No room to gamble
One of the greatest boons to steam during the last 25 years has been the Heritage Lottery Fund, now known as the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
When it was first launched, money was plentiful from this cash cow – and preservation really went to town with it; locomotives… carriages… museums… sheds… and even an entirely new railway.
The bubble burst with the Government’s diversion of millions nominally allocated to heritage schemes to prop up the London 2012 Olympics, simultaneous to the economic crash from which the HLF never fully recovered.
This has left a gaping hole for major projects, which had previously relied heavily upon the fund; such as Lord Nelson, Royal Scot, Flying Scotsman and Sir Nigel Gresley – although not all of which were instantly successful because of it.
And project management is perhaps as big a problem as the root source of the finance for such projects. It is no coincidence that major locomotive overhauls and restorations are now but a small part of the lottery’s thinking. Nobody would have deliberately misspent those funds, or broken agreed deadlines for completion, but when you’re dealing with public money, there’s little margin for error, or sentiment.
Steam preservation has, it is pleasing to note, markedly upped its game in recent years. You only have to look at the renovation of Barrow Hill Roundhouse, or the return to steam of Bahamas, to see that major projects can come in on time and (near enough) to budget.
It is this confidence that we need to work incredibly hard to protect. For asking the NLHF for the cash is the easy bit; delivering what you promise is another matter entirely. And the goal posts have moved in recent years.
Having something historic in your possession was once the catalyst for unlocking major funds. Today, it is about supporting communities, preservation of skills and economic regeneration. That’s a tough assignment for any volunteer-led project.
It is most encouraging then that there are still standout examples of success. Last month, the Ffestiniog Railway revealed that it has won the hearts and minds of the lottery for another major investment in its infrastructure and heritage.
In this day and age, the lottery would never have contemplated awarding the FR £4.2m for its Boston Lodge redevelopment unless it had a robust yet ambitious plan, so the very fact that it has is reassuring for the future of this North Wales gem, and for preservation more generally.
Big ticket funding may be harder to come by, but it is there for the right projects, but only when they are properly managed and executed.