Dear 4DD Supporters
We felt it was time to give you an update on activities with the 4DDs although there is not much going on physically with the units at this time of year and most of the news is administrative.
As you may already know, we have been given carriage S13004 by the Northampton Ironstone Trust Railway and have raised funds to move it to our site at Sellindge to be reunited with the other surviving carriage, S13003. Some track work needs to be completed before the move takes place but we very much hope that it will take place this spring when the weather is more clement.
A significant meeting of the ‘co owners’ took place at the Drum inn, Sellindge (near our site) on Sunday 8th January. The group was reinvigorated and agreed to standardise the group’s name as:
“The Bulleid 4DD Group”
The ‘co-owners’ will now be known as Trustees.
We agreed to apply to the Charities Commission for Charitable Status, probably as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or a Community Interest Company (CIC). This will enable efficient fund raising and give the Trustees legal protection in the same way as we would have as a limited liability company. Once this has been achieved we plan a fund raising drive. However, we are always in need of funds so if you are feeling generous, please email us at info@bulleid4dd.org.uk and we’ll tell you how to donate.
We agreed on a plan that will be developed to renovate the two units.
In the next six months:
- Move S13004 to Sellindge
- Weather and vandal proof the two units
- Health and safety audit of the two units at Sellindge
In the next year:
- Achieve CIO or CIO status with the Charity Commission
- Followed by a fund raising drive. Our best estimate for the renovation of the two units at present is £200k.
- Establish a weather proof environment at the Sellindge site to protect the units during renovation
Long term:
- Renovate the units to ‘Museum Quality’
It would seem unlikely that we can ever get the units running under their own power on 3rd rail power but ’loco hauled’ on a heritage railway might be possible.
We also implemented a new management structure for the group with Mark Hickmott as Chairman and Treasurer, me (David Keech) as Secretary and Communications Manager, John Piper as Marketing Manager, and Tim Parry as Health and Safety Manager. Since the meeting Peter De Lacey has agreed to be our Engineering Manager.
We are currently assessing the best ways to communicate with those interested in renovating the units. A subscription membership model would offer a regular income stream but in return we would have to offer members something. Similar subscription groups send out regular newsletters but this would take resource and commitment to produce and would duplicate the communications channels we already have with our web site and our Facebook group. We are considering what to do to resolve this. In the meantime, if you are feeling generous, please email us at info@bulleid4dd.org.uk and we’ll tell you how to donate.
We very much appreciate the work that volunteers have done on the units in the past and hope that this will continue in future but decided on a policy of employing profession contractors for the renovation work as funds allow.
We would remind you
that KR Models are making a model of the 4DD (more information on their web site https://www.krmodels.net/product/bulleid-4dd-emu/). A prototype was on display at the recent Warley Show at the NEC.
If you are interested in joining us to advance the renovation or have any advice you think we might we need, please contact us.
David Keech
Secretary and Communications Manager
The Bulleid 4DD Group