Help needed...
SOmuch has happened in such a short space of time. When we last went to press in March, Covid-19 was still something mostly happening elsewhere. But by this press day, we are in lockdown and the virus has spread fear throughout the country – not just for now, but for the future and howwe will get back to something like normal again.
It has been pleasing to see how our railways have played their part keeping key workers and essential freight moving. Many passenger trains are now running mostly empty, quite rightly, but their need remains and for that reason the Government has sensibly suspended franchise contracts and taken over the burden of keeping services moving on nearly all lines.
But it is arguably our heritage lines that are suffering the most, especially the larger operations that employ permanent staff. Easter normally marks the start of the main operating season, but with the prospect of staying shut for the foreseeable future, much precious revenue will be lost and many have launched appeals to help them get through this. The prospect of widespread bankruptcies in the heritage world is a heartbreaking one.
This magazine is not immune from the crisis either. We have changed the way we work, shuffled the normal order of pages for technical reasons (but let me knowwhat you think, as we could make it permanent!), and the entire team has put this issue together remotely from their own homes – a remarkable effort for which I would like to pay thanks.
Regular readers will also notice there are fewer pages than usual, a temporary measure entirely due to the consequential drop in advertising as events are cancelled and businesses shut. Many of the newsagents and other outlets on which we rely have also been closed or put out of bounds. So I would urge you to consider buying a copy of your favourite magazine direct from our offices – or better yet join our existing loyal supporters and take out a subscription to have it delivered direct to your door every month (see page 12 for details).
Above all, however, stay safe through this crisis until we can all get back to enjoying our hobby and the freedoms we take for granted.