George Fuller

Could anybody answer me a simple question?

Why was Deltic 9000 Locomotives Ltd a small volunteer company with one
locomotive running on the mainline, more important to Pip Dunn,
Railways Illustrated and Rail magazine than FM Rail the countries
biggest independent locomotive and rolling stock provider, holder of
only one of three national track access licenses, owner of 90
locomotives and employer of over 50 people?

Let me explain, cast your mind back to the demise of DNLL, Dunn worked
himself up into a frenzy. No less than two editorials were devoted to
DNLL, numerous large articles and Dunn even wrote to the letters page
of his own magazine to agree with himself. All this for one small
company with one loco?

Now consider FM Rail, not a word prior to the liquidation, indeed Dunn
wrote a glowing article about his day out on the green saloon and Rail
magazine was quoting an interview with the FM Chairman about the
revival of long dead 47s at MOD Kinton and post administration both
magazines have been very muted indeed one would be hard put to see any
coverage at all.

Remember a furious editorial by Dunn about the treatment by DNLL of
privately owned 50002? Yet oddly there has not been a word by either
magazine about FM's treatment of privately owned 08631, 47550, 47701,
31422, 31423 and a collection of coaches, all of which have suffered
in FM's storage leaving their owners in some cases with some large
bills to put right.

So why the difference in coverage? Obviously Dunn has not got a friend
who wanted to buy FM Rail...