www.kellstransportmuseum.com - Irelands Operating Bus Museum

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www.kellstransportmuseum.com - Irelands Operating Bus Museum
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Special reply for John Mulhern

John Mulhern went to considerable trouble - and was not afraid to put his name - to make a well thought out contribution and so deserves a special reply.

First of all we do have a cafe/kitchen and provide fere tea, coffee and biscuits as many of our visitors have gone to considerable trouble to visit us and have come long distances. We also provide free accommodation for our U.K. friends if they need it.

The reason we use portacabins is that it takes two to three years to get the planning for our offices and we needed space instantly.The main buildings will arrive in due course but Rome was not built in a day.

I am afraid I do not see anything wrong with telling people what we are working on such as roofing. Because we have such a damp climate, condensation is a problem and consequently it is our policy to have plastic under all roofs wherever possible to minimise the problem. Work is currently continuing on this roof and another week or so should see the cabin snug and dry.

The site is not really a cleared field other than all sites are cleared fields but we have put 30,000 tons of stone into it to provide a proper base. We then have a finer top and quite honestly with buses there is no real need to spend money putting down concrete when the stone hardcore base does the job just fine. It is a question of priorities and the money is better spent elsewhere.

We are an operating museum and we will never be finished building, overhauling, painting etc. I have discussed this in another posting.

John asks why we have so many Tigers. The honest answer is that I do not know. However, one thought is that these are unique vehicles and are uniquely Irish, a major part of Irish transport heritage and nobody really knows how many now are needed to have say ten active in one hundred years. My answer to anyone who asks why so many is that you can never have enough parts and we certainly learnt that in early days the hard way. This is the reason we try and have two of everything. I put myself back fifty years and try and look at how things would be today and I think most people would agree that we did not preserve enough then. Imagine if we had fifty PD2/3 machines today! But the answer is the same as to how long is a piece of string.

There is another point which I think is relevant. If you look at our UK collection and if someday we are fortunate to have them all freshly painted in their original liveries then I think this would make our multiple collection worthwhile. You can argue that one National 1 and one National 2 is enough but I would like to have a National 1 in each of the liveries of the major operators. It is a personal view and I suppose if it is my museum then personal views will predominate especially if I am paying.

We do not charge to visit the museum as the revenue we would generate would be minimal compared to the unbelievable cost of running the museum. You see no change out of 100,000+ per year! We also do not charge for membership. All I ask is that the next generation will appreciate what I did.

Finally, I have given my reasons for other matters being on the site. I think it would be wrong for any citizen to abrogate their responsibilities to the country they live in and I certainly do not intend doing so. Hitler came to power because nobody stood up to him,. We are fast becoming a police state and and also becoming bureaucratic nightmare so I feel, rightly or wrongly, I have a duty to do what I can to stand up to those would destroy this country. Right now I do not believe our leaders - in the widest sense - have a clue what they are doing. Anyhow I intend getting worse, not better, so you will have to get used to it!

Thanks John for a thoughtful contribution, I note your points and I hope you will contribute as often as you can. And do come and visit us and not alone will I give you a free cup of tea but we will feed you as well after the long trip from outer space.

Michael Grimes

Re: visit u

must come down from tyrone and visit ya some time

Re: Re: visit u

Well now then, theres John from Inishowen, me from Derry, and JP from Tyrone, looks like theres a bit of interest from this end of the country, and its not "outer space" Michael - silly boy - we know you southerners dont know anything about the north - but really !!! :)

We have more friends up north than south!

Actually, we have more friends up north than down south. My reference to outer space was to imply that it was time the Government built sone decent roads up to the north and particularly Donegal and for that matter put the railway back to Bundoran.

I certainly did not intend any insult. We do appreciate your support.

Michael Grimes