NOVEMBER 2018 2019 Awards nominations now open! THE HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION Issue 154 Isle of Man Study Tour report New HRA Fundraising advisor Scottish Forum 2019 dates Offers Fedecrail & Youth Wants Exchange 2018 Dates for your Diary Welcome to this latest issue of HRA News. The year is November 2018 7th Autumn Seminar Birmingham (Wednesday) Safety Management behalf on many fronts. Systems 8th Management Conference I’m pleased to say that the HRA Insurance scheme is Birmingham (Thursday) HR & Managing People Young Volunteers Coal February 2019 9th HRA Annual Awards and Dinner, Birmingham March 2019 5th Spring Seminar Birmingham (Tuesday) Heritage and Fundraising 6th AGM and Management Conference Birmingham (Wednesday) matches in the winter months. Inside this edition Chief Exec News 3 Help for Members 4 when we honour the achievements of members in the HRA Meetings 5 Finance Director Vacancy 5 HRA Awards nominations 6 HRA Awards Dinner 7 Member News 8 Whitehead Loco 8 Scouts World Record 8 Great Little Trains of Wales 9 Middleton Railway Award 9 Isle of Man Visit 10 Ops and Safety Matters 10 Offers and Wants 11 Scottish Forum 2019 11 Fedecrail’s Youth Exchange 12 Fedecrail Tramway Group 13 New Members 13 DO YOU WANT YOUR OWN COPY OF THIS NEWSLETTER? If you or your colleagues would like a copy please let us know the email Brian addresses, send to:- [email protected] The next edition will be published in February 2019 Enabling you to hear and know more about what the HRA does on your behalf, and to understand why we some- times seek information and data from you, is becoming a valuable and important discussion point for me. It’s vital for much of the HRAs work that we speak for the whole of our industry … Quite simply, through working together, we are stronger together. For example, by collecting and compiling basic data, we are able to highlight that ours is a commercially and economically important industry attracting 13million visitors each year, employing 4,000 people, engaging 22,000 volunteers and generating over a quarter of a billion pounds worth of value. Liaising and working together we can shout the big numbers to government, tourist bodies, funding organisations and others to ensure our industry gets We’re using this data in our work on your behalf on coal. Coal There are two linked but distinct issues here - preserving the right of heritage railway locomotives to burn steam coal; and the impact of the threat to supplies. Both issues have come rapidly and sharply into focus this summer following supply problems and through DE- FRA’s public ‘Consultation on Cleaner Domestic Burning of Solid Fuels and Wood’. The HRA has submitted on • To see the right of heritage railways to burn coal to be fully preserved; fully exempting us from compliance with whatever controls are imposed on domestic or other coal burning • least, some limited UK-based mining of low sulphur bituminous coal or dry steam coal In addition, the HRA has helped form the Heritage Fuel Alliance. This group comprises us, the National Traction Engine Trust, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, the Transport Trust, and the Association of British Transport & Engineering Museums, and will, by working together, strengthen our advocacy with government and others. On the agenda at this November’s HRA Management Conference is ‘The Future of Coal in the UK’ where we will be updating you on the current situation and seeking your feedback and views on how we as an industry should move forward. The strength of HRA members working together was clearly demonstrated at the HRA Carriage Maintenance heritage railways worked together to begin the task of sharing knowledge, collecting data, and setting a framework to establish carriage restoration and maintenance ‘standards’ for use across heritage railways. After a very successful and informative day, the data and outputs from the workshop are being collated and an- alysed. And it’s not too late to play your part as we will next be establishing a small team of practitioners to take the data and information gathered to begin developing a new set of standards that are achievable by all heritage railways and which all can work to, as well as producing new HRA Guidance Notes. Communication realise that our communication channels need to improve … not only to tell you what we’re doing on your behalf, but also for us to be able to speak with the people with the appropriate knowledge within your organisations when obtaining or checking data, taking soundings, seeking information and so on. To achieve this, I really need your help please, by asking if every railway, tramway and member organisation could supply me with a quick list of senior managers, heads of department and key