Annual Report 2010
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Annual Report 2010
Contents Contents .......................................................................................................................... 2 Foreword ......................................................................................................................... 5 Chairman‘s Report—David T Morgan MBE TD ............................................................... 6 Vice Chairman‘s Report - Mark Smith ........................................................................... 10 Vice President‘s-report Brian Simpson .......................................................................... 12 President-Lord Faulkner of Worcester .......................................................................... 13 Managing Director—David Woodhouse ........................................................................ 14 Finance Director—Andrew Goyns ................................................................................. 15 Company Secretary - Peter Ovenstone ........................................................................ 16 Sidelines / Broadlines and Press—John Crane............................................................. 17 Railway Press —Ian Smith ............................................................................................ 19 Small Groups—Ian Smith .............................................................................................. 20 General Meetings-Bill Askew ........................................................................................ 20 Image Refurbishment —Paul Lewin / David Madden .................................................... 22 Business Development—David Madden ....................................................................... 23 Member Services Committee—Chairman Steve Wood and Secretary Ian Leigh.......... 24 Inter Rail Passes—Di Akers .......................................................................................... 25 Corporate membership—Steve Wood .......................................................................... 26 Friends of HRA—Alan Saunders................................................................................... 27 Young Volunteers-Liz Fuller .......................................................................................... 28 Legal Services Committee report —Secretary Chris Austin and Chairman Geoffrey Claydon .......................................................................................................... 28 Charities Advisor—Nigel Ward ...................................................................................... 30 Environmental Advisor—Tony Tomkins ........................................................................ 30 Ratings and Property—Roger Wilkins / Tom Carr ......................................................... 31 Operating & Safety Committee-Chairman: Bill Hillier .................................................... 32 Annual Statistical Survey 2009...................................................................................... 38 Annual Statistical Returns for 2010 ............................................................................... 40 Education Committee – Chris Smyth ............................................................................ 42 Training Committee—Martin Smith ............................................................................... 43 Heritage Committee—Peter Ovenstone ........................................................................ 44 Lottery Advisor —Jackie Cope ...................................................................................... 46
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Museum Advisor—Rob Shorland Ball ........................................................................... 47 Museum Accreditation—Robin McDermott ................................................................... 47 Liaison with Heritage Link—John Jeffrey ...................................................................... 48 Archives Advisor—Steven Dyke ................................................................................... 50 Tramways Committee—Chairman Geoffrey Claydon ................................................... 50 Cliff Railways Committee—Chairman: Bill Hillier Secretary: Martin Slader ................... 51 HRA Ireland—Secretary Richard Kenny ....................................................................... 52 Scottish Committee—Peter Ovenstone......................................................................... 53 Annual awards—Clive Morris ........................................................................................ 55 Annual Awards C&W Competition—Chris Smyth ......................................................... 56 National Railway Heritage Awards—Robin Leleux - Chairman of the Judges .............. 58 Fedecrail— Livius Kooy (Secretary) .............................................................................. 60 WATTRAIN Progress 2011—Ian Smith ........................................................................ 62 The Railway Heritage Registers—Michael Cope .......................................................... 63 Overseas Liaison—Richard Tapper .............................................................................. 64 Board Members ............................................................................................................ 66 HRA Officers and Advisers ........................................................................................... 67 Code of Conduct ........................................................................................................... 68 MEETINGS AND EVENTS CALENDAR 2011 .............................................................. 70 National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions ........................................................... 71
Acknowledgements Editorial Team The Report has been edited by Ian Leigh & Peter Ovenstone & Produced by Ian Leigh. Consultant Editor The editors would like to thank Andrew Goyns for his help in production of this report. Photographs The editors wish to record their thanks to the contributors and photographers and for their waiving any fees for reproduction. Printers Hythe Printers, Pennypot Industrial Estate, Hythe, Kent CT21 6PE
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Mission Statement To promote the interests of members in the heritage and tourist railway and tramway sector, and to encourage best practice in all fields 1. To represent its members interests to government and other bodies. 2. To maintain high standards by requiring members to conform to the Association‘s Code of Conduct. 3. To provide professional advice, a full information service and such other help and assistance as may be appropriate. 4. To provide a forum for the sharing of information, experience and best practice. 5. To help members to develop their business. 6. To encourage and assist members to develop education policies and practices. 7. To encourage excellence by organising awards and competitions. 8. To encourage and advise members on the heritage aspects of their activities, including establishing and maintaining rational collecting, interpretation and archiving policies.
Diesel Locomotive Fowler 3900002, which was built 1945 won the Heritage Railway/HRA Interpretation Award for 2010. It is seen here in July, 2010. Photo: Andrew Johnson
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Foreword By Dame Margaret Weston DBE Patron (from 05/02/11) of the Association We think that I have been associated with the HRA and its predecessors for some 30 years having been requested to do so by Captain Peter Manisty. I shall be 85 in March 2011 and it is time for a Presidential change. This took place at the AGM in Swindon when Lord Faulkner succeeded me. I took the opportunity to offer him my congratulations and best wishes for the future. It was suggested that I could keep my connection with you by becoming Patron. I welcomed this greatly. I should now note some of the administrative successes of the year. One important development in the year has been the completion of the first course for the training of persons to act as Independent Competent Persons (ICPs) under the Safety Verification requirements of the ROGS Regulations. All candidates successfully completed the course which was held in conjunction with Birmingham University and supported by the Office of Rail Regulation. On the legal side we have submitted a detailed response to the Law Commission on their proposals for a complete revision of the legislation relating to level crossings. This has involved a lot of detailed work and I know that I am speaking for all concerned when I express our thanks to Geoffrey Claydon for his expert input. Group visits are an essential part of the traffic levels for many of our members. I understand that our new Group Travel Guide now provides an excellent marketing tool in attracting such visits. After the visit to Dublin in September 2009 it was felt that we should still be doing more for our members in Ireland. The recent appointment of a Liaison Officer to deal directly with HRA Ireland is a welcome move. In conclusion, I want to thank you all for making my term as President so enjoyable. A very Happy 2011 to you all.
At the end of the HRA visit to the Wensleydale Railway on 7/2/2010 Dame Margaret Weston is flanked by the locomotive crew. Photo: John Crane
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Chairman’s Report David T Morgan MBE TD Introduction – The year past
David Morgan gives a speech on the SRPS opening day for the extension to Manuel in April 2010. Photo: Ian Lothian
I think that it‘s fair to describe 2010 as a turbulent year for a variety of reasons. We suffered from severe weather at the start and end of the year, with rather indifferent weather in between. The impact of the recession on railways seemed to vary as those in coastal and holiday areas appeared to fare better than those inland near conurbations. The major event of 2010 was, of course, the general election and the formation of a coalition government. The combination of these factors has led to a heightened feeling of uncertainty. It does little to help railway boards or society committees to budget for the coming year. Impact Assessment
“its fair to describe 2010 as a turbulent year”
This does in turn have a knock on effect on HRA as the sector‘s ―trade federation‖. As such, we are here to help members, not to add to their burden. Thanks to the sale of InterRail passes, we have been able to hold our subscription rates for over 12 years and indeed we were able to give members the equivalent of a ―rent rest‖ insofar as we gave what was in effect a subscription free period of several months when we changed the Association‘s financial year a couple of years ago. However, if we are to do more for our members in the coming years this may well have to change, which highlights the value of the income that we receive from the InterRail scheme. HRA’s Role However, there still remains a very active role for HRA to fulfil. Indeed, lobbying is probably more important now than it has ever been. A few years ago, we were preoccupied with the introduction of safety regulation. Now we are probably more concerned with the possible effect of fiscal legislation and Government cuts. While I think that the majority of the population accepts in principle the need for cuts, the devil, as always, lies in the detail. Advising members and sharing information will remain as important as ever.
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Wider Value of Activity It does seem that on the national network at least the Government has not been as brutal with its fiscal measures as it might have been. Crossrail and High Speed 2 are two projects which seem to have survived largely intact. The Coalition does appear to have recognised the importance of an efficient transport system to an efficacious business sector. This has highlighted the need to persuade Government, both national and local, of the value to a locality or region of a thriving heritage railway, tramway or museum. Economic Impact To this end, HRA has made common cause with other tourist attractions and participants through The Tourism Alliance. Similarly, we are active members of HERITAGE ALLIANCE, now led by Loyd Grossman, which has actively led the charge for the heritage sector, including the National Trust and English Heritage. For this reason, we may ask members to let us have visitor figures or financial information to help us compile Economic Impact Assessments. We are conscious that some information may be commercially sensitive but most railways have to publish their accounts under Company law and we only seek to use such information in the aggregate to give those in authority a global view of the sector and we need your help and support to enable us to help and support you. Railway Heritage Committee (RHC) One aspect of legislation where we have had to campaign is the abolition of quangos in relation to the Railway Heritage Committee which was set up in 1993 by the Railways Act of that year when the British Railways were privatised. The Committee has powers of designation and direction, somewhat akin to the powers of listing in relation to ―the built heritage‖. Its annual budget for one part-time employee and the travel expenses of committee members, all of whom are volunteers, amounts to £140,000, hardly a fortune. Of course, one would expect it to share part of the pain but of greater concern is the potential disappearance of its statutory powers. This could well lead to wanton loss or destruction in the future of historically important items such as the Brunel drawings. Public Bodies Bill Amendment Our cause has been championed at Westminster by Lord Faulkner of Worcester, himself a former Chairman of the Railway Heritage Committee, as he has so often in the past on other issues important to our members. He has tabled an amendment to the Public Bodies Bill, seeking to remove the RHC from the abolition list to a review or reclassification schedule. As usual, he has sought bi-partisan help and we were successful in obtaining the active support of Lord Inglewood, one of the 92 hereditary peers with a seat in the House of Lords who is subject to the Tory whip. More importantly, he is President of the South Tynedale Railway.
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Parliamentary Reception The House of Commons underwent a huge change in its constituent MPs following the unprecedented number of retirements resulting from the expenses row and the political changes brought about by the election, which is why HRA has decided to hold a ―Parliamentary‖ reception. This is kindly being hosted jointly by Lord Faulkner and Nicky Morgan, the Conservative MP for Loughborough, who is a keen supporter of the Great Central Railway. The idea of this is to give each member railway the opportunity to make or renew contact with its own local MP or friendly peer. It will also expand the HRA‘s own database of friendly politicians whose sympathy we may be able to engage when the occasion calls. In fact, the interest in attending this has been such that the Association had to abandon the original date to move the function to a larger room. It will now take place in the House of Commons dining room on the afternoon of Tuesday, 21 st. June. Hand-over of Presidency On the way back from our last AGM in York at the beginning of 2010, Dame Margaret Weston, DBE, former director of the Science Museum indicated her desire to stand down as President before March 2011. The HRA Board unanimously decided to invite Lord Faulkner to take her place as President, a choice fully endorsed by Dame Margaret herself. I will be paying a fuller tribute later but I cannot let this moment pass without commenting on Dame Margaret‘s huge contribution to the HRA‘s success during the 20 plus years of her tenure. Whenever we needed her support and advice, she gave it unstintingly. As agreed, the handover took place at the AGM in Swindon on Saturday 5 February. I have no doubt that Lord Faulkner will be a very worthy successor. European Champion We should not forget our other major champion, Brian Simpson, MEP, now chairman of the European Parliament‘s Transport and Tourism Committee. He has worked tirelessly during the past 20 years on our behalf, not only in Brussels but also through his personal contacts here in the UK. Thus he has not only amended or knocked out 14 EU directives but has also protected us against some of the more problematical regulations or impositions, such as the safety levy. Brian is, of course, one of our Vice-Presidents and the Board has already identified him as my probable successor when he completes his Parliamentary term in 3 or 4 years‘ time. The Future I become increasingly conscious of the ageing process and the fact that neither I nor my fellow Directors are getting any younger. With the input this year from Paul Lewin and our newest Board member Alan Greer (who is Commercial Manager of Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway), this has been alleviated somewhat. We do need to strike a balance between retaining the knowledge and expertise of the ―grey beards‖ so aptly displayed in the beardless persons of Geoffrey Claydon and Bill Hillier while bringing in more younger blood. It is, I am afraid in our nature to become more conservative in our old age
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and at times I can detect a Luddite resistance to anything new (not, I hasten to add from Geoffrey or Bill!). However, I am determined to hand over an organisation fit for purpose when I step down. Strategy Review The Board agreed two or three years ago to undertake a review of our own activities and governance structure, a review facilitated by Brian Simpson. In 2010, we invited Paul Lewin to add his input as newest member of the Board and Alan Greer has been tasked with drawing up a business plan. The most important element of all this is that HRA should help to meet the needs and aspirations of its members. One of my aims as Chairman is to explain what it is that HRA is seeking to do already and to invite their comments. Outreach Finally, I should touch on the subject of our liaisons with outside bodies. I have already mentioned the Tourism Alliance and Heritage Alliance and have hopefully explained the role they play. I should also mention FEDECRAIL, the European Federation of Museum and Tourist Railways, of which HRA is a founder member. During the last year it has done battle, largely with the help of Brian Simpson, MEP, to protect our use of creosoted sleepers and paint-strippers containing DCM (dichloromethane) against EU directives. I would also like to draw your attention to WATTRAIN, the World Association of Tourist Trams and Trains based in the UK, which we have just set up and does much the same work on a global scale. As the search for traditional skills and materials has to extend, we also need to show a lead in developing the heritage railway sector. As John F Kennedy said: ―Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country‖. I am motivated by the same inspirational thought in relation to heritage railways. Conclusion We embark on a difficult year, difficult if only because of the uncertainty posed by the effect of the recession but I believe that the best way of combating the threats facing us is to help each other when and where possible. Conversely, the downturn in the economy may give rise to other opportunities as ―staycations‖ apparently continue to rise and the unemployed seek ways to use their time constructively and to widen their skill base. I can assure members that HRA will be doing its best to help to mitigate any negative impact and to take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves. As always, I must pay tribute to the many volunteers who make up the HRA team, without whom we would achieve nothing. I count myself very lucky in being able to call on their dedicated and committed support and I would like to extend my thanks, not only to them, but also to our member railways who engaged in our activities. May you all enjoy a very successful 2011.
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Vice Chairman’s Report - Mark Smith A year ago, I reported some restructuring of the March and November mid week meetings aimed at making them firmly management focussed, and a supportive forum for people charged with responsibility for the safe and profitable operation of our railways, tramways and museums. In the year now under review, this process has continued. I would like to thank the directors and officers of your Association for their help with this, and more importantly, I want to thank the increasing number of Chairmen, Directors, Trustees and Senior Managers who are coming to listen and participate in both the formal discussions, and to exploit the all important networking opportunities offered.
“Our railways have an enduring appeal”
We have covered a range of topics, and feedback, particularly from the break-out sessions will help your Association‘s working committees better understand the issues and challenges so that they can direct their attention to the issues that matter. The challenges imposed by a presentation and group discussions at our November meeting on Competence Management Systems will help to shape the agendas of the Operating and Safety and Training Committees in the months ahead. I think we are all aware that our Railways have an enduring appeal that captures the imagination of most people in some measure, however, we rely on this intrinsic attraction at our peril. We operate in a busy world in which there are many competing calls on time and income. We cannot be complacent. We cannot relax our efforts to improve the quality of visitor or passenger experience. I attend a number of national tourism organisations on your behalf, and trawl through a bewildering collection of statistical information and market trend analysis in order to help members bench mark and answer the all important ―how are we doing?‖ questions. The weekend meetings provide more relaxed opportunities for members as time is devoted to visiting member railways. It was my privilege to chair the autumn meeting this year. In addition to the formal business we focussed on the importance of keeping archives and the resources available to support this. Our visits programme included the Bluebell, Spa Valley and Lavender Railways, and the Volks Tramway. The variety of both conference subjects and visits to three very different organisations demonstrated perfectly the diversity of interests in our movement. I would like to offer the very warmest of thanks to all the Railways that we visited on this and other Association meetings and business throughout the year. The year has seen the operation of Swindon Historic Castings brought to a close. The company was set up to provide a working home for those patterns that survived the various modernisations and re-
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organisations of the nation‘s railway engineering companies. It undoubtedly provided a useful service to a small number of heritage customers, but when the provision of free accommodation ceased, and despite the efforts of a very small team of dedicated volunteers run down and closure of the company became inevitable. Patterns that have the potential for on-going use have been transferred to other museums, railways and engineers following a very careful procedure set out by the Museums‘ Association. We have cause to be grateful to Alan Greer at STEAM for steering us through this difficult task. Much of the Association‘s work is well publicised and documented. However we also offer help to individual member railways, and this is tackled sensitively and discreetly. Assistance can be accessed to help resolve disputes, with business development, or to provide an independent and experienced look at some thorny problem that is causing difficulties. Members looking for help should have a confidential word with me in the first instance.
