Angus Council could come steaming to the rescue of Thomas the Tank in Brechin.
Members of the Caledonian Railway company have made an appeal to the local authority to release money from Brechin’s common good fund to plug a gap in finances for repairs to the famous engine.
The firebox of the engine, modelled after the popular children’s TV character of the same name, is in need of costly repairs and the group of volunteers and staff behind the railway has raised £65,000 to carry out the work.
However, an extra £10,000 is needed to meet the costs of the repairs and a report from the council’s strategic director Alan McKeown will go before members of the policy and resources committee tomorrow when the request is discussed.
Engineering director at the railway Steve Pegg said: “The Thomas events are certainly our busiest events of the year. Lots of families and children come and have a great day out and he’s one of our biggest earners, so it’s important that he stays in working order.
“It’s obviously up to the committee but the council has supported us very well over the years and we have cooperated with them on various projects, so I’m hopeful that they will come through for us again.”
Almost half of the £65,000 raised by the company has come from various donations and charitable funds.
A large chunk of that figure was raised by one volunteer in particular Brechin High School pupil Kaine Bisset.
Kaine has dedicated his time and effort to the railway for more than two years and raised £12,986 for the organisation through his Squashed Penny Appeal.
His school also donated tools from its technical department which were declared surplus to requirements, all of which has helped the railway stay operational.
Mr Pegg added: “Kaine has raised just under £15,000, which is amazing, and the rest has come from various charitable funds and donations. We are very grateful for that.
“It is very good to know that we have that support and that we can do that. Without that type of help we couldn’t operate for any length of time.”
The council approved its budget for 2013/14 in February last year and it included a final budget for each of the five common good funds.
Mr McKeown’s report states that the Brechin common good fund’s revised outturn revenue balance, as at March 31 2014, would stand at £325,000 well away from its £200,000 minimum revenue account balance if the request is approved.
The report recommends that the committee approve the requested funding for the project.