has the time come.....

.... to start defining Preserved Lines as Minor Railways (or somesuch) and reserving the epithet "preserved" for actual museum exhibits?

In service locos are not , imo , preserved as such and are used and regenerated as necessary to the point that there is not much original left and are more akin to the locos of BR than they are to a museum item.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just I wonder are some of our lines moving beyond being hobby railways.

I suppose there would need to be a third description for those that fall in neither camp entirely.

 

Neither - splitting them into groups seems unnecessary. If you really want to, placing them on a spectrum might be a bit easier.

 

The museum 'industry', if I may use that description, uses the two terms 'Preservation' and 'Conservation'. 'Preservation' indicates something is being preserved and possibly used as it used to be, with any necessary repairs carried out to enable it to function. 'Conservation' is usually applied to working on objects to reduce/stop further deterioration, but not necessarily bring them back to working order; so most static museum exhibits fall into the 'Conservation' side of things.

Objects can move from one category to another - for example a loco may be considered preserved while it is in working order, but once the boiler ticket expires and the loco is withdrawn from service until it can be worked on, it is probably best described as being 'conserved', as undoubtedly it will be treated to minimise deterioration during the waiting period.

So my preference is for treating operational railways as being 'preserved', but they may have a number of 'conserved' items on display or in store. The term 'Heritage Railway' I think is the clearest 'tag' - it implies the preservation of a form of transport set principally for the enjoyment and edification of visitors, rather than as the means of public transport within an area. (Although some heritage railways do try to fulfil the latter function as well, if they can.)

That's why my own particular railway preservation interest (St Albans South Signal Box) is a 'building preservation trust', although the said building is in a 'Conservation' area!

 

Do most - indeed all preserved railways reproduce exactly as they were in 19** - no

Do they give you an idea of what it was like to ride on a steam era train (DMU/whatever) yes

 

Isn't this why the term 'heritage' rather than 'preserved' is in wide usage?

 

Yes, I believe so. I'm uncertain of the exact history, but I think the 'Heritage Railway Association' originally started out as the 'Association of Railway Preservation Societies' but changed the name a couple of decades ago to assist linking in to the 'heritage' world for various good reasons.

 

The Americans would probably call them Tourist Short Lines or something like that, regardless of whether the rolling stock was considered to be preserved or not. In other words, a railroad whose purpose it is to give the customer a ride for the sake of it.

In my limited experience, American lines don't make a massive effort to recreate a yesteryear experience. And what ambience there is will often be spoiled by continuous commentary or music.

Also, the American public seem to have a much higher tolerance for diesel traction. Still, for 99% of them, riding a train of any sort is a novelty.

Apologies for going off at a tangent ....

 

In terms of accuracy, "tourist" seem more appropriate to me than "heritage" which is often at variance with what is being offered and seems just a trifle self regarding.

PH

 

Is it actually necessary to try and put everything into a nice, neat little box with a ribbon on the top and a simplistic description?

Or - after the odd few tens of thousand years evolution - should humankind as a species now be capable of getting its collective heads around accepting the fact that everything and everyone is different, so trying to lumber anything with a simple label is a pointless exercise?

If anything, I think FS has the right approach.

 

Humans are compulsive categorisers. Everything has to be classified and catalogued!

 

the point was to ask have some railways progressed beyond being preserved lines and have evolved into a new category of railway

 

I would say so. There are relatively few pure preserved railways, and often it's a matter of degree. Some lines make a wonderful job of preserving or recreating buildings, structures, signalling and other infrastructure in a way that is totally evocative of a past era, not to mention smartly turned out staff. The compromises these railways make are essentials such as workshops and storage for rolling stock, and visitor facilities such as shops, catering and toilets. There are quite a few lines that get this balance just about right. The Bluebell is a great example.

Some other lines can hardly be described as preserved at all, because the trackbed is the only item that has survived from pre-preservation days, and they are there to offer a ride to tourists rather than a heritage experience. These lines can also be successful and worth visiting. Good examples are the Welsh Highland and Brecon Mountain.

Then there are lines that exist to give their owners somewhere to operate their engines, but which can also be fun to visit. Such as Chasewater and the Middleton.

Given this variety, it would be difficult to find a single word or expression to cover them all. Maybe FS is right, and it's a spectrum.

 

Hence referred to as the Heritage Spectrum ?