We ended last year on a bit of a high with some significant progress on Sir Lamiel. Unfortunately, the news of the renewed lockdown and restrictions on access at Loughborough means that work on the overhaul has now stopped until restrictions are lifted.
We have rescheduled the project plan for the overhaul and still expect to have completed the overhaul in time for Sir Lamiel’s centenary year in 2025. Work has also stopped on the D6535 and other volunteer work at Loughborough. We are working closely with our colleagues at the Great Central Railway so that we can return to work as quickly as possible as restrictions are lifted.
One area we still need to do further work is fund raising. We have launched the Knights of the Round Table and have raised around £20k so far. There’s still a long way to go. This year will be a challenge financially as opportunities for hiring of our locomotives will be restricted until the heritage sector returns to running normal timetabled trains. We are looking into a Heritage Lottery Funding application to support the Sir Lamiel overhaul. This is quite a task as we have to build a good case for their support. A small project team is being set up to work on the application. If anyone has experience of HLF applications or other fundraising ideas, please contact us via comms@5305la.org.uk
Maintaining our fundraising momentum is key to the success of our work. There are a few ways you can help us.
- If you haven’t already you can join the Knights of the Round Table is main way of supporting the overhaul of Sir Lamiel https://www.sirlamiel.org.uk/index.php/supporting-the-quest/
- There is also the opportunity to make one off or regular monthly donations. Please follow the link above.
- There is also the opportunity to make one off or regular monthly donations. Please follow the link above.
- Become a working volunteer. https://www.5305la.org.uk/Membership
- Purchase gifts and accessories from our website shop. https://shop.5305la.org.uk Please follow the link to see our current range. More items will be added to the shop in during the year.
Thanks for your support with Sir Lamiel.
Alan Berck-May
Chairman
5305 Locomotive Association