SUPPORT FOR CENTRALISED STEAM WORKSHOPS

Chris Proudfoot laments the declining engineering skills base and the very constrained engineering workshop capacity which faces those involved with steam locomotive restoration, and suggests setting up a central boiler-making shop to help alleviate the problem (SR485).

This makes a great deal of sense – the lack of boiler-making capacity is an obvious bottleneck at the moment, but I would go further and say that the same approach should be adopted for other skills and facilities, such as wheel making, tyre turning and chassis construction. Although the emphasis in restoration

(and new-builds) has been on locomotives, we also have to remember that without rolling stock, the public, our ultimate source of funds, goodwill and influence, could not be carried, so the necessity of being able to overhaul or refurbish, say, BR Mk 1 bogies and brake gear economically is also an important consideration.

An alternative approach to concentrating expertise and facilities by type of work might be to establish or – where they already exist – identify centres specialising in locomotives from a particular railway or era: 20th-century GWR (over 100 preserved), Stanier LMS (more than 50) or Bulleid ‘Pacifics’ (31) spring to mind.

Already it seems that there is a natural concentration of these skills and resources: the South Devon Railway, for example, in wheels and tyre fitting, and Bridgnorth in boiler repairs. Not every organisation would

(or could) participate in a joint effort as society constitutions, organisational structures and aims differ, but this great preservation movement, with a few notable exceptions, is gradually approaching the buffers because it is spread too thinly.

In addition to the question of concentrating workshop locations, it is important to consider the human aspect. Some preserved railways are already addressing these issues: for example the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust with its Heritage Skills Training Academy. By concentrating facilities, a flow of work can be generated which would support the training and employment of the requisite skilled workers. If young people know that preservation can offer a worthwhile career, then more of them will be attracted into the heritage engineering industry.

I fear that unless the nettle is grasped soon there will not be anything like the population of operating steam (and even diesel) locomotives we have now in 20 years’ time.

Richard Price, by email

ALREADY IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS A NATURAL CONCENTRATION OF THESE SKILLS AND RESOURCES