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

NEWSLET TER Number 23 Summer 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 :+33146910969 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, Bruno REBBELMUND (D), Olivier JAUBERT(F)

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 Correspondence to FEDECRAIL Treasurer, Stationsplein, B-9990 Maldegem. (Front cover photograph: Fedecrail / SteamRail.Net Conference special en route to Milies:19 May 2006: Photo: John Fuller)

INDEX

Editorial 1

The President’s Report 2

Heimo Echensperger - Vice President 3

Our Future Newsletter 4

SteamRail.Net brings European steam railways together 4

FEDECRAIL & SteamRail.Net Conference 2006, Volos and Athens, Greece 5

FEDECRAIL Conference 2007, Odense, Denmark 7

Conference 2006 - In the footsteps of the Gods (Part 1 - Volos) 8

IATM Conference, 9-17 June 2007, Yorkshire, United Kingdom 9

Correspondence 9

World Steam and Tourist Train Conference, Argentina 10

Conferences in Estonia and Poland 10

Ramshackle Narrow Gauge Railway as Lifeline 10

The "Black Companions" 11

EDITORIAL

I originally wrote this editorial just before the 2006 Conference when I was expecting to publish it on my return to the UK. Regrettably my return marked a major panic with work that was unexpectedly sprung on me and one thing led to another until summer holidays arrived. I find myself publishing in September 2006 what should have been sent out many months ago for which I can only again apologise to you all. We are all volunteers and the duties of our Fedecrail responsibilities have to take second place to our business commitments and often third place to national roles as we are all involved in the Tourist and Museum Railway businesses in our home countries.

As mentioned in NL22, the problems caused to Members who receive the Newsletter electronically and want to print it on their PCs mean that we need to change back to an A4 portrait format as the standard publication. This is a disappointment to me as I feel that it reduces the quality of the publication as a Newsletter rather than a Magazine, but it does mean that it can be printed in colour. Because only a few Members and Friends now ask for a copy by post, the economics of producing the magazine format will have to be considered again. The A4 format can be printed “in house” instead of sending the file to a printer.

Turning to more pleasant topics, our congratulations are due to Heimo Echensperger on his appointment to the Board of DB Netz. A real statement of the importance and status of Museum and Tourist Railways in Germany and recognition from the highest level of the key role of VDMT in the transport structure of his home country!

At the time of writing, the arrangements for the launch of the Riga Charter are in hand. We hope that this event will firmly establish the status of the Charter as an international statement of our dedication to the principles of conservation of the Heritage that is entrusted to our care. I hope to report fully with the next Newsletter.

With the acceptance of Fedecrail as a member of Europa Nostra, we join one of the leading players in heritage conservation across Europe. Members of Council plan to meet with Europa Nostra to discuss how we can take our

1 new relationship forward. In many respects we have been following a parallel path for a number of years and in the battle for the limited funds available to our industry, working together can only strengthen our chances.

I did not expect to be looking back on the 2006 Conference when writing this, but I think that it is fair to say after all the problems caused by the change of dates that the conference was enjoyable for those who were able to participate. A full report appears in this Newsletter. I had hoped to be able to include at least one of the key speeches in the Newsletter, but unfortunately so far the promised CD of the speeches has not been received from the SteamRail.Net project.

It is to be hoped that we will soon be able to report on the successful conclusion of the SteamRail.Net project. It has been an interesting challenge for us and our Members who are Partners in the project. I think that we will all be wiser after surviving this experience. Without the project we would not have achieved the restorations and other work that has been expedited by the EU funding. It has been painful, but it is vital that we all learn from this experience and go forward to take advantage of future international funding opportunities. Your Council in particular will be taking on board all the lessons we have learnt and will be considering how we can best take advantage of new EU Funding opportunities such as Culture 2007, as well as the ongoing programmes such as Interreg. We need to make sure that our Members safely get their fair share of the money that is made available from the EU. 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 (Editor’s Note: This was written for the original hoped publication date in the Spring which is why there is no reference to the Conference having taken place. The message is timeless and so is as relevant to us today as when originally written.)