Ex London Brighton & South Coast Railway No. 762 ―Fenchurch‖ with ex LNWR No.1503 - Observation Car stand at Kingscote Station after arrival with an HRA special on 12 September 2010. Photo: John Crane
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Vice President’s report - Brian Simpson It has been a difficult trading year for the Heritage Railways sector; passenger numbers and income has varied from region to region and even railway to railway. Sadly some of our full-time staff have lost their jobs which places a heavier burden on our dedicated volunteers and brings into sharp focus, how much we all rely on this unpaid workforce and how much we should appreciate the efforts they make. There is still a need, in my opinion, to keep a watchful eye on both National and European Government in regards to proposals that emanate from the depths of the bureaucratic machinery that is Westminster and Brussels. Environmental considerations will be high on the agenda this year and it is important that we
as a movement recognise that we have a responsibility not to pollute our planet if we can help it. This means in my opinion, that we keep our locomotives in good working order at all times. If we do this, then my job in seeking derogations for our sector from Europe‘s emissions and environmental regulations becomes a lot easier. Another positive development has been the inclusion for the first time of Industrial Heritage in the EU Tourism Action Programme. As Chairman of the European Parliament‘s Committee on Transport & Tourism, I was keen to impress on Tourism Commissioner Tajani, the need to recognise this important facet of Europe‘s heritage and we backed this up in Parliament by demanding that money be allo-
cated to it. Should Parliament be successful in this funding bid, then EU funding could become available to help promote Heritage Railways throughout Europe and hopefully generate more business for our member railways. Finally, can I make a heartfelt plea to all our railways? Some of you will know I often berate the ―big‖ railway for being untidy, particularly when it comes to leaving sleepers, fishplates, clips and other assortments strewn about the trackside. Can we also make an effort to ensure our railways are neat and tidy? It does make a difference to people‘s perception and whether or not they return. Thanks for all you do.
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President (from 05/02/11) - Lord Faulkner of Worcester It is a very great honour to have been asked to accept the Presidency of the Heritage Railway Association, and it is particularly daunting to be following in the footsteps of the great Dame Margaret Weston, who for 26 years has been the President of the HRA and its predecessor bodies. For 13 years before that she was Director of the Science Museum, to whose board of trustees I have returned, following my year away as a minister in the government whips‘ office in the House of Lords with responsibilities for transport. Being in opposition is not as much fun as being in government, but the release from
office has enabled me to accept your invitation to be your President (and to become involved again with the National Railway Museum and Locomotion). These are challenging times for the railway heritage movement. As is reported elsewhere in this annual report, a huge amount of effort has been devoted in recent months to persuading the government that railways are special, and that artefacts and records significant to their heritage and history need statutory protection. As a former chairman of the Railway Heritage Committee, I am determined to ensure that all that effort – and goodwill – is not
wasted, and that arrangements are put in place to ensure that the good work continues. I hope you will allow me to be an active President. Not only do I hope to visit as many HRA members as I can during my term of office, I have plans to raise the profile of railway and tramway heritage in Parliament. It is important that their role in regional regeneration, and their contribution to Britain‘s tourist industry in particular are understood and appreciated. I am again a Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords, and a regular attender and contributor to debates. So watch this space!
On the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway a GWR 175 celebration train is seen with the traincrew and Pete Waterman. Photo: Bill Hillier
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Central Services Managing Director - David Woodhouse
One of the major achievements of the year was the completion of the first course for the training of Independent Competent Persons (ICP`s) for candidates from the heritage sector. Congratulations to all those who received their certificates and thanks to all those who made it possible. A second course is now under way. The Association has continued to promote member railways to the travel trade with the Group Travel Guide and promotion of heritage railways to visitors from overseas through the medium of two tour operators. Thanks are due to those member railways who have responded to requests for articles and pictures for these newsletters. The Group Travel Guide continues to be well received and thanks to all members who have supported this publication. Next year will see the Guide extended to include Ireland. Travel trade exhibitions continue to be a vital part of our marketing activities but these are now in the domain of John Crane. Attention to Operating & Safety matters continues to receive priority and the ongoing production of Guidance Notes and the work of the Boiler Group are obvious signs of the work of this Committee. The Association is grateful for the continued co-operation that it receives from The Office of Rail Regulation (HMRI), The Rail Accident Investigation Branch and The Rail Standards and Safety Board and also Network Rail. Both the Operating and Safety Committee and the Legal Services Committee have devoted much time and effort in connection with the review of legislation relating to level crossings. On a personal note I place great emphasis on our Corporate Membership of the Institution of Railway Operators. It opens up an opportunity to all staff and operating volunteers for further education on railway operating matters – particularly useful to those younger volunteers who may be looking for a career in the wider railway world. Last, but by no means least, my usual thanks to David Morgan, my fellow directors and officers and advisers for their help and co-operation throughout the year. A very special world of thanks to our retiring President, Dame Margaret – her friendship and support has been invaluable. Inside LMS Dynamometer Car 45050 the staff remain hard at work day and night! Photo: Brian
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Finance Director - Andrew Goyns 2010 has proved to be a hard year for many people. The Association continues to function on a solid financial base. We have allowed our reserves to reduce over the last couple of years and I expect to see a further reduction in 2011. Using a basic rule of thumb of having in reserve enough funds to maintain the business for a further 12 months I see us being pretty much in this position at the end of next year. We are most grateful to Arriva Trains Wales who continue to support the train travel in the Principality for our Managing Director, David Woodhouse MBE. We are always looking for other facilities but they are hard to come by in these tough times. As you will have already heard we have been spending time and money trying to get our website updated and I hope that by the time this report is read the first stage of the new site will be up and running. It will
still be on the same address as previously so no changes will be needed. I am pleased that our income from the sale of InterRail passes has been maintained. This is more and more an essential part of our income and we need to maintain a high level of sales to avoid some painful decisions at the next subscription review which will be carried out in 2011. It is some time since subscriptions were increased and during that time the costs of running the Association have increased by a fair percentage. With the 20% VAT rate coming in during January 2011 there is already going to be a real increase in costs for those members who are not themselves registered for VAT. Funding has been earmarked for three projects in 2011. Our W ebsite upgrade needs to move to a conclusion, a new Steam Guide needs to be produced and we are presently planning a reception at the House of Parliament to
which members can invite their local MPs and for an opportunity to be taken to raise the profile of Heritage Railways amongst the corridors of power. Our programme of attendance at Travel Trade and other Exhibitions will continue in 2011 and is under constant evaluation to see that we are getting value for money. Member feedback is always welcomed on this and other subjects. Feel free to email your comments to feedback@hra.gb.com. I look forward to 2011 as a season in which I hope all members are able to achieve most if not all of their goals. It never ceases to amaze me how much work goes on at the grass roots of our movement from those running the larger railways to the volunteers tirelessly working on loco and carriage restoration to all the many other unmentioned parts that make up the whole.
“The association continues to function on a solid financial base“
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Company Secretary - Peter Ovenstone
The ―greater slice‖ of my HRA activities remains as in previous years my other roles as Chairman of the Heritage Committee and Scottish Committee, covered on later pages. This year I am focussing this contribution on one of my external roles as Chairman of the statutory Railway Heritage Committee (RHC), a body which found itself placed by the new Government ―in the tumbrel of quangos‖ to be thrown on the bonfire! RHC has for most of its existence quietly got on with its work of providing a means of ensuring that significant railway artefacts and records are preserved for future generations. Initially tucked away within the British Railways Board during the period of changeover to the privatised railway industry, the Committee then operated under the aegis of the Strategic Rail Authority and only became a ―quango‖ about five years ago. Full reports of developments in the latter half of 2010 have been given in Sidelines and thus a detailed blow by blow account need not be repeated. The key point which does bear repetition is that it is the system of statutory protection for our railway heritage which is important - a fact which has been amply recognised by the privatised railway industry just as much as by organisations such as heritage railways and museums for whom preservation is
their primary function. The machinery by which this is achieved is not an issue - having operated under three different legal frameworks since the Railway Heritage Act 1996, the ―quango‖ can indeed be consigned to history! A switch to another means of administering the legal powers is a challenge which all of those involved are willing and eager to grasp. The campaign to persuade the Government of the importance of retaining statutory protection has been very ably led by our new President, Lord Faulkner of Worcester. His efforts have had strong support from the railway press and from HRA, its members and other heritage sector organisations in late summer 2010 more than 25 relevant organisations wrote in support to the Railways Minister. Concern was also registered from bodies outwith the United Kingdom, especially Fedecrail and the new embryonic World Association and also more recently from Europa Nostra the ―lead European body‖ for all aspects of the continent‘s heritage. All of this has had a practical impact on my HRA, Fedecrail and other heritage roles - on many occasions it has been necessary for me to ―drop everything‖ to devote keyboard and phone time to prioritise on RHC and the future for a statutory protection scheme. My apologies for the disruption that this has caused must be coupled with very grateful thanks to colleagues who have
kindly helped to provide cover and pick up several tasks on my behalf. With the Annual Report itself, our objective remains to provide a comprehensive report on all aspects of the Association‘s work over the past year coupled with serving as a useful work of reference for our ―tablets of stone‖ - the Mission Statement, Code of Conduct and other practical information. A change in the team this year is that Ian Leigh has succeeded Andrew Goyns as the principal Editor preparing the Report with my (this time more limited!) assistance. Thanks are due not only to Ian Leigh but also to Andrew for his sterling work for many years on the production of the report and, of course to the almost 50 other members of the team for their individual contributions.
Facing page top Handover of nameplate Silvertown from class 313 EMU no 313101 to the London Transport Museum on 19th November 2010. From left Ian Brown, Graham Smith, Christopher Fildes, Peter Hendy Commissioner of Transport for London, Mike Lamport, Sam Mullins Director London Transport Museum, Chris Austin, Peter Ovenstone, Jonathan Pepler, Jerry Swift, Sir Howard Newby, Catherine Wilson, Dr David Brown, Steve Davies Director National Railway Museum and Neil Butters Secretary RHC. Photo: Ian Bell, Transport for London
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Spreading the word Sidelines / Broadlines and Press - John Crane Sidelines and Broadlines. It is still the aim to use Sidelines to give members the most up to date news on matters which the Association is either working on or has received information. The instant print method seems ideal for this and thanks are due to Howard Litho for the rapid turnarounds that they manage to achieve. They have produced all but three of the editions since the publication moved from being a ‗home photocopy‘ effort. It is thought that the printed version is still worthwhile, even though copies can be downloaded from the website. Apart from providing a hard copy, it acts as a positive reminder that the latest edition is available that does not run the electronic gauntlet of spam filters and accidental deletion. Thanks are also due to the various people who are involved with the work of the Association and find time to carry out the vital task of submitting notes. Further thanks are also due to the various organisations that submit information which, in many cases, is extremely useful and beneficial to our members, the most notable contributor probably being Network Rail.
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Although the aim is that Sidelines provides the important information in the most easily digested way possible, Broadlines is slowly developing to go into greater depth of some subjects and also to pass on news from members that may be useful or of interest to a wider audience. It would ideally expand to include items about the knowledge and experience that members have gained on their own railways, be it technical advances, improved ways of doing things or just new ideas. Sadly this aspect is not progressing very quickly. STEAM GUIDE. This leaflet, which fortunately does not require frequent updating and thus allows large print runs, is the major means of communication to the public. The aim is that it contains the details of every HRA member that is open to the public. It is ideal for the HRA Publicity Stand, especially where space is at a premium but is also distributed to tourist information centres, railway stations, in short to anyone who will put it on public display. This of course includes members‘ sites and thanks are due to those members that take stocks for their leaflet stands. It is hoped that in return, they benefit from this wide circulation. PRESS DUTIES. This largely involves contact with television and film companies that are seeking either specific information or details of suitable locations. Having spent my working life in television, this usually leads to the establishment of good working relationships and it is pleasing to see the results of initial contacts materialise on the screen. The latter is not always possible however as a large proportion of the contacts come from abroad, particularly Japan, but hopefully this stimulates an interest which results in extra visitors to HRA members and as a boost to the U.K. tourist industry. MARKETING EFFORTS AND ATTENDANCE AT MARKETING EVENTS. Although our placing of advertisements in the press is somewhat limited we have a presence in several major magazines both at home and abroad and the results in 2010 were most satisfactory. It is worth mentioning that these are designed to advertise members‘ activities and include details of the HRA website and the availability of the ‗Steam Guide‘. The aim is raise awareness and suggest the idea of visiting our members to those people who may have not have considered it. Attendance at various exhibitions has been under review with new events being tried with the prospects of a greater range being covered. These are time consuming activities and my ideal would be two trade shows and two public shows each year. With regard to trade shows, our main event is Best of Britain and Ireland, which is held in the spring. The other is Coach and Bus Live which takes place in alternate years and is fairly new to us. The latter will be attended again in 2011 with a view to deciding if it becomes a regular event in our calendar. It would appear that it is worthwhile for the Association to attend, representing all members, whereas possible attendance by individual railways would not be justified due to the spread of locations from which delegates come. Public events have involved the open days that took place on previous years at Carnforth and Eastleigh. Unfortunately the event planned for Wolverton in 2010 was cancelled. At the time of writing we are due to attend the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre for the first time. The results of this and our first time attendance at what is probably the largest exhibition, ‗The World Travel Market‘ will be reviewed to see what is the most profitable way forward. DIESEL AND ELECTRIC ADVICE. 2010 saw more activity in this field than usual due to the
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changes in the type of fuel to be supplied and the gathering of information on this topic. Visits paid to railway industry exhibitions have also paid dividends in building up contacts and knowledge of companies that supply items used in diesel preservation.
A Northern Rail liveried class 158 unit leaves Scarborough and is about to pass under the signal gantry at Falsgrave, which has now been removed and preserved on the NYMR. Photo: NRM York
Railway Press - Ian Smith One of the most important aspects of HRA‘s work for its members is to keep our activities in the public eye, which is done in two ways. John Crane looks after the ―normal media‖ whilst I look after the railway press. I do this in two ways. First and most noticeable is by the usual ―Press Release‖ which is sent to all the railway periodicals whenever we have something we wish to say. The other way is by maintaining a contact with the various publications‘ editorial staff on a regular basis. This is very much a ―two way‖ process and is of great importance to the Association in that by keeping good contacts with the railway press we can get our points across not only to the enthusiast world, but to other journalists in other areas, which might suit our purpose very well. Of the press releases issued this year of particular Importance were those concerning our Award to Geoffrey Claydon for his ‗Outstanding Contribution to Railway Preservation‘ and the demise of the Railway Heritage Committee. Of course, another area involved keeping in touch with the railway press and being able either to supply quotes or get suitable ones from David Morgan or other Board Members As with my ―Small Organisations‖ role, the internet is playing a larger part of activities, involving checking various websites to ensure we are represented correctly and then issuing corrections if we are not – again something HRA is having to adjust to in our new technological world. These contacts will be continued throughout the coming years in order to raise our profile and keep it raised as much as possible in order to get our points across!
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Small Groups - Ian Smith This year has again seen quite a bit of activity on the ―Small organisations‖ front. Two areas have received particular attention, those of VAT on fares and also CRB/Child protection, which has been the subject of much debate/comment within government recently. A ―new‖ area has been explored, that of the National Preservation Website, where a number of interesting questions have recently been posed and I have, as a HRA Director, been able to point people in the right direction to gain answers. I suspect that internet activities are going to increase as time goes on and more people use this medium for communication. A number of other more minor queries have come my way and have been dealt with accordingly – as usual it‘s a case of ―If I don‘t know, I know a man who does!‖ and so far all seems to be going quite well. Don‘t forget that I am here to serve the smaller groups within HRA and whatever problem you may currently have, someone, somewhere, will have experienced it before so I should be able to get you an answer!
