After 10 years of very slow progress and a failure to attract enough people with the drive and determination needed to see the project to completion, In October 2024 the decision was made by the remaining committee to disband The Project Class 22 society.
In the early year of the project there was great belief in what we were doing, and we always knew the only thing that would cause the project to fail was us not having the drive to take it forward. It has been an enjoyable but frustrating and difficult project to manage as is typical of many voluntary based ventures.
As a result of this decision all investors/members have been contacted and we have agreed to sell the assets to allow them to be protected, consisting of a MAN, power unit, a Spanner boiler, a number of controls and gauges, manuals and documents. All loans cleared up giving a balance of £21,000, which includes donations and income from book sales.
These funds have been donated equally to the following groups:
- The Western Preservation Society
- The Bury Hydraulic Group
- The DEPG
- The Dean Forested Railway
All merchandise and remaining Class 22 books have been donated to the WLA.
The assets will be donated at some point to a museum for display. While all plans, drawings and design work would be made available if another group decided to have a go.
In 2025 the whole story of the Class 22 New Build Project will be published, we made some fascinating discoveries and gained much knowledge of these unfortunate locomotives.
Many thanks for your interest and support over the years
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