European Federation of Museum & Tourist Railways Fédération Européenne des Chemins de Fer Touristiques et Historiques Europäische Föderation der Museums- und Touristikbahnen

N E W S L E T T E R Number 24 Winter 2006

Editor - Rédacteur - Redakteur John Fuller, 261 Lower Higham Road, Chalk, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 2NP, UK Telephone + Facsimile: +44 (0)1474 362208 ; Mobile: +44 (0)7785 250571 Email: [email protected]

Editorial Board John Fuller (English) - details above Bruno Rebbelmund (German) - Westerwaldstraße 7 - D-46145 Oberhausen Telephone: +49-208-6351569 Facsimile: +49-208-667443 Email: [email protected]. Olivier Jaubert (French) – Tel : +33 1 46 91 09 69 Mobile : +33 6 73 87 66 64 Email [email protected]

FEDECRAIL Contacts: Our website can be found at www.fedecrail.org Council Members and Officers can be contacted by email in the format »name »@fedecrail.org (as shown for the editor at the top of this page) Postal Contact should be to the FEDECRAIL Secretary :- Livius Kooy, De Akker 25, 7481 GA Haaksbergen, The Netherlands. Telephone (and Facsimile by request only) : +31 53 5727357 Email : [email protected] Contact details for the Conference Organiser and Treasurer are included in booking forms and renewal forms, as necessary.

Council Members David MORGAN (UK) President, Heimo ECHENSPERGER (D) Vice President, Jacques DAFFIS (F) Vice President, Guido ROSSI (I), Sten ERSON-WESTER (S), Livius KOOY (NL) Secretary, Rik DEGRUYTER (B) Treasurer.

Officers Peter OVENSTONE (UK) Conference Organiser; John FULLER (UK), Editor/ Conference Finance Manager; Bruno REBBELMUND (D), Editor(German), Olivier JAUBERT(F), (Editor(French); Keith TWYMAN (UK), Membership Secretary

The FEDECRAIL Newsletter is published by and is the copyright © of the European Federation of Tourist Railways and Museums. We thank photographers for permission to publish their work without fee. The views expressed within the FEDECRAIL Newsletter are not necessarily those of the FEDECRAIL Council or Officers. All contributions are of a voluntary nature. Translations are by the School of Language and European Studies, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.

Banking: Fortis Bank (Belgium), Warandeberg 3, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgium (IBAN: BE58 0012 0468 9779: BIC: GEBABEBB) (Quote name as reference please). NO CHEQUES OR MONEY ORDERS Finance Correspondence to FEDECRAIL Treasurer, Stationsplein, B-9990 Maldegem. (Front cover photograph: Fedecrail / SteamRail.Net Conference special en route to Kalavyrta:23 May 2006: Photo: Gordon Rushton)

INDEX

Editorial 1

The President’s Report 2

Fedecrail Conference 2007 – Odense & Copenhagen, Denmark 3

Denmark – A Preview 5

And A Look Back To Last Year - Conference 2006 In The Footsteps Of The Gods (Part 2 Athens & Peleponnese) 6

New Guidelines For Tourist And Historic Railways In Italy 7

Notes From The Secretary After 46 Council Meetings 7

Visit From The Island Of Sodor In Krefeld 8

The 2nd World Steam and Tourist Train Congress – Business Sessions 9

In Search Of Fray Bentos - The World Steam And Tourist Train Congress 2006 9

Switching Between The Two Centuries 13

Andrij Bassarab 1972-2006 13

Gulbene - Aluksne Banitis (Latvia) Celebrates Fifth Anniversary 14

EDITORIAL As I write this in the last days before Christmas at this season of goodwill, I look back on a busy year for your Volunteer Council Members and Officers. This leads me on to thoughts of what a volunteer really is? Is it someone who wants to help others, or perhaps someone who is bored with nothing to do in their spare time, or perhaps there is something in their lives that makes them "volunteer" because not to do so risks losing benefits of some kind.

For myself, I think that it was something that was instilled in me by my parents when I was a child. The idea of doing activities to help has always been there, whether it be people less fortunate than oneself, or things that would not happen unless there was volunteer input. Looking around at friends throughout Europe and further afield that I have made across our diverse mobile heritage movement, I recognise a common feeling that crosses borders, races and creeds, joining us in a love and dedication to "make a difference" for railway heritage.

Sometimes those of us in this category look down on others that perhaps we think of as being "less dedicated". How many times have we thought that there is a league table of volunteering based on how many times a person turns up to help on our railway, or museum? When we say "Oh! I have not seen you around for a while" do we ever stop to think perhaps that person has very little spare time and is actually giving a much greater proportion of it than we are? Perhaps they have to work every hour that they can to earn enough money to live and the occasional hour is all they have for themselves to do things they want. This comes home to me each time I visit projects in the former iron curtain countries where the few volunteers give so much, but are existing in an economy where many people are having difficulty earning enough to keep themselves and their families.

What then about the third category; those who are persuaded into helping our projects by a legislative framework that seeks to punish them for some misdemeanour, or to make their work with us a condition of receiving state benefits of some kind? Are these volunteers, giving freely of their time, or a form of press gang? Do we treat them as volunteers or do we perhaps seek to punish them ourselves by giving them the worst jobs that the rest of our volunteers do not want? It was a recent suggestion from our own UK government that students were to be "persuaded" to volunteer by making part of their grant payment conditional on having undertaken so many hours of "volunteer work" that also made me wonder about the "volunteer". Having said that, on my railway at Sittingbourne in Kent, we have had the benefit of

1 community service "volunteers" for many years. All come because they are forced to as part of their punishment for some transgression, but we try to made them welcome and to treat them as part of the rest of our volunteer team. Some think that we are mad to enjoy working for nothing and do not want to know, some are surprised to be treated as colleagues and some even come to enjoy being part of our team and stay on with us after their "forced labour" period is ended. Some time back we had some problems with vandalism, but it soon ended and we heard that some of our community service "volunteers" had deal with the vandals who had damaged work that our "volunteers" had done while serving their time with us! Fortunately, the police did not become involved that time!