General Meetings - Bill Askew Overview 2010, as well as being another successful year, was also a year of change with the withdrawal of the June meeting weekend from the calendar and a new venue for the November mid week seminar and meeting. As normal the first weekend event of the year was the AGM which this year was held in York in February where our main host was the National Railway Museum. The weekend also included a visit to the Wensleydale Railway. The March mid week seminar and meeting were held as usual at the Crewe Alexandra Football Ground except that the Wednesday meeting was held in their Carlsberg Suite. In September our main hosts were the Bluebell Railway, but during the course of the weekend, which additionally included the Monday, we also visited the Spa Valley Railway, the Lavender Line and Volks Electric Railway. The final events of the 2010 calendar were the November mid week seminar and meeting. This year there was a complete change of venue with both events being held at the West Bromwich Albion Football Ground. AGM Weekend Saturday 6th February & Sunday 7th February 2010 The main base for the weekend was meant to be the Ramada Encore Hotel, but whilst the building remained the same when our visit commenced the owners had changed to the Travelodge
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Group. In addition bookings were heavier than had been originally anticipated and overflow facilities were provided in the adjacent Park Inn Hotel. Arrangements had also been made for dinner on a Friday evening in the nearby Piccolino restaurant. All day Saturday was spent with our main host the National Railway Museum. The day began with a reception at which Helen Ashby outlined the future plans for the Museum. That was followed by a tour of the museum, the Annual General Meeting in the afternoon was held the Walker Suite preceded by buffet lunch. The AGM dinner was also at the National Railway Museum in the splendid facilities of the Station Hall. The attendance at the dinner was an all-time record with 130 people which included two large groups, Tyseley Locomotive Works headed by Bob Meanley and the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland headed by Johnny Glendinning. On Sunday we travelled north to the Wensleydale Railway and our meeting point at Bedale Station. There was a short reception before we boarded our special diesel hauled train for the journey up to the current terminus at Redmire and then back through Bedale to Leeming Bar. No prizes for guessing who managed to get a cab ride. The HRA wish to thank Helen Ashby, Rachel Fox and all of the staff at the NRM and the Directors, General Manager and staff of the Wensleydale Railway who helped to make the weekend programme such a success. March Midweek Meetings Tuesday 23rd March & Wednesday 24th March 2010 Once again we use the Crewe Arms hotel accommodation but both the seminar and the meeting were held at the Crewe Alexandra Football Ground with the seminar occupying the traditional Alexandra Suite and the meeting which was held in the larger Carlsberg suite. Autumn General Meeting Weekend Saturday 11th September, Sunday 12th September and Monday 13th of September 2010. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the weekend's events myself, but it was clearly a very successful weekend from the reports that have since been received. The base hotel for the weekend was the Felbridge Hotel in East Grinstead and rooms were also reserved in the nearby Premier Inn. The weekend's programme commenced on the Saturday morning with a visit to the Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells. The visit included a trip on the railway and a behind-the-scenes tour of their facilities. From Tunbridge Wells Members returned to the Chequer Mead Community Arts Centre in the centre of East Grinstead for the buffet lunch and the meeting. The day concluded in real style with the AGM dinner being held on the Bluebell Railway's Golden Arrow Dining Train in which we had reserved places in the Pullman Car Lilian and a first class lounge car. From the outset limited seating was available and it was fully booked well before the booking closing date. The whole of the Sunday was spent on the Bluebell Railway. It commenced with a visit to view the new station at East Grinstead and the completed track work back across the viaduct. From there the next port of call was Kingscote Station where the party joined a special train to take them on to Horsted Keynes where there were planned visits to the Carriage Works, the tempo-
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rary Museum and the signal box etc. The journey continued to Sheffield Park for lunch and visits to the Locomotive Shed/Workshops and the site of the new Woodpax Carriage Shed. On the journey back to the hotel there was a brief stop at the Ardingly station site. There were two visits on the Monday. The first was to the Lavender Line Railway at Isfield followed by the Volks Electric Railway at Brighton. Again the HRA wish to thank Roy Watts, Bluebell Railway Society Chairman; Graham Flight, Bluebell Railway plc Chairman; Stephen Woolven, Spa Valley Railway; John Padgham, Lavender Line; and Stuart Strong, Volks Electric Railway: and all of their colleagues and staff who help to make it a weekend to remember. I would like to thank personally Roger and Una Price of the Bluebell Railway Society for undertaking much of the detailed planning for all of the weekend's events not just those on the Bluebell Railway. Midweek Seminar and Meeting West Bromwich Tuesday 9 th November and Wednesday 10th November 2011 As indicated above the venue for the two days was the West Bromwich Albion Football Club Pennington Suite Conference Facilities at the Hawthorns which proved to be particularly successful. Accommodation was provided at the nearby Park Inn Birmingham West Hotel. Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Members and their colleagues at the venues we visited for all their efforts and assistance in making this year's programme such a resounding success.
Paul Lewin Far left David Madden left
Image Refurbishment - Paul Lewin / David Madden Over many years the Heritage Railway Association has represented nearly all the Steam Railways of the UK and Ireland. The majority of our members were involved in running steam trains either on their own operating line or on display (and occasionally steamed) in museums and steam centres. Over the years we have seen many changes, for example heritage diesels have joined the fleet of locomotives, tramways are now a significant part of our membership as are cliff railways and, of course, our logo has always featured the historic locomotive ―Shannon‖. It has been felt for some time that our current logo needed a more up-to-date image and thanks to the Ffestiniog Railway and their graphic designer we now have new logos that more clearly represent the variety of member organisations. The term ―Heritage Railways‖ can be said to cover all our varied members with the common element being the use of railway lines. The Locomotive ―Shannon‖ has been retained as representing the very earliest development of our railways.
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Business Development and Member Services Business Development - David Madden The Business Development Committee met on four occasions in 2010 and their work activities continue in many roles - national marketing, attending national tourist bodies and the ‗promotion‘ of heritage railways at a variety of exhibitions. The national marketing of heritage railways, tramways and museums includes the production of information guides and the development of the public area of our heritage railways website. The Group Travel Guide and Steam Guide are supported by a traditional railway-sized poster placed on stations all over the country. Our attendance at various travel trade fairs and exhibitions is also a major activity and in 2010 we attended the World Travel Market for the first time. This is probably the largest exhibition of its type in the world but also the most expensive. We clearly cannot compete with big and glamorous stands but we were able to provide a presence as a partner on the UKInbound stand. Members of the committee regularly attend meetings of tourism organisations such as ‗Visit Britain‘ where common issues are discussed and useful information passed to members. In 2010 we were planning to meet with the British Parliamentary Tourist Committee; we believe we can directly influence members of Parliament as to the value of our railway heritage to the local and national economy. Unfortunately, the election got in the way so a new date is needed, probably in the middle of 2011. We are, of course, aware of the Olympics in 2012 and, whilst there is no direct relationship with heritage railways, we will be examining ways and means of encouraging visits to heritage and tramway as alternative attractions which can be enjoyed by foreign visitors before and after the Games. For this reason we are also looking at enabling our new website to recognise some of the more popular languages as well as producing specific paper information. We recognise too that we need to encourage minority ethnic communities to understand and hopefully join and support our volunteer teams where information in other languages may help. In 2011 we will be looking at integrated ticket proposals, introducing the Visit Britain ―Passenger Charter‖ (designed for heritage railways), and looking at how we can publicise members technical services for the benefit of all members. We are developing a national photographic database as a way of meeting the demand from the public and the many publicity enquiries we receive. On the subject of publicising members technical services we are aware that collectively, our heritage railways share many skills in many fields and some may be available to other member railways. Indeed a number of individuals have attended courses to become Independent Competent Persons (ICPs) to meet the requirements of Railway Safety Regulations. Clearly these and other skills may be of value to railways without these resources who could buy in such services which may otherwise be too expensive from commercial companies. Similarly, member railways may have specialised equipment which is normally only used as required by the owning railway. This equipment too might be made available to other railways. A classic example may be a rail track tamper which could earn its keep by travelling to other railways. The Association will be producing a directory of these skills and equipment that are available for hire. We believe that participating railways are proud to be members of the Association and that the
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general public can be reassured that the member railway is part of a national trade body. This is why are producing plaques showing that each railway, museum and steam centre is a member of HRA; these also contains our easily-remembered website address www.heritagerailways.co.uk (Illustration below)
MEMBER of the HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION www.heritagerailways.com
Member Services Committee - Chairman Steve Wood and Secretary Ian Leigh The committee continues to meet four times a year at the Network Rail building the ―Black Tower‖ outside Euston station, as the Committee‘s Chairman and Secretary are Network Rail employees. Although how long this carries on remains to be seen, with the lease on the Black Tower expiring in 2012 many of Network Rail‘s functions will be moving to Milton Keynes. Perhaps we will go back on the road again, anyway time will tell. We were sorry to lose Geoff Evens our Youth Advisor from the Committee and thank him for all his hard work. However we were lucky to recruit Liz Fuller into this role. Liz has considerable experience in this field and we welcome her to the committee. Other matters that continue to occupy the committee‘s mind are InterRail passes and the website. Steve Wood Top Ian Leigh bottom
“the majority of the Members support for the InterRail pass scheme continuing in its current form”
Following the survey conducted last year which confirmed the majority of the Members support for the InterRail pass scheme continuing in its current form. The committee has considered changes to the scheme itself, but with the majority of the members content with the scheme we have not recommended any changes to the Board. Di Akers continues to efficiently issue the passes and the committee are grateful to her for undertaking this task, which requires the issue of almost all the passes in the early part of the year. Mark Dewell has continued to maintain the existing website and has been leading the development of a new website which is still continuing. The aim of the new website is to have a fresh new look to be more easily navigated and to provide links to the members‘ websites. We were fortunate as our autumn meeting was held at the Bluebell Rail-
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way, which coincided with their 50th anniversary of preservation. We had an excellent tour of the railway, plus an evening dinner on the Golden Arrow Pullman train set. Visits were also undertaken to member railways at Spa Valley, The Lavender Line and the Volks Electric Railway at Brighton. It is the responsibility of the Committee to organise meetings and the 2011 AGM was held at STEAM Museum at Swindon, again with visits to other member railways. The autumn meeting in 2011 will explore the Welsh narrow gauge railways, with a visit to the newly restored Welsh Highland Railway. This is in addition to the midweek meetings in March and November for railway management.
Inter Rail Passes - Di Akers This has been the busiest year since I started processing the Passes 3 years ago, with 1947 being issued. The Corporate Passes can be purchased by volunteers, directors and paid staff of member operating railways and provide free or reduced rate travel (with advised exceptions) for leisure purposes. The income from the Passes assists with the running of the Association and helps keep down the cost of the subscription rates to participating organisations. A small number of discrepancies on the list of participating railways has been reported this year but we can only work with the information we are given. We will therefore be contacting all the participants before the next issue to ensure we have the up to date correct information. Once again I would like to thank all the co-ordinators who help the process to run smoothly.
Across the Irish Sea locomotive 186 prepares for the departure of a Santa train at Whitehead. Photo: Adam Lohoff
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Corporate Membership - Steve Wood Corporate Membership has had yet another busy and varied year carrying out lots of different activities. Since the 2009 report, I am delighted to say several more organisations have joined, and it is worth mentioning them here just to show what a varied mixture of members we have. These are: Three standard gauge railways: Rushden, Higham and Wellingborough Railway, who have restored ¼ mile of operating railway from Rushden station, Poulton and Wyre Railway Trust, and the March – Wisbech ―Bramley Line‖ both of whom aim to re-open Network Rail mothballed lines, Two 15‖ gauge railways – The Perrygrove Railway in the Forest of Dean, and Mark Eaton Park in Derby. The East Anglia Transport Museum with its varied collection. The St. Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust who have restored St. Albans South Signal box One new locomotive build organisation the LMS Patriot Co whose aim is to build a new Patriot locomotive ―The Unknown Warrior‖ Last but by certainly no means least, two very novel new Irish members the Headhunters Barber Shop and Railway Museum at Enniskillen in Northern Ireland which has established a museum of County Fermanagh‘s railway heritage in as the title suggests a barbers shop, and the unique Lartigue Monorail in Co. Kerry in Eire. I am very pleased to welcome them all to the Association, and I think it proves with no less than ten new members over the previous twelve months the heritage sector is in good shape. However things do not stand still and on the books for membership are at least two cliff railways, a rolling stock project, and a standard gauge operating railway who are awaiting their turn to join the ranks. I also wish to place on record my thanks to the organisations I have visited on site visits, your hospitality and co-operation really is appreciated. As ever if you have trouble getting Proposers and Seconders please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. My annual plea, if there are any alterations to names of organisations, addresses, or personnel can you advise me in writing at 15 Croftlands Drive, Ravenglass, Cumbria, CA18 1SJ, or Email, steve.wood@hra,gb.com. This is really important so that we can keep our records up to date, and we do not lose contact with people. Thank you for all your notifications this year it really is appreciated. I would like to thank all the committee members who always support me so well, and carry out much work behind the scenes much of which is unsung. Also to my fellow Board members it is a
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pleasure to serve with you. I look forward to another twelve months of working with you all, and if I can be of assistance in anyway please do not hesitate to get in touch with me, or members of the committee. You are after all the members, and therefore the backbone of the organisation.
Friends of HRA - Alan Saunders ―Friends of HRA‖ provides a means for private individuals to show support for HRA. In addition to receiving the bi-monthly HRA newsletters Sidelines and Broadlines, Friends of HRA may attend meetings and visits, and also purchase an InterRail pass giving free or reduced cost travel on many heritage railways. The basic statistics for the year 2010/11 are given below, (figures for year 2009/010 added in brackets): Total Friends membership (November 2010) = 329 (344) Number of One-Person InterRail passes sold = 146 (146 – the same) Membership renewal forms for the year starting 1 March 2011 were sent out with the December 2010 issues of Sidelines & Broadlines, many thanks to those who have already renewed their membership. Subscriptions are being held at the same level in 2011/12, except for the increase of the VAT level to 20% in January 2011. Membership will cost £15 + VAT = £18, and is up to the end of February 2012. The price for the InterRail pass (1-person) remains at £50. Life membership for Friends of HRA is no longer an option for new Friends. An exercise has been carried out to contact all Life Members, to ensure their continued interest in HRA. Life Membership (including 6 Honorary Life Members) currently stands at 101. Finally, I would like to emphasise the value of the Friends to HRA. Your support in 2010 has contributed around £11,000, which provides valuable support for HRA‘s work for its corporate members. Just under 61% of Friends who pay an annual subscription also bought an InterRail pass. Many thanks to you all!
On the HRA visit to the Bluebell Railway on the 12th September the participants inspect the new track at East Grinstead. Photo: John Crane
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A coach undergoes restoration in Horsted Keynes during the HRA visit on 12 th September 2010. Photo: John Crane
Young Volunteers - Liz Fuller In the last year two young people from England attended the Fedecrail Youth Camp in Hungary. They completed the conservation of a wagon which housed refugees after the Second World War which is now part of the National Collection in Budapest. Visits were made to a number of railways and places of interest and both attendees had a good time. The camp in 2011 is to be in Poland and young persons between 16 and 25 are welcome to contact me for details. I have attended a National Traction Engine Club, Steam Apprentice Club Training day and saw how they are encouraging young people as young as 7 or 8 to get involved in Road Steam. My remit for the HRA is to get more young people involved in our hobby as they are our future. There are also a large number of Vulnerable Adults who are very interested in Heritage Railways and who with support and understanding can be valuable working members of our railways.
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Legal Services Committee report - Secretary Chris Austin and Chairman Geoffrey Claydon The Legal Services Committee met at Westminster five times in 2010 and again there was enough new legislation to fill the agenda on each occasion, and to keep us busy between meetings, with a slight respite in May for the General Election. In an election year, there is a brief pause while the parties fight it out at the hustings, but then the incoming government inevitably has its own legislative programme to launch and efforts are redoubled to see how all this may affect heritage railways, and what, if anything, can be done about it. At the beginning of the year, we learned with sadness of the end of the Railway Forum, a useful meeting point in a fragmented industry, and one in which HRA participated fully, particularly in relation to new legislation and environmental issues. At the end of the year, it was the proposed abolition of the Railway Heritage Committee which gave us cause for concern, making it that much harder to protect the railway‘s rich heritage and, strangely, marking a rejection by Government of the valuable input of experts in the field who were unpaid and gave freely of their time. There is a substantial volume of legislation, from Brussels, Westminster and the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, and the drafting of some of it is unclear or has unintended consequences, particularly when it comes to secondary legislation (orders made by ministers under general powers granted by Parliament). The Disability Discrimination Acts of 1995 and 2005 were not intended to cause problems for small gauge railways, for example, but the regulations made under them simply did not take account of the smaller dimensions of both track and rolling stock. Clearly, this was a case for derogation but this was overlooked by the civil servants when the secondary legislation was drafted, and now has to be rectified in a subsequent order. Similarly, the EU Directive on Driver Licensing was designed to encourage international train services by having a common set of competencies as a basis for licensing drivers of international freight trains, and passenger trains like Eurostar. It was certainly not intended to prevent volunteer drivers on heritage railways working trains on and off the quieter rural parts of the national network, like the Esk Valley Line, itself designated as a Community Railway. But a narrow view of the interpretation of the 2009 regulations by DfT lawyers threatens to cause problems for the North York Moors Whitby services and action is being taken to see if this problem can be overcome. Another piece of secondary legislation which is being pursued is an order by Welsh Assembly Government which would require member railways in Wales to have Welsh speaking staff on duty at all times. The activities of ‗no win, no fee‘ lawyers have also caused HRA members some concern with personal injury cases being pursued by volunteers encouraged to sue by their solicitors, such as in cases where volunteers have ignored safety instructions and perhaps do not realise the potential damage these actions can cause for the railways on which they volunteer. Not all legislation is evenly applied across the country, and taxation legislation is a particularly complex area. The Committee was asked to give advice after one member railway found itself faced with a potential bill for VAT on dining trains. Whilst VAT is chargeable on meals, rail travel on publicly advertised trains is zero rated for journeys from A to B, but for a round trip starting and finishing at A, the position is open to challenge by the taxman.
