THE PRESERVATION BALANCING ACT
OUR INDUSTRY INSIDER GIVES THEIR VIEW ON THE MATTERS AFFECTING PRESERVATION
WHEN IT comes to heritage equipment, what is it we are actually managing? Are we managing equipment that delivers a service, ancient museum pieces, or something in between?
This question has been raised following the scrapping of a Sentinel and the transfer of a GWR ‘Hall’ to the Far East. Are steam locomotives simply items that can be bought and sold by an individual? Sadly, unless they are part of the National Collection, the simple answer is ‘yes’. We may cry ‘Shame!’, but the true shame is that they were obviously surplus to requirements in the first place.
My experience tends to suggest that steam locomotives are, generally, commodities, and are more akin to classic cars than museum pieces. We may wince when a steam locomotive leaves our shores or gets scrapped, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong with what has happened. The system of buying and selling a commodity exists, and we cannot feel anger when it produces an outcome that goes against our enthusiastic desire to see all the toys working.
Those of us within the industry who are charged with bringing in locomotives for galas often read the overly romantic dreams of people on social media and message boards. The reality is that getting a locomotive to a particular railway is not a question of ordering one from the Argos catalogue. Very often the visit is only possible if it meets the agenda of these individuals. Have they promised it to another railway? Is there time for it to return back for the home gala? And did it visit in 1974 when driver Bloggs let it prime, and they swore it would never return?
These are the kind of issues that must be navigated before you even start talking about costs. Nothing more highlights that these locomotives are commodities and not treasured national historical artefacts.
Sadly, locomotives are very expensive items to keep and maintain. The fact there are so many out of action and languishing in sidings highlights this. The ones where the best business case for keeping them in steam are the ones in service, and the ones that have serious mechanical problems tend to be sidelined in favour of the quicker fixes. This leads to locomotives being forgotten and hidden away. The lucky ones get put in posh new visitor interpretation sheds. However, they are still basically surplus to requirement, pending some cash opportunity to resurrect them.
However, they won’t be in steam until the money becomes available. If that money comes from a movie company, then there is always a chance that they will end up in the hold of a cargo ship. A locomotive out of service is simply an unromantic and inconvenient liability until the cash is spent and it becomes a desirable asset again.
So why am I highlighting this? I am hoping to impart a greater understanding of how steam locomotives are managed and looked after. Overall, they are simply a managed liability, subject to the same commercial pressures of any such commodity. We may love them but – now more than ever – in the end cash is king!
LOCOMOTIVES ARE MORE AKIN TO CLASSIC CARS THAN MUSEUM PIECES