The last few months have been largely taken up with internal matters, such as the promulgation of the Riga Charter and the changes to FEDECRAIL’s constitution. Most of our activities over the past year have already been covered in the recently published Annual Report.

From a personal point of view, I seem to have been travelling the globe (literally), acting in my role as FEDECRAIL President. Some of these acts have been entirely ceremonial, as in the planting of trees on BANITIS day in Aluksene, Latvia, last September, when I also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. I was also wearing a SteamRail.net hat (my top hat) as two of the trees were planted by me deputising for Manos Vougioukas.

Earlier last year (June), I had attended the SteamRail.net partners’ meeting in Latvia, when progress on the six restoration projects was monitored and updates on the presentations were given – these presentations take various forms, i.e. brochures, exhibitions, documentary records, photographs, videos, etc. I also attended meetings with John Fuller, your newsletter editor, with the promoters and operator of the narrow gauge railway in Panevezys, Lithuania.

In Moscow, I was able to visit an exhibition of historic transport featuring our member, the narrow gauge railway museum in Pereslavl, and to have further discussions with Sergei Dorozhkov assisted by Vadim and Artur. Although much of their track had to be lifted and stored within the museum compound after the theft of some track, the museum itself seems to be thriving and, despite rumours to the contrary, continues to perform its primary role as railway museum, although it contains half a dozen military items in its collection, albeit transport related.

Later in the same month, I was invited to address a railway heritage meeting in Australia and was surprised to find the RIGA CHARTER projected onto the screen when I entered the conference room. Before the conference (held in New South Wales), I was taken to four museum railways in the State of Victoria including the Puffing Billy Railway, one of the first to be established as a volunteer led railway in 1953. It is a very impressive line in more ways than one and its

2 staff, both paid and volunteer, are truly imaginative and highly professional. The line now carries 200,000 passengers a year, a very creditable figure when you remember that the total population of the continent of Australia is less than 20 million.

Following our Extraordinary General Meeting (when we approved the constitutional changes) and the Council Meeting in Greece at the beginning of October, I was taken by Manos Vougioukas to the European Transport Conference in Strasbourg where I described the work of FEDECRAIL and the RIGA CHARTER in particular, while Professor Nikolos Bogiazides spoke about the EU Culture 2000 programme and SteamRail.net in particular.

The last SteamRail.net partners’ meeting took place in Haaksbergen in mid-October and coincided with a vintage transport festival, thus guaranteeing a fair amount of media coverage. Ben Heerink’s management of the Dutch MBS restoration project was as impressive as Andris Biedrin’s efforts in Latvia who had been our hosts in June. Undoubtedly, they benefited from hosting the partners’ meetings later into the programme from the point of view of display, but members will have seen the presentations from all the partners at our Volos conference.

At the end of October, I addressed representatives of Polish railway preservation in Lodz. Apart from explaining the work of FEDECRAIL, I sought to encourage them to form a national umbrella body, hopefully with a little more success than that which met my urging two years previously. One positive outcome of my previous visit was that my letter to PKP Cargo, responsible for the railway museum and steam depot at Chabowka, persuaded them to make the appropriate investment in the restoration of the museum and retention of its staff and their enterprising lady director is once again operating steam trains over the main line.

The question of national umbrella organisations continues to exercise your Council. In January, we held our quarterly meeting in Salzburg to enable us to meet up with the leading protagonists of the recently formed ŐMT led by our existing member, Alfred Fleissner, of the Tramway -Erlaufsee. He, of course, had been involved in FEDECRAIL since the start, serving on the Morgan Commission between 1992 and 1994. I was much reassured to find that their proposals encompass the establishment of a truly representative body and will not just take the form of an exclusive club.

