are doing this. It made me realise even more how much we owe to the members past and present. There were many other trusts and societies present at differing stages of development. We have clearly been fortunate to capture the imagination of people over a long period.
The “Final Push” Fundraising
We have taken the opportunity of the Greatest Gathering to formally launch the last phase of fundraising prior to the locomotive’s entry into service. I have been talking since the AGM of the need for about £300,000 to complete the loco and provide for the initial spares provision and the running in costs.
I would like to start the process of updating you with a totaliser of fund raising that keeps everybody aware of the progress towards that target. A little like Blue Peter (the TV program, not the locomotive)! Below is a graphical representation of the progress. I hope that you all accept that this is not an exact science as we are constantly receiving donations, and today we have had a significant cheque and a sale of one of the limited-edition prints. As I have said many times in conversations this is a “Broadly right – precisely wrong” approach.
We initiated a web-based cashless donation process as part of the Final Push approach. Our expectations were low, as we were not sure how many people would choose to donate online. However, in the first month of operation it looks like we have had several hundred pounds of donations. By doing this we can now accept international donations, which seems to have worked for our overseas members. We had a simple terminal at the Greatest Gathering such that we could continue to accept cashless donations at the event, and we will replicate this at the Autumn Gala in Kidderminster.