18 January 2024 – The Heritage Railway Association by Steve Oates, Chief Executive, HRA
Steve began with a short tour around heritage railways (HRs), defining what constitutes a heritage railway and where it all began around 400 years ago circa 1604 with waggon ways, progressing to wooden tracking, then iron plates on wooden rails to improve durability, to the first cast iron rails developed in the 1790s. All these developments were to aid the movement of goods such as coal whilst along the way, we were introduced to Richard Trevithick and his first steam locomotive in the very early 1800s. 1756 heralded the world’s first statutory railway, ie granted by Act of Parliament, for hauling coal in the Leeds area. The Swansea Mumbles was the first fare paying passenger railway from March 1807 – horsedrawn at this period. Then, of course, we come to Robert Stephenson and the Stockton & Darlington Railway – the world’s first loco hauled public railway which has its 200th anniversary next year. But Steve made the point that we should not forget the previous 200 years that brought us to that point.
So what is a heritage railway? The movement began 73 years ago in May 1951 with the Talyllyn Railway (narrow gauge) and the successful efforts of Tom Rolt to keep it open and running; closely followed by the Ffestiniog Railway (also narrow gauge) which was initially run entirely on volunteer efforts; whilst the Bluebell Railway is widely recognised as the first standard gauge heritage railway. The movement has built up from a more informal get together in 1962 which became the forerunner of the Heritage Railway Association (HRA). We were directed to the ORR definition of a heritage railway – quoted below:
“Minor and heritage railways are 'lines of local interest', museum railways or tourist railways that preserve, recreate or simulate railways of the past. or demonstrate or operate historical or special types of motive power or rolling stock.”
HRs are important to the UK for a number of reasons not least to the economy, tourism and as part of the nation’s heritage and Steve provided some statistics on line mileage and passenger miles. They include tramways, cliff railways and the Volke electric railway in Brighton as well as the Isle of Man horse drawn trams that operate on rails. The great variety of HRs offers a whole range of film locations including the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct well known from the Harry Potter films, Grosmont on the North York Moors Railway for Heartbeat and the Bluebell Railway used as locations in both Downton Abbey and The Railway Children. There are many more examples with some now globally famous. Many of these HRs have museums and centres of excellence for learning about our heritage from steam to the present day. It is about preserving our heritage so that it survives, prospers, provides education and brings it to life with experiences and memories. To give an idea of the extent, Steve noted that there are around 13 million visitors each year between all the HRs from the smallest to the larger operations, from narrow gauge to standard gauge to tramways and cliff railways. It is for everyone – from the oldest to the youngest, not just enthusiasts, but for people seeking a ‘nice day out’ as well as those who want to learn more.
There are about 22,000 volunteers and approximately 4000 paid staff – so a good number of significant businesses and employers becoming more and more diverse, and perhaps more importantly, providing employment in rural areas with few other opportunities. Steve himself is in a paid job but is also a volunteer on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and remains a Trustee there. There are various set-ups from trusts to individuals and much in between and Steve went on to provide more statistics on miles of track, restored Victorian Railway Stations, steam locomotives, diesel locomotives, carriages, wagons and how the UK has more of this than any other country. The heritage aspect is also enhanced by locomotives like the Flying Scotsman, and tours on the national rail network using heritage locomotives – both steam and diesel.
Having set the scene with past history and the size of the current HR movement, showing its value today for education, history and the economy, there is a need for professional management and professional safety standards. From just one small railway 73 years ago, the sector has come a long way with substantial asset values, and from two early ‘trade associations’ the Railway Preservation Association and the Association of Railway Preservation Societies, we now have the Heritage Railway Association to protect and grow the sector. The 2023 board consists of 11 non-executive directors with Sir Peter Hendy listed as Chairman. There are three paid staff including Steve, and the rest are voluntary. There is much that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ covering all sorts of queries eg unregulated energy, dispute mediation, red diesel, funding grants, planning amongst others. The HRA provides industry support and guidance including Guidance Notes, advice on employment, safety, operational and safety seminars, and online training on ORR and RAIB issues. It goes much further with communications both internal and external for the wider public and deals with environmental concerns, facts, figures and politics. The last one includes influencing, lobbying and collaboration and having to work with all four of the UK nations. Then there are the local authorities, regulations, national tourism bodies and the rest.
There has been much concern about continuing use of coal and whether this would be allowed going forwards so Steve provided considerable detail about how the HRA has dealt with this for the HRs. Overall coal consumption in the UK is still higher than many realise and the quantity required by the HRs is a tiny fraction of that use, with HRs consuming around 26,000 tons and all steam heritage consuming a total of about 35,000 tons annually. That is against coal imports into the UK of between 6 and 7 million tons every year. Coal is widely viewed as a dirty fuel and the HR needs a consistent supply of quality material. This is a difficult topic as there are environmental issues with importing supplies rather than home production. So the HRA has been advocating for HRs and the on-going and future use of coal, communication and partnership, ensuring environmental policy and practice are properly implemented as well as producing sustainable business plans. Then there is research into alternative cleaner fuels with on-going trials coupled with seeking funding for further developments in this field. All a little ironic when the government then goes ahead and grants further oil exploration licences in the North Sea!
From coal Steve moved on to operations and safety and how the HRs match to the bigger picture with a relatively small percentage of track but a higher percentage of enforcement orders. But the HRs need to comply and this is another area where the HRA can help, working together with the HRs and the ORR to make improvements and ensure the right practices and procedures are in place.
Steve introduced Railway 200 – a celebration of 200 years of railways starting with Rocket and the Stockton & Darlington Railway, to take place next year in 2025. This is where we can celebrate the history and what railways have brought to the UK and the rest of the world, from standardised time, foodstuffs – particularly perishables - becoming widely available, industrialisation, travel etc. As he said, it should be a celebration with a proper legacy. There are opportunities and benefits adding economic, educational and social value.
Questions and answers after the break included the RAIB and ORR and West Coast – which turns out not to be a member of the HRA with Steve confirming that they too need to get their safety issues properly resolved. Other questions included heritage rolling stock and exemptions for their use on the national network; grant funding from the national lottery; managing heritage signalling systems with increased traffic; the development of the HR movement – successes/failures/what might have been and a final question on the Lostwithiel Branch.
The vote of thanks highlighted a very interesting presentation where we all learned a lot on what the HRA is and what is does. Our thanks to Steve for an excellent evening.