My optimism over the very positive Austrian developments sadly does not extend to the activities – or rather the lack of them, of AIMFETUR. It would seem that this has been largely moribund, no doubt due in part to the legal problems confronting its President, Carles Salmeron, through no fault of his own. However, it is obviously important that the organisation should not be paralysed by these difficulties and your Council has agreed in these circumstances that those Iberian members be entitled to enjoy FEDECRAIL membership as individual railways or museums during 2006 and that they regroup under some form of umbrella organisation under fresh leadership.

Lastly, I am writing this article in Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost tip of Argentina where I am helping to prepare the second World Congress of Steam and Tourist Trains. Rightly or wrongly, I regard FEDECRAIL as the world’s leading body in the field, being the only truly international organisation representing such interests, albeit restricted to European heritage and tourist railways. For that reason, I agreed that FEDECRAIL should lead the proposal to set up a worldwide INTERNATIONAL STEAM & TOURIST TRAIN ASSOCIATION. This will be launched at the Congress and I hope that FEDECRAIL members will come to this fascinating country to witness the birth of this new organisation. Indeed, I have negotiated a 20% discount in the registration fee for FEDECRAIL members and their member railways.

For more details, visit the Congress website on www.steamandtouristrains.com or contact Stuart Anderson on +54 2901 43 1600 ext 29. I look forward to seeing you at the Congress. DAVID T. MORGAN President

HEIMO ECHENSPERGER - VICE-PRESIDENT Council were very pleased to learn of the appointment of Heimo Echensberger to the Management Board of DB-Netz earlier this year. Heimo is the President of the German umbrella organisation VDMT. This appointment is a recognition of the important place of VDMT in the railway industry of Germany and we all wish Heimo success in the new challenges that he will face.

3 OUR FUTURE NEWSLETTER

Once again, my thanks go to Livius Kooy who has been on the receiving end of complaints and questions about the non-appearance of the Newsletter.

I am not sure that my future time will allow me to give assurances of being able to personally produce the scheduled four editions of the Newsletter each year. Indeed, since taking on this job, I do not think that I have ever failed to deliver against schedules so many times in my life. As a retired professional Project Manager, the achieving of deadlines has been part of my life for many years. Having said that, the production of the Newsletter still requires that important thing that I have mentioned before - NEWS!!

In NL22 I appealed for someone from each of your national organisations who could send me news from your home countries. The result to date has been a stunning silence! This leads me to ask two questions:- 1) Do you actually want a Newsletter or are you all satisfied with your national sources of news and do not want to hear about other member countries? 2) If you do want a Newsletter, what do you want to read in it? There is a limit to the amount of official information about EU legislation, or conference and other communications. 3) If you do not want a Newsletter, would we be better to set up an electronic news section on our web site to post items as and when they occur so that Members can look regularly? This would possibly be a problem for non- connected Members, but with the spread of Public Internet Access, is this a problem? To drop into an Internet Café for a coffee and to read the news is becoming as normal as buying a morning newspaper, or your monthly railway magazine.

A final thought - is the lack of response by anyone to anything that appears in the Newsletter because the contents are totally boring and useless to any reader - or does nobody read it?

STEAMRAIL.NET BRINGS EUROPEAN STEAM RAILWAYS TOGETHER.

It is certainly true that Manos Vougioukas from Greece has opened doors with the SteamRail.Net project, supported by the Culture 2000 EU-programme. It aimed at the restoration of steam in six European countries, and the presentation of the results through multi-lingual multimedia of various kinds. Since a concluding Conference with Fedecrail in Greece in 2006 would be part of it all, Fedecrail became involved as a sub-contractor. The regular project partners’ meetings in Greece, Spain, France, Latvia, and Britain were attended by the Fedecrail President, David Morgan.

I myself attended a SteamRail.Net meeting at my village Haaksbergen on Friday the 15th October 2005. The MBS steam railway held the successful inauguration of steam “Navizence” of 1910, after a big overhaul and restoration, which included the construction of a new steam boiler. This engine was built by SLM Winterthur in Switzerland and is of the same type as NS 7851/7852, which were built just after the war as a replacement for damaged locomotives.

