Rail Express  |  October 2018
THE National Railway Museum occupies something of a tricky position. On the one hand, it is there to collect and preserve key items that allow the story of railways – which is fundamentally linked to the social and economic history of Britain as a whole – to be told to current and future generations.
On the other hand, to do so means necessarily including some of the most important locomotives and units, which leads to demands from enthusiasts to get them running again. After all, who wouldn’t want to see and hear the likes of pioneer Class 40 No. D200 or the ‘Deltic’ prototype in action once more. However, operating locos costs money, needs manpower, and puts the vehicle – a valuable museum piece, don’t forget - at risk.
The NRM gives a fascinating insight into its position in our feature starting on page 14. It’s fair to say the museum took a lot of flak over the decade-long, £4 million restoration of celebrity steam loco Flying Scotsman, which only added to the calls for similar treatment of its diesels and electrics.
However, Scotsman is a special case. Of the 750,000 visitors the museum gets every year, the vast majority are non-enthusiasts and, with the best will in the world, can any of us really argue that any other loco could have the same publicity value that No. 4472 does? And, this loco aside, the NRM’s diesels and electrics arguably fare better than the steam collection, with half a dozen or so currently in operational condition.
Don’t take our word for it, however. Read what they have to say this month and then let us know your thoughts.
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Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Rail Express October 2018.