Re: DSRM is ....

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Mon, 26 Mar 2001 13:41:29 GMT, lbrown2@bigpond.com (Brown Family)
wrote:

>On Mon, 26 Mar 2001 07:10:17 +1000, "Trevor Edmonds"
><trevor_edmonds@dingoblue.net.au> wrote:
>
>>Les Brown wrote...
>>
>>> If someone is prepared to pay whateber it takes; $2,000 to Kyogle,
>>> $20,000 to Sydney or $50,000 to Melbourne in order to get use out of
>>> your loco, why not?
>>
>>The costs are not proportional to the distance. Most of the costs are in
>>dismantling/loading and unloading/assembly.
>>
>>> GNR are prepared to pay much more for a working 44.
>>
>>Then they should contact DSRM with a proposal.
>>
>>> Even if DSRM themselves paid to send it to Melbourne, it would
>>> make up the costs in less than a month and anything after that is
>>> cream.
>>
>>That would be about $25 - $30,000 to get it there and a similar amount to
>>get it back. Who do you know who would be prepared to pay $60,000 to dry
>>hire a 44 for a month. If hiring out is so lucrative, why are there numerous
>>44s stored around NSW?
>>
>I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!!!
>
>WHO THE BLOODY HELL NEEDS THE MONEY??  GNR OR DSRM?
>
>Stop your griping about how poor DSRM is and how the council want
>$150,000 to fix up some level crossing and how you guys have to fix up
>some bridge, and how you have to pay all these legal costs, because
>you are NOT serious, are you?
>
>Why should GNR contact you? You say you need the money, YOU SHOULD
>RING THEM! 
>
>And for crying out loud, who said anything about hiring a loco just
>for ONE month?
>
>And just how many 44's are there around Australia, just waiting to be
>hired out? Far from there being "numerous 44s stored around NSW" I'd
>be surprised to find any, just waiting to be hired out in any sort of
>working order. None of the 44's that GNR bought were in working order.
>It was pure luck that 4471 was able to be got going quickly and
>cheaply.
>
>Does anyone on this n.g. know of a 44, or any loco at all over and
>above 1500KW, that can be hired out?
>
>Your arguments are totally irrational, Trevor. Your are trying to prop
>up a facade of poverty and dire need when all I can see is insularity,
>secretiveness and a lack of concern for this country's rail heritage.
>
>You should be deeply ashamed of your organisation.
>
>Les Brown


Without getting into debate about the DSRM issue , Les,s point about
hiring locomotives is an interesting one.
If a 1800 HP loco like a 44 is worth $2K per day ,(and this is a
reasonable figure ) ,then is there any value in running trains at all.
For example , if FA sacked all its staff,and didnt run a single train
,but instead just hired out its locos at $2K per day ,then they would
have made 3 rimes the profit they made by actually running trains .
In the latest digest there is an excellent article about private rail
operators and CFCLAs total revenue was estimated to be around $60
million ,and CFCLA hasnt run 1 train .
Most of this revenue would be profit as CFCLA doesnt have anything
like the costs that a real rail operator has.
A small company like GNR could well be better off by simply hiring its
locos to whoever wants them and not bothering to run any trains at
all.

MD