So. African Hoppers 2806 and 2807 - Official Work Thread

[Stephen Piwowarski]

If containers are moving, does that mean all the money was raised already?  Or have we negotiated a financing option?

Hi John,

We have not raised the entire sum yet, nor did we negotiate a financing option. Understanding that this was an opportunity that would likely pass us by if we didn’t act on it, we utilized our funding reserves to act quickly with the understanding that we would replenish those reserves from the fundraiser. That fundraiser, as of this morning, stands just a few hundred dollars short of $10,000. Thanks everyone for your support of this project!

Best,
Steve

[Ed Lecuyer]

Steve explained it well. We were hoping to receive a second grant (beyond the $100,000 supplied by the Candelaria Fund) to help cover the overall project of Mechanization of Railroad Maintenance and Expansion. However, that opportunity did not come to pass, so we decided to self-finance the acquisition of hoppers from our Reserves account, with the hope that this "crowd source" campaign may make up that difference.

So far, the "Bring Trains to Maine up from Africa" campaign has done very well, raising nearly $10,000 of the (estimated) $66,000 cost to purchase and ship the hoppers to the WW&F.

Hot off the press, here are some photos of the cars being loaded at Sandstone Estates. Expect a full update on Facebook (and https://wwfry.org/africa/ ) later tonight or tomorrow.

[Benjamin Richards]

Fortunately able to use one of those neat flat-rate boxes, I see 

[Daniel Moreau]

That's fantastic! So glad to see they're on their way now. Will we be giving them a fresh coat of paint when they arrive?

[Ted Miles]

Now that the ballast car are on their way to Alna; I would like to know the dates and name of the company that
built the two cars.I want to keep my file of roster cards up to date. TM WW&F Life Member

[Benjamin Richards]

Quote directly lifted from wwfry.org/africa

These hoppers, officially designated NGY-1 class, were built by Hudson in 1968 and 1976. They were originally constructed for a project to upgrade the Avontuur Railway...

[Bill Reidy]

Car Nos. 2806 and 2807 were built in 1968, based on the roster posted here (see page 63):  https://www.sandstone-estates.com/images/pdf/AMAR2022/18/SA%20RAILWAYS%20WEB.pdf

[Philip Marshall]

I assume that "Hudson" refers to Robert Hudson, Ltd. in Leeds, UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hudson_(company)

[Benjamin Richards]

And in fact (according to that article) the firm had several factories in South Africa over the years.

[Ed Lecuyer]

We're Shipping Trains In From Africa!




Our ballast wagons have shipped from Durban, So. Africa and are in-route to the USA via Singapore! They departed just a few hours ago aboard the container ship Bay Bridge.

Meanwhile we've raised 15% of the $66,000 needed to recoup the cost of purchasing and shipping these cars - and are just $40! shy of hitting the $10,000 mark. Please consider donating at www.wwfry.org/africa

[Ed Lecuyer]

We've cleared the $10,000 mark in fundraising to cover the expense of purchasing and shipping these hoppers! And there is another pledged donation "on its way" which will increase that total significantly...

[Benjamin Richards]

Are "offline" donations accounted in this total?

I know of at least one significant offline donation (not myself!) that does not appear in the donor list. Perhaps it just hasn't been processed yet.

[Ed Lecuyer]

"Offline" donations are added to the online total once they are received and processed. This usually happens within 30 days. There is at least one notable donation that is not yet processed.

[Ed Lecuyer]

Offline donations are now processed up to May 1, 2024.

The new total:


$16,970

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far!

[Jeff Schumaker]

We're Shipping Trains In From Africa!




Our ballast wagons have shipped from Durban, So. Africa and are in-route to the USA via Singapore! They departed just a few hours ago aboard the container ship Bay Bridge.

Is there a link that we use to find the location of the ship?

Jeff