PR to the fore as Flying Scotsman is rewheeled

NRM Chief Mechanical Engineer Rod Lytton watches a Flying Scotsman wheelset being lowered into place on 16 July. NRM

IN AN event which critics may dismiss as a blatant PR exercise but supporters will doubtless hail as a timely move, the NRM took the unusual step of inviting selected guests to witness a significant moment in the drawn-out restoration of No 4472 Flying Scotsman.

Some 90 people assembled at the York museum on the evening of 16 July to watch the giant 6ft 8in driving wheels being refitted to the frames, a stage in the LNER A3 Pacific’s restoration which the museum said was a ‘milestone development’.

Indeed, hype and spin were thick on the ground, for in a statement the morning after, the NRM described No 4472 as a ‘national treasure’ and a ‘beloved locomotive’, and claimed that guests watched its rewheeling ‘in excitement’.

Those of us involved in, or familiar with, the world of PR, will read the runes. The restoration is massively over budget – as revealed exclusively in Heritage Railway issue 113 – and severely delayed, and the NRM needs all the public, and lineside, goodwill it can engender.

One way of doing that is to be proactive, to force the publicity pace rather than awaiting events and then reacting to them.

The 16 July gathering was doubtless such an occasion – have a party, invite selected guests, turn up the hype control, and issue an over-the-top press release.

Hey, I’ve been there, done it, and got numerous T-shirts – and press cuttings. It works, and while I allowed myself a knowing smile on reading the release, at the back of my mind I felt an element of admiration for what the NRM was up to.

Rarely is anything gained in business – and that’s what owning Flying Scotsman is – by hiding behind a desk and letting others take the lead.

NRM press officer Gemma Sneyd said those invited to witness the rewheeling were a selection of Flying Scotsman supporters.

“We held the event as it was felt it was a very important step in the overhaul, an interesting spectacle to watch and an enjoyable occasion for supporters,” she said.

NRM chief mechanical engineer Rod Lytton talked the guests through the rewheeling, which featured a wheel drop dating from the days of steam.

“We are very fortunate to have a wheel drop in full working order,” he said. “Without it, refitting the wheels would have been very difficult, requiring the use of a mobile crane.”

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Buckfastleigh seeks new general manager

THE award winning South Devon Railway has begun a hunt for a new general manager to replace Richard Elliott.

Richard, 62, who played a pivotal role in the setting up of the line and its purchase from Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway operator Dart Valley Railway plc, is to retire in the next three years. Having been involved since 1965, Richard became the seven-mile line’s first general manager in 1991 when the South Devon Railway Trust took over the line from the Dart Valley Railway, leaving the security of his previous job as a bank manager in nearby Chagford.

South Devon Railway Trust chairman Alan Taylor said: “Richard Elliott has been a wonderful manager of the South Devon Railway since 1991 and it’s hard to imagine what it will be like here without him at times. But, like everyone, he has to retire sometime and we need to find a top quality replacement.

“Next to taking over the line, finding Richard’s successor is the most difficult task we've ever had to face. Richard will be a very hard act to follow but he’s now looking forward to a well-earned retirement and the hunt is on to find someone who understands what the South Devon Railway is all about and can make things tick. He or she will work with Richard during a handover period.

“We have a very special, friendly atmosphere here with staff and volunteers working hand in hand, so it’s essential that our new manager maintains that relationship and understands how to get the best out of our people and makes our visitors welcome.
“We simply cannot run the railway without volunteers, so it’s crucial we find someone who not only understands that dynamic but also can steer the South Devon Railway into the next decade and manage the major redevelopment at Buckfastleigh.”

Richard said: “The South Devon Railway has literally been my life for almost the last 20 years and I was a volunteer here for another 26 years before that, so I reckon to have done my bit!

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First royal visit for Keighley

The Duke Of Kent exiting the Old Gentleman’s Saloon at Oakworth accompanied by KWVR Preservation Society chairman Paul Brown. KWVR/K PILSWORTH

FOLLOWING the success of its record-breaking 40th anniversary gala on 27-29 June, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway ran its own royal train.

The Duke of Kent, visiting as part of its year-long 40th anniversary celebrations, was carried in The Old Gentleman's Saloon, which starred in the classic 1970 movie The Railway Children when he visited the line on 10 July. He also rode on the footplate of Ivatt 2-6-2T No 41241, which displayed the Royal Headlamp Code, from Oakworth to Oxenhope.

The royal train departed from Keighley after the duke had met Bradford Lord Mayor Coun Howard Middleton, Keighley town mayor Coun Amjad Zaman and stationmaster John Wright.

Also among the guests were the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe, and the High Sheriff of the county, Roger Bowers.

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SR unrebuilt Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific No 34067 Tangmere headed Past-Time Rail’s first ‘Torbay Express’ of the summer season on 5 July. The Bulleid drops downhill past Goodrington on the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway shortly after the start of its return run from Kingswear. CLASSIC TRACTION

Duke out of traffic ‘indefinitely’

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