Funding the restoration of the Trans-Atlantic A4s.

"The Friends of the National Railway Museum have officially announced a £50k donation towards the cosmetic overhaul of the A4 locomotives repatriated from North America. The estimated cost of the cosmetic restoration works to No. 60008 and No. 60010 in the National Railway Museum’s York and Shildon workshops is in the region of £22,000 and £37,000 respectively. This is based on all work carried out by contractors and the costs associated with buying the necessary parts and equipment for the work being undertaken by the National Railway Museum workshop teams. This includes the supply of paint, asbestos remediation to make the vehicles safe for sanding and painting, the removing and refitting of the motion and body work repairs".

"A spokesperson for the museum said:

“Although fundraising towards the cosmetic restoration phase of the Mallard75 project is still ongoing, we are delighted to officially announce the Friends’ generous donation towards the work necessary to display Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada alongside their sister locomotives in the Great Hall. It is a significant contribution towards the cosmetic restoration work on the two vehicles which is planned to be complete by late spring. We hope the spectacular sight of all six surviving Gresley A4s around the Great Hall turntable will be a suitable reward and we would like to express our heartfelt thanks for the Friends’ support.”

The National Railway Museum commits to do a job before the funding is in place. Should public institutions do this? To cover itself the Friends of the NRM make a considerable donation towards the restoration of other institution's artefacts. Am I the only person who thinks this is odd?