MEMBERS' MONTHLY BULLETIN - APRIL 2021

ENGINEERING 

April has been a difficult month. In the course of the original weld repairs work at Riley and Son (Bury), a significant crack was detected in one of the trailing wheel pans.  Repairs were started at the end of March, but the cracking was found to be more serious and extensive than anticipated.  After on-site inspection and discussion this month, it is our conclusion that the wheel concerned will have to be scrapped. In the circumstances, the project has also decided that, as a precaution, we need to test the other driving wheels for similar cracking. Preparatory work for this testing has started.

The next Warrior magazine will report in more detail on this subject. The outcome of the testing and the implications for the project will be reported to members as soon as practicable. 

We have learnt that the delivery of material ordered from South Africa for the axle replacement (necessitated by the original weld repairs) cannot now be expected until Autumn 2022.  The coronavirus pandemic has seriously aggravated supply chain constraints in this area.  We are attempting to identify alternative suppliers.

Work at West Shed continued this month at a reduced level because of PRCLT’s other commitments. Alongside the management of the driving wheel issue, work on the expansion link trunnions is ongoing. 

FINANCE

The annual results to March 31^st were presented to the Board at its Zoom meeting on the 24th. I am pleased to report that in spite of the difficulties of the last year, with your continued valued support, we achieved 92.5% of our budgeted income in the 3 areas of membership, donations, and sales. The addition of the unbudgeted loan of £50k provided by a member took us to 107.8% of target at £352k. More detailed figures will be provided in the next edition of ‘The Warrior’ but I would just reiterate that our Board are extremely humbled by the fact that you, our members, continue to have faith in us getting the job done properly and have a completed locomotive that you will be proud to be associated with. Thank you.

THOUGHTS FOR THE WARRIOR

Production is about to start on Warrior 49 and as usual we’re inviting you to send your contributions. With the 'lockdown' continuing I'm sure many of us have been indulging ourselves in collections of railway magazines and books. So did any of these bring back memories of your own railway experiences? Do you have any comments on the content and members letters that appeared in the last edition? If yes, we would like to hear from you. Please feel free to send them to us and if you have photos to accompany your stories then all the better. Your story doesn't have to be Patriot-related, good if it is, but anything that you think will be of interest to the rest of our membership will be very welcome.

You can still send correspondence to our main office at The Hub, 17 Eastgate Street, Stafford ST16 2LZ as we will be making collections from there on a weekly basis, but please still use our temporary office telephone number: 07801 945689. If you intend to submit photographic or written contributions please send them directly to the editor:  Peter Sikes, 12 Holmdale Road, Syston, Leicester LE7 2JN.