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Sometimes, when you think you are protected by a derogation, the law changes, and the issue has to be revisited to ensure that the derogation is carried over to the amended law. This is the case with amendments to the climate change levy where renewed derogations for heritage railways, are being sought to avoid additional costs being imposed on coal which, for most member railways is already a significant proportion of their costs. On a more positive note, with a lot of work behind the scenes by Mark Smith and Bill Hillier, HRA has led the initiative with ORR and Birmingham University to train an initial group of 15 ‗Independent Competent Persons‘ to fulfil the requirements of the Railway & Other Guided Transport Systems (ROGS) regulations. A second group of eight are following on. Other new legislation currently under review by the committee includes changes to Summer Time, a revised European working time directive and management of digital records. Finally, much time has been taken up with consideration of the proposals of the Law Commission for England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to reform the law relating to level crossings. Apart from attendance at seminars and seeking responses from member railways, arrangements were made for the Commission to visit one of our member railways to see at first hand some of the problems resulting from level crossings. Our lengthy response was finally submitted on 30th November.
Charities Advisor - Nigel Ward In my last report I referred briefly to ongoing negotiations and I was pleased to find that three organisations owning single locomotives all achieved charitable status despite some foreboding as to whether or not they would pass the ‗public benefit‘ test. Education of the public and interpretation of the artefacts seems to be a major factor in claiming public benefit. On another note, I have frequently referred to CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations) in previous reports. The latest information seems to be that they may now become ‗live‘ in April 2011! The Charity Commission‘s budget will be cut by 33% by 2014/15. By July 2012 the Commission hopes to have all its range of services online, and plans to withdraw paper based forms for registration by April this year.
Environmental Advisor - Tony Tomkins The year started with an analysis of members‘ responses to the environmental questionnaire being carried out in conjunction with other Fedecrail colleagues. Of 115 members, 27 chose to respond. The outcome showed that for them, the most important question was that of ‗Dark Smoke‘, followed by ‗Wastes Disposal‘ and then ‗Noise pollution‘. Whether this running order would be reflected in the pan-European version was to be revealed in Budapest. The order changed across Europe and was revealed to be 1) Air quality 2) Line-side fires 3) Vegetation control 4) Wastes disposal and 5) Noise pollution. The outcome, following discussion by the Environmental Working Group, was that work to improve air quality would be led by Reinhard Serchinger – whilst the battle against control of rampant vegetation and line side fires
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would be reviewed on a national basis with emphasis being given to ensure that effective herbicides would still be available for use on our railways. The question allied to this was that of ‗Sustainability‘. The way in which we run our railways can and does have a significant effect. – for good or bad. This issue will become of increasing importance – especially as to the possibilities of creating our own power sources. The railway planning to install a hydro-electric scheme and the one planning to install rainwater harvesting, photovoltaic panels and air pump heat sourcing will be watched with interest. John Crane‘s assumption of Board responsibility (lead) in matters environmental is to be welcomed, especially if his invitation to members to let him know of matters that are of concern is taken up. The two dominant issues arising towards the end of the year were the Climate Change Levy and Low sulphur, bio-diesel. It is possible that the exemption that HRA members enjoy from paying the levy on their coal purchases, may cease as from 1 st April 2011. This is subject to EU consent to the UK government carrying on with it. As the levy is being increased by 3% to £13.21 per tonne – also from 1st April – it is to be hoped that our Government is able to obtain the consent, and implement it. Members were asked to contact their MEPs to write to the Commissioners in support. So far, we are aware of only two railways that did so – which is disappointing. Otherwise, the movement will be faced with an extra over cost of some £330,000 a year. The diesel fuel issue has been dragging on for some time. Proposals to reduce sulphur content have been reported on earlier. The bio-diesel issue is somewhat different. The regulations are suggesting that percentage content varying from 7 to 30% will be permitted. Our problem is that for many, if not most, the diesel/gas oil we buy tends to be stored for lengthy periods and it is then that the issue of algae growth rears its head. Bio-diesel is highly susceptible to algae growth when stored which doesn‘t help fuel pumping through blocked filters. HM Government recognised this difficulty by allowing an additional years grace for diesel rail-cars and locomotives. It also stated that Gas oil would continue to be available to supply domestic oil heating systems and stationary engines. The recommendation to the Board was that HRA should seek derogation from the regulation for all its heritage locomotive fleet to enable them to continue to be able to purchase and use gas oil. The outcome is waited with keen interest.
Ratings and Property - Roger Wilkins 2010 has seen the imposition of a new rating list from the 1st April 2010 and your advisor has liaised with the Valuation Office over the composition of various entries in the new rating list. Whilst in many cases there has been little change in the rateable value, those of you who have experienced an upturn in business up to 2008 will have experienced a substantial change. In our view, some of
the increases have been out of proportion to the increases in business and in those cases, a Rating Appeal could be well worth while.
with me to ensure that we have a co-ordinated approach to Rating Appeals and in particular that no decisions are made which could prejudice any other Rating Appeals which are Railway rating is a slightly un- outstanding. usual subject, but the basis was set by a Lands Tribunal At the time of writing this note, decision surrounding the Blue- no decisions on Appeals have bell Railway back in the 1980‘s. been made to the best of my I do ask advisors who are con- knowledge and belief but we templating putting a Rating Ap- are expecting considerable acpeal to keep in regular touch tivity over the next 12 months.
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Operating & Safety Committee Chairman - Bill Hillier Secretary - vacant Role The role of the committee is to advise members on all aspects of Railway Operation and Health & Safety; in particular the implications of: Health & Safety at Work, Railway Safety and Operating Legislation; as well as Railway Operating Rules & Procedures including operational Medical issues; much of this work is in conjunction with other Committees, particularly the Legal Services Committee.
Communications In order to provide effective communications we liaise with HMRI, Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), HSE, Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and Network-Rail. We sit on the Railway Industry Advisory Committee (RIAC) of the ORR, and other pan-industry groups such as the National Level Crossing Group. The output of this committee takes the form of Guidance Notes, Codes of Good Practice and Urgent Safety notices as well as organising certain seminars.
e-Contact Details of all the support that is available is increasingly being provided via our website and direct e-mail. We therefore remind all Operating & Safety contacts of member organisations to ensure that we have their up-to-date contact details.
Membership
The Committee at Llanfair Caereinion in July, left to right, Kevin Heywood (W&L), Bill Hillier, Mark Smith, David Woodhouse, David Martin, John Poyntz, and Terry Turner (W&L) enjoying lunch! .Unfortunately the other members, Danny Martin, Steve Turner and Brian White were unable to be with us.
We are pleased to welcome to the committee towards the end of the year Janet Small, ex Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, and Andy Savage, ex RAIB. The workload on this
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committee continues to be high; hence I would like to place on record my appreciation of the members‘ hard work over the past year.
Committee Secretary Malcolm Beevers unfortunately resigned from this crucial position earlier this year for personal reasons. I would like to record both the committee‘s and my personal thanks to Malcolm for his hard work as our secretary; we will miss his experience. If you feel you would like to contribute to the work of the committee by taking on this role, please contact Bill Hillier by phone or e-mail
Meetings The committee continues to meet eight times a year due the continuing pressure of business. This level of activity is likely to continue in 2011. Most of our meetings are held in London where we can get together to discuss crucial issues and the associated pile of paper! Each year we try to hold one meeting at a member location with the aim of fostering understanding of the work we do and ensuring that we are addressing the real needs of members. This year we held a meeting in the volunteer accommodation building of the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway at Llanfair Caereinion. We were kindly hosted by Terry Turner, the General Manager, and his assistant Kevin Heywood. Prior to the meeting we enjoyed a tour of the line, signal-box, the stockshed and the workshops. 823 arrived with two coaches from two eras at Llanfair Caereinion just as we moved from the Signal box to the meeting room.
The following sections cover the major issues dealt with during the year.
Consultative Documents This work has continued in conjunction with the Legal Services committee. The split of work is not as clear cut as it may appear. To meet this need a group of four continues to undertaken the majority of the detailed work; Geoffrey Claydon, Bill Hillier, Mark Smith and David Woodhouse; the last two of whom sit on both committees. The group has benefitted from the assistance from our Chairman, David Morgan. The year saw responses generated to many proposals, including:
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The Department for Transport consultation on the transposition of Directive 2008/57/EC – the recast Interoperability Directive. Members will recall that this dealt with Driver Licensing and Entities in Charge of Maintenance, amongst other matters.
Railways and Guided Transport (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2010, a key component of which was to amend Part 4 of ROGS (which relates to safety critical work) to clarify its application to voluntary work
ORR‘s proposals for enforcement using HSWA powers to cover additional non-H&S regulations including, amongst other matters, the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (NonInteroperable Rail System) Regulations 2010. The latter has considerable implications to our narrow gauge operators that have very small loading gauges; some work is ongoing.
A proposed significant change to the Publication of ORR Enforcement Notices which we felt could have adverse effects on commercial matters and staff relations.
The major consultation this year has been the Review of Level Crossing Legislation by the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission. This work started in 2009 and has continued through 2010 culminating in our detailed extensive responses submitted on 29th November.
All our responses to the above consultations on your behalf are available in the Miscellaneous Documents folder of the Members Only section of the HRA website. In each case we felt that we made significant comments which were of benefit to our members and the sector in general. We would not have been able to make such informed responses had it not been for the excellent responses we had from our members and hence take this opportunity to thank them for their assistance in formulating the responses.
Independent Competent Persons (ICP) The Heritage Railway Association worked with the University of Birmingham and the Office of Rail Regulation to develop a course that enables experienced engineers to acquire the additional skills required of an ICP. The successful candidates will be entered on a register to be kept by the Association and that will be made available to member railways and tramways planning new works for which safety verification is needed. On the 20th October nine of the fifteen students who successfully completed the course were presented with their certificates by Ian Prosser, Director of Railway Safety at the Office of Rail Regulation, and Mark Smith, Vice-Chairman of the Heritage Railway Association.
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The award ceremony. Back row from left: Charles Watson (UoB), Steve Bissell, John Payne, Mike Langford, Jon Whalley, Danny Martin and Chris Thompson. Front row, Len Pullinger, Prof Felix Schmid (UoB), Ian Prosser (ORR HMRI), Paul Lansdell and Martyn Ashworth.
Guidance Documentation With HSE making their publications freely available on the web we have decided to rely on this source rather than produce a series of documents that duplicate the HSE documents and are hard to update. There will remain the need for specialist guidance tailored to meet the needs of our sector; examples include those mentioned elsewhere in this report and issues such as the Guidance on Fitness to Run Examinations, Road Incursions, Safety Audits, Narrow Gauge Track Standards and Examination etc. Many specific Guidance Notes are in the later stages of production.
Medical Advisor We have been very fortunate to obtain the assistance of Dr Mike Yardley as the HRA Medical Advisor. He has set up a sub-committee to review the current guidance and to delineate the scope of the work. Their work is apparent in the change of the title of the key guidance note from ―Medical Examinations‖ to ―Fitness Assessment for Safety Critical Workers‖ and its inclusion of a suggested ―Agreement between Heritage Railway or Tramway and Medical Officer‖ to clarify responsibilities. We would like to thank the many medically qualified members who contributed to the consultation on this document. We expect to publish this document in the early part of 2011.
Steam Locomotive Boiler Code of Practice Boilers are at the centre of all Steam operating Railways and Tramways; to this end they are regularly discussed at our meetings. The HMRI is facilitating meetings (virtual and real) of current experts with the aim of producing up-to-date guidance for members. This has proved to be a challenging task as the knowledge is split around many centres and the
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very skilled people involved are in high demand by their regular railway or employer. The group however has made significant progress with the aim of producing a series of Guidance Notes published by the HRA for the benefit of the whole sector. Five are available on the HRA web-site and more will follow in 2011.
Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectors We particularly value the continued assistance in a wide range of activities that both the committee and our members have received over many years. Their continued help and advice on all matters, but particularly ROGS related, has been invaluable.
Railway Accident Investigation Branch We would encourage all member Railways and Tramways to review ALL of the RAIB Accident reports, which are freely available on the web from: www.raib.gov.uk under the section Publications - Investigation Reports. Members will I am sure have reviewed in detail those reports that relate directly to Heritage Operations. There are also lessons to be learned from all the other Reports and Bulletins. A summary of the learning points from recent reports is given in each issue of Sidelines. Back issues of Sidelines are available from our web site. I make no apologies for repeating the following from last year‘s report as it remains true.
DANGERS of COMPLACENCY When some railway or tramway operations not directly involved are discussing the recommendations of RAIB reports, statements such as "Could not happen here", "Why didn't they obey the Rules", "We would never allow that" have been heard. It is good to hear that most undertakings take their operational obligations seriously. However upon reflection, there is just the possibility that this could be demonstrating a degree of complacency. We would urge all railway and tramway undertakings to review their systems and procedures as well as their methods of ensuring compliance to those systems and procedures to ensure that they are sufficiently robust for the task.
Railway Industry Advisory Committee This body reports to the ORR; its role is to develop and advise the ORR Board on a strategy for improving standards of health and safety in the rail industry and the protection of the public from related hazards. Members include Network Rail. London Underground, BTP, ROSCOS, TOCs, FOCs, RSSB, Trade Unions, CPT, DPTAC and HRA Recent discussions of interest to HRA members have covered Enforcement actions, Safety Culture, Continuous Improvement techniques, Track worker safety, Trespass & vandalism, Use of Tasers by police forces and Occupational Health as well as European Rail Agency Issues including: Interoperability, Common safety method for risk assessment, the proposed ten year derogation for train driver licensing, entities in charge of maintenance, and licensing of railway workshops;
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I.R.S.E. Minor Railway Section We are represented on the committee of this new section of the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers. The publication of a series of Guidance Notes with the technical input coming from this group has taken longer than initially expected, due largely to the pressure on IRSE members from their full-time employment duties. In conclusion the committee wish all member railways a safe, challenging and profitable season in 2011.
At the Midland Railway Centre Butterley, in memory of our late Vice Chairman John Hett, on Saturday April 3rd 2010 a road was named after him. On the left is Andrea Hett and on the right is Chris Deeth, chairman of Midland Railway Trust. Photo: John Crane
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Annual Statistical Survey 2009 Bill Hillier the HRA Returning Officer This report covers the results from the ninth year of the organisation by HRA of a formal Annual Statistical Return from members at the request of Her Majesty‘s Railway Inspectorate. The period covered is the year ending 31st December 2009.
Background The answers to some commonly asked questions on ‗Why‘ and ―What‘ are given below:
•
•
Why do we do it –
Because we have to for ORR/HMRI
–
Because we need to for lobbying
What data do we collect –
•
•
•
The minimum to meet legal requirements & for lobbying
What data do we disclose –
Legal minimum in detail to HMRI & RAIB
–
Summary figures used elsewhere
–
Breakdown into Standard Gauge, Non-Standard Gauge, Museums
What do HMRI / RAIB use it for –
To look at trends
–
To demonstrate how safe we are
What do HRA use the data for –
To establish that we are an important part of the community
–
To show that our views have weight and should be heard
Format of the Return As in the previous year the HRA added three general turnover questions over and above those required by ORR / HMRI to assist in promoting and representing members before sending it to all Operating Member Railways and Tramways. The one-page return is in five sections with notes for completion on the rear 1.
