Why we cannot ignore the need to try future fuels
Welcome to the January edition of EIM and a new year of model engineering – hopefully we will see a continuation of the rapid return to normality that took place throughout 2022 and lots of highlights to look forward to. This issue kicks off with regular correspondent Edward Parrott describing the latest efforts by the Rugby club to trial more sustainable fuels in their locomotives. This is a very important subject, not least because the future availability of traditional coal is looking increasingly uncertain. You can rest assured that we are going to be giving due prominence to moves to make our hobby ‘greener’ in future editions of EIM, including in a forthcoming issue describing in detail potentially revolutionary boiler technology currently under development in New Zealand, technology that claims to make steam the most environmentally friendly option!
Why are we highlighting this? In truth, the contribution of the global model engineering community to carbon emissions is miniscule and any measures we make to reduce our carbon footprint will be virtually unnoticeable in the grand scheme of things. But public perception also has a major role to play and the increasing perception in today’s environment is that steam locomotives are dirty burners of fossil fuels and increasingly out of step with today’s values. It’s an issue that full-size heritage railways are in the front line of, but we in the miniature community need to do our bit too, and show those outside our numbers that we are working very hard to reduce our emissions.
We conclude our 2022 Midlands show coverage in this issue, having celebrated what was a very good show. It was also the only major model engineering show held in 2022, and currently it looks increasingly possible that it will also be the only major show of 2023 – the latest confusion over a potential Harrogate show is reported on our news page. We hope the Midlands show does not remain as the only major model engineering event – we need these opportunities to get out and show off our hobby to the public.
The February issue of Engineering in Miniature publishes on 19th January.