Steam under pressure
As enthusiasts, we have to acknowledge and accept that steam railways and locomotives are not environmentally friendly. The burning of coal, like any fossil fuel, releases carbon and other harmful substances into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and accelerating global warming.
Compared to other industries, the extent to which preserved railways damage our environment is negligible but, nevertheless, steam preservation is inevitably and increasingly out of step with a more environmentally aware society, and concerns over the damage mankind is doing to the planet are legitimate and cannot be ignored.
However, steam railways and locomotives are also a vital – and exceptional – part of
Britain’s cultural and industrial heritage. Railways made this country what it is today: connecting places, people and businesses. And what powered these railways? Steam locomotives. Or, more pointedly, coal.
You’ll have read a lot about coal and the threat to its future in recent editions of this magazine, thanks to Thomas Bright’s diligent research and reportage, and how the impending coal crisis is the biggest threat facing preservation today. Without coal, the steam railway industry cannot exist or function in the way it does today.
These railways attract 13 million visitors every year and contribute an estimated £400m to the UK economy. They are run by 22,000 volunteers and directly employ 4,000 people, as well as
supporting innumerable businesses – from manufacturing workshops to hotels. And this entire supply chain could be destroyed if the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is allowed to implement its ban on the sale of coal for household use.
DEFRA has indicated that preservation will be exempt from the ban, which is encouraging. But, as we’ve said several times, it’s the consequential collapse of the remaining British coal mining industry that would force us to import all of our steam coal. The direct costs of that shift would almost certainly be huge.
And yet the ignorance of the value of preservation displayed by DEFRA is alarming.
As a reminder, last issue we quoted DEFRA’s Under Secretary of State Thérèse Coffey as saying: “The… concern you’ve expressed is that, if there isn’t so much smoky coal coming in for domestic burning, then that’s going to put up the price of coal for use on your locomotives. Why should that matter to the Government, when we’re undertaking a policy objective to improve the health of individuals in this country?”
You read that right. She really did say “why should that matter?”
We all know why. Because of the reasons stated above. Because steam is a vital part of UK plc. Because it does matter.
If we don’t take this looming crisis seriously, the unintended consequences of the legislation could result in steam railways closing, according to railway preservation’s All-Parliamentary Committee (see News).
That’s why, in the weeks and months ahead, we, together with the Heritage Railway Association, will be calling on your support – all 33,248 of you – to implore DEFRA to either drop coal from its proposals, or provide significant subsidies to compensate for the inevitably higher cost that 100% imported coal will bring.
We need to make the Government take our concerns seriously, and to show that our railways are a vital part of not only our economy, but also our shared heritage.
“IF WE DON’T TAKE THIS LOOMING CRISIS SERIOUSLY, THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE LEGISLATION COULD RESULT IN STEAM RAILWAYS CLOSING”