Basic Information
2.
Passengers & trains
3.
Staff
4.
Financial details
5.
Stock check
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Results for the year ending 31 December 2009 We had an excellent response from all operating railways and tramways but still need a better response from non-operating members. The responses are from 69 standard gauge and 42 nonstandard gauge operating railways and tramways, some of which are located in major museums.
Results at a Glance – 2009 We earned £81 million pounds whilst carrying 6.7 million passengers over 510 miles of track from 399 stations.
Over and above the operating members we had responses from 33 museums and centres which do not operate public passenger train or tram services.
(Std Gauge 331 miles and 210 stations)
st
The summary result for the year ended 31 December 2009 of all corporate members are given in the block to the right The improved figures reported are to a certain extent due to increased reporting from our members, for which we express our thanks. However if trends are tracked on a like-for-like basis it can be shown that the sector has sound growth; alas the increases in Turnover are probably matched by a similar increase in Costs.
Our Operating Members reported underlying increases for the 2009 reporting year compared to the 2008 reporting year of 18% for Visitors, 11% for passengers and 14% for turnover. Looking in a little more detail at the sections of the survey we find:
Visitors welcomed and passengers carried by trams & trains We received 9.15 million Visitors; of whom 6.7 million rode on our trains resulting in 15 million Passenger Journeys, 112 million Passenger Miles and 1.2 million Passenger Train Miles. These figures imply that there was an average of 93 people travelling on each train.
Visitor & Passenger Growth 12 10
Millions
8 6
Visitors
4
Passengers
2 0 2002
2003
2004
2005
2006 Years
2007
2008
2009
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Turnover Growth
The overall growth in turnover over the last seven years is shown to the right:
£ (millions)
100 80 60
Other TO Catering TO Sales TO Train TO
40 20 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Years
The changes in proportions reported last year continued almost unchanged for this year. The 17% ―other‖ comprises in the main workshop services and charter trains.
Staff
Staff Growth 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 2002
Paid 2003
2004
2005 2006 Years
2007
2008
2009
Our members directly employ 1,993 people (up 10%), however more are now part-time staff. They also benefit from the work of 17,632 volunteers (up 8%). The resulting number of Full Time Equivalent‖ staff is around 3,627 (up 7%).
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Stock Check The numbers given in the table below include all those vehicles that could reasonably be made available but exclude ―Barry Wrecks‖ where these are still largely as found. Total
Mainland
Mainland
Non Mainland
Responses
Standard Gauge
Non-standard Gauge
Plus Museums
Steam Locomotives
789
507
150
132
Diesel Locomotives
1019
617
228
174
Diesel Multiple Units
270
221
1
48
Coaches
2033
1303
493
237
Wagons
4146
2718
1048
380
It is interesting to note that our members have approximately just over one coach and two wagons for each locomotive.
Response to these results The HMRI and the Board of HRA wish to thank those who responded on time. The extremely late and missing returns from a few members continue to cause concern and hence both parties request that ALL members complete their future returns on time.
Annual Statistical Returns for 2010 The HMRI has requested that HRA make a similar return for the year ending 31 st December 2009. The blank forms have been e-mailed to all operating corporate members and are available from the HRA website A standard form is being used for all Operating Railway and Tramway Members. The closing date for returning the completed signed form to me is 16th March 2011
Non-Operating Members including Societies We have produced a tailored form for all other corporate members that contains only the minimum specific information we need from them. We hope this eases the task of those members in completing the Return
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Education Committee - Chris Smyth This year the Heritage Railway Association sent me to the Tower of London; not before time, some would say! The event was a meeting on Developments in Education. Now an Education Room in the Tower sounds like a cold and draughty venue, doesn‘t it? Not so! Perched above the Crown Jewels is a comfortable suite of modern rooms. There is a lesson here for many Heritage Railways. Does your organisation have adequate facilities for Meetings; whether they be Education, Training or Committee Meetings. If not are they in your 5 Year Plan? If not, why not? My trip to the Tower coincided with a tube strike; so I enjoyed a leisurely walk from Euston to the Thames. This gave me a new perspective on London, a city where I normally get a mole‘s eye view! In similar vein Education Officers at Heritage Railways may need to review their perception of the requirements of schools and others as the Coalition‘s plans for Education take shape. It seems likely that the prescriptive curriculum will fade away, while fundamentals like the number of terms on a school year may also change. Interesting times! Following last year‘s appeal for new members of the Education Committee we welcome Reg and Audrey Palk to the team. However we are loosing Brian Smith who is heading for Canada, so there are still vacancies. If you have an interest in any aspect of Education on Heritage Railways, from Pre School to the Third Age, please get in touch.
Inside HRA Carriage and Wagon Competition entry - Bulleid 4365, on the Swanage Railway volunteers are seen hard at work fitting the luggage racks Photo: Mike Stollery
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Training Committee - Martin Smith The Training Committee has had an uplifting year in 2010. The Committee has increased to 12 members. New members are: Bryan Orange - NELPG, Allan Smith - Telford Steam Railway, Geoff Cross - West Somerset Railway, George Lumsden - Scottish RPS and Alan Briggs formerly of Shackerstone Railway. We have had 4 meetings, the last one being our first 'On Tour' visit which was to the Chasewater Railway, Brownhills West Station, Staffs. We have had input into the November mid-week Seminar and are processing a seminar for Volunteers which we hope to include in the March mid-week meeting. Chris Smyth, David Woodhouse and myself have become members of the Institution of Railway Operators and will bring anything we find of interest to the members either via Sidelines or General Meetings. We are currently updating our website address under 'Committees' and will in future be including our Meeting Agenda which ranges from items such as P.T.S., sources of funding, reading list through to NVQs. The purpose being to show more transparency to the work we do, and also to encourage members to give us ideas, both for incorporation into our Agenda and for future Seminars.
With Brian Marks of the Chasewater Railway on the left the training committee is seen at the Chasewater Railway, Brownhills West Station on 13th October 2010. Photo: Martin Smith
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Heritage Committee - Peter Ovenstone “We
live in interesting times‖ would serve as an accurate five word summary of 2010. Government proposals to abandon statutory protection for railway heritage have been covered earlier in this report. But abolition of the Railway Heritage Committee was not the only aspect of the new Government‘s cutbacks to impact on the heritage sector. The announcement of the abolition of the Museums Libraries and Archives Council was not perhaps followed by widespread or extended mourning in the museum and heritage world. Along with colleagues in other parts of the museum sector, we had at times been sceptical about the benefit of some aspects of MLA‘s work. Nevertheless, there are important elements in the MLA portfolio - in particular the Museum Accreditation Scheme and the ―coal face‖ work carried out in the regions by the Museum Development Officers (MDOs) which must not be lost in its abolition. We fully support efforts to secure a new home to enable the Accreditation Scheme to continue and to maintain the support work of the MDOs - HRA benefits directly from the latter as Yorkshire region MDO, Robin McDermott, makes a valuable input both to the work of this committee and in support given to HRA member organisations in his region. Clouds also hung over the Heritage Lottery Fund during the financial review period - rumours abounded of a possible merger with English Heritage which had been mooted as providing potential cost-saving synergies. This would have required erection of ―Chinese walls‖ of Great Wall magnitude in view of English Heritage‘s role as a regular applicant for HLF grant funding in competition with other heritage bodies! It was with some relief that we heard the news that HLF will continue to operate as an independent organisation. More cheerful news was a consultation from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on a proposal to reverse some of the reduction of share of lottery income made to fund the 2012 Olympics - did we think this would be a good thing? Like ―mom and apple pie‖, the simple answer would have been one word - yes. But buried within the consultation, however, were additional proposals for major cuts in the administration of HLF. In our response we therefore stressed firmly the importance of maintaining the existing level and calibre of ―front line‖ staff to support grant applicants both during both application and execution phases of projects. We continue to work closely with the National Railway Museum who also kindly hosted our 2010 Annual General Meeting. Our links have been strengthened by appointment of the new Director, Steve Davies as a member of the Committee. HRA has been invited to make an input into planning of the ―NRM Plus‖ major re-development of the Museum and a small NRM + HRA working group has been set up - more news during 2011 and in next year‘s Report. Former NRM Director, Andrew Scott, deferred his retirement to take on the role of Acting Director of the Museum‘s parent, the National Museum of Science & Industry but was finally able to retire in October - to be immediately grabbed as a new member of the boards of the North Yorks Moors Railway and of Festiniog Railway Heritage Ltd. as well as, among other things, a very much executive role as President of the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group! I am very pleased to report that Andrew will also continue to play an active part in HRA‘s work.
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As ever, my thanks must be recorded to all the members of the Committee - particularly during a year when external circumstances dictated that for much of the time I had to be a very ―hands off‖ Chairman! Everyone has just ―got on with the work and done it‖ as spelled out in the individual reports which follow.
On the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway. Photo: Alistair Grieve
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Lottery Advisor - Jackie Cope The speculation on the plans of the Government for the future of various bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been much in the news. In late October it was announced that the National Heritage Memorial Fund/HLF is to be retained on the grounds of performing a ―technical function‖ independent from Government. It has also been announced that the amount available for grants in 2011-12 will increase to £250 million per year. Moreover it is further planned to increase the allocation to major grants (i.e. £5 million and over) from £20 million per annum to £30 million per annum from 2011 onwards. Further announcements followed to help applicants who are trying to raise matched funding to carry out a project in these difficult financial times. An example of this is the matched funding requirement for projects over £1 million. This will be reduced from 25% of the total project to 10%. In projects under £1 million the matched funding requirement is even better news having been reduced from 10% to 5% of the total project costs. Moreover this 5% can be in kind (e.g. voluntary labour) or cash as long as it is from the applicant‘s own resources. The HLF considers the Industrial Maritime & Transport element of their grant aid to be of importance and provides a forum where officers of the HLF meet with representative of the IM&T sector to exchange news and look to areas of needs specific to the sector. All this gives great encouragement to HRA members to look to the Heritage Lottery Fund as the most important source of funding. I continue to encourage members to visit the web site www.hlf.co.uk paying close attention to the guidance given and matching it to the plans you have. Contact your local office of HLF by completing a Pre-application form (again all details will be found on the web site) and you will be put in touch with HLF personnel who are very willing to offer further guidance. A number of HRA members have been successful in obtaining funding during the past year. There are those who are in the process of working through the stages of large-scale project applications. As an HRA member body it is useful to have a letter of support which sets out your standing as an organisation within HRA. This letter can be a point of reference or in the case of smaller applications can be included within the application paperwork. Please contact me giving an outline of your project and I will arrange a support letter from the HRA (my contact details are on the officers and advisers list). The Big Lottery www.biglotteryfund.org.uk may also have something to offer particularly if your railway is involved in a community development project. I continue to look forward to hearing of successful applications over the next year and wish you every success.
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Museum Advisor - Rob Shorland Ball When I was rightly reminded that I had not yet submitted anything for 2010 I suddenly realised that 12 months had passed since my quite lengthy Museums Report in the 2009 Annual Report but I had not much more to add! 'What a relief,' I suspect some of you may think but if you look back to last year's Annual Report (pages 46 - 48) and re-read what you may have over-looked there is much that is still pertinent. Indeed HRA's Museum Accreditation Adviser's report this year (below) picks up references to the Accreditation Standard which was outlined on page 48.
cern for heritage preservation. Government cuts, local authority cuts and the consequent economies passed-on to independently funded organisations have affected us all. However there are still opportunities because the heritage market, and particularly Heritage Railways, makes an important contribution to local, regional and national wellbeing, tourism and spin-off income generation.
braries the disappearance of the MLA may threaten grantaid and advice from the Renaissance in the Region programme and from the PRISM fund but the entrepreneurial instincts and the business acumen of Heritage Railways, supported by HRA, and from independent museums supported by AIM should encourage new solutions to these problems.
Some Government economies, like the extinction of the Railway Heritage Committee are very damaging to the preservation of important artefacts, archives and ephemera from a disaggregated 2010 has been a difficult year and privatised national railway. for museums and for our con- For museums, archives and li-
I hope to be able to report on some of these solutions, and to continue to offer help and advice to Heritage Railways in 2011. Good luck to us all.
Museum Accreditation - Robin McDermott During 2010, in concert with the Museum Adviser, Rob Shorland-Ball, advice has continued to be given to the Heritage Committee concerning the proposed changes and developments in the Museum Accreditation scheme. This has been of particular importance against the background of the second round of MLA‘s consultation process, during which
assistance has been provided to the Committee members in their efforts to articulate the Association‘s approach to the scheme and to its proposed changes. In addition this year, advice and support has been provided directly to two individual Association members, one a new applicant for the standard and the other a potential new applicant.
In both cases, care was taken to ensure that the advice given would avoid any potential to ‗countermand‘ the advice and assistance available to each member through its own regionally-based museum support networks, and it included an exhortation to approach such locallybased agents if this had not already been done.
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Liaison with Heritage Link - John Jeffrey Heritage Link marked 2010 with a new Chairman, Loyd Grossman OBE, FSA, who was elected to replace the retiring Chairman, Anthea Case who had held this post since the founding of Heritage Link and had seen it develop into the biggest alliance of heritage interests in the UK, and a new name ―The Heritage Alliance‖ (THA). Heritage Link was set up in 2002 to promote the central role of the non-Government movement in the heritage sector and the new Board felt that the new name better recognised the scope and objectives of the organisation. Also of note was the election of Denis Dunstone, of the Transport Trust, as a Trustee. Denis is the first representative of a mobile heritage organisation to join THA Board of Trustees and was nominated by HRA. THA now has 85 members; national and major regional organisations including The National Trust, the Council for British Archaeology, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and The Heritage Railway Association as well as many smaller and more specialised groups covering all areas of this country‘s heritage. The latest member is the Railway Heritage Trust. The Board of Trustees oversee the work of THA which is handled by a small professional secretariat, headed by Kate Pugh, Chief Executive and four advocacy Groups which broadly cover Funding, Rural Heritage, Spatial Planning and Inclusion. THA is based in Storey‘s Gate, London SW1. I act as the HRA Liaison with THA and serve on the Funding Advocacy Group. Chris Smyth is a member of the Education Task Group which reports through the Inclusion Advocacy Group. THA keeps members and other interested parties involved through the fortnightly E-Bulletin ―Heritage Update‖. This is available to all HRA members by email by contacting me at john.jeffery@hra.gb.com and I will be pleased to add your name to the email circulation list. Over the past year THA has spent much time and effort on two activities. The first was to inform, monitor and comment on the Heritage Protection Bill which was proposed by the last Government. THA lobbied hard on ensuring that the Bill would be comprehensive, attainable and would cover the many anomalies that had been created over the previous years. A draft of the proposed Bill was published at the end of 2009 but the bill was lost at the dissolution of Parliament in April and has not, so far, been taken up by the new coalition Government. Some of the aims of the Bill can and are being attained through non-legislative channels but other changes must wait on a future new Bill. The second is to work with the new Government and to ensure, as far as possible, that the aims and needs of the heritage sector are made known to government and are taken into account when policies are being formulated and implemented. Another object of THA is to accumulate and use statistics on the place and extent of heritage in the United Kingdom. For instance the latest Heritage Lottery Fund research shows that heritage tourism makes a contribution of £7.4bn to GDP per year, Once multiplier effects are included, the number increases to a GDP contribution of £20.6bn a year, supporting a total of 466,000 jobs. The tourism economy is expected to grow by 2.6% between 2009 and 2018. (Investing in Success HLF March 2010 www.hlf.org.uk) The annual statistics collected by Bill Hillier on behalf of HRA are also used by THA as part of this work and all members are encouraged to respond fully and provide the information requested. Not only does it meet the statutory requirements of ORR/ HMRI but is used by HRA and THA in their efforts to promote the benefits of heritage in all its many and varied forms. The
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wider statistics can be accessed on the Heritage Alliance website, www.heritagelink.org.uk/ making-the-most-of-our-heritage/ and following the link to key statistics.
The interior of a restored Welsh Highland Heritage Railway Buffet Car Photo: Chris Smyth
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Archives Advisor - Steven Dyke It is hoped to finalise arrangements soon for archive material from HRA and its predecessors to be deposited permanently at the National Railway Museum. Much of this material is already located at the NRM under an earlier loan agreement, with some further items temporarily in secure storage elsewhere.