So what is the answer to the question of what a volunteer really is? I think the answer is probably as diverse as our worldwide heritage industry, or as diverse as the people we meet every time we come to our railway, or our museum. The one unalterable fact is that without volunteers of every sort, whatever continent they live in, we would lose an inestimable part of our culture. Let us all at this time of the year look forward to 2007 in the spirit of friendship, recognising fellow volunteers of all sorts as well as our colleagues who are lucky enough to get paid to work to conserve our mobile cultural heritage. Build bridges to link with those who we have fallen out with in the past year; make tracks forward to bring new people in and steam onward to conserve the culture and international social history that makes railways a world network. From Azerbaijan to Zambia railways are a common language across peoples.

With best wishes to you all for 2007. John Fuller Editor

Email Messages We are always happy to receive email messages, especially those with news for this publication! However, with the world-wide spam problems, can I ask for you to take a few simple precautions to try and prevent important messages being mistaken for spam and being deleted before they are read. Apart from having a current virus checker on your PC, please make sure that the Title of your message is completed with something meaningful that tells us it is about Fedecrail or is from a member. “Document”, “Hi”, or “Urgent Message” are candidates for immediate deletion as they are widely used by spammers. Remember the recipient may not recognise your name and the first rule has to be “If you do not recognise it, delete it before opening”

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Our trips to Greece and the AGM in Volos now seem long ago but we still await the transcriptions of the papers presented in May. The student occupation of Thessaly University has not helped, although Manos Vougiakos very loyally defends it against all criticism. Despite all the aggravation caused by the change of dates and the University’s reluctance (or inability) to confirm arrangements in writing, I think that our Greek trip has some magical quality about it.

Helped by Manos’ light-touch humour and ready smile, the conference and visit programme developed into an instructive and thoroughly enjoyable experience. In particular, the arrangements with OSE the Greek railway operator, were perfectly organised by George Nathanas, who also acted as our guide throughout our tour of the Peleponnese. George is a larger than life character who is a fund of knowledge and he has written an excellent book about the Pelion Railway, now translated into English.

Yet, had it not been for this visit, I doubt whether I would have been aware of the diverse nature of Greek railway history and preservation. This is true, I suspect, of many other countries and one of the reasons I am keen to publish a FEDECRAIL guide to our museum and tourist railways and to develop a FEDECRAIL “passport” to enable volunteers and members of a FEDECRAIL member railway to visit others in foreign countries at a discount.

We held our last FEDECRAIL council meeting at the Basque Railway Museum in Azpeitia. What a gem, and yet I had heard nothing about it before our French Vice President, Jacques Daffis, started to plan our visit. The museum operates a 5km line (with plans to extend) and also owns several operational tramcars as well as a London trolleybus(!), in addition to several ancient steam locomotives.

The reason why FEDECRAIL Council chose to meet there was to meet up with delegates representing museum railways throughout Spain. Sadly, the Iberian Association (AIMFETUR) set up by Carles Salmeron, whose own museum suffered from a multitude of problems, only met once and never got off the ground. Clearly, this was totally unacceptable which is why contact was made with several of our Spanish colleagues to encourage them to co-operate under a national umbrella and by holding both meetings at the same time in the same place taking the opportunity to explain the role and functions of FEDECRAIL. As a result, it seems that they will be starting anew, a move which I wholeheartedly welcome.

2

The January council meeting has been fixed for Belgium to enable council members to meet the notary tasked with implementing the recent changes to our constitution. It will also enable us to finalise the arrangements for the launch of the Riga Charter planned to take place in Brussels on Wednesday 24th January. This will take the form of a press conference in the Belgian Railway Museum in Brussels Noord Station in the afternoon and a reception kindly hosted by Brian Simpson, MEP, in the European Parliament in the evening.

This visit will also afford us an opportunity to chase up the final payments due under the Steamrail.Net programme from the European Commission. Manos’ irrepressible sense of humour almost had me believing that this was the fault of the participating partners but I have now come to recognise when he is pulling my leg. We intend to give him every support in rattling the cage of the Commission or blasting the University out the water.

A toute vapeur. DAVID T. MORGAN President

FEDECRAIL CONFERENCE 2007 – ODENSE & COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Thursday 26/04/07 to Wednesday 02/05/07

Programme Overview: We return to the traditional format for our conference this year with the business sessions starting our programme. With the full support of the Danish National Railway Museum and the co-operation of the heritage railways, tramway and museums across Denmark we have an excellent programme that should not be missed. Odense being the home of Hans Christian Andersen as well as the National Railway Museum has great attractions for the visitor.

Thursday 26/04/07: Odense: Evening Welcome Reception and Visit to the National Railway Museum (adjacent to Odense Station).

Friday 27/04/07: Odense: Business Sessions at Mødecenter Conference Centre, Odense. Our conference theme this year is “Looking Outwards - Working with Heritage Partners” with speakers from Europa Nostra and the International Association of Transport Museums (IATM). Full day Partners’ Programme of Odense City sights. Evening Visit to Sydfyenske Veteranjernbahn, Fǻborg for steam train ride to Korinth followed by Dinner.

Saturday 28/04/07: Odense: Morning: Business Sessions and FEDECRAIL General Assembly at Mødecenter Conference Centre, Odense. Morning: Partners’ Programme visit to Funen Village open-air Museum. Afternoon: Visit to Egeskov Castle and Grounds with Transport Museums followed by Dinner.

Sunday 29/04/07: Full Day tour to Jutland: Travel from Odense with the DSB Museum Train (Diesel and Steam Haulage) to Randers. Change there on to second Museum Train for journey to Allingǻbro and return to Randers. Visit DSB Museum Train West Depot and Workshops. Join steam train of Mariager-Handest Veteranjernbane for journey to Mariager and return to Randers. Re-join main DSB Museum Train for return to Odense with dinner on train.

Monday 30/04/07: Full Day tour to Island of Sealand: Travel by coach (with our luggage) from Odense across the Great Belt to Slagelse to visit Vestjællands Veterantog railway for a steam train ride to Høng. Continue by coach to Skjoldenæsholm to visit the Danish Tram Museum (with tram rides). After lunch our coach takes us to Hvalsø for a steam train ride to Roskilde depot and workshops, the headquarters of DSB Museum Train East and then on to the Hedeland Veteranbane for a visit and ride on their narrow gauge steam train. Our coach then takes us on to Copenhagen for the night.

