In with the old – and the new
For anyone who thought that new-builds were the future of steam, think again. That’s because only one new steam locomotive has been built from scratch to run on 4ft 8½in width rails since Evening Star. That was Tornado. And that was ten years ago. When and where is the next one coming? A handful will come on stream over the next five years – but the first two or three to steam might not be exactly ‘new’, benefitting from the odd boiler here, wheels and cylinders there. New builds or rebuilds – either way, there are certainly not enough in the pipeline to suggest that a strategic reserve for preservation is just around the corner. This isn’t to decry the massive achievements that the ‘Grange’, ‘Saint’ and Brighton ‘Atlantic’ (et al) will be, but it is a measure of quite how much ground there is to make up if we are to ever bridge the gap between a potential crisis and an assured future for preservation. The reality of what’s feasible, on a meaningful scale (as things stand), is actually somewhere between the legacy of Dai Woodham and new-build – overhauling already restored ‘Barry wrecks’, which have since gone through a number of boiler cycles since the 1970s, but which now require the kind of techniques that are associated with the new-build phenomena. These techniques incorporate at least one of the following: building new frame plates, cylinders, fireboxes, boilers… Barry scrapyard was a lifeline for the preservation scene, but it is now clear that the gifts it left us with now need lifeprolonging transplants of their own. If we can emulate the kind of major repairs that have been carried out on the ‘Manors’, ‘S15s’ and ‘Standard 4s’ of this world, then the movement should be in good nick for a few generations to come. Which brings us back to what will inspire the volunteers (and staff) of the future.
2017 was another keynote year in that regard, and much gratitude is due to those who are involved in the operation of the only completed standard gauge new-build: ‘A1’ Tornado, completed in July 2008. Other factors may have threatened to overshadow Tornado’s triumphs, but we should not lose sight of the significance of its ‘Plandampf’ trains over the ‘S&C’, its 100mph run on the East Coast, and then becoming a big screen star in its own right in Paddington 2. The engine has also done its bit for an original East Coast ‘Pacific’, by lending the pattern for its middle cylinder to Blue Peter (which continues to perpetuate its stardom through the namesake BBC children’s television programme). Tornado may have generated huge excitement ten years ago almost purely because it was new. But maintaining that enthusiasm requires the perpetual drive and imagination of its workforce and supporters to ensure that the flame continues to burn brightly… not to mention money.