Tram Wallasey 78 - the last survivor of the many Merseyside cars with Bellamy roofs is seen on the Birkenhead Heritage Tramway in September 2010. Photo: Chris Smyth
Tramways Committee - Chairman Geoffrey Claydon The committee has still sought to widen its membership during the year to those with responsibilities for heritage tramways. A notable feature in this context is the role of local authorities in relation to several such tramways. Often such bodies appear reluctant to appreciate their responsibilities. This attitude is matched by certain highway authorities who choose not to be aware of their obligations as in-
frastructure managers for street-running tramways under ROGS, so avoiding addressing the requirements for verification and the appointment of an independent competent person in relation to new or altered works. More encouraging has been the response to the Law Commissioners charged with the task of up-dating level crossing legislation. Earlier they
had proposed applying their proposals not only to railways but also to ―segregated tramways‖ but after lengthy discussions and a visit to a tramway, the Commissions have intimated that they are now likely to exclude tramways from their proposals, except perhaps in a couple of minor instances.
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Lynmouth and Lynton Lift car. Photo: Lynmouth and Lynton Lift Company
Cliff Railways Committee - Chairman: Bill Hillier Secretary - Martin Slader Last year we set the objectives of the group as firstly, to establish a good working relationship between the cliff railways and the Mining Inspectorate of the Health & Safety Executive, who have regulatory powers over cable-operated railways; and secondly, to encourage more cliff railways to become members of the HRA. Significant progress towards the first objective has been made this year. The HSE hosted a seminar in early November at which the HRA was represented by Bill Hillier, and Geoffrey Claydon attended as the nominated representative of one of the cliff railways. During the meeting, Bill and Geoffrey were able to offer significant help to the HSE on two or three issues, offers which were gratefully accepted by the HSE. It appears that these meetings will now be held annually, rather
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than at six-monthly intervals, and the railways will be permitted to send two representatives each, this is good step forward when the agenda covers both administrative and engineering matters. Several railways have joined the HRA, or have their applications in progress. The new members include two railways (Babbacombe and Folkestone) whose management has been transferred from the respective local authority to Community Interest Companies. The Folkestone lift had closed in June 2009, and its future seemed very uncertain, however happily it re-opened under its new management on 13 July 2010. The HSE‘s term for our railways is ―Rail Mounted Cableways‖ and so the Air-Rail Link at Birmingham Airport attends the HSE seminars. They have joined the HRA as Associate Members. Whilst it may be stretching a point to describe the Air-Rail Link as a heritage cliff railway, nevertheless we are delighted to welcome them as members. The Committee would like to place on record its appreciation of the tremendous efforts of Martin Slader, our Secretary, particularly in expanding our membership base.
HRA Ireland - Secretary Richard Kenny HRA Ireland made a renewed attempt this year to promote heritage railways as tourism attractions. The increasing number of people unwilling or unable to travel abroad for holidays offers an opportunity and a challenge for heritage railways to widen their appeal. However, as Mark Smith pointed out in his address to Ireland members in March, the quality of the experience is crucial and member associations need to ensure that they offer a product that is well organised, attractive and affordable. Following this conference, member associations approached tourism authorities in Ireland and Northern Ireland to develop proposals for better promotion of railways throughout the island. Other major themes at the conference in March were railway safety and developments in both charities‘ legislation and corporate governance and their effect on heritage railways. Member associations were reminded that volunteers, not just employees, had rights and responsibilities enshrined in law. In terms of practical developments, member associations have had some success this past year in obtaining grant assistance for much needed developments. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) secured European and local authority funding to construct a new station building at its Whitehead premises. The completion date for the project is January 2012. Also this year, Downpatrick and County Down Railway obtained lottery funding for a new Carriage Shed with associated reorganisation of track and infrastructure. Construction will commence shortly. GNR(I) V class ―Merlin‖ lifted from her wheels at Whitehead as part of her overhaul. Photo: J Friel
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Scottish Committee - Peter Ovenstone Often in the past this report has had to start with news of HRA lobbying reacting to new legislation proposals from the Scottish Parliament which may threaten to make life more difficult for member railways and museums in Scotland. It is a pleasant contrast this year to record some good news on the political front - the first ever debate in the Holyrood Parliament devoted to railway heritage! The debate on Thursday 4th January 2010 was instigated by Professor Christopher Harvie MSP and was specifically directed to record support for the Scottish Railway Museum at Bo‘ness. In an eloquent opening speech, Christopher harked back to his personal role in the early days of railway preservation and stressed that ―Bo‘ness (railway) museum would benefit from some tender loving care from the Scottish Government‖ followed by a topical comparison between the (at that time) recent purchase of a major painting from a leading Scottish aristocrat for many millions of pounds with his memories of the struggle to raise ―about 400 quid to get a coach‖ (the Edwardian era Royal Saloon of the Great North of Scotland Railway)! The ensuing debate featured positive and supportive speeches from representatives of five parties (Scottish Nationalist and Greens as well as Con / Lab / Lib Dem!) and also paid tribute to the personal contribution of former HRA Scottish Committee member, John Burnie, who had died two months previously. The full narrative can be read on the Scottish Parliament website www.scottish.parliament.uk/business (Columns 23620 - 23632, or select title ―Scottish Railway Museum‖ from the Session 3 list of debates). Concluding the debate, Fiona Hyslop MSP, Minister for Culture and External Affairs described the SRPS Scottish Railway Museum as: ―a beacon for rail enthusiasts, and.... also attracts the wider public who are interested in experiencing the world of the railway‖. She looked forward to making a visit to the Museum ―in my new capacity as Minister‖ and reinforced a previous commitment to involve the Scottish RPS in discussions initiated by the Government on how best to develop Scotland‘s industrial heritage. The debate also gained valuable coverage in the Scottish press. Best of all the Minister‘s kind words were followed by action - the Scottish Government made a commitment two months later to a £160,000 contribution to the next stage of development of the Railway Museum, a new collection storage building. This good start to the year was followed by our annual ―Scottish Railway Heritage Forum‖ from Friday 9th April 2010 until Sunday 11th April 2010. The event was very kindly hosted by Balfour Beatty Rail Plant Ltd. at their impressive modern plant at South Queensferry - we hope we may be allowed to use their excellent seminar facilities again in the future! Fortuitously, the Forum immediately followed the formal opening earlier on Friday 9.4 of the Manuel extension of the Bo‘ness & Kinneil Railway by our Chairman, David Morgan in his ―full regalia‖! Again, many thanks to SRPS who kindly invited to the ceremony many of the Forum participants who had travelled up from the south. Theme for the Forum business session was practical operating and maintenance issues with a keynote address from David Keay, HM Principal Inspector of Railways and an update on safety management and related guidance issues given by Bill Hillier, HRA Operating & Safety Committee Chairman. Getting literally down to earth, Jim Watson gave two very informative presentations: ―Permanent Way Maintenance and Renewals‖ and ―The Role of the Independent Competent Person‖, the latter reflecting Jim‘s first hand experience as a participant in the joint HRA + ORR training courses for ICPs. Our Balfour Beatty hosts also provided an interesting tour of the plant which manufactures cast manganese steel crossings. The Saturday programme concluded with an informal supper in the historic setting of our week-
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end base, the Hawes Inn, appropriately located almost literally underneath the Forth Bridge! On Sunday, we crossed the river to Fife for visits to our member the Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society at their base at Kirklands Yard, Leven and to the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum and the ―Shed 47‖ Railway Restoration Group, both located at Lathalmond, near Dunfermline. As always, warm thanks are due to all of our hosts over the Forum weekend and to our Scottish Committee Secretary, John Ransom and his wife Elisabeth whose methodical and hard work ensured a successful weekend. With the aim of raising the profile of railway heritage in Scotland, we have taken out membership of a tourism umbrella body, the Scottish Tourism Forum, initially on a trial basis. This echoes the decision to make tourism and marketing issues the principal theme for the 2011 Forum which will be hosted by the Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway over the weekend Saturday 19 th March 2011 - Sunday 20th March 2011. Towards the end of the year, we heard the very sad news of the closure of the Mull & West Highland Railway. The estate and gardens which hosted the railway, Torosay Castle, has now ceased to operate as a public visitor attraction and is to be sold. At the end of the year, it was unclear whether the railway assets could be disposed of as a single sale for possible re-location elsewhere or whether sales will be made in smaller lots. For many years, the railway was very ably led by Graham Ellis, a long-standing supporter of HRA, and we must record our appreciation for the work and dedication of Graham and his team which had created a very attractive narrow gauge railway. Looking to the future, we identified the need to broaden membership of the Committee to reflect more fully the range of HRA members in Scotland - smaller railways and groups and museums have hitherto been under represented. As a first step, we have been very pleased to welcome Rod Furr, Chairman of the Keith & Dufftown Railway as a new member and he has already made valuable contributions to our discussions.
SRPS, on the official opening of extension to Manuel Class D49 'Morayshire‘ is about to break the tape across the line at Birkhill. Photo: Ian Lothian
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Annual awards - Clive Morris The Annual Awards this year yet again demonstrated the diversity of ideas and thinking within the heritage railway movement. The large number and quality of the groups considered emphasised the importance of the Heritage Railway Association Awards in encouraging excellence in restoration projects. Winning groups ranged over a major civil engineering project, the extension of a railway and the restoration of a crane tank and a derelict Diesel locomotive. Each in its own way showed the determination of its members to succeed, whatever the obstacles. In addition to the traditional Awards, Mortons Media (Railway Magazine) have agreed to sponsor an Interpretation Award for 2010 and from 2011 a Modern Traction Award to encourage the Diesel groups to engage with HRA and also to acknowledge the work being carried out to what are now valuable heritage locomotives and units in their own right. The Awards this year are made as follows. HRA ANNUAL AWARD (LARGE GROUPS) made to a HRA member organisation, in corporate membership group 4 and above, for: an outstanding achievement in railway preservation be made to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (Membership Category 6) for the ground breaking civil engineering project to rebuild Bridge 30 in a hostile location to enable continuing operation of the Railway bringing together contractors, volunteers and local authorities. This project has paved the way for all Heritage Railways to have the confidence to carry out major civil engineering. HRA ANNUAL AWARD (SMALL GROUPS) made to a HRA member organisation, in corporate membership groups 1 to 3, for an outstanding achievement in railway preservation be made to the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway (Membership Category 2) for achieving a significant heritage railway presence in South Wales with the opening of its extension to Blaenavon town centre combined with a new level of operational professionalism. THE JOHN COILEY AWARD for locomotive projects be made to the Foxfield Railway (Membership Category 2) for its restoration of the Dubs Crane Tank, a lost dimension of working steam not in itself a major revenue earner. THE INTERPRETATION AWARD be made to the Middleton Railway Trust (Membership Category 3) for the inspirational transformation of an unfashionable and unwanted derelict industrial Diesel locomotive into a key display exhibit which adds greatly to the educational experience being promoted by the Middleton Railway Museum. The presentation of the Awards were made during the HRA Annual Meeting dinner held at Steam (Swindon) on 5th February 2011.
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Annual Awards C&W Competition - Chris Smyth Time moves on! It seems only yesterday that the Awards for the last Carriage and Wagon Competitions were presented at a glittering ceremony at the National Railway Museum in York. Now we are involved in judging the Entries for the 2010 Competition. Despite the Recession, a commendable number of first rate projects have been completed this year. The entries are:
Coaches Type
Function
Location
Bulleid Number 4365
Semi-Open Brake
Swanage
Mk 1
Travelling Post Office
Great Central
1991 Hudson Bogie
British Army Brakevan
Apedale Valley
LMS Open Number 734
First Class Coach
Severn Valley
LMS Coach Number 1 45050
Dynamometer Car
Midland Railway
Bulleid Brake S2526S
Final Bulleid design
Bluebell
WHR Buffet car
Original WHR Vehicle
WHR (Porthmadog)
WHR Observation Car
New build
WHR (Caernarfon)
Wagons Type
Purpose
Location
Bogie
Hudson Bogie dropside wagon
Leighton Buzzard
4 Wheeled Ballast Wagon
Ballast hopper wagons
Leighton Buzzard
S1248
Parcels Van
Swanage
Class H Watertank
British Army WW1 Wagon
Apedale Valley
L&B Bogie 28320
Bogie Open Wagon
Lynton and Barnstaple
Fruit Van Number 47886
19th Century Fruit Van 47886
Didcot Railway Centre
Brake Van number M732132
LMS 20T Brake Van M732132
North Yorkshire Moors
Hydraulic crane wagon
Innovative new use of mature wagon
Ffestiniog Railway
Dropside Number 107 Hudson
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Self Propelled Type
Purpose
Location
Cardiff Tram 131
Water Car
Crich
Class 126 DMU
Inter city unit
Scottish RPS
Cliff lift car
Water powered
Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Lift
Quite a challenge for the Judges!
C&W Competition entry Bulleid coach 4365 Photo: Mike Stollery
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National Railway Heritage Awards - Robin Leleux - Chairman of the Judges It looked like being one of those years when the entries got off to a slow start but suddenly, in the last fortnight before the closing date, entries arrived daily, with one or two entrants asking for a couple of days extra grace - which was granted - to get their entries completed and safely submitted. Our final tally of fifty-one was very pleasing (and comfortably up on 2009) and was geographically spread from Aberdeen to Co. Galway, from the North Yorkshire Moors and Norfolk to mid-Wales and Snowdonia, from Kent and Sussex to Devon. The range of entrants was also most pleasing, with train operators (including LUL, TfL and Iarnrod Eireann) contributing fourteen entries, the various departments of Network Rail ten, local authorities three, private bodies, individuals and contractors eleven and the heritage railways another very creditable thirteen. We welcome this wide range of support, reflecting as it does the continuing interest of public and private bodies in conserving the historic built heritage of this country and its railway industry. A striking feature of this year‘s entries was the number of eating/drinking places which had emerged from the dilapidated shells of old station buildings. The grandest of these must be Sheffield Tap in the long-disused former refreshment rooms at that well-restored and busy station. Elsewhere in the north the successful Jubilee Refreshment Rooms have been established in the surviving but run down portion of Sowerby Bridge station and Middlesbrough station café has been resurrected, while in Sussex the village community at Etchingham have turned the disused station house into Bistro@the Station. Such new uses for redundant stations and other buildings are always pleasing and are not confined to catering establishments. At Whitstable ChooChoo‘s Day Nursery has expanded into the former parcels building, a Health Centre has been put into part of Eastbourne Station and Metal Culture has taken over parts of the historic Edge Hill station buildings for community cultural use with offices and a gallery, while the East Wing Offices at Chester, Westgate Road Arches in Newcastle and the Up Side Buildings at Torquay have been fully refurbished for commercial letting. Perhaps the most dramatic of these new uses is the conversion of the Triangle Building at Wolverton Park, former carriage and wagon works buildings, into housing, with many of the old features imaginatively incorporated into the design. Plenty of work has been done on stations large (Aberdeen) and small (the waiting room at Cressington) throughout the country. This covers whole stations like Aldgate East, Loddiswell (on the long-closed Kingsbridge branch in deepest Devon and now in domestic use), Ormskirk and Ropley, canopies as at Halifax (where the footbridge has also received attention) and Maidstone West, new GWR-style lamp standards at Bridgnorth, new facilities and sympathetic repairs as at Queenstown Road (Battersea), Settle and Southfields (Wimbledon), and incorporation of new platforms at Glasgow Central and Kidderminster (SVR). What is almost a new railway has brought major refurbishment work to the four central stations of the former East London line (Rotherhithe, Shadwell, Surrey Quays and Wapping), either side of Brunel‘s Thames Tunnel, while the re-opened Western Rail Corridor linking Galway and Limerick serves the revived Gort station where the original mid-Victorian buildings have been brought back into railway use alongside the new passenger station. At Brading the town council have extended earlier successful restoration work on the main platform buildings to the island platform and signal box, neither of which are in operational railway use. South West Trains commended a raft of its stations for the ATOC Award although in practice assessment for this Award is done on a different basis.
