Readers' letters at the heart of the heritage railway scene...
One-time Somerset & Dorset-allocated 4F 0-6-0 No 44422 on an extended visit to the Nene Valley Railway, departs from Orton Mere for Wansford on 24 January. BRIAN SHARPE
Worth Valley shaped the second steam age too
Here are a few reasons why you may want to include the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in your list of preserved railways that shaped the railway preservation movement.
The KWVR was the first standard gauge preserved railway to:
• Agree and complete a purchase of their line from BR – a complex procedure in those days
• Have a station shared with BR, including a main line connection, continuing through to the present day
• Purchase a complete branch line which includes one of the highest stations in England as its terminus
• Provide a full year-round service each weekend
• Introduce a railbus service for off-peak periods and for the benefit of local residents
• Introduce Santa trains and enthusiast weekends, such a vital feature of today's preserved railways
• Purchase and operate a locomotive from Barry Scrapyard
• Purchase and operate locomotives from abroad
• To agree a loan and operate a locomotive from the National Railway Museum (No 42700 then No 92220)
• Achieve widespread publicity for preserved railways through TV and film with The Railway Children.
In addition to all these firsts, the KWVR Preservation Society has gone on to own one of the largest collections of steam locomotive in Britain, all of which have operated at one time or another.
This collection is especially representative of the most numerous classes of locomotive to have worked in this country. However, to my mind, the biggest achievement of the KWVR has always to have given a high priority to providing under-cover workshop space, exhibition facilities and museum space.
The large majority of locomotives and carriages are now under cover, and have been for many years. It has taken a long time for most railways to have reached this point.
Finally I think it is fair to say that the railway has been been managed on a careful financial footing throughout, and has control of its own destiny, despite the fact that so much of the work continues to be done by volunteers.
David R Smith
Sheffield
• The Fairbourne Railway introduced Christmas specials in 1949 – Editor.
We do our best to acknowledge
In response to the letter from Maurice Burns concerning picture credits, it can only be said that Colour-Rail fully endorses his comments concerning the need to credit photographers when publishing their work.
Reference to the current Colour-Rail catalogue will indeed find a full listing of contributors both past and present and the appropriate initials alongside details of their work. We always request authors and editors to use credits and we supply the information, where known, with the image. Despite our best efforts however many pictures do appear without credits: witness a recently published book using three Colour-Rail pictures on its covers with no credits whatsoever.
That said, there are many thousands of pictures in the Colour-Rail files where the photographer is not known, these having come from a multitude of sources. Items from auctions are almost always anonymous, with a number of sellers trying to ensure that the source cannot be identified. The two key aims of Colour-Rail are to preserve historic images for posterity and to allow these to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. Maintaining the historic record, not only of where and when the picture was taken but by who is an essential part of this process despite its time-consuming nature.
Colour-Rail seeks to attract the works of the best photographers to enhance the collection and quite often slides and negatives are donated to us with the sole condition being that the work is credited when published. Thus both Colour-Rail and those who use its images have a duty to ensure that due credit is given on the printed page.
Paul Chancellor
Colour-Rail
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