PUBLIC FALL-OUTS HARM OUR REPUTATION
OUR INDUSTRY INSIDER GIVES THEIR VIEWS ON THE STATE OF PRESERVATION
IHAVE BEEN giving thought to the amount of public ‘falling out’ that seems to be going on at one or two heritage railways. I asked myself why. Is it too simplistic to say differing opinions cause the division and, if so, what is the underlying cause? Let’s turn this argument on its head for a second and ask ourselves what makes a stable and secure heritage railway or site?
I think this can be broken down into three basic things. Leadership, clearly defined governance and financial security seem to be the key elements. Two out of the three will carry you through, but if you lose one of those two then you are in the mire. It is no coincidence that railways with obvious leadership tend to look more stable than those where it’s less than clear which person or group has the guiding hand on the regulator.
However, finances do seem to be the big issue. If the governance allows the finances to fail, and leadership fails to deliver a vision to make sure there are no foreseeable financial challenges left unforeseen, then the domino effect seems to take over. Before long, finger-pointing turns into backbiting, which declines into all-out public war. Inevitably it’s the railway that suffers, which means that we, as custodians, have failed. It must also be observed that the railways having the fall-outs also tend to be the ones where safety is a concern, and that is starting to damage our sector’s reputation.
The downside to all this public fall-out is that governance tends to be seen as an area of heritage railways in which only the brave will become involved. We hail the success of our youth development schemes, yet our governance still tends to be the bastion of those in the autumn of their volunteer days, and, dare I say it, mainly men. How are we to attract the youth, and diversity into governance when it is seen as such a poisoned chalice?
Sadly, I do not have a magic bullet with which to solve this problem, but I really do wish we could work harder on our individual organisations’ visions rather than battling short-term decision-making. To do so would empower leadership and take the pressure off governance, which would make it less onerous and more attractive to our membership in general. This would also make the sector safer and more secure for the future.
RAILWAYS HAVING THE FALL-OUTS ALSO TEND TO BE THE ONES WHERE SAFETY IS A CONCERN