Tuesday 01/05/07: Full Day tour from Copenhagen to North Sealand: Travel by service train from Copenhagen Central Station to Græsted. Visit Nordsjællands Veterantog with Museum Train ride to Elsinore. Return to Copenhagen to visit the Danish Post & Telegraph Museum which has rail themed displays. Dinner in the Museum’s Roof-top Restaurant with views over the City

3 Wednesday 02/05/07: Full Day tour in Copenhagen / Elsinore Area: As normal, this day will enable delegates who need to return home early to break out for afternoon / evening flights from Copenhagen Airport. A steam train ride with the DSB Museum Train East takes us from Central Station to Elsinore where we visit the Danish Technical Museum. Lunch is on the international ferry to Helsingborg and we return to Elsinore to visit the Danish Maritime Museum at Kronborg Castle with a visit “behind the scenes” to their store. Our special steam train brings us back to Copenhagen in the early evening where the conference officially ends.

Thursday 03/05/07: Additional Programme – Day tour to Southern Sweden: We leave Copenhagen by train for a day tour of southern Sweden, returning in the evening. The details are not yet settled.

BUSINESS PROGRAMME: The venue for the business sessions will be the Mødecenter (Meeting Centre), Odense which is about 10 minutes walk from the conference hotels. It is planned to provide transport for transfers. The conference business sessions will occupy the full day on Friday 27/04/07 and the General Assembly and reports from Working Groups will take up Saturday morning 28/04/07.

CONFERENCE FEES: The price for the full 6 ½ day conference programme will be in the region of €580 per person, including most meals. As in previous years prices for individual days will be available on request to the Conference Organiser for delegates not wishing to participate in the full programme. A partners’ programme will be available for the full day of Friday 27/04/07 and the morning of Saturday 28/04/07.

ACCOMMODATION: ODENSE: The main conference hotel will be the *** Hotel Ansgar which is about 500 metres from the main station and the railway museum. The **** Clarion Hotel Plaza provides superior accommodation and is a few metres nearer to the station and adjacent to the Ansgar. An overflow *** hotel, the Comfort Hotel Windsor is about 200 metres from the Ansgar. ** economy accommodation is not recommended in Odense as the prices are almost identical to the *** hotels but the standard is much poorer.

ACCOMMODATION : COPENHAGEN *** and **** hotels will be available near to the main station. Details are provided on the hotel booking form.

TRAVEL: It is recommended that delegates use flights to Copenhagen Airport. There are economy flights to regional airports to the west of Odense (Esbjerg, Billund, Aarhus) but the travel time to Odense is either the same, or longer than that from Copenhagen. Also as the conference finishes in Copenhagen your return flight would conveniently be from there anyway.

From Copenhagen Airport station (within the airport terminal) there is an hourly direct train service to Odense with a second hourly connection available by changing at Copenhagen Central Station. The journey time is approximately 90 minutes. There are frequent trains from the airport to central Copenhagen as well as from the airport across the new bridge to Sweden.

Travel by train throughout to Odense is possible from many countries of Europe. The international trains from the south stop at Odense on their way to Copenhagen, although when booking tickets you should remember that your return journey will be from Copenhagen, not Odense, so it may be more economic to book a return ticket to Copenhagen. Our Scandinavian delegates will be fully away of the potential for through train travel from Norway and Sweden.

(1) Full Programme (Thu 26/04/07 to Wed 02/05/07) Outward flights: Recommended that your scheduled arrival time at Copenhagen Airport should be no later than about 15.00 on Thursday 26/04/07 to allow time for travel to Odense in time for Registration at the Museum from 17.30. Return flights: Flights on Thursday 03/05/07 or, if necessary late afternoon / evening of Wednesday 02/05/07. Train travel: Arrival in Odense no later than about 17.00 on Thursday 26/04/07. Return departures on Thursday 03/05/07 or, if necessary late afternoon / evening of Wednesday 02/05/07.

(2) Full Programme + Additional Programme (Thursday 26/04/07 to Thursday 03/05/07) Outward flights / trains as above. Return flights / trains: Friday 04/05/07 or very late evening Thursday 03/05/07.

4

(3) Short Period Participation Contact the Conference Team for advice on appropriate travel times if you are joining us for only part of the programme.

BOOKING DEADLINES: It assists us greatly, particularly in respect of hotel bookings, if completed forms are returned to the Organiser as soon as possible. Please include any special requirements (Catering, walking impairment etc.) on your form so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Please try to ensure that we receive your Hotel Forms by SATURDAY 24 MARCH 2007 and Conference Booking Forms by TUESDAY 10th APRIL 2007.

ENQUIRIES / FURTHER INFORMATION Please contact the Conference Team, Peter Ovenstone or John Fuller.

Postal Contact: Peter Ovenstone, Fedecrail I.V.Z.W., John Fuller, Fedecrail I.V.Z.W., 33 Palmerston Place 261 Lower Higham Road Edinburgh Chalk, Gravesend, Kent EH12 5AU DA12 2NP UK UK Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)131 225 1486 Tel: +44 (0)1474 352400 Fax: +44 (0)131 220 5886 Fax (Not after 22.00 UK time): +44 (0)1474 362208 Mobile: +44 (0)7740 289702 Mobile: +44 (0)7785 250571

FEDECRAIL Web Site: News updates regarding the conference arrangements will be published and also booking forms can be downloaded from our web site www.fedecrail.org. John Fuller Conference Finance Manager

DENMARK – A PREVIEW (Photographs: John Fuller)

Odense

National Railway Museum

Fǻborg

5 AND A LOOK BACK TO LAST YEAR CONFERENCE 2006 – IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GODS (Part 2 Athens & Peleponnese) Tuesday 23rd May to Friday 26th May 2006 (Photographs: G. Rushton)

6

NEW GUIDELINES FOR TOURIST AND HISTORIC RAILWAYS IN ITALY

June 2006: is a date to remember for the historic and tourist sector of Italian Railways. In the legislation then published, FEDECRAIL is mentioned, with reference to those documents that are or will be published (for instance the Riga Charter).

In that month UNIFER (The Italian Body for Railway Rules) approved rule UNI 11180 with the title “Historic and Tourist Railways/Guidelines for exploiting railways and for train circulation”.

For FIFTM, the Italian Federation for Tourist and Museum Railways, it is a great result and a great satisfaction, which is the culmination of about 4 years of work.

