Ideas and raw- enthusiasm can beat this Covid crisis
THE response of the public to pleas for financial help from Britain's besieged heritage railways have so far been phenomenal. Desperate to cover day- to- day running costs while totally deprived of their main income stream in the form of ticket sales from both regular trains and special events, plus revenue from catering outlets and shops, ordinary people have dipped into their pockets to show they are equally determined for them to survive the Covid- 1 9 crisis.
Leading the pack is the Severn Valley Railway, having raised an awesome £ 745,000 as we closed for press, while the magnificent response to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's appeal for £ 250,000 to cover the costs of repairing a potential line-truncating landslip has been closed after meeting its ambitious target in just 10 weeks.
However, do not let these stunning successs tories make you believe that we are anywhere near being out of the woods yet: in a war- footing world where even the highest powers that be display that they still do not know the full nature of the killer beast we are dealing with, or what turn it will take next, in grim reality we may just be entering them.
I implore readers to keep sendingt hose donations to our magnificent heritage lines, no matter how small; however much is raised, it will not last forever. When lines like the Gloucestershir Wear wickshire announce that they are cancelling events as far ahead as the vital income- generating Santa specials and main line operators scrub their entire 2020 programme at this stage, we are all left asking when the end will be in sight.
The Government's furlough scheme has indeed thrown a lifeline to businesses in, cluding heritage lines, throughout the country, but by necessity it will end in October, clearly casting a shadow of uncertainly over outlets that have not been able to replace lost income of staff by then.
In our sector, money has never been the complete answer ( although it's always a big start). In this issue we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Bluebell Railway and Lincolnshire Coast Light Railways which achieved so much of their landmark early success through their sheer determination and raw enthusiasm of their founding members.
In recent weeks, I have been greatly encouraged by the fact that around 100 people have volunteered to offer their time and home resources free of charge to help Vintage Trains, echoing the achievements of those pioneers. We need more of the same please and fast!
In any crisis situation, ideas can often pay bigger dividends than financial input. and in this issue Gareth Evans reports on the plans of severalines to maximize the potential of lockdown being eased.
Here at Heritage Railway for the past 21 years we have endeavoured to deliver the widest news coverage of the entire movement. And now we aim not only to support our railways by publishing details of their appeals, but also to provide a forum in which ideas for survival can be aired and shared every four weeks.
What is overridingly important is that we continue talking to each other and exchanging such ideas, in a very unfamiliar world that is often changing by the day. To keep up to date with developments as they impact on the venues that we have come to cherish over the pasts even decades, r efert o pages3 0- 31a nd seeh ow to take out a subscription to Heritage Railway S. it back and let us keep you in touch with the wider picture as events unfold.
Robin Jones Editor
"I implore readers to keep sending those donations, no matter how small, to our magnificent heritage lines. .".