NRM DE-ACCESSIONS
Steam Railway’s six-point proposal
That the National Railway Museum’s programme of locomotive disposals was discussed in Parliament demonstrates that this is not a trainspotters’ squabble. The October 25 debate brought together representatives from across the political spectrum. Areas of contention were raised and argued, including consultation, transparency, policy and precedent. The disposals procedure was reaffirmed by Culture Minister John Glen, which consists of the case being passed through an internal Board of Survey, a collections and research sub-committee, the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board and finally the Board of Trustees. It is Steam Railway’s view that the failure of this process to prevent the loss of the revolutionary ‘28XX’ from the collection suggests that the checks and balances are not strong enough. In our opinion, No. 2818 demonstrates that, under the current strategy, almost any locomotive can be given away (SR471), despite York’s “strong presumption against the disposal of any item.” This concern, together with a number of comments expressed in Parliament, and by readers and industry luminaries, has led Steam Railway to suggest a modified approach for the NRM. This six-point plan is devised by the magazine so that, in our opinion, the museum can avoid many of the disputes that have run since April 2016 with the gifting of North Staffs 0-6-2T No. 2 to the Foxfield Railway. We believe that the following methodology can be the basis of a consensus for how these decisions are made and effected in future (in addition to the current process) – something that both the preservation and museum world can engage with and get behind. The debate is increasingly relevant in light of the Government’s independent report into museums, which recommends a “rationalising” of collections “where appropriate.”