Renewed vigour
Renewal is fast becoming a recurring theme in preservation. And the 50th anniversary of the end of main line steam brings the notion of where we go from here sharply into focus. The locomotives saved for posterity are half a century older – and so are a great number of the people who have done so much to preserve that golden age.
It’s inevitable that major new parts will be needed to keep locomotives and rolling stock functioning in the future. Likewise, there’s a perpetual need for new people with the skills to carry out this increasingly demanding work.
It is perhaps easy to feel morbid about such realities, but there is hope. You only have to look at the ambition of Jonathan Jones-Pratt who, in his mid-thirties, is about to embark on the restoration of Barry wreck Thornbury Castle – ably assisted by the expert guiding hand of another of steam’s second generation: Tyseley’s Alastair Meanley. Jonathan brings with him a fresh injection of youthful energy and exuberance that echoes the adrenalinecharged pioneering spirit that established railway preservation all those decades ago. His infectious passion for his Collett machines will inspire many more…
And there’s more encouragement for the main line scene. Just last month, West Coast Railways passed out its youngest driver, Matthew Earnshaw who, at 30 years old, will be in charge of the world-famous West Highland Line ‘Jacobites’ for (hopefully) many years to come. Remarkably, for his first turn, his fireman was just 19; local Fort William lad Lewis MacLean, making for a main line footplate crew with a combined age of 49!
We’ll return to that tale next issue…
●● It is with a great deal of thanks, and not a little sadness, that preservation activist Julian Birley steps aside from 18 years at the coal face of the North Norfolk Railway. You might look at this slice of the old M&GN and think that this honeytrap location is one of preservation’s fail-safe attractions.
Rather, it has taken considerable effort by the likes of Julian, and a small bunch of driven and dedicated individuals, to take Sheringham from a cataclysmic scenario, when it nearly lost its major station this side of the Millennium, through some difficult financial times, and on to becoming the stable and broadly successful venture that it is today.
Julian’s legacy spreads far beyond Norfolk: the ‘Cinderella’ North Eastern ‘J21’ is, at long last, on the cusp of a long-deserved restoration and now he is driving the Bala Lake Railway into its namesake town. Steam Railway wishes him every success. ●● It’s not often that there are major enthusiast events north o’ the border, so please make an effort to visit the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway in early November if you possibly can. The arresting sight of two ‘Caley’ engines – Strathspey’s 0-6-0 No. 828 and the Scottish Railway Preservation Society’s newly overhauled 0-4-4T No. 419 – working in melodic symphony really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and deserves all the support that it can get.