Preserved (and main line) steam: coal supply 2023

[railfan99]

I did a search but couldn't find this topic had been recently discussed.

The last mainstream media I could find was dated April 2022. Similarly, the HRA doesn't appear to have said anything more in the latter half of 2022.

Has the supply of suitable coal for your main and branch line preserved steam locos, whether operated by entities such as Steam Dreams or largely volunteer preserved railways, been resolved for 2023?

Some operators may have a stock of the energy source, but when they run out, from where is the coal to be sourced?

 

[D Williams]

This is the "elephant in the room" regarding the operation of steam locomotives. Whilst hundreds of thousands of pounds are thrown at major overhauls and new builds there may not be suitable fuel for their operation in the near future. The last Welsh pit is sending out some very poor stuff if the last load is a quality standard, the eco coals are very unpleasant for the crew due to the fumes and are very good at sending showers of sparks up the chimney, spark arrestor or not. The current cost is £500 a ton and this, especially if a loco hire fee is added and taking into account the spiralling cost of everything else, makes it uneconomic to operate on many days at the shoulders of the main season when in previous times the profit was already less than £400. When the 2023 timetables are published it will be interesting to see how heritage railways respond to this latest problem.

 

[tnxrail]

This is the "elephant in the room" regarding the operation of steam locomotives. Whilst hundreds of thousands of pounds are thrown at major overhauls and new builds there may not be suitable fuel for their operation in the near future. The last Welsh pit is sending out some very poor stuff if the last load is a quality standard, the eco coals are very unpleasant for the crew due to the fumes and are very good at sending showers of sparks up the chimney, spark arrestor or not. The current cost is £500 a ton and this, especially if a loco hire fee is added and taking into account the spiralling cost of everything else, makes it uneconomic to operate on many days at the shoulders of the main season when in previous times the profit was already less than £400. When the 2023 timetables are published it will be interesting to see how heritage railways respond to this latest problem.

Operations may be affected by heat in summer again where more diesel were in use this year. May save some coal but no good if your lacking in locos and the cost of diesel at the time.

 

[Dave S 56F]

Operations may be affected by heat in summer again where more diesel were in use this year. May save some coal but no good if your lacking in locos and the cost of diesel at the time.

I would just like to add and ask a important question regarding the matter of future use of imported coal and ovoids bio coal etc. There is a new law what comes into effect in May 2023 supposedly disallowing people to burn coal on open fires stoves and AGA,S I would just like to know that if this new law affects domestic coal burning to reduce particulate emissions could the law possibly also apply to the heritage railway sector?

 

[Ashley Hill]

There is a new law what comes into effect in May 2023 supposedly disallowing people to burn coal on open fires stoves and AGA,S

Does that include signal box stoves? I hope not but then it’s not a domestic building.

 

[Titfield]

This is the "elephant in the room" regarding the operation of steam locomotives. Whilst hundreds of thousands of pounds are thrown at major overhauls and new builds there may not be suitable fuel for their operation in the near future. The last Welsh pit is sending out some very poor stuff if the last load is a quality standard, the eco coals are very unpleasant for the crew due to the fumes and are very good at sending showers of sparks up the chimney, spark arrestor or not. The current cost is £500 a ton and this, especially if a loco hire fee is added and taking into account the spiralling cost of everything else, makes it uneconomic to operate on many days at the shoulders of the main season when in previous times the profit was already less than £400. When the 2023 timetables are published it will be interesting to see how heritage railways respond to this latest problem.

Swanage Railway has already announced it will be operating fewer services in 2023 due to current market conditions.

Apologies Mr Moderator I cant find where that has been said (probably in one of the Chairmans Musings sent by email to volunteers) but it has also been cited as the reason why one of the Bulleids owned by Southern Locos is not returning to Swanage after overhaul.

https://southern-locomotives.co.uk/News/news.html

 

[Teaboy1]

Traditional house coal now difficult to obtain and traditional loco coal now virtually impossble to obtain. The war in Ukraine and the sanction against any Russian interests have effe ctively put the nail in the coffin lid on imported Russian loco grade coal. Imminent closure of last Welsh pit would end native UK coal supply and I am sure we all have seen the news concerning the meer announcment of plans to open a new mine for steel-making coal at Workington. Not sure if this coal is suitable for loco use or if it is just fine powder muck like power station grade fuel is?? Coal for coke production was always fine washed Nuts no bigger than 1/2 inch diameter I recall from my early days at Monckton Coke & Chemical. It to has been wiped off the face of the earth like so many UK producers.

Yes it is now quite a large 'elephant in the room' and one the heritage movement are going to face in future. I guess its going to have to be ECO fuel wether we/the crew like it or not or we switch to oil burners on medium/heavy fuel oil in the bunker.

Home fires likely to be Smokeless or Ovoids or Log burners . The legislation I can find is basically;

"Since 1st May 2021 sales of bagged traditional house coal in volumes under two cubic meters have been unlawful, Traditional house coal can still be purchased from an Approved Coal Merchant but from 1st May 2023 it will no longer be available from them either.

"Manufactured solid fuel will still be available post-1st May 2023 from retail outlets and coal merchants in England."

So sounds expensive whatever happens but the Ovoids derivatives still available [where as tradional coal not available] in future as are Anthracite nuggets etc. Clean Air Act and Smokeless Zones from 1980's still in force. Rest easy you Signal Box hermits, you can always burn your pension books !!

 

[paul1609]

I think that the reality is that the majority of us that still use solid fuel for our heating had been using an Anthracite based product for many years regardless of whether we were in a smokeless zone or not. House Coal and indeed Loco Coal fed in to my back boiler burnt so quickly you more or less had to fire it continuously, whereas a fire made of Maxibrite or similar will burn for around 9 hours on a low setting.
House coal in recent years had mostly been sold in supermarkets and garages to homes for flame effect fires in otherwise gas centrally heated homes.
I was chatting to my coal merchant and he reckons that the May 2021 regulations have been neutral for his business.
My railway is using CPLs Eco Coal (H) which is the second gen version as well as BIO Diesel but that's really part of our move to a more sustainable future we could still buy traditional Coal if we so wished, its available from a variety of non Russian sources.

 

[railfan99]

In Australia, I have shares in multiple thermal coal companies, but am unsure which if any have coal suitable for steam locos.

However multinational Glencore with Korean steelmaker POSCO operate the large Ravensworth mine near Singleton, New South Wales, Oz that has suitable coal.

All thermal coal companies in Oz are receiving many enquiries from Europe asking for product, and one I know of now derives nine per cent of its revenue from sales to that continent, against one per cent a couple of years ago. So demand from Europe (in A$ terms) is up 900 per cent for that listed company, Yancoal. However thermal coal is in huge demand in Asia, so the vast majority tends to be precommitted.

35000 tonnes per annum used by UK heritage railways is a small quantity compared to the total thermal coal shipped from Newcastle NSW each year - 200 million tonnes, which all arrives by rail - but if you can't obtain suitable material from one of the 'Stans' or perhaps Colombia or strike-bound South Africa, perhaps Oz may be the nation to which you Brits turn.