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As always we welcomed a good clutch of signal boxes and some assorted signals. Emphasising their contrast in size come the magnificent Severn Bridge Junction box at Shrewsbury; probably the largest remaining mechanical signal box in the world, and the tiny Bobby‘s Box at Porthmadog, a modern recreation of an essential Victorian feature beside an exposed ground frame at the throat of this increasingly busy narrow gauge station. Spanning the years and sizes in between come the early box at Crediton, the unusually rendered box at Weaverthorpe and the striking St Albans South box which was for many years decaying beside the Midland Main Line before local restoration. Two replica signals were entered, a NER slotted bracket signal at Levisham and a very tall LNER one at Rothley, both very much in use. At Woody Bay on the revived Lynton & Barnstaple Railway a complete ground frame has been recreated with signalling almost as it was before closure in 1935. Other structures entered included the new carriage shed at Maespoeth on the revived Corris Railway and the relocation of the North London Railway war memorial from Richmond to Hoxton. Civil engineering features have had a good run this year, with the major replacement of Bridge No.30 at Darnholm on the North York Moors Railway, the thorough refurbishments of Barnes Bridge over the Thames and the historic Spa Road Arch in Bermondsey, and the replacement footbridge at Highley. Somewhat more unusual was the view of the west portal of Box Tunnel, opened up by lineside clearance; we now await remedial work on the portal itself. At Stenkrith Bridge outside Kirkby Stephen the Viaducts Walk over two impressive former NER viaducts (themselves recent Award winners) has been enhanced by a new car park and approach. On a more mechanical note we welcomed the turntable newly restored in the former engine shed yard at Rowsley South (the table coming from Mold Junction) while the loco works staff at Bridgnorth laboured equally mightily in rescuing and installing the massive early BR wheel drop from Leicester (Midland) MPD. At Sheringham the North Norfolk Railway achieved its long-awaited link with the ―main line‖ which necessitated a new level crossing over the High Street with gates in M&GN Railway style. It is always pleasing when major long term projects come to fruition and are then entered into the Awards competition - those at Bridgnorth, Maespoeth, Rowsley and Sheringham come to mind as well as more immediate concerns like the NYMR‘s bridge replacement. Further work at long established entries, like Kidderminster and Ropley, is also welcome. Size of either project or railway is also immaterial, e.g. the entries of the tiny Bobby‘s Box at Porthmadog, individual signals or the new signalling at Woody Bay. The criteria for success is the same for either sector: attention to detail to make a good heritage job done. It only remains for me to thank my team of three dozen judges and the Panel of Adjudicators, both of whom willingly give of their time in visiting and assessing the entries, and to the entrants themselves for their continued interest. Thanks too as always to HRA for its continued help both financial and in encouraging entries from members. This all makes for a strong, lively, wellrespected and continuing annual Awards competition and we look forward with confidence to a similarly strong field of entries in 2011.
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Fedecrail - Livius Kooy (Secretary)
a huge green steam engine dramatically bursting through a decorated cardboard “shed road door” was a real sensation!
The successful Fedecrail Conference and AGM in April hosted by our Hungarian member MAV Nosztalgia in Budapest made 2010 an unforgettable year - not just for the quality of the event, but also the ingenuity displayed by participants in finding ways of getting to Budapest at the time of the ―volcanic ash‖ shutdown of European air space! Two of our principal guests were Brian Simpson MEP in his role as Chairman of the European Parliament Transport & Tourism Committee (as well as HRA VicePresident), and M. Paul Véron who gave us a ―double-header‖ address in his two roles as Director for Communication in UIC and also a VicePresident of AIHCF, the International Railway History Association. Contributions from local Hungarian speakers gave an interesting insight into the challenges facing the railway industry in Hungary ……and the opportunity to make a public appeal to the newly-elected Government to recognise the value of Hungary‘s rich railway heritage!
The Annual General Meeting admitted three new Fedecrail members: (1) PFK Polish Federation of Museum Railways -This is a young, but fast growing national umbrella representing four narrow gauge lines at the time of the application, some with commercial transport, but also operating tourist trains. (2) National Railway Museum Foundation, Portugal - The Foundation operates the railway museum at Entroncamento and has a large collection and workshop. (3) AZAFT Asociacion Zaragozana des Amigos Ferrovies y Tranvias, Spain -This organisation based in Zaragoza also has a substantial collection and workshop, and organises mainline tours with heritage trains in Spain. The Fedecrail Passport was accepted as a card to encourage good fraternisation and a tool to encourage exchange of knowledge. Railways and museums in 6 different countries have already agreed
to be ―pilot partners‖ in the scheme, It will be issued to our Conference guests and to council members, officers and managers of heritage railways and museums against a modest charge of EUR 10 in the year 2010, for a start. Not only the business sessions but also the networking and study visits programme were memorable. Having the opening reception and dinner in the loco roundhouse of the MAV Railway Heritage Park in Budapest with a huge green steam engine dramatically bursting through a decorated cardboard ―shed road door‖ was a real sensation! The Mainline Working Group had collected information via a questionnaire which had been returned by a good number of members. It listened to the situation of JHRF in Sweden, where the whole signalling system would be replaced as soon as possible by the European traffic mana gement syst em ERTMS of the generation without signals along the line. This would involve a
Annual Report 2010
requirement for each steam locomotive to be equipped with a state of the art system costing EUR 200,000. The group had another meeting in small committee at Brussels on 13th November, where it discussed lobbying options and technical solutions for the costly ERTMS equipment. Fedecrail‘s Environmental Working Group had also done a good job by using the questionnaire circulated in late 2001 as a guideline for prioritising future action. We are grateful for the responses provided by several HRA member railways. The problems which occurred most frequently were lineside fires and air pollution. Dr. Phys. Reinhard Serchinger started working on this, and he has come forward with some good suggestions which will need to be tested and then made available to interested heritage railways and train operators. The Fedecrail Youth Exchange also took place in Budapest in August, and was hosted jointly by MAV Nosztalgia and the famous Children‘s Railway. It proved a great success again. These
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annual events have been getting more and more participants each year and open ways to involve young people in European cooperation, also within Fedecrail we may hope. Much to our gratitude, the next Exchange will be hosted by our new Polish member PFK from Friday 29th July to Sunday 7th August 2011.
opment and meet and support our new friends - an interview with Fedecrail‘s President was later transmitted on a national TV channel. The Bulgarians had missed our AGM and Conference but we were able to come over to them instead. Next day most of us travelled over the scenic 760 mm narrow gauge line to Bansko, as In June, our Council accepted part of our getting acquainted the Bulgarian Association for with Bulgaria. Train Modellers as a new member, pending approval by the Also in June our Council was next AGM. This had been rec- still investigating the plan to ommended after my visit to Sofia have next year‘s Conference to their first anniversary recep- in Switzerland, but alas curtion in May. Despite its title, this rency exchange rates made it new member was not just busy clear that a conference could with its huge model railway but not be organised within our has also had taken over respon- budget and so we had to take sibility for maintenance and de- the alternative route: velopment of the long existing small museum in the Transport The 2011 Conference and High School ―Todor Kableshkov‖ supporting visits programme in Sofia, together with the static will be held Wednesday, 6th exhibits outside: an electric loco- April - Wednesday 13th April at motive from the Czech Republic Dresden, Germany. The tour and a Polish steam engine for programme will feature visits the 760 mm gauge. The plans across Saxony. It is envisaged are now to agree with BDZ to that a post-conference tour to take over responsibility for all Poland may also be offered. their heritage rolling stock, which Further details have been published in HRA Sidelines will be a huge task. and are available on the On 23rd October our Council F e d e c r a i l website went there for its autumn meet- www.fedecrail.org ing, so all could see this devel-
MAV Nosztalgia Railway Heritage Park during the Fedecrail visit on 22nd April 2010 Photo: John Crane
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WATTRAIN Progress 2011 - Ian Smith The last few months have seen some rapid progress with the formation of WATTRAIN as a Limited Company based in London. Directors are David Morgan (President), Enrique Diaz & Chris Le Marshall (Vice Presidents); Ian Smith (Managing Director) and Ian Leigh (Finance Director). WATTRAIN now also has its own bank account and membership organisation. The new Membership Secretary, Andrea Hett, has set up the membership organisation and will shortly be accepting our first member organisations. WATTRAIN also has its own www.wattrain.vintagecarriagestrust.org/
website,
temporarily
housed
at
http://
This is very much a temporary affair, intended just to give WATTRAIN a web presence. We are working with a web designer to produce our own independent website, which we hope to launch in the spring. This will be a much more interactive affair and we intend that it will the major means by which WATTRAIN interacts with its members. It will not only give details of WATTRAIN and its activities, but will also house a comprehensive series of links to useful websites throughout the World, giving a whole host of interesting information to users. One of WATTRAIN‘s stated aims has always been the involvement of volunteers/staff from various member railways being able to visit other member railways to gain experience of differing operating conditions and/or ideas for use on their own railways. During 2011 we will be undertaking work to make this a more formal process, as originally envisaged. Currently, WATTRAIN has assisted several individuals from Australia to come across to UK and gain insight into the way in which the UK heritage industry works, but this has tended to be on an ad hoc basis. During the year, we will develop the more formal process for this to happen. Finally, 2012 sees the 3rd Major Congress, which will be the very first WATTRAIN Congress, to be held at the National Railway Museum in York, during September/October 2012. Organisation is in the very early stages, but we envisage at least 3 separate elements: These will be PreConference; Conference and Post Conference and will comprise visits to railway of interest in various areas of the country plus the main Conference element, based at York. Full details will appear on the website in due course. WATTRAIN welcomes any comments and questions, these can be sent to the directors via our website and we will be please to answer any and all queries as soon as possible!
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The Railway Heritage Registers - Michael Cope The Railway Heritage Registers are separate searchable on-line databases covering carriages, wagons, horse-drawn railway vehicles, and railway turntables. Together with Graeme Gleaves‘ ―Register of preserved electric multiple units and railcars‖ (also on-line) they provide an accessible record of all such items known to exist in the British Isles. These databases are the responsibility of the Railway Heritage Register Partnership. This is a joint project between the HRA, the Transport Trust and the National Railway Museum. On-line access is via www.vintagecarriagestrust.org, then follow the link for ―Railway Heritage Register on-line Surveys‖. Alternatively you may Google for ―carriage survey‖, ―wagon survey‖ or ―horse drawn railway vehicle survey‖. Richard Gibbon, assisted by Michael Cope, outlined the achievements and the uses of these Surveys at the HRA Autumn meeting. A ―straw poll‖ of the audience revealed that the majority of those present had used (or at least had looked at) one or more of the Surveys. The speakers emphasised just how important the Surveys could be when making the case for any specific carriage (or wagon, or turntable, or horse drawn vehicle). Being able to identify, and then compare with, other similar vehicles is of very great assistance when seeking the ―unique selling proposition‖ for that particular vehicle and so increasing the chances of a grant application being successful. It has to be borne in mind that the Heritage Lottery and other grant-giving bodies are known to consult the databases on a regular basis, and also find them very useful! The Carriage Survey saw 1,039,021 pages downloaded during the period from November 2009 to October 2010. The corresponding figure for the Wagon Survey increased by more than 25% to 398,396, this is thanks to excellent progress in increasing the accuracy and the completeness of this database. The figures for the horsedrawn vehicle database was 7,630 (again reflecting the very real problem of shortage of material), whilst that for the Turntable Survey increased to 26,330. The EMU Register saw 4,490 downloads. Improvements continue to be made to the structure of the surveys. Over the last year these have included improved search facilities on wagons and turntables, and extra fields added to wagons. If you are able to help in keeping the surveys up to date, we should be very pleased to hear from you. Access via the Vintage Carriages Trust‘s website as described above leads to the ―status‖ page for these Surveys, http://www.vintagecarriagestrust.org/surveystatus.asp As well as giving access to the various surveys this also gives access to the ―survey download area‖, from which you can download appropriate survey forms for completion. These can be returned by email or by post to the relevant contact points, also shown on this status page. Updating or new photographs are also very welcome – via the same route, please. Alternatively, for further information please ring Richard Gibbon on 01904 631840. If you are interested in the narrow gauge we should be especially pleased to hear from you, as this is an area in which the surveys are not at their best. ―Narrow Gauge‖ for Survey purposes is 15‖ gauge and above: and although the Welsh railways need survey attention, we do need to improve our narrow-gauge coverage across the whole of the British Isles. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Overseas Liaison - Richard Tapper Again, it appears to have been a relatively quiet year on the European heritage railway preservation scene with the only major incident occurring in October towards the end of the season. This involved a serious large rock fall on the electrified Chemin de Fer de la Mure railway in the Rhone -Alpes region of Eastern France. This resulted in the immediate suspension of services and closure of the line, which was operated under contract to Veolia (formerly Connex-Tradition). This contract expired at the end of 2010 and, apart from a new contractor to be found it is unclear how the repairs are to be funded. It could well be a year or so before the line is fully reopened. Elsewhere in France 2 metre gauge railways saw the return of steam trains in 2010. On the CFBB (Chemin de Fer Touristique du Bas Berry) a Corpet Louvet 0-4-0T No.11 built in 1922 for Paul Frot, a contractor, was restored for use on the line, having come from storage on the CFBS (Baie de Somme Railway) where a similar sister engine is maintained in working order. The CFBB line is a 7km (approximately 5 miles) in length section of the Chemin de Fer du BlancArgent operated by SABA (Société pour l‘Animation du Blanc-Argent). The Blanc-Argent itself remains open for passengers as part of SNCF-TER (Regional Train Network) using modern and vintage railcars; steam traction having ceased about 1955. Only VFV (Voies Ferrées du Velay) another contractor‘s Corpet Louvet 0-8-0T No. 22 built in 1923 also ex Paul Frot has been restored to working order for use on this line, which runs from Dunières to St Agrève. Also known as the ‗high Vivarais‘ it was once part of this very extensive Vivarais system that closed entirely in 1968. However, it was reopened independently some years later and again suffered a further suspension of services and yet a further resumption of service but has continued operating ever since with vintage diesel railcars up until now. It was unaffected by the more recent closure of the main Vivarais line. On the main CFV (Vivarais) line political developments are taking place with local authority support but reopening remains a year or more away. Turning now to Germany, at Blankenberg in the Harz region of former East Germany (DDR) steam trains have returned to the highly scenic and steeply graded line known as the Rûbelandbahn. This line was experimentally electrified in 1965 by the East German DR (Deutsche Reichsbahn) as an isolated section of 25KV. AC for test purposes (the rest of the German system is 15KV.AC). The electric locomotives were specifically designed for heavy limestone freight trains which still run. Passenger traffic was always very light and by 2005 had largely been withdrawn. The tourist steam trains are being operated by an ex Prussian (KPEV) T20 (DRG Class 95) 2-102T No. 95-1027 restored earlier in the year. This class worked on the line in steam days replacing an earlier class of 2-10-2T built especially for the line and No 95-6676 one of the class of two, has also survived and has been cosmetically restored and is now preserved statically at Rûbeland Station. Again another very active year for NERHT (New Europe Railway Heritage Trust) with the previously postponed visit of the delegation from Belarus (the Children‘s Railway in Minsk and the Bch
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Railway Museum in Brest and Baranavichy) taking place in time for our 2010 AGM last Spring. The delegates accompanying visit programmes included The Great Central Railway at Loughborough, the National Railway Museum at York and narrow gauge lines in North Wales being the Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadog, the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarvon) and the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway also at Porthmadog and then on to Llangollen for the Llangollen Railway. Very grateful thanks are due to these organisations for their support in operating the programme and assisting with the hosting arrangements. Later in the year, a NERHT delegation attended the centenary celebrations in September of the mothballed Sibiu-Agnita narrow gauge railway in the Transylvania region of Romania, with the first steam train of the new preservation organisation, the Friends of Mocanita Association on the first 2km of restored track at Agnita station, the train comprising of 0-8-0T 740-243 and a partially restored coach. Very grateful thanks for the splendid organisation of the event are due to the Friends of Mocanita Association, the MET (Mihai Eminescu Trust) a UK Charity doing much good work in reviving rural activity in Romania and our member Bill Parker and his team at the Flour Mill. Plans for 2011 provisionally include another Latvian working group from the Gulbene-Aluksne Railway going to work on narrow gauge lines in North Wales and a delegation from the LVIV City Park in Ukraine who are looking to run tourist steam trains on a little used freight line running through the Park.