The meeting took place in brilliant weather. At 14.30 the signal was pulled from the old station by Mrs. E. Pot from the Province of Overijssel, then the steam engine rolled towards Haaksbergen. Representatives of Local and Provincial authorities, tourist information centres, other museum railways and cultural organisations, SteamRail.Net representatives from the six partner countries, two Fedecrail Council members (David Morgan and myself) , volunteer railway workers, press etc. were gathered on the platform.

4 We listened to the speech of MBS Chairman Josh Sijbom who welcomed the guests and explained the international cooperation of the SteamRail.Net project. He also highlighted the various contributions from SteamRail.net/ Culture 2000 and other sponsors and donors, notably the Province of Overijssel and the Prins Bernhard Cultural Fund. The locomotive had been bought and donated by Mr. Hans Heupink. After that the Fedecrail President David Morgan stressed the unique European cooperation within this project.

Then we all witnessed how a big cardboard box was opened by the little son of the engine driver. In it, there were two replica locomotive lanterns which were placed on the front buffer beam. A plaque was unveiled which showed that the locomotive had been restored with grants from the EU Culture 2000 programme through the SteamRail.Net project. Champagne was served after which the train departed to the other end of the line. All enjoyed the trip, and were very satisfied with the excellent standard of restoration which had been achieved by the MBS.

On Saturday 16th October the project partners met in a hotel along the railway with the project coordinator and a representation of the University of Thessaly (which manages the administration of the project), to discuss the progress of the project. On all railways except the Pelion railway the locomotive restoration had been completed.

There were video shots from the project in Haaksbergen, Latvia, France and Greece which were to make an overall project DVD. Books had been made and exhibitions had been organised and visited in order to introduce the international cooperation project to a wider public. There were also web pages about the project in four countries.

On Sunday 17th October, the MBS celebrated its annual Autumn Steam Gala with a train departure every 45 minutes, up to the limit of the capacity. The staff worked hard and a total of 4,200 passengers went with the steam train without a problem. I was on duty as station master. The newly restored steam locomotive showed its best : she steamed well and could accelerate very fast in order to make up some lost time. “Like the metro” was the happy comment of driver Stefan Fahnrich, who had worked on the engine for almost two year.

At the end of the day, the partners of the SteamRail.Net project left Haaksbergen behind “Navizence”, enthusiastically waving goodbye to me on their way to the halfway hotel. The train roared away in order to make up some lost time. I pulled the signal back behind the train and went back to the train administration, happy like all. Livius J. Kooy.

FEDECRAIL & STEAMRAIL.NET CONFERENCE 2006 – 19-26 May 2006 : VOLOS & ATHENS, GREECE

This year was the first conference to be held in Greece, and took a different format to previous years, incorporating reports on SteamRail.net, as well as the Fedecrail AGM and various visits. Delegates were based in Volos and Athens, and there was an opportunity to add on a visit to the Peloponnese railways after the official business There were representatives from 13 different countries.

5 Friday was spent on a full day visit to the mountain section of the Pelion Railway to Milies. This has been restored with the help of EU grant money. It really is a most spectacular ride. Lunch was taken in Milies, and on our return a group of traditional Greek dancers, danced on the platform for us

Saturday consisted of the business sessions. These were held in the University of Thessaly which thankfully was air conditioned as the outside temperature was way up in the 30’s.

The official welcome made reference to the development of the Pelion Railway, the growth of tourism, and of much work done in connection with cultural heritage in the area.

The President of the Pelion Railway Association made a passionate speech, outlining the history of preservation and of future plans to restore the railway to Zagora.

The planning chief from the Department of Magnesia declared the Conference open.

President David Morgan thanked the hosts for the warm welcome, and went on to explain about the Riga Charter, as well as giving a short history of previous charters relating to other areas of heritage conservation.

There then followed a summary of SteamRail.net activities, both visual and oral from the participating countries of Netherlands, Latvia, United Kingdom (Midland Railway Centre, Butterley), France, Greece (Pelion Railway) and Spain. A specially commissioned DVD about the project was shown.

