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Re: WCR leasing R766?

Les Brown wrote:

> Why can we not have all R's restored James?

    As I said in my original post on this issue, there simply aren't enough resources
in Victoria to restore all the R's and ensure that they remain in service for many
years to come. This includes finance, parts and especially volunteer labour.

> I remember Barry yard in Wales about 20 years when it was full of
> rusting ex British Railways steam engines, now I 've been told that
> there isn't a single one left, they've all been restored, bar one or
> two, this means hundreds of steam engines back in operation.

    You must remember that the UK has a much larger population of rail enthusiasts. In
Australia, railways are a specialist hobby but it's a mainstream hobby in the UK.
There is a much larger source of labour and money to maintain the steam locomotives
that they have over there. It would be nice to think that we could restore all the
locomotives that exist but Australia simply does not have the resources.

> I believe that if it ain't workin' it's rustin'. Better all
> steam/diesel/electric locos be restored to working order, that's the
> best way to be sure that they'll be around rather that just heaps of
> rust.

    You can't restore and maintain a locomotive if you don't have the resources. It is
better to have one working locomotive in good condition and five rusting heaps than
six half rusted locomotives that barely work because we can't maintain them.

> The other advantages are that any parts made for one can be made for
> others as well and reduce the unit cost - the more steam engines there
> are of one class the cheaper it is to maintain them. In some cases due
> to standardisation of parts, a boiler made for a D3 can also be used
> for a K.

    While it is an advantage if you have several members of the same class restored,
restoring another won't make the overall maintenance of all of them cheaper. It will
raise the labour, money and parts required to maintain all of them.

> I would love to see R-700 back at work.

    So would I, but you have to be realistic not idealistic.

--
- James Brook -

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