Fedecrail President David Morgan is welcomed to the Pioneer Railway in Budapest during the Fedecrail visit on 25th April 2010 Photo: John Crane
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Deputy President: Richard Bowker CBE Vice Presidents: Ian Allan OBE, Allan Garraway MBE, Brian Simpson MEP WEBSITE www.heritagerailways.com All enquires – please contact David Woodhouse MBE 8 Ffordd Dyfrig, Tywyn Gwynedd LL36 9EH Central Switchboard: 0800 756 5111, Fax: 0844 736 5887
Board Members Chairman:
David Morgan MBE TD, 12 Cheyne Gardens, London SW3 5QT Tel: 0800 756 5111 x901 Fax: 020 7222 6208 Email: david.morgan@hra.gb.com
Vice Chairman:
Mark Smith, 25 Peile Drive, Taunton TA2 7SZ. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x902 Email: mark.smith@hra.gb.com
Managing Director:
David Woodhouse MBE (address as above) Tel: 0800 756 5111 x224 Fax: 0845 834 0996 Email: david.woodhouse@hra.gb.com
Company Secretary:
Peter Ovenstone, 33 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AU. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x331 Fax: 0131 220 5886 Email: peter.ovenstone@hra.gb.com
Finance Director:
Andrew Goyns, 28 George Street, Altofts, Normanton, West Yorkshire WF6 2LT. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x320 Fax: 0845 834 0229 Email: andrew.goyns@hra.gb.com
Geoffrey Claydon CB 23 Baron‘s Keep, West Kensington, London W14 9AT. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x903 Fax: 020 7603 6405 Email (receive only) geoffrey.claydon@hra.gb.com John Crane
10 Hurdeswell, Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire OX29 8DH. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x702 fax: 01993 883384 Email: john.crane@hra.gb.com
Bill Hillier
19 Simon de Montfort Drive, Evesham, Worcestershire WR11 4NR. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x431 Email: bill.hillier@hra.gb.com
Paul Lewin
Station House, Minffordd, Penryndeudraeth, Gwynedd LL48 6HF. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x703, Email: paul.lewin@hra.gb.com
David Madden
52 Station Road, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8RG. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x221 fax: 01263 824924 Email: david.madden@hra.gb.com
Ian Smith
88 Westbury Place South, Hunslet, Leeds LS10 3DA. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x151 fax: 0113 276 0349 Email: ian.smith@hra.gb.com
Chris Smyth
7 Woodside, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 8BX. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x701 Email: chris.smyth@hra.gb.com
Steve Wood
15 Croftlands Drive, Ravenglass, Cumbria, CA18 1SJ. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x421 Fax: 01229 717080. Email: steve.wood@hra.gb.com
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HRA Officers and Advisers ** See Board details for addresses etc. not shown below HRA Ireland:
HRA Archivist: Archiving Adviser: ARPS Ltd Hon. Sec: Awards and Competitions:
Catering: Charities: Civil Engineering: Diesel & Electric, Press Officer, Sidelines Editor: Disabled Facilities: Education: Employment: Environmental: FEDECRAIL:
Fire Safety: Forestry: Historical: Information Papers Distribution: Internet: InterRail Passes (Corporate): Legal (UK and English Law): Legal (Scottish Law): Loco Boilers: Lottery Grants: Mechanical Engineering: Medical: Meetings Secretary: Membership:
Museum Accreditation: Museums: Overseas Liaison: Press (Railway): Public Relations: Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey/Carriage Restoration: Railway Operating: Rating: Real Estate: Safety: Specialist Adviser: Swindon Historic Castings: Taxation & VAT: Tramways:
Young Volunteers:
Chairman: Johnny Glendinning Crunagh 9 Highfields Court Lisburn Co Antrim BT28 3GF Tel / Fax: 028 9266 2181 mobile: 07803 239 123 Email: hra.ireland.chairman@hra.gb.com Vice Chairman: Clifton Flewitt, 6 Waterloo Avenue, Dublin 3, Republic of Ireland Tel: +353 1 8554081 Secretary: Richard Kenny, 55 Harmony Hill, Lisburn, Co. Antrim BT27 4ET. Tel: 02892 670050. Email: hra.ireland.secretary@hra.gb.com Steven Dyke, 2 Erica Court, Heswall, Wirral CH60 6TD Tel: 07826 623721 Email: steven.dyke@hra.gb.com Dr Dudley Fowkes, 18 Helpston Close, Westhouses, Alfreton DE55 5AX. Tel: 01773 830520. Email: archives@hra.gb.com Mike Stanbury, “Beechcroft‖, Station Road, Wakes Colne, Colchester, Essex CO6 2DS Tel: 01787 224724. Annual Awards: Ian Smith. ** Carriage & Wagon: Chris Smyth. ** Heritage Interpretation: Dr. Dudley Fowkes Publications: Clifford Jones, National Railway Heritage Awards: Robin Leleux, 12 Bilsdale Way, Baildon, Shipley, West Yorkshire BD17 5DG. Tel/fax: 01274 593235. Email: robin.leleux@hra.gb.com Vacant Nigel Ward, 9 New Brook Street, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 8DQ Tel: 01943 601173, Fax: 01943 604270 John Buxton, Cambrian Transport Ltd, Green Farm Country House, Falfield, Gloucestershire GL12 8DL Tel: 01454 260319 Email: civil.engineering@hra.gb.com John Crane. ** Andrew Braddock. ―ABOUT‖, 4 Borderside, Yateley, GU46 6LJ Tel: 01252 876295 Fax: 01252 879924 Vacant Robin Leleux, see above under National Railway Heritage Awards (employment@hra.gb.com) Tony Tomkins, Mount Pleasant House, Aspley Guise, Milton Keynes MK17 8JU. Tel: 01908 582544. Email: environmental@hra.gb.com HRA Representatives: Peter Ovenstone **, Steve Wood. ** European Co-ordinator: Livius Kooy, De Akker 25, 7481 GA Haaksbergen, The Netherlands. Tel/fax:+31 53 57 27357. Email: fedecrail@hra.gb.com Michael Tarran, 419 Halifax Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD6 2JY. Tel: 01274 608582 Email: fire.safety@hra.gb.com Gordon Heddon, 31 Lordsmill Road, Shavington, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 5HB. Tel: 01270 568706. Vacant Dr Alan Saunders, 31 Cedar Avenue, Malvern Link, Worcs WR14 2SF. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x423. Email: information.papers@hra.gb.com Mark Dewell, 55 Fairham Avenue, South Ockendon, Essex RM15 5ND. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x428. Email: webmaster@hra.gb.com Di Akers, "Neves" , Holmwood Close, Ryde, Isle of Wight PO33 3JJ. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x425. Email: inter-rail@hra.gb.com David Morgan. ** Andrew Boyd, Please make initial contact via Peter Ovenstone ** Contact David Woodhouse ** Jackie Cope, 30 Gledhow Drive, Oxenhope, Keighley, West Yorks BD22 9SA Tel: 0800 756 5111 x333. E-mail: lottery@hra.gb.com John Butt, The Old Stables, Grove Farm, Church Road, Stoke Hammond, Bucks Tel: 01525 270491. Email: (mechanical.engineering@hra.gb.com) Contact via Bill Hillier ** Bill Askew, 24 Grosvenor Road, Broxbourne, Herts EN10 7JG. Tel: 0800 756 5111 x427 E-Mail: bill.askew@hra.gb.com Private Members: Dr Alan Saunders (see Information Papers above) friends@hra.gb.com Corporate Members: Steve Wood ** (membership@hra.gb.com) Small Groups Liaison: Ian Smith ** (small.groups@hra.gb.com) Robin McDermott, Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust, Leader House, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 2LH. Tel: 07810 772293 E:mail: museum.accreditation@hra.gb.com Rob Shorland-Ball, 216 Mount Vale, York, North Yorkshire YO24 1DL. Tel + Fax: 01904 632751. Email: museums@hra.gb.com Richard Tapper, 39 Grange Court, Boundary Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 7PH. Tel: 01635 30464 Fax: 01635 35083 Ian Smith ** (railwaypress@hra.gb.com) Rupert Brennan Brown, 18 Holloway Road, Duffield, Derbyshire DE56 4FE. Tel: (Mobile) 07973 950923 Email: public.relations@hra.gb.com Michael Cope, 30 Gledhow Drive, Oxenhope, Keighley, West Yorks BD22 9SA Tel: 0800 756 5111 x333 E-mail: carriage.survey@hra.gb.com Operating & Safety Committee via Bill Hillier** Roger Wilkins, 1 Shaw Street, Worcester WR1 3QQ Tom Carr, 9 Corton Road, Norwich, NR1 3BP. Tel: 01603 612035. Email: real.estate@hra.gb.com Bill Hillier ** David Woodhouse ** Richard Gibbon, 202 Mount Vale, York YO24 1DL. Tel: 01904 631840. Email: specialist.adviser@hra.gb.com Andrew Goyns (Company Secretary)** Martin Bairstow Michael Crabtree, 31 Nevis Drive, Crewe, CW2 8UH. Tel: 01270 212778 Email: tramways.adviser@hra.gb.com John Shawcross, 10 Birch Avenue, Ambergate, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 2GL Tel: 01773 856116 Email: tramways.adviser@hra.gb.com Liz Fuller, 261 Lower Higham Road, Chalk, Gravesend, Kent DA12 2NP: Tel: 0800 756 5111 x424. Email: young.volunteers@hra.gb.com
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CODE OF CONDUCT 1.
INTRODUCTION. The Heritage Railway Association (HRA) has adopted the following Code of Conduct as good practice to be observed by all members. It is designed to ensure safe practice, to give reassurance to the public and enhance our reputation. It will also strengthen HRA in its relationship with The Office of Rail Regulation, H.M.Railway Inspectorate, Government Departments and other organisations.
2.
GENERAL.
2.1
All HRA members shall comply with all applicable legislation, statutory requirements and appropriate Codes of Practice.
2.2
In the event of a dispute between two or more HRA members they will, in the absence of a specific alternative, agree to mediation by the Association.
2.3
Members of HRA must not act in a manner which is likely to bring discredit to the Railway and Tramway Preservation Movement and should seek to ensure that members of their staff (whether paid or unpaid) act accordingly.
2.4
Members who wish to resign from HRA must indicate their intention to the Membership Secretary of the Association in writing and are asked to give their reasons for resigning.
2.5
If a member wishes to dispose of a locomotive, item of rolling stock or other major item of railway equipment, that member should make all possible effort to ensure that this is done in a way that will ensure the future existence and appropriate maintenance or conservation of the item(s) concerned. However, in the event of a member having the need to dispose of any such item for which no new recipient or location is known, the availability of any such item should be listed in the HRA newsletter. Sufficient time should then be allowed for any response to such notification before an item is broken up or otherwise disposed of.
2.6
All members will, at the written request of HRA, provide statistical and other information. All such requests shall be made on the clear understanding that all information provided will be treated as confidential and will be used only to compile overall national statistics.
2.7
Member organisations should seek to avoid offence being caused at re-enactment events, paying particular attention to the wearing and display of offensive and unsuitable military uniforms and insignia by, and the conduct and deportment, of individuals from their organisation and or within visiting re-enactment group.
3.
CONSTITUTIONS OF MEMBER ORGANISATIONS.
3.1
In the case of a member organisation whose own members are required, as a condition of membership, to make a subscription, there must be a written Constitution, a current copy of which is lodged with the Association. All such Constitutions should incorporate the following principles: a) The objects for which the organisation is formed. b) The arrangements for the appointment of the governing body. Information relating to its members` tenure of office should also be included. c) That all monies received shall be expended in the furtherance of its Objects that proper books and accounts shall be kept and that at regular intervals there will be laid before members a Statement of Income and Expenditure and a current Balance Sheet. d) The requirements of any legislation to which a member may be subject (e.g. The Companies Acts and, if applicable, the Charity Commissioners or their regional equivalent) to be observed at all times. e) That the books of accounts shall be examined by a suitably qualified and properly appointed person (who will be independent of its governing body) in accordance with any requirements of the Registrar of Companies or, if applicable, the Charity Commissioners or their respective regional equivalents. f)
That a General Meeting of members will be held at least once every calendar year for the election of Officers and members of the Governing Body, for the appointment or re-appointment of such members and
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for the acceptance of accounts which have been approved by the governing body and which have been audited if this is necessary in order to meet with statutory requirements. g) That in the event of a dissolution or winding up of the member organisation provision has been made for the proper disposal of the assets, including in accordance with paragraph 2.5 if appropriate. 3.2
HRA reserves the right to suggest amendments to a Constitution as submitted although this will not normally apply in the case of: a) Any body incorporated as either a Limited Company (whether by shares or guarantee), a Statutory Company or as an Industrial & Provident Society. b) Any organisation properly registered as a Charity or recognised as such by HM Revenue and Customs.
3.3
Members of the governing body of member organisations shall be over eighteen years of age in order to accept the legal responsibilities of office.
4.
FINANCIAL AND LEGAL.
4.1
In the case of an HRA member seeking donations from members of the public, it shall: a) State the objects for which the donations are required. b) Make arrangements for any person who has made a donation to the appeal to receive a copy of a Statement of Account relating to monies donated to the appeal upon payment of a reasonable charge if so requested.
4.2
Member organisations will legally limit the financial liability of their members or will draw attention to the fact that their potential liability is unlimited.
5.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS.
5.1
When members of the public are to be admitted to an HRA member`s premises, whether on payment of an entrance fee or not, an Insurance Policy must be taken out with a reputable underwriter, to cover any claim for any loss, damage, injury or death whether caused by accident or negligence or otherwise of the HRA member, its officers, staff (paid or unpaid), and its agents. Public Liability Insurance in respect of persons travelling on vehicles operated by an HRA member will be in accordance with directions issued by the Department for Transport or its regional equivalent (NB: The expression “Department for Transport” shall be taken to include any successor body to the Department with responsibility for the duties relating to insurance referred to in this paragraph).
5.2
When any person (paid or unpaid) is working on behalf of a HRA member that person should be covered by an Insurance Policy taken out with a reputable underwriter against loss, damage, injury or death arising out of this work for which the member, its officers, staff (paid or unpaid) and its agents may be legally liable or advise such persons that they are not so covered.
6.
RAILWAY AND TRAMWAY OPERATION. All Association members operating a railway or tramway will:
6.1
Maintain proper standards of operation and take adequate steps to ensure the safety of the public, staff and volunteers at all times.
6.2
Observe Standards and take due note of Guidance Notes which may be issued by HRA.
7.
VISITOR STANDARDS.
7.1
HRA members who operate a railway, tramway, steam centre, museum or any other facility which is open to the public must agree to observe the Association‘s Passenger/Visitor Charter and to arrange for public display whenever practicable.
7.2
HRA recommends that all members who have any facility which is open to the public should agree to adopt the National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions.
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MEETINGS AND EVENTS CALENDAR 2011 “BEST OF BRITAIN & IRELAND” - TRAVEL TRADE FORUM Wednesday 16th - Thursday 17th March 2011 HRA promotional stand for heritage railways, tramways and museums will be present at this major travel trade event at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. HRA SCOTTISH FORUM WEEKEND Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th March 2011 Event hosted by Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway. Business meeting at Leadhills Mining Museum, Dumfriesshire. Accommodation base at hotel at New Lanark world heritage site. HRA SPRING MIDWEEK MANAGEMENT FORUM + SEMINAR - CREWE Tuesday 29th (Seminar) - Wednesday 30th March 2011 (Forum) Crewe Alexandra FC, Carlsberg Suite, Seminar on ―Volunteer Recruitment‖ issues (Tues); General Meeting and Management Forum (Wed). Accommodation base Crewe Arms Hotel. FEDECRAIL CONFERENCE: “DRESDEN 2011” Thursday 7th - Wednesday 13th April 2011 Working Groups and opening reception at Verkehrsmuseum Thursday 7 th April Business Sessions and annual General Assembly Friday 8th April and Saturday 9th April; Tour programme of steam narrow gauge railways, tramways and museums in Saxony Saturday 9 th April until Wednesday 13th April. HRA PARLIAMENTARY RECEPTION Tuesday 21st. June 2011 Evening reception at the Palace of Westminster for member railways and museums and their local MPs, other Parliamentarians and invited guests. HRA AUTUMN WEEKEND GENERAL MEETING Saturday 24th - Sunday 25th September 2011 A Welsh narrow-gauge weekend with visits to Ffestiniog, Welsh Highland and Talyllyn Railways and celebrating 60th anniversary of the Talyllyn. Likely base in Porthmadog area. HRA AUTUMN MIDWEEK MANAGEMENT FORUM Tuesday 15th - Wednesday 16th November 2011 Seminar (Tues); General Meeting and Management Forum (Wed); Returning to our 2010 venue, West Bromwich Albion FC, The Hawthorns, West Bromwich For enquiries and booking details for HRA events, please contact:Bill Askew (HRA Meetings Organiser) Email: bill.askew@hra.gb.com Tel: 0800 756 5111 x 42724. 24 Grosvenor Road, Broxbourne, Herts EN10 7JG Rear cover top Ex Southern Railway U class 1638 waits to haul the wine and dine train on the Bluebell Railway on 11th September 2010 conveying the HRA party. Photo: John Crane Rear cover bottom Volks Electric Railway car number 8 works the HRA special train on 13th September 2010. Photo: John Crane
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