The day’s proceedings finished off with presentations on Multi Media Products, and The Social and Economic context of steam railways and their Cultural Heritage value.

In the evening a special diesel hauled train took us on the coastal section of the Pelion Railway from Volos to Agria. This caused much tooting of horns from passing motorists. At Agria a splendid dinner was eaten outside the station, which was very evocative. Return to Volos was by bus, as unfortunately the railway is not allowed to run after dark.

Sunday morning saw the official annual General Assembly meeting of Fedecrail.

After lunch we visited the Thessaly metre gauge railway, which is being restored by volunteers. Half of the run was in a vintage “Flying Hamburger” , the other half in an open wagon hauled by an industrial , rather reminiscent of Brake Van rides on BR in the 1960’s. They are a small, but enthusiastic group, and deserve to succeed. Apparently OSE in Athens turn a blind eye to their activities, so long as they basically “keep their noses clean”! Imagine that happening in the UK.

Dinner was taken in the old brick works where some of the locomotives used there were on display.

Monday saw us looking round the steam engine collection at Volos station, actually it’s a collection of abandoned engines (in Greece they seem to finish with something, and abandon things where they stand) There were also some historic coaches (at least these were under cover), and a small museum.

A special train comprised of historic Wagon Lits vehicles, and hauled by an Alco diesel took us to Larissa. Here lunch was taken on the station platform.

Then it was by service train to Athens, followed by evening dinner.

Tuesday was a full day’s visit to the Diakopto Rack Railway. This was reached by the new high speed line to Korinthos (New station), which has not been electrified yet, so DMU’s were operating the service. It looks rather strange to see stations built for twelve car trains, complete with through lines, and diminutive DMU’s running.

Then it was change to the metre gauge (after a gentleman from Norway, was admonished for taking photographs, he took great delight in producing his official permit), for the run via Korinthos old station to the junction station of the rack railway.

This railway is an absolute gem, the narrowest gauge in Europe to use rack. We had a special train with photographic stops. The service is operated by DMU’s with rod drive, and the scenery is stunning.

After the round trip we made our way back to Athens over the same route as we had travelled out on, this was followed by an evening at leisure.

6 The following day was spent seeing what Athens itself had to offer in the way of public transport. A lot of investment has gone into the transport system thanks to the Olympics; let’s hope that is the case at home.

First was a visit to the Athens Piraeus Electric Railway(ISAP), the first railway in Greece, now integrated as part of the Metro. We rode in one of the early 1900’s wooden bodied vehicles out to the terminus of Piraeus, the dock area of the city. Here a visit was made to the most interesting ISAP Museum which is located in the terminus station. The new works for the new Piraeus main line station was visited, this was followed by a look round the soon to be closed old station, which has many historical connections, although clearly had seen better days. It will be a shame when it is no more.

The afternoon saw us riding on the shiny new system, up to the brand new lines of the Metro system. Here after a tour of the station facilities, we were treated to a tour of the new control centre, which thoughtfully has a viewing gallery, so as not to distract or disturb the Controllers. The Chief Controller gave us a most interesting insight into current operations.

Finally for those who could not get enough, a visit to the Metro depot on the far side of Larissa main station was undertaken, which included a photographic visit to the depot signal tower.

The evening marked the official end of the conference with an evening reception by the Friends of Greek Railways at the Athens Railway Museum, which is located at an OSE depot next to the main line

After a look round the exhibits, and much networking with new colleagues from the Museum, a delightful buffet was enjoyed overlooking the main line, you don’t get better than that.

Some delegates stayed on for another two days to view some of the Peloponnese narrow gauge system. The first section was a repeat of Tuesday’s visit, and then it was on to Olympia via Patras. At Olympia the culture vultures had their fill looking at the original site of the Olympic games, followed by an overnight stay in the town, which was nice and relaxing after Athens.