Since 2001 some members of FIFTM member associations had worked with the Ministry of Transport and FS Sectors (RFI = Italian Railway Network, Trenitalia and Cesifer, the certification body) in order to approve at the end of 2005 a common text for UNIFER to underwrite.

For the first time official recognition was given to the existence of “tourist railways” and “historic trains” together with their needs. The rule in fact “has the purpose of defining the main operating and exploiting ways of historic and tourist interest railways with the purpose of making rules to meet their effective needs and to differentiate them from those of ordinary traffic”.

Now FIFTM has to push all the railways to adapt the new rules so as to develop this sector, which was never flourishing enough among us.

We hope it will be simpler now to operate historic trains and tourist railways, which at present are unfortunately few, and that it will be easier to re-open abandoned lines, especially if they are in wonderful scenery. Silvio Cinquini – FIFTM Italy

NOTES FROM THE SECRETARY AFTER 46 COUNCIL MEETINGS.

It was an easy job in 1994, when Fedecrail was founded. I wrote the first Council minutes on an A4 and wondered whether the work would ever increase in the future. The years went by and indeed we had more to discuss. But sometimes I felt like hearing my own voice in the echo’s of a rather empty building : sometimes people only got activated a few weeks before the next Conference because they were much more involved with their own local railway and its needs. Of course this was just a feeling, but the activities had to develop.

The number of members increased steadily and thanks to NERHT, the New Europe Railway Heritage Trust, we also found members in the East of Europe. Fedecrail had catalysed the foundation of national railway heritage umbrella organisations in several countries : Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria. These did excellent work in the national representation of their members’ interests.

7 In a few cases the contact between Fedecrail and its members went wrong when a contact person kept the information for himself without sending any copies or (later) e-mails. This has often led to the feeling within these national organisations that Fedecrail had no activities at all, or only the few which had been mentioned. I think that by now, we do not fear any further mishaps of this kind. But we are still concerned that the members must pass all Fedecrail communications to all of their OWN members to keep our work transparent, and the organisation democratic.

In fact Fedecrail works on a very small basis : volunteer work done by people who do not suffer at all from a lack of other volunteer activities. Happy enough we can lean on our membership, where much expertise is available on specialist items.

We have contacts who are actively involved with new European Union draft railway legislation, which affects us all at various moments.

Here lies one of the threats of our work : while the EU would be happy to make clones of all European railways, we Fedecrail members are actively preserving the differences between railways as our cultural heritage. This relates to rolling stock but also to operating methods and the infrastructure. I think that a nation without culture is a nation without a soul, and indeed we must do our very best to keep our work unaffected from modern times whenever this is reasonably possible. The traditional railway can be very safe if we do a good job but I am open for necessary improvements.

Fedecrail also has contacts with politicians. These political contacts are vital for our success. MEP Brian Simpson has represented our interests in the European Parliament in an excellent way. Amongst others, he has received a reply from Commissioner mrs. De Palacio that the EU has no intention to draft regulations which damage our heritage work. Of course we must keep a good eye on our national legislators.... because their interpretation of the EU laws can be much stricter! Livius Kooy Secretary

VISIT FROM THE ISLAND OF SODOR IN KREFELD

Thomas the little blue engine with the happy face is also a favorite to many children in Germany. In May/June 2005 the original rolled into the Krefeld Locomotive Depot. The trip to the fantasy island of Sodor started from the central station; Daisy the diesel rail car brought the visitors directly into the locomotive depot.

From 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on two weekends Thomas was on the tracks, and together with the fat controller Sir Topham Hatt, ensured that children's hearts beat a little faster. Just like the stories the children called out enthusiastically to Thomas to solve some ticklish situations. It was an extraordinary event for the children to experience the little blue engine in real life. Thomas also celebrated his 60th birthday along with his first visit to Germany.

Thomas was represented by the Severn Valley No. 686 "Lady of Armaghdale" and the trip to Krefeld was the longest journey in its more than 100-year history. Actually it came to us out of Simpelveld from the South Limburg Steam Train Company (ZLSM); since we had to team up as far as the schedule was concerned, and to minimize transport costs. After its deployment in Krefeld it returned to the Severn Valley Railway on a low-bed truck.

In addition to Thomas, Daisy, Mavis, and Clarabel were also deployed. But Thomas was the only original. All of the other vehicles were portrayed by German vehicles with a similar appearance and with appropriate masks.

In addition to the hourly adventure with Thomas and the Fat Controller there was a varied supporting children's program, opportunities to ride on the footplate of another steam locomotive, and an extensive model railway exhibit. Sodor gastronomy ensured that none of the 10,000 visitors went hungry or thirsty.

Unfortunately German railway laws imposed quite a restriction on Thomas's performance. So for the present, additional events with Thomas in the Krefeld Locomotive Depot are not being planned, which is a pity.

To conclude, we must mention the good, cooperative, and organizational collaboration between the Severn Valley Railway in England, the ZLSM in the Netherlands, and the Krefeld Locomotive Shed in Germany who made all of this possible, and who successfully realised such a cross-border, "steam powered" project. Bruno Rebbelmund Editor (D)

8 THE 2nd WORLD STEAM AND TOURIST TRAIN CONGRESS – BUSINESS SESSIONS.

At the beginning of October 2006 the 2nd World Steam and Tourist Train Congress took place in Ushuaia, the most southern town of the world, located on the Beagle Channel in the south of Argentina. The congress was the follow up of the 1st of its kind which took place in Brienz in 2003. About 40 people from South America, India, Japan, Australia and Europe convened in the Las Hayas Hotel to further progress on the formation of an International Steam and Tourist Train Association.

Before the matters of the association were discussed, the state of the industry in the different continents was presented by the guest speakers. Most prominent guest speakers were Tim Fischer, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and Lord Faulkner from Great Britain. From a European point of view it was in particular remarkable how far the heritage railway industry has developed in South America. Basically all countries in the southern half of the continent, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay, have a significant movement of heritage railways based on private or semi-private initiatives. From the presentations it was shown that these railways have quite large movements with visitor numbers well up above 10,000 a year and some with more than 100 vehicles in the collection. With respect to promoting the railways in their environment the presenters mostly showed a very professional approach one would not expect in difficult economies.