personnel, plus their contact numbers and e-mail addresses. Not having some of this information really does cause headaches and delays when working on your behalf! make a growing difference when dealing with national bodies, legislation and regulation, and when facing industry wide issues affecting us all. Page 3 Help for Members We are pleased to let you know that we have a new fundraising advisor, Roger Kelly, who will be delighted to help the Bluebell Railway in 2003, becoming both a signalman and their Funding Director in 2008. During the following This came from a variety of sources including the Lottery (HLF, Big Lottery, Arts Council), grant giving trusts, and Government at both national and local level. He also developed a small network of very generous individual donors whilst various appeals received support from over 1,000 people. He has worked in fundraising for nearly 30 years, always on a volunteer basis, both as an applicant and also the the team that replaced the mechanical swingometer with the electronic gizmos we see today. Latterly in the com- mercial sector he was responsible for scheduling systems that ensured the adverts and program episodes were transmitted in the right order!! He is committed to the Heritage Railway movement and looks forward to providing advice on funding. He may be contacted at [email protected] The Railway Station, Havenstreet, Ryde, Isle of Wight. PO33 4DS. contact, please get in touch with: [email protected] or Tel: 0800 756 5111 and your message will be relayed to appropriate member(s) of our team. Our thanks are due both to the General Manager and other members of the RH&DR who have very kindly helped us in providing this function and, likewise, to the Board of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway for kindly agreeing to provide us with a new ‘legal home’. from Peter Ovenstone The Autumn Seminar of the Association of British Transport & Engineering Museums (ABTEM) will be held on Wednesday 21st November at the London Museum of Water & Steam (the former Kew Bridge Steam Museum) Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, London TW8 0EN. Final programme details are still being completed. As with previous ABTEM events, fees for participation will be very modest. Full details and booking information via the ABTEM website: http://www.abtem.co.uk/id10.html . https://www.visitbritain.org/visitengland-and-national-autistic-society-launch-guide-help-tourism-businesses Page 4 HRA Autumn Seminar Our 2018 Autumn Seminar is aimed at the ‘Controlling mind’ of the organisation and associated senior managers; Why the SMS is a key item in the Management of a Railway. How to ensure that it “Says what you do” and also that you “Do what it says!”. When it should be reviewed and by whom. What you should look for when auditing your SMS. The seminar will conclude with a Q&A session. Speakers will include HMRI Inspectors MacDonald Burlington Hotel, Birmingham - Thurs. 8th November 2018 A one-day conference for managers, senior staff, trustees and directors Topics and presentations will include: Employment Law and developing and managing our people. Address by Nicky Morgan MP on the work of the APPGHR and their latest report on young volunteers. Coal. Plus, the day presents an excellent opportunity for meeting, networking and sharing information and ideas with colleagues from other HRA members seminar will be looking at some of the key issues involved and matters such a accreditation, acquisition and dis- posal, and the perennial problem of funding and fundraising. This will be the AGM and the bi-annual conference for managers, senior staff, trustees and directors on key issues for their buisnesses. Recruitment of New Finance Director - tion is voluntary and unpaid, however reasonable expenses are available to travel to meetings. - overseeing of accounting procedures, yearly budgeting and the formulation of annual accounts. The new Finance Director, will be part of a small team which will include our CEO and a bookkeeper, and as a Di- The deadline for expressing interest is 14 December 2018 contact or send your CV to Barbara Barnes. Barbara will also be able to answer any questions, by email at [email protected], or on 07901 977597 Page 5 HRA Annual Awards Nominations HRA Nominations are open.... It’s that time again! For those of you who have accomplished something really special this year would you like us to help you celebrate it? If you would like to enter for one (or more) of our HRA awards, which will be presented at our Annual Awards Dinner in February, then nominations are now open. In order to qualify your organisation must be a fully paid up Corporate HRA member and you have until mid day on 26th November to let us have your entry in one of the 7 categories below.