Friday the final day saw us return from Olympia to the branch junction at Alfios, where a special train hauled by an Alco diesel took us to a connecting service train. I don’t think that diesel complied with EU emission regulations!

On our arrival at Kalamatra we were greeted by the Mayor, and representatives of the tourist board. We saw the steam collection on the former harbour branch which was sadly heavily covered in graffiti, and then the final journey back to Korinthos, via some more abandoned steam locomotives, which was unfortunately by coach, as this section is currently being relayed.

A high speed run back to Athens, and a last get together over a drink, and then people made their way home on Saturday.

Next year is the turn of Denmark, which will be held in Odense hosted by the Danish Railway Museum, prospective dates should be confirmed by the beginning of September and will be published on the web site..

I hope to see as many of you there as possible, as always you will not be disappointed

Special thanks must go to Peter Ovenstone, John Fuller (Conference Organisers), George Nathenas and colleagues (who looked after us in Greece), and Manos Vougioukas (Volos and Pelion Railway)

Steve Wood Fedecrail UK Representative

FEDECRAIL CONFERENCE 2007 Our 2007 Conference will be in Denmark. Our hosts are the National Railway Museum at Odense and there will be a full supporting programme to visit the tourist and museum railways of Denmark. The dates will be confirmed early in September and will be posted on our web site. Alternatively, please contact any Council Member or Officer for details.

7 CONFERENCE 2006 - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GODS (Part 1 - Volos) Friday 19 May 2006 to Monday 22 May 2006 (All photographs: John Fuller)

FRIDAY 19th - THE MILIES LINE A gem of a line - one of the best kept secrets of Greece! A 60cm line into the mountains that were one of the homes of the mythical Greek Gods.

THE HARD WORK! ←Inside the Conference Hall And Outside the Hall! → What a decision to make!!!

SUNDAY AFTERNOON The Thessaly Railway MONDAY Volos Station, the Graveyard & FEDECRAIL Special Train

8 IATM CONFERENCE, 9-17 JUNE 2007, YORKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION MUSEUMS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Second and Final Call for Papers

Transport museums face ever-increasing challenges as they try both to meet visitors’ rising expectations and to maintain the integrity and vitality of their collections in an environment of declining funding from traditional sources. Yet the continued popularity and international recognition of some museums in the sector show that innovative thinking and high levels of professionalism can produce success. By bringing together museum directors, trustees, professionals and practitioners, academics and others concerned with the theory and practice of museums and related heritage sites, the IATM conference provides unparalleled opportunities to shape today’s museum agenda, and to share best practice in the task of equipping the sector for the challenges ahead.

Proposals are therefore invited for papers addressing the theory and/or practice of one or more of the following topics:

The role of volunteers Operating in a political environment The sustainability of museums over the longer term Generating income Partnerships between museums and with related bodies

Other suggestions that address the general theme of the conference will also be considered. In making its selection, the Programme Group will aim to maximize discussion and debate. Individual papers will therefore be limited to 20 minutes each. Submissions for complete panels of up to three presenters/discussants and a chairperson are strongly encouraged; no commentator is required. Organizers of such panels will be free to arrange the allocated time (usually 90 minutes) as they see fit, and are welcome to depart from the conventional arrangements of speakers if this will help to promote debate.

Every proposal for an individual paper must include a short (200-300 word) abstract, a brief (no more than one side of A4) of the author(s), and an email address for subsequent correspondence. Proposals for panels must also include a brief (up to 300 words) explanation of the theme and structure of the session. Electronic submission is strongly encouraged; attached files should be in rtf or MS Word. All participants will be required to register by Monday 9 April 2007 in order to secure their place on the programme.

The conference will be based in the highly attractive historic city of York located in northern England some 190 miles (300km) north of London. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit a number of transport and communication museums elsewhere in the region; several of the business sessions will be held in these places. York is easily accessible by train from London and other major locations in the UK, including the international port of Hull and airports at Newcastle, Manchester, Stansted and London (Heathrow and Gatwick). The airports at Leeds/Bradford, Doncaster and East Midlands (Nottingham/ Derby) are also served by public transport.