On the other side India represented itself as a country where the state developed a comprehensive approach to railway heritage, preserving most of the heritage lines and rolling stock in public hands. In making some of these heritage sites world monuments India learned how railway monuments can be exploited for tourism. In doing so it has demonstrated how a by modern standards uneconomic transport system can contribute to a regional economy in providing income and employment.

In the course of the congress it became obvious that there is a significant common ground between the heritage railways on all continents represented which could form the base for the world association. The most immediate area of cooperation in such an association would be the promotion and marketing of steam and tourist railways, since here the greatest similarities and commonalities emerged through the congress. The congress therefore adopted the following resolution:

“This meeting hereby resolves that a working party be established to set up a global organisation to be known as "The International Steam & Tourist Train Association" to promote and represent the interests of the owners and operators of the steam and tourist trains and railways and to formalise its constitution to be presented at a world congress to be held within the next 3 years.”

The following members of the working group have been appointed; David Morgan (UK), Enrique Diaz (Argentina), Chris LeMarshall (Australia), Rajesh Agrawal (India), Ian Thomson (Chile) and Heimo Echensperger (Germany). This group will propose a constitution and organization of the international association to the next congress to be held on another continent before 2010. Heimo Echensperger Vice-President

IN SEARCH OF FRAY BENTOS - THE WORLD STEAM AND TOURIST TRAIN CONGRESS 2006

During early autumn 2006 an assorted band of wise and inquisitive characters from around the world, with common interests of tourism and heritage railways, converged on South America.

Prior to the adventure arrangements were made to make our visit to the 2nd World Steam and Tourist Train Congress more than just 4 days at the end of the world. Final plans were based on yo-yoing around the region with Buenos Aires Melia Hotel as the fulcrum, a minimum of 2 weeks advised to cover core activities. The cunning plan worked well, but meant a significant amount of time investigating nooks and crannies of airport terminals - which kept Charlotte occupied! Air-travel is the only quick way to get around as distances are significant, coaches relatively slow and long- distance trains virtually non-existent. Core dates were Uruguay 27th – 30th September and Argentina 26th September and 1st - 10th October.

Part of our first evening’s acclimatisation in Buenos Aires was spent at a restaurant in a redeveloped area of the old docks, where commercial and retail interests have renovated quaysides and old warehouses to make the area welcoming for tourists and local residents alike. The scene was completed with small steam boat ‘Uruguay’ moored alongside. Walking back to the hotel we passed a few ‘girlie’ establishments, one of which was the ‘Cutty Sark’, the

9 advertising for which was reminiscent of the ship’s figurehead – much to the amusement of David Morgan. Heather’s comments remain unrecorded!

On Wednesday morning (27th Sept) a small party visited the riverside town of Lujan, an hour’s drive from Buenos Aires. A magnificent cathedral and colonial buildings flank the town square, but our interest was in the museum. Amongst assorted transport exhibits was Argentina’s first steam locomotive No.1‘La Portena‘, a 2-2-0T built in the 1850’s by the Leeds firm of EB Wilson. Ian Smith used his best pigeon-English to explain to the curators the finer points of the relationship between Leeds locomotive builders Manning-Wardle and EB Wilson (many of whose rights were acquired by Manning-Wardle when the company ceased trading).

Returning to Buenos Aires we joined other delegates for a relaxing 3-hour ferry crossing of the River Plate aboard a Buquebus catamaran, reaching Montevideo, the main city and capital of Uruguay, as the setting sun gleamed off waterside buildings. We were welcomed by Amy Ucar, on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism. Amy and her colleagues coordinated our visit, ensuring we were able to see some of the culture of the country as well as satisfying our railway interests.

Having registered at the Melia Hotel in a residential area of town we revisited the city-centre for an evening meal in a building once destined to be a railway-station! The structure was recovered many years ago from a ship which sank on its way to Chile. Erected near the harbour, the main building is a market, with restaurants, bars and small retail units occupying the outer rooms.

Thursday morning (28th) began with a visit to the Penarol railway workshops. This brought back memories of British equivalents in the 1950’s – all manner of rail-associated activities in dark and dingy buildings, with plenty of space for stores, spares, redundant and scrapped items, etc. In the midst of this CEFU (Railway Studies Circle of Uruguay) has been given covered accommodation to help preserve and restore rolling-stock – but they are desperately short of funds to make the building water-tight. Several diesel locomotives from the 1950’s and 1960’s were around the site, some operational but many scrapped. Although we did not see all the alleged stored steam locomotives, standard- gauge Hawthorne-Leslie, Henschel and Beyer-Peacock survivors were on display, along with an O&K narrow-gauge locomotive. Manning-Wardle 0-6-0ST No.3 (built 1890) was in steam in the roundhouse and eventually hauled a brace of coaches to the nearby station, where it attracted plenty of attention from people attending the local street-market.

Following the midday departure of the local passenger-train, a 1930’s Brill-built diesel-railcar, we went by road to Lorenzo Carnelli station, in the docks area, to board a single-coach train hauled by Uruguayan Railways (AFE) diesel No.814 (built by Alstom c.1990) for a trip to Juanico. On arrival we had the luxury of a vintage coach for a tour of the vast vineyard, and scaled a bird-watchers’ tower to view the landscape, before heading to the commercial hub of the enterprise where we savoured a fine lunch. This was naturally accompanied by a number of very palatable wines, adding to the relaxed and hospitable environment.

Return to Montevideo was by road, with calls at various stations along the way to see local passenger rail-services, mainly 8xx-series diesels hauling 2/3 coaches in addition to the railcar we had seen earlier. This was also an opportunity to commune with some of the locals, especially the schoolchildren who were eager to be photographed in their smart white uniforms. We also saw some fine examples of Saxby & Farmer semaphore signalling installed a century ago.

Before arriving at our hotel we visited the original Montevideo Central station, which closed in 2004 and was replaced by a lesser building a few hundred metres down the road. Similar in size to the old Manchester Central station (which has been converted into G-Mex conference and exhibition centre) there is much debate and controversy about the future of this site, the entrance to which is adorned with statues of important railway persons – including James Watt and George Stephenson. Having been suspended for some years, current AFE passenger services are mainly focused on a limited number of routes centred on Montevideo.

