Possible Coal Ban, food for thought

I have recently noticed a number of articles on the Internet that discuss the future of the possible coal ban and how this may affect our hobby. Below is what I have gleaned so far.

I am not for a moment suggesting we should panic or start losing sleep, but it is worth discussing and I suggest having a look on line (or in the press) and see what other groups are thinking.

On 14th January 2019 the UK Government announced its ‘clean air policy 2019’; for details of the announcement go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-air-strategy-2019, they are at the moment collating evidence ( DEFRA are ) to support this strategy. There is a strong campaign to eliminate the burning of household coal by 2025. The strategy also includes wood burning stoves. However a spoke person from Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy says this will not restrict use for heritage railways, most probably as the heritage railways employ many people and add about half a billion pounds to the economy.

The National Traction Engines Trust (NTET) through it's membership of the Heritage Fuel Alliance are fighting the corner of coal fired vehicles off the rails.

NTET also allow membership for scale engines like ours, and I hope through their involvement this will protect our use of coal too?

But, if we scale engine owners can only source coal from domestic suppliers at the moment, and I assume domestic means home owners and not coal sourced from the UK, then where would be source coal from. Will we need a licence of some kind?

Would we need to purchase from a heritage site?

Typically all this about to happen and I haven't got my engine in steam yet, so I'm off to the shed to get a move on and stash a few bags of coal.

Richard (Bristol)

My plan B has always to convert to LPG and fit burners in the fire box
Many model locos in the USA run on LPG and there are companies that can supply burners for your engine

NTET are involved in this along with other organisations and are actively looking for more small scale engine owners to join ,even starting a section for us.
Unfortunately membership has dropped to about 2000 now and the Trust may be in danger of no longer being an effective voice .
Jon

Yes I have seen the ongoing discussion about the coal supply in the heritage railway press and the NTET journal. One of the problems is the disproportionate press coverage and exposure given to the Extinction Rebellion group and other associated pressure groups. We probably have to acknowledge that burning carbon fuels is causing a warming problem but in fairness to our hobby and UK as whole, we are way ahead of other countries when it comes to cutting down on coal burning and the heritage sector are a very small percentage of the coal consumption.

There are plenty of killjoys out there who won't stop at trying to ban coal based heritage, they'll soon be after vintage cars and motor racing as well as short haul flights etc. In order to save the world we'll all have to have no pleasure and be miserable and bored! I can't imagine life without the Great Dorset Steam Fair and the like, and while I can I'm actively encouraging my grandchildren to take an interest in the hobby.

The one thing we all can do is to support the groups lobbying for our hobbies, and for traction engines that is the NTET. If you own a steam engine you and you want the hobby of "steam on the road" to continue and have a voice then join the NTET today, if you haven't already done so. Like so many organisations they are not perfect but as a hard working group of volunteers trying to help us, they need our support.

I agree with you on there being killjoys in the world. My theory is they’re just miserable people, but instead of bettering themself or seeking help they want to make everyone as miserable as they are.

I dont think we will struggle obtaining coal, it will just become VERY expensive

In another 10yrs the days of getting free coal at rallies could become a thing of the past

Extinction Rebellion, sadly Bristol may have instigated this group when they failed to stop a Metro Bus Scheme over agricultural land, hey ho.

Yes I too think coal will become expensive, perhaps rightly so for the masses if we wish to prevent global damage, but bearing in mind the very small percentage of pollution that we scale engineers could be responsible for, probably unfair.

I'll be joining the National Traction Engine Trust to ensure my opinion is counted.

In the mean while I shall Keep Calm and Carry On.

Richard

We now Carbon Offset as my wife now drives a fully electric car, so while I pollute for fun at the weekend, my wife makes up for it during the week

I read that the heritage scene in the uk (thats every single steam engine including models) puts out the same CO2 a year as 300 Atlantic flights!

there are 34.000 Atlantic flights each year! so I think we are small fry compared to that!

The UK wont ban us using our engines, the heritage sector in the UK is a huge part of why people come to visit us. we just need to take care when firing our engines, keep the fires well attended and crack the blower if making smoke!

The whole of the coal burning heritage sector obtains its supplies on the back of the domestic market. If DEFRA goes ahead and bans the domestic burning of coal the market to produce and import coal will cease. A group has been formed from heritage users including the NTET and Heritage Railway Association which has met with DEFRA to state it's case. The phrase "polluting for fun" has already been used by environmentalists... All engine owners both full size and miniature need to act with some responsibility... any idiot can make smoke it takes no skill at all. When clips appear on youtube such as that of a certain ploughing engine making its way up Cromford Hill in Derbyshire blotting out most of the town it does our hobby no good whatsoever.

The jokers that need to be banned are these folks



I hate to think what the particulate count is exiting these things