Submissions should be sent by Friday 27 October 2006 to: Martyn Halman, IATM Conference Facilitator, National Railway Museum, Leeman Road, York, YO26 4XJ, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected]

Programme Group Andrew Scott (Chair) (National Railway Museum, UK); Prof. Colin Divall (University of York, UK); Birgitta Wistoft (Post and Telecommunications Museum, Denmark).

CORRESPONDENCE

This letter was received by Stephen Wiggs as Chairman of NERHT following the visit of the Governor of Paneveyzs County, Lithuania to UK Heritage Railways. The visit was arranged by NERHT with the active co-operation both of FEDECRAIL and members of the UK Association. The objective, as has been the case with previous visits from other countries, was to give new operators and owners of museum and tourist railways an in depth experience of what could be achieved by our industry.

Dear Stephen, First of all I would like to thank everyone who helped to prepare and realize this wonderful visit to the United Kingdom. Many thanks to David Morgan, John Fuller, David Allan and John Keylock.

9 Our visit to the UK was important for two essential things. We have got many practical activity examples from the North Wales narrow gauge railways and we were able to discuss about the admission of our narrow gauge railway Siaurukas to FEDECRAIL. Good impressions were not only of the railways, how warmly it was introduced, but also of the warm welcome and heartiness of British people.

We had a possibility to get to know your narrow gauge railway marketing system, how it works and we understood some differences. Our train Siaurukas was only run by advance booking, while you organise a public train service. To emulate you, since 20th May 2006 we have introduced public train services in Lithuania. It means that everybody may buy a ticket and go by historical train Siaurukas on the route Anyksciai – Panevezys – Anyksciai. We chose this date because it co-incided with the General Meeting of FEDECRAIL in Volos (Greece).

Another main aspect of our visit was the tradition of voluntary work in narrow gauge railway. We likewise have started this wonderful tradition and have already organised 4 voluntary works sessions. Also we hope that the information we received and the contacts we made may assist in the renovation of old locomotives and we hope to send young people as volunteers to work and get more experience on your historical railways. Your historical rolling-stock equipment made an impression also.

The general impression of the visit is your respect to historical heritage, its integration into modern-day tourism, marketing and life. In my opinion our visit to Wales was useful for practical experience and may help the development of the narrow gauge railway in Lithuania.

Yours sincerely, Gintaras Kerbedis

(Editor’s Note: We visited this line as part of the Riga Conference and it is very welcome news that after some difficult times, the new owners (the local county councils) have been able to introduce scheduled services so that visitors know when they can catch a train. I urge anyone visiting the Baltic States to try and make a visit to this fascinating line.)

WORLD STEAM AND TOURIST TRAIN CONFERENCE As mentioned in our President’s report, this conference and an international supporting programme is to take place in early October 2006. For full details see their web site www.steamandtouristrains.com or contact Stuart Anderson on +54 2901 43 1600 ext 29.

CONFERENCES IN ESTONIA AND POLAND

I am informed in the last few days that there is intended to be a railway conference in Estonia in October 2006. Mehis Helme of the Estonian Narrow Gauge Museum at Lavasarre is organising this and if anyone is interested, I hope to have more details very soon. If you are interested, please contact me.

Information has also been received of a Railway Heritage Seminar to be held in Krakow, Poland on Saturday 21st October 2006. There is usually a supporting visit programme and the friendliness of Polish enthusiasts has made previous such events enjoyable. Again, please contact me for further details as they become available.

RAMSHACKLE NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY AS LIFELINE

Semigorodnaja – for Western European ears quite a tuneful name for an area in the endless Russian nowhere. Once there has been a network of more than 100 km narrow gauge tracks in this region situated 600 km eastwards from Moscow. The railway was the only connection between the settlements alongside the tracks. Today only a track of 30 km can still be used at walking pace and the gauge undergoes repairs while the trains are in operation. The railway and the settlements were erected after World War II for the expanding wood economy at that time to transport the cut birch trunks out of the forests. Today, the wood kolkhozes are privatised and the production is reduced.