On Friday morning (29th) we returned to the harbour to view a memorial to the ‘Graf Spee’, the German battleship scuttled early in the last world war. Some relics from the ship are on display, but the bow-section is still undergoing restoration. An old Smith’s dockside steam-crane was on display nearby.

Our next visit was the Bella Vista railway depot, where we saw a variety of rolling-stock, both stored and in operational condition. This is also the base of the Uruguayan Railfan’s Association (AUAR), where they store and maintain some steam locomotives. A Beyer-Peacock 2-6-0 was being restored to working condition, alongside a Brill railcar and one of the German-derived rail-buses. Repair and reconditioning work was being carried out on AFE rolling-stock.

10 On reaching Penarol we watched Beyer-Peacock 2-6-0 No.119 (built Manchester 1910) collect 2 wooden-bodied coaches which provided accommodation for our excursion. During the trip our hosts supplied some fine wine to aid relaxation as we headed for Toledo, a small town with a station set in sylvan surroundings. The single-line from Montevideo divides here into a couple of single line routes. A train of limestone wagons waited to proceed to a local cement works, the line being occupied by one of the Brill railcars en-route to Victor Sudriers. Lunch was taken at a local hotel / bar and was our first experience of an asado – meat barbequed South American-style.

After lunch, our train passed though several small stations, each full of school-children waving and cheering as we headed for Victor Sudriers, another junction with sparse freight and passenger services in a rural area. We were welcomed by representatives of the local community and entertained at a nearby social-centre, a local railway enthusiast having arranged a display of railwayana for our benefit.

Whilst our train was being prepared for the return trip a couple of passenger trains arrived from Montevideo. Steam- locomotive No.119 is oil-fired and for our trip was attached to an extra tender containing 30000 litres of water, a small steam-powered donkey-pump providing necessary impetus to move the water. The return trip was non-stop to Montevideo, where we arrived after sunset and were greeted by a posse of well-wishers. David Morgan made a presentation to CEFU on our behalf; in return they hoped we might one day re-visit Uruguay.

Our final day in Uruguay was relaxing, a free morning to either walk along the seashore or explore the local shopping- mall. By midday we were heading to the new ferry-bus terminal in centre of the city, for our connection to the ferry at Colonia, a town with World Heritage status. Unfortunately, our travel arrangements precluded a visit to the old town. Travelling to Buenos Aires via this route enabled an earlier arrival into the city, and opportunity for some of the troupe to scuttle along to the end of day tram runs on a small loop-line which operates at weekends, manned by an enthusiastic band of volunteers.

After a very early start on Sunday morning, a 4-hour flight from Buenos Aires brought us to sun-bathed Ushuaia, with the snow-capped tail of the Andes Mountains completing a picturesque vista. Ushuaia seemed to be a fairly quiet city, but the tourist season, with its flow of cruise liners, had yet to start. Lunch and a lazy afternoon boat-trip down the Beagle Channel enabled us unwind and get close to nature – cormorants, sea-gulls and a multitude of sea-lions lying dreamily in the afternoon sunshine, unfazed by humanoid curiosity.

Some 60 delegates converged on Ushuaia for the Congress (1st – 4th October), accommodated in Las Hayas (Congress base) and Los Acebos hotels, which overlook the city and offer magnificent views down the Beagle Channel. We could not believe we were less than a hundred miles from Cape Horn and its turbulent reputation, the serenity of the views being in complete contrast to many of our expectations.

Details of the Congress are reported elsewhere; suffice it to say that presentations represented a cross-section of views from around the world. It was obvious that in Europe we are very fortunate – elsewhere many groups are struggling to preserve and fund their railway heritage as part of a wider development of tourism. Maintaining assets often requires resourceful techniques.

Whilst the men were at play, the ladies were entertained to an alternative programme of relaxing trips to see sights and sounds around the area. One convivial, and cultural, evening was spent in the company of gauchos, food and drink preceding a song and dance show.

Having enjoyed almost faultless weather for 3 days the final day in Ushuaia was wet and windy, and coincided with our visit to El Tren del fin del Mundo (The End of the World Train). 3 locos were in steam, although only tank-engine ‘Camilla’ and Garrett ‘Ing. H.R.Zubieta’ (supported by diesel loco ‘Tierra del Fuego’) were used on the passenger trains, which run through some isolated country into the local National Park. This railway is a reconstruction of a century-old convict-built railway, originally used to bring timber into the city from surrounding forests. When the line was rebuilt c.10 year ago, the authorities insisted on a new alignment to a newly created terminal station – the Chilean border is close-by. After comparison with carriages used at Ravenglass, design of rolling-stock was based on that used at Ffestiniog – you cannot see over the top!

From Ushuaia we were due to have a night in Buenos Aires, followed by 3 nights in Patagonia. Bad weather in Buenos Aires resulted in late arrival of the plane and subsequent cancellation of the last return flight of the day. Coupled with a wildcat strike at one of the airlines in Buenos Aires, our visit to Bariloche and the Patogonian Express, potentially the most interesting part of the trip, had to be cancelled. Result - an extra night in Ushuaia and 3 nights in Buenos Aires.

The final trip on the formal schedule (9/10th) was to El Calafate and the Moreno glacier. The town is about 80 km from the glacier, and is sited in some fairly desolate countryside. Although the Andes form a distant backdrop, the lack of

11 seasonal melt-water in the lake meant much of the potential scenic value was lost. During the last ten years growth in tourism has been the focus of the local economy, very much based on the glacier with the town supporting a plethora of small handicraft shops. Interest in our trip to the glacier was heightened when we saw a pair of Condors soaring in the thermals near a cliff-face. The colours of the ice at the glacier are heightened when the sun is shaded by cloud – the range of blue hues is extensive. The glacier is slowly moving into the lake; periodically small chunks of ice could be seen and heard crashing into the water. In the afternoon we had a boat trip to within a safe distance of the glacier, the face of which can reach 80 metres in height and is about 2km wide. A small, very solid, chunk of ice was retrieved for the benefit of the school-kids.

Visiting the magnificent Iguaçu Falls was an optional trip, which several people undertook. A narrow-gauge railway has been built to access the area from a large car-park to help save the environment from the pressure of thousands of daily visitors. The scale of the waterfalls and the thrill of a boat-trip behind the falls make this one of the region’s biggest tourist attractions.

