THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF PRESERVATION
HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION CHIEF EXEC STEVE OATES TACKLES STEAM’S BURNING ISSUES
AS WORLD leaders gathered in Glasgow recently to discuss the challenges of climate change, the great and the good of heritage rail were also meeting a few hundred miles further south in York for our first face-to-face annual conference in two years.
Most of us travelled by train, as we aimed to leave a smaller carbon footprint than Biden’s cavalcade but, just as in Glasgow, environmental challenges were very much on our agenda.
We even managed to mirror another of the challenges COP26 faced. It had to make do without the Queen and we had to instigate a quick change of plan after two of our directors tested positive for Covid-19, leaving the HRA director and Talyllyn general manager Stuart Williams to step up to the footplate, or rather the podium, and take charge.
The environment and the accompanying challenges for heritage rail had rocketed up our agenda. Aimed at all heritage rail managers and those responsible for thinking about, managing and mitigating our environmental impacts, our 2021 Autumn Seminar focused on our environmental role and responsibilities, the current political position and early work on ‘new’ fuels.
As the Environment Bill completes its way through Parliament, HRA President Lord Faulkner reviewed his work undertaken across the summer to engage with ministers and parliamentarians to secure their support for the sector to continue using coal.
We applaud his work and are confident Lord Faulkner has secured the Government’s assurances that the Environment Bill will have no direct impact on the heritage steam sector and that the Government does not intend to change its policy towards heritage steam (see News).
A selection of railways and tramways joined a panel chaired by Bure Valley Railway MD Andrew Barnes to discuss the opportunities, challenges and potential pitfalls involved with ‘going green’… and the potential rewards that await when you get it right.
The conference also heard an update on the results from the June 2021 trials with Ecoal50 and plans for further trials. We heard about some planned developments from CPL Industries which is working on a bespoke fuel for our industry.
Our environmental responsibilities, Covid-19 and overhauling safety within our sector are going to be major factors for us to address in the foreseeable future. I know we are mature enough to grab these challenges and run with them because to ignore them is simply folly. The bottom line is that our credibility is under scrutiny, and while we may pride ourselves on the amateur underpinnings, we must be professional in addressing our responsibilities. The HRA will be there to bring the expertise together and help where it can, and I know the conference was a useful tool in the process.
Around the time you read this, those further trials will have taken place and the results will have been mulled over. Talking of mulled… lets raise a glass to all the volunteers and hard workers that have made 2021 a success for heritage rail.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT OUR CREDIBILITY IS UNDER SCRUTINY