Carbon upset

I READ with interest the report in the October issue (Classic Traction) that the Western Locomotive Association has become “the inaugural group to offset carbon emissions by planting 62 trees per annum.” Now, don’t get me wrong – I love the sight and sound of big diesels, admire the work of the WLA, and planting trees is a good thing for many reasons. But just how many decades will it be before these saplings begin to make any measurable difference? The world is far behind the level of action needed to control emissions, and the heritage movement needs to recognise that it has a part to play. Transporting huge locomotives - often by road – hundreds of miles to galas, intensive running, sometimes at night for rich enthusiasts, and an acceptance that we can travel all over the country as often as we wish to see stock we may well have seen before, is, in terms of the planet, simply no longer acceptable. Let us preserve, educate and enjoy our heritage, but let us also recognise that there is not much time left and we must ‘do our bit’. Terence Steele By email