Most of our time in Buenos Aires was uncoordinated. Some people ventured into areas of cultural interest, of which there is plenty of choice, whilst many of us travelled on local trains from Retiro / San Martin stations, ventured onto the subway (Subte) system and generally investigated the environs of the city. The Melia Hotel was ideally situated, just out of the city-centre but within walking distance of public transport. Many bars and restaurants were but a few strides away, and our cultural education included a visit to a tango show. The riverside town of Tigre was also popular, with its railway and riverside attractions, as well as the base for trips along the byways of the delta on one of the numerous pleasure boats or ferry-buses.

When Roger Davis attended the Congress he expected to renew a few old friendships and undertake some networking. Little did we know that fate was to deliver unexpected responsibility. Cancellation of the trip to Bariloche meant a hole in our schedule. Prior to our visit we had been unaware of local railway preservation. Roger soon plugged that gap by facilitating visits to 2 of the depots, Escalada (broad-gauge) and Lynch (standard-gauge), used by the Ferroclub Argentino (Railway Club of Argentina) to store a fine selection of railway locomotives and carriages, many of which are of British origin dating from 1883 to 1949. A few diesel and electric items were also stored. Some of the locos are operational but operational costs have escalated to such an extent that main-line runs are few and far between. A narrow-gauge railway at Escalada attracts more than 20000 visitors per year.

Extra time in Buenos Aires coincided with the annual Museums’ weekend – museums, art-galleries, etc open their doors until late in the evening over the weekend, free of charge, to allow visitors to see the vast array of exhibits secreted away in these buildings. We joined hoards of people taking advantage of this opportunity, and visited the National Railway Museum (which was closed during the week) with a fine array of small exhibits and The Museum of Decorative Arts - a large collection of modern art, glassware, etc. The evening ended with an excellent wine and cheese party organised by Roger’s wife Tere.

On our last day, 2 of us were also privileged to visit the engineering works of Richard Cambell (Chairman of the local Ferroclub) where engines off GM locomotives are overhauled, as well as restoration jobs, including boilers for steam locomotives, traction engines, etc. Roger also took us to his own works where finishing touches were being made to a small diesel-hydraulic loco for the Iguaçu Falls railway. When added to the trip through some back-streets and lunch at the quaint Buenos Aires railway station this was a fascinating conclusion to our trip.

Some images will remain with us, such as the ever smiling youngsters in smart school-uniforms and the vast range of social life. Cesar Simone (our tour-guide) scuttling around to ensure all arrangements were in place, Tim Fischer permanently glued to his mobile-phone and ever the English gentleman Geoffery Claydon, hat and glasses flying in all directions (in the style of Captain Mainwaring of ‘Dad’s Army’ fame) as we bade farewell to Argentinean hosts.

To all the groups and hosts who welcomed us I extend a heart-felt thank you on behalf of all participants. Many new friendships were made and we look forward to continuing communications and providing help and guidance to develop heritage rail and tourism in areas that need economic boost. We wish all groups well in attaining their objectives – some schemes are undoubtedly ambitious, but without aspirations nothing will happen.

Despite the frustration of not visiting the Patagonian Express we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to a region trying hard to build a strong tourism industry. We were blessed with fine sunny weather for most of the time, doing many things and visiting places we would not otherwise have seen - a trip we will not forget.

On behalf of ‘the lemmings’ I would like to thank everyone who was involved in organising and managing a very enjoyable and enlightening trip for such a disparate group, and to all those who made a variety of suggestions (not all

12 accepted!) as we travelled around a part of the world many of us only associate with our school-day geography lessons.

And Fray Bentos? Readers of a certain age may recall the name being synonymous with a brand of corned beef, salted meat once a mainstay of our diets. Fray Bentos is a small town, in the west of Uruguay, once famous for meat products developed by the Liebig Extract of Meat Company (better known for its Oxo brand). Once employing 5000 people the factory finally closed in 1979, ending over a hundred years connection with cattle and ranching. Unfortunately time precluded our visiting the town, about 160 Km from Montevideo, where the ranch and factory is now an industrial museum. Nigel Hunt UK (Footnote – During our visit to Montevideo we were invited to join the Uruguay Tourist Board on their stand at the World Travel Market being held in London in November – this was an opportunity for us to welcome Amy and her colleagues to the UK and to say thank you for their hospitality).

SWITCHING BETWEEN THE TWO CENTURIES.

It all happened in September, just in a few seconds. Boekelo MBS station had a nice surprise for me. I had sold tickets for the steam railway, the 14.15 train was ready for departure, and while I waited for that with my hands at the winding gear of the level crossing barriers, a family which had arrived several minutes too late for that train walked slowly to the crossing. I rang the bell, and the mother shouted at me : “Is the train leaving now? I found on your internet site a train departure at 14.30!” The barrier at the far end hit an old, high tree, and five pears fell onto railway land. “It can’t be”, I replied, I have checked the site myself a month ago.” And then the train steamed between us with noise, smoke and steam.

When I had opened the crossing again, I hurried to the family and asked for the URL of the website she had read. She took the print and it showed a departure time of.... 14.15. She felt it was high time for her to follow my advice and drive to Haaksbergen to catch the train from there.

I sat down again in my little office and thought. That old pear tree, as big as it was, must have been planted by or before the war, giving pleasure to railway families. It was part of the line’s history, it had seen more trains than I at that level crossing. Now we are running trains to revive history and for that we need to maintain our trains and also to replace worn parts. As in the past. How good was that tree? I walked out again and collected some of the pears. They were either dry and stony or sour and hard. The tree was getting too old to carry pears of good quality. It needed to be replaced... as in the past. Livius J. Kooy Netherlands

ANDRIJ BASSARAB 1972-2006

We are sorry to hear of the death of Andrij Bassarab, President of the Carpathian Tramway Forum in Western Ukraine, who died on 14th August after a period of ill health at the early age of 34. Andrij was President of the Carpathian Tramway Forum and was a senior research engineer in the Physico- Mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine.

