Peter Levy death

[irishrail201]

Here follows a comment from Jonathon Levy (Peters son) on the Tralee and Dingle Steam Railway Group facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/traleeanddinglesteamrailway

 

 

"The following was a letter to the editor of The Kerryman from my late father Peter, sent 28th October 2007, which we found recently in his old emails. In it, he expresses his disappointment at the condition of the steam railway at that time. I don't know if it was ever printed but I thought it would be worth sharing here.

 

SIR,

I was shocked, on a recent visit to Tralee, to see the neglected condition of the Tralee Steam Railway, a project I conceived way back in the 1980s.

It's probably been forgotten in Tralee now, but it was only thanks to a dedicated committee and the enthusiasm of many Tralee people that we were able to bring what I believe is a priceless item of Tralee's heritage, namely locomotive 5T, back from the United States where it had been rescued from scrapping by US railway enthusiast Edgar T Mead.

Thanks to the support of a number of key people - and I must single out the former manager of FAS, Joe Dunne, we were able to see the project through to fruition.

In those days there were very few positive things happening in Tralee. High unemployment and emigration overshadowed everything and the resoration of the canal, together with the Blennerville windmill and the train project, seened to offer an alternative to the gloom.

Unfortunately, the heritage projects went a step too far with the building of the Jeannie Johnston.

I think it would be a loss to Tralee and Kerry generally, though, if the Tralee Steam Railway is going to suffer continuing neglect because of the negative impact of the Jeannie Johnston disaster on heritage projects in Tralee.

Obviously, the Tralee Steam Railway needs money to get it back on track. But it also needs ideas to bring out its full potential and I would gladly assist any group in Tralee interested in progressing the project in that regard.

 

Sincerely,

Peter Levy."

 

In his obituary Peter was described as "disillusioned" with the outcome of the railway after spending so much time and effort in repatriating 5T from the USA, unfortunately Peter never got to "support" any group, as no one was interested, However his daughter got in contact with me via the facebook page and I did have contact with Peter himself, although he was quite ill at that time, he died after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis an incurable lung disease.

 

Rest in Peace.

[jhb171achill]

Hopefully the T & D may have a future, if a responsible group could take it over...

[irishrail201]

......the T & D may have a future, if a responsible group could take it over...

 

I hope so too! It may take a while though