Covid-19: United we stand
At this time of national crisis, we express the hope that our readers are safe and well during what has rapidly escalated into a distressing and anxious time for everyone. Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by this shocking pandemic.
It is an indication of how far-reaching the extraordinary coronavirus outbreak has been, that the emergency measures announced by the Prime Minister on March 23 instantly meant that an entire week would pass without any full-size steam anywhere in Britain for the first time in 200 years. Since Locomotion, and perhaps even earlier, we have never dropped the fires. And yet we just have.
One week prior to lockdown, even just within our small preservation bubble, this scenario was something beyond many people’s comprehension. As the virus spread and national awareness grew, we went from a situation where all of Britain’s preserved railways and railtour operators were advertising trains, to none at all.
By Friday March 20, the operational side of our industry was in free fall, along with businesses all over the UK.
We quickly become so conditioned to the endless stream of curtailments that within a matter of days, a railway ditching a major gala was met with barely a raised eyebrow.
It means there will be no glorious Scottish farewell to Union of South Africa… while Evening Star marked the date of its 60th anniversary in an abandoned building… the ‘Bluebell’s’ 60th anniversary celebrations in August could be impossible to stage.
But the true extent of the already calamitous fallout from the wave of postponements and cancellations will only be known once normal life resumes, as we awake to the realisation that Covid-19 will continue to impact lives and livelihoods for a significant period.
Boris Johnson has promised to review the measures in mid-April. In reality, we almost certainly won’t be able to get near a preserved railway to travel, volunteer or work for a lot longer, because no one is pretending that the virus will be contained within that timeframe.
Railways will have to survive without meaningful income for several months, or, quite feasibly, into next year.
The pandemic exposes the knife edge on which railways operate, and what effect a change to their routine has. Regardless of size or popularity, railways rely on passengers for income and this, therefore, is a body blow.
Lines are already mothballing rolling stock and infrastructure, while those who need to pay their staff will be grateful for the Government’s emergency wages scheme, which should obviate the need for sweeping redundancies.
It’s certainly an encouraging development, but until the full detail is known, it cannot be treated as the panacea many railways seek. Indeed, while there is additional financial support potentially on offer, other significant costs, like insurance, remain.
Returning what are generally marginal businesses to a state of relative normality already looks a distant prospect, because the implications of the unilateral shutdown are so vast.
Several railways have already put major capital projects on hold, while there is a very genuine fear that some will fold entirely; a view expressed by Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland general manager Paul Lewin, among others.
The coronavirus pandemic, then, is a stark reminder that running steam trains and recreating the past is not a right but a privilege – a privilege that can be taken away from us at any time, whether it is indirectly through legislation and regulation (for example, the coal ban), or through this latest cruel twist of fate.
Even if every outfit were to last the course, a hard-nosed business approach will be required more than ever for preservation to endure in a world that will inevitably look very different.
Already, many organisations have launched SOS appeals for cash to enable trains to return at the earliest permitted opportunity.
Clearly, all are going to find what comes next to be a challenge like no other. Those that have cash in reserve, or at least sound infrastructure, are naturally best placed to survive.
So imagine, then, the triple jeopardy for the West Somerset; a line that struggles financially and which already says needs to raise half a million pounds each year in order to undertake essential track and infrastructure renewal. Now it has been forced into closure for the foreseeable future, immediately following the end of its own self-imposed shutdown for such work.
Then there’s the ‘GlosWarks’, which had just been stung by a bill for a quarter of a million pounds to rebuild yet another slipped embankment before it took the galling but inevitable decision to stop running trains until further notice. It’s like being pushed off your feet and then kicked in the stomach.
Although so much of what will happen will be decided elsewhere, now is the time for preservation to demonstrate its collective strength – to come together to do all that we can to emerge from the other side of this disaster. We know that this will be a really difficult time for many, and the first priority must be the wellbeing of you and your family, but if you can give to these dedicated appeals, or donate the equivalent money of a planned trip, it will help struggling organisations to make it through.
Times are undoubtedly going to be tough for individuals and families, but even if financial help is beyond reach, we will still need you. For this resurgence will require more than just money.
Once we are free to leave our homes again, preservation will need a bigger army of volunteers than ever. Weeds will need to be uprooted, carriages cleaned, stations swept, websites updated, track inspected and fires re-lit. Railways, museums and societies will rely heavily on us to supplement skilled staff in the battle to reinvigorate this very special movement of ours and ensure that we are here for another 70 years and more.
A reason to be optimistic is that the demand for nostalgia will be stronger than ever, so we will see an even greater yearning from pent-up escapists who will want to revisit lines as quickly as possible.
And while we aren’t running trains, we might also use this enforced downtime to re-evaluate what we are actually here for.
There will be railways and projects that have drifted in recent years, but now we have an unplanned opportunity to take stock and drill down into what our key aims and objectives are, or should be, in a ruthless and determined fashion.
Doing so will help us truly appreciate quite how much is at stake, and provide direction and impetus in the face of this existential threat.
Now is the time for preservation to demonstrate its collective strength