The complete steam news magazine

Heritage Railway Opinion - 1 September 2011

Whatever will anyone abroad make of those who smash up shops to steal mobile telephones, which have cameras fitted, and then gasp in amazement days later when they are apprehended by police, after being captured on... cameras? For me, what sums it all up was the fact that in one riot-hit town, Waterstones the bookshop was left unscathed.

Compare and contrast these PR executives for Brainless Britain with the very hush-hush activities of National Railway Museum director Steve Davies and a select expert team which had been holding negotiations to produce an event which will remind both the country and the world that we were once, and still could be, the envy of the rest of the planet.

Mallard’s 1938 world speed record is still an enormous reason for great pride in Great Britain, not least of all the fact that it snatched it from Nazi Germany as the clouds of war were looming on the horizon. A streamlined Gresley A4 is a definitive icon of the steam age honed to perfection, and what could be better than to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Mallard’s achievement than with a line-up of all the surviving A4 Pacifics at York?

Bold, adventurous, imaginative – schemes like this are railway preservation at its best.

The custodians of the two A4s in North America, Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada, have indicated their willingness to allow the pair to return to the UK on a strictly temporary basis for that line-up which, rain or shine, will produce one of the greatest heritage era images of steam for everyone to photograph.

Indeed, the line-up easily promises to be the finest and most popular event that the NRM has ever staged in its history.

At this stage we must remember that the visit is far from being cast in stone, and all depends as to whether the project is feasible, and if the money – likely to be a substantial six-figure sum – can be raised.

If it goes ahead, it will reinvoke the great days of steam when classic British locomotives such as Royal Scot and Duchess of Hamilton disguised as Coronation attended high-profile exhibitions Stateside.

The NRM has yet to publicly unveil its plans, and there is still no guarantee it will happen. Yet when it does, we urge all readers to throw their weight behind this – the offer is a dream scenario – and we can all play a part. No doubt there will be an appeal for funds or sponsorship, indeed they might well welcome expressions of support now, and the team behind the plan deserves everyone’s full backing. As soon as they ask, let’s help them make it happen, and if it does, we must also express our unreserved gratitude to the North American museums in playing ball.

But back to reality for now. The Great Central Railway is having to sell its 4-BIG EMU because copper piping has been ripped out from beneath  four vehicles while parked at Swithland sidings. The Government has been swift to respond in the case of the riots, and now it must similarly act to tackle the menace of metal thefts, particularly from railways, where lives are being placed at risk. A crackdown not only on the thieves but on scrapyards which buy stolen metal ‘no questions asked’ is years overdue.

I am left asking why the rioters, looters and metal thieves are being sent to jail, when they should be doing 10-hour hard labour shifts, seven days a week, boosting volunteer projects such as railway and canal restoration. It costs taxpayers money to keep them locked up; instead, let them clear and rebuild old railway trackbeds, dig out derelict canals and so on, until the value of their labour vastly exceeds the worth of the property they have stolen or destroyed.

Perhaps by lifting a finger other than to press a computer key to access a social networking site, or learning how not to spell by sending text messages, they might discover some awareness of responsibility and a smattering of understanding of those people who freely undertake such labours for the benefit of others every weekend, doing their little bit to restore the lost pride in our country.

Time for change here.

Robin Jones
Editor