The Forum is both an umbrella organisation for railway preservation groups and organises an annual conference held in Lviv, Andrij’s home city. Lviv (previously Leopol, Lemberg, Lwow and Lvov) is a beautiful place with an eventful and often tragic history which at various times in the twentieth century found itself in Austro-Hungary, Poland, the Third Reich, and the Soviet Union and is now a major centre in independent Ukraine. An ancestor of Andrij commanded an Austro-Hungarian military train on the Eastern front in the First World War, a campaign which saw Lviv briefly occupied by Imperial Russian forces. Andrij’s railway activities were of a more peaceful nature although like many preservationists elsewhere he got involved his share of conflicts and was

13 not always the easiest person to deal with. Be that as it may, he was an energetic leader and campaigner despite his poor health and diminutive stature. He also had a fine singing voice, and under his direction groups of enthusiasts travelling by bus and train would suddenly transform into impromptu choirs.

My first contact with the Forum and with Andrij was in 2002. At the Fedecrail conference held that year in Riga I was due to give a speech on the work of NERHT in which I intended to mention Ukraine as an area where it was hard to envisage voluntary preservation activities, in view of the very difficult conditions then prevailing. How wrong I was! When our Latvian hosts told me about the conference due to be held in Lviv, I hastily changed my text and a month later we made our first visit to the Forum.

As a result of this expedition NERHT has developed all sorts of links with Ukraine, and has received several Ukrainian visitors to Britain. Andrij himself came to Britain as a guest of NERHT in 2003 together with Denys Dobra, leader of the Borzhava Initiative which campaigns to preserve the narrow gauge line to Irshava. The pair addressed the Fedecrail conference in Llandudno and gave talks to the Ukrainian club in Rochdale where they were received by the Mayor of the town which is twinned with Lviv.

Under Andrij’s leadership the Forum championed the cause of various preservation schemes, including the spectacular Vyhoda Railway and other forestry lines thought to have potential for tourism, the broad gauge Znesinnya Railway in the landscape park in Lviv and the heritage service on the city’s narrow gauge electric tramway network. These initiatives are still in their early stages and continue to face major challenges. If they succeed this will be due in no small measure to Andrij. NERHT will look forward to working with his successors. In the meantime we extend our deepest sympathy to all Andrij’s colleagues and above all to his widow and daughter. Stephen Wiggs UK (Chairman, New Europe Railway Heritage Trust)

(Editor's note: While Stephen knew Andrij better than most of us, Fedecrail participated actively in supporting his work and that of the other pioneer preservationists in Ukraine. We continue to do so and those of us who met and worked with Andrij recognised his passion for railway preservation which drove forward the fledgling schemes in the new Ukraine. The Vyhoda Railway, where we worked with him to prepare a business plan for the owners, now has a development manager in place and runs tourist trains that are helping to bring new visitors to this area of the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. I will always remember his dismay when after a hard day out on the track we found that the local bar only had three bottles of beer between the four of us! On our last visit with him, he almost cried when the Vyhoda Railway owners turned out a newly painted and restored coach with the name of Carpathian Tramway (his organisation) proudly painted on the side. It now conveys tourists as a lasting memorial to his efforts. John Fuller.)

GULBENE - ALUKSNE BANITIS (LATVIA) CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

On 3rd January 2007, the first private railway company in Latvia — Gulbene - Aluksne Banitis which runs the narrow gauge railway in the North East of the country celebrated the fifth anniversary since starting its operations. On a very cold winter day five years ago the company took over operations from the state railway company Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDZ).

The Gulbene - Aluksne Banitis company was created by The Railwaymens Society of Latvia, the Town Council of Gulbene, the Parish Council of Stameriena, the Town Council of Aluksne and six private persons.

A lot of changes have faced the little railway with its route through beautiful rural countryside. The railway has turned from a neglected and unprofitable part of LDZ to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Latvia. That has been done thanks to enthusiasts, local governments and the state support, as well as thanks to the great assistance received from Fedecrail, NERHT and the EU programme Culture 2000 SteamRail.Net project.

For more information, please visit our web site www.banitis.lv. Andris Biedrins (Photographs by Mikus Biedrins)

14

(Editor's Note: Fedecrail sends its congratulations to the dedicated supporters and partners who have turned Banitis into a success story that is now broadcast across the former Eastern bloc countries. Its example is actively encouraging their local communities and enthusiasts to join together in bringing local railways back to their communities and also to let them play a part in developing new tourist opportunities. Andris has joined us to speak about his success story in countries across Europe, from his neighbours in Lithuania across to Ukraine and other places where the tradition of railways under state control is starting to change. We look forward to the next five years and those after that!)

15

FEDECRAIL MEMBERS COME FROM 25 NATIONS Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine.

WHAT IS FEDECRAIL? FEDECRAIL – the European Federation of Museum and Tourist Railways is an organisation under Belgian law. It was founded in April 1994 in Brussels and was authorized by Belgian Royal Decree. FEDECRAIL - is the European parent organisation for all Railways and Museums which are engaged in the maintenance, preservation and operation of historical railways. FEDECRAIL - every European national parent organisation for Museums and Tourist Railways can become a member of FEDECRAIL. Individual associations can only become members if there is no national organisation. Individual members or non-European associations can join the circle of the "FRIENDS OF FEDECRAIL" as promoters, patrons or sponsors but without the right to vote. FEDECRAIL - is a connecting link between the national parent organisations and the European Union (EU) committees, European parliament, EU commissions, EU executive boards, etc. FEDECRAIL - is the forum for discussions and the exchange of information for the European Museum and Tourist Railways FEDECRAIL – members of the Council, Officers and Technical Representatives come from the European member associations and work exclusively on an honorary basis. FEDECRAIL - publishes a newsletter with important information. FEDECRAIL - organises an annual conference with specific European topics about Museum and Tourist Railways, such as the preservation and maintenance of European railway heritage, regional regeneration, safety, financing, legislation harmonisation, environmental protection, etc.. Study trips to member railways and museums with the opportunity to see “behind the scenes” are always an element of the conferences.

FEDECRAIL Conferences have taken place in:- 1994 BRUXELLES, Belgium 1999 PRAGUE, Czech Republic 1995 STRASBOURG, France 2000 BAD BREISIG, Germany 1996 BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom 2001 TORINO, Italy 1997 STOCKHOLM, Sweden 2002 RIGA, Latvia 1998 BARCELONA, Spain 2003 LLANDUDNO, U.K. 2004 LEIDEN, Netherlands 2005 LYON, France 2006 VOLOS, Greece

16