A train ride proves unhurrid, as the tracks keep sinking down. When there is construction work on the narrow gauge, the old tracks are dismantled, the existing route is equipped with new sleepers and the tracks are put back. The sleepers are made of tree trunks – mainly birches -, which were only sawed at length. The rail track has the standard of a light railway and the estimated metre gauge (with large tolerances) is seen as narrow gauge system not only for Russian measures.

10 In former days there were even passenger wagons, today the few passengers travel for free on the locomotive and even in the drivers’ cab. People just wait by the track and stop the freight trains. Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays a closed carriage with seats is coupled to the freight train. They ride as a mixed goods and passenger train. Here the few itinerant sellers offer their mobile range of goods. They do not have a large clientele, there are only two settlements remaining. These kept their creative names of the Soviet era: Kilometre No 6 and Kilometre No 17!!! Source: German Television Bruno Rebbelmund

THE “BLACK COMPANIONS”

The author of the following historical newspaper article describes in a rather poetic and colourful way, what happens at the front in the locomotive:- The rail passenger sits comfortably leaned against the cushions in his train carriage and enjoys the journey. Does he really think of the two men at the front, who do hard and responsible work for him???

“The work in a tender engine is very demanding and the staff have to be personally committed. The working conditions in the locomotive are very bad. A narrow space in the drivers’ cab, heat in the front coming from the boiler, in addition to the cold in the winter in the back from the open coal tender, no lavatory to satisfy a human need in a proper manner. Besides, the shifts are irregular, at daytime, by night, on working days, Sundays and bank holidays.

A journalist from a Berlin newspaper, who took part in a journey in a tender engine, depicts a shift in an impressive way: ... the two men, the engine driver and the stoker, work in silence; they watch over strange clocks, which are glued onto the iron backside of the tender engine with their white, round faces. Black fingers swing up and down and each swing is carefully followed. The huge shovel in the hands of the stoker digs into the black heap of coal making strumming noise, the hole of the inner firebox opens, he looks into a sea of flames and with an enormous force the coals fly into the gorge to the very end of this blazing stomach. Over there, at the right of the engine, the driver stands staring through the oval window. In front of him there are the rails and the signals, which with lifted arms show him that the track is clear, and small signs one or double armed indicating the bends, gradients and slopes. He knows the track, as no engine driver who does not possess detailed knowledge of the route with all its signals is allowed to drive a locomotive. In order to prove his knowledge he has to carry with him a card outlining his knowledge about the route. On the card all tracks are listed on which he is allowed to drive a tender engine.

The left hand of the engine driver holds the regulator valve, a hand gear which sticks out of a lever He is ready to use it at any time in order to bit the raging steed with fifteen hundred horse power, until it stops, completely restrained; it takes 800 metres to stop, that is the engine’s braking distance from full speed. , Moreover this measure is dependant on the length of the carriages coupled to the train, and on the weather. The two men, the engine driver and his stoker, see nothing but the broad backside of the engine and the narrow strip of the gauge when they look out of the oval window to the front. They seize here and there and know that each grab can become the fate of thousands who are seated behind them in the carriages.

They don’t see anything of the passing landscape. They only feel the tracks speeding below them, hear the rattle when the train passes turnouts, feel the rhythm of the speed and know that they must not feel anything but their duty and responsibility. The two men know the engine like a jockey his horse. They keep “their engine” in shape. It must not smoke or develop overpressure. It must be stoked correctly. But of course, it is not an easy task to watch the fire every minute during eight hours, the development of steam, dosage of water fed into the engine and to regulate everything in order that the tender engine works economically most efficiently. You need more to get there than a good training, more than the readiness to work together. You need to love your profession!!!” Source: A Hundred Years of German Railways, Yearbook 1835 – 1935,

11 FEDECRAIL MEMBERS COME FROM 25 NATIONS , 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 four times a year 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

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