A national site would cost a lot of money which many lines do not have ,a gang recently made off with 200 chairs from the far end of the Chinnor line we were storing them for the Risborough extension.The coach needed a great deal of work but could have been restored sometime in the future.Hopefully the villagers will shop these evil people and justice will seem to be done.
I would think there's a very good chance they might well not be locals.
I appreciate that a national storage site would be pricey, what I'm thinking here is just a bit of joined up thinking, some unity. If there was a national federation of heritage lines, there ought to be enough of a mass presence to get various things organised. One possibility would be for lines with sufficient storage space to have those areas made secure. Another option may be to look at the use of MOD locations for storage, in the same way that mainline stock is often stored. Or even the use of main line depot locations which may be mothballed or just have slack space available.
There would be many other possibilities here. Stock movement by road for example, a common requirement, could be undertaken by an 'in house' haulage operation rather than by contractors. A modest pool fleet of low loaders and a few strategic qualified volunteer drivers wouldn't be beyond reach. Major strides could be made in restoration, by the creation of specialist centres at different locations. So certain lines with sufficient workshop capabilities could dedicate part of their operation to specific areas of work or traction types, rather than similar equipment and capability being replicated numerous times across the country. Work requiring the use of outside firms could be achieved more cost effectively by using one cetralised tendering mechanism for all stock. And so on, the potential is endless.
From a patronage point of view, a major advantage would be to develop an 'annual pass', product giving access to all or a chosen combination of lines. This would increase footfall, bringing regular visits from passholders and encouraging them to venture to lines they may not otherwise consider. It would also open up a regular, steady revenue stream, split between participating lines. A nationally co-ordinated programme of events could be developed and advertised, charters and railtours could be operated between different lines, even overnight 'tours' visiting several locations would be a possibility. 'Bolt-on' sales could be made for passholders visiting lines not covered by their pass, or for additional non-inclusive things like charters and specials, helping to fill seats, as well as revenue income from providing attractive catering options of a good national standard, well stocked gift shops, and suchlike.
A national organisation could also look to nurture the next generation of preservationists by working with schools, colleges and universities to offer placements or apprenticeships for those studying mechanics or engineering, perhaps even developing dedicated courses where appropriate. This could extend to adult tuition also; you can go to a college now and study classic car restoration, why not offer taster courses in basic steam engineering or permanent way maintenance, aimed at encouraging those who might be curious to come to their local heritage line and perhaps end up volunteering.
We have an ever growing preservation scene in the UK, indeed some might say it's getting crowded. Sadly, the movement will not sustain such growth unless there is some radical thinking about how to build and maintain the general level of interest. Having so many lines all competing with one another makes little sense, however the foundations are there for a truly united national movement. It could, perhaps, be founded or supported by the NRM, maybe with a 'celeb' patron like Pete Waterman to help further connect with the public. It really is well worth thinking about, for a great many reasons!
