Flying Scotsman

That's ridiculous. Of course they're going to advertise it. It features two of their engines. Virgin Trains by the way has been advertising it on Twitter, Facebook, across multiple news outlets as their event - the NRM have advertised that they're participating in it.

This turn to the thread can be summed up as "NRM Bashing". It's not clever. It's certainly not in line with the facts. It is utterly bonkers.

I thought after posting this morning, it couldn't get any more crass. I was wrong.

 

Some of it can, but some of it also reflects individuals' assumptions about whose event it was. As a regular VTEC user who gets their mails, the impression I'd had certainly didn't given me the impression is was primarily an NRM event - hence my comment. And it is not about whose fault it is, but how that responsibility is perceived.

 

Having re-read the VT press releases, they don't actually specify that the four trains will be running together for the entire distance. Some assumptions have been made and then complained about when they were found to be wrong. But hey, we couldn't have people congratulating the organisers on the event, now could we?!

 

And there's the key words highlighted. Read, learn and inwardly digest.

 

And, I repeat, as a recipient of communications from both organisations, who was aware through here of the event, I had not picked up where the balance between the two lay.

 

Considering the press release placed emphasis upon watching it from the station, anything else was always going to be at own risk.

The clarification you sought didn't apply to anyone viewing at the screen, but no, it seems everyone had to go out into the sticks to get their kicks. All of this pantomime is like bashing NR for not specially laying a fifth line for the Deltic.

The cereal was strawberry and oats, by the way...

 

Given how the press releases all had Virgin's name above the NRM's, I would have thought it was fairly obvious...

 

or "let's get this embarrassing new plastic thing forced on us by the DFT out of the way as quickly as possible so that it doesn't get shown up by the classics"

Jon

 

Okay fair enough. But that's not up to the NRM to change your perception of the event. There's been huge coverage of this.

And you've been told the NRM are ultimately not the main organisers. Is there still a problem?

Between this and the T3 thread you wonder if there's something of a cult of personality - an anti NRM thread in railway preservation.

 

... or just a few anti-NRM members who pick up on anything to support their views.

 

I can't understand why anyone would be anti NRM. For many years now it's been giving pleasure to tens of thousands of people, young and old alike

 

The problem with the NRM is that the enthusiasts think its a railway museum run for them, when its really for the masses. That's why they cant stand that certain terminology, or way things are presented are not entirely true to form, so that they are easier to explain, or for people to look at and enjoy. If everything had entirely accurate terminology and was done to the level of those with more in-depth knowledge, then you can guarantee that things like Formula 1, Science documentaries on TV and even police crime drama would suddenly loose audience share when they move away from the perception of what people want to see and expect, rather than being too heavy and force concentration which then makes people not enjoy a recreational viewing as much.

The other thing is that most enthusiasts want something for nothing. Thus, the NRM becomes the target of not showcasing what they have in the perfect way for only enthusiasts. I got sick and tired of so called enthusiasts moaning at NRM events because the public want to see engines up close, and enjoy their time sharing in our hobby. Even when the NRM seek to get revenue for events, like photo-op line ups which is used to subsidise the event they then attend for nothing, they still complain when they move the exhibits to give a different view or protect the product that they have sold to those that did pay up, and often pay up a fair bit.

Meanwhile, Scotsman still draws the crowds and its great to see the interest that others and many new faces have shown. Hopefully, the NRM will continue to do what its doing and showcase the best of what it has, while work with other preservation elements to keep some areas of the collection in working order, such as 70013 with 5305 association, and the HST power car with the Project Miller group - which will try to give others more varied experiences when they are seen in person. As for those that still moan, well they have taken a stance that they spout for half the time thinking that a core of enthusiasts agree with them - some diesel fans in particular, but in terms of numbers it wont effect much and the NRM should keep doing the excellent job that it does, as a massive silent majority appreciate what a wonderful world class museum and institution it really is.

 

Can you imagine in the modern day suggesting that there should be a publicly funded National Railway Museum, in a large purpose built building full of artefacts whose market value must now be enormous?

We should be extremely grateful that we have the NRM, treasure it and protect its future. Of course it's not perfect, and they shouldn't be immune to criticism, but some of the stuff people have said recently on here has frankly been a bit bonkers.

Simon

 

I know you and me 'have history', but I couldn't agree more. I get regular requests from my grandsons......"can we go again grandad"

 

Visiting as a child provides some of my earliest memories, so I treasure it and always make a point of going in whenever I'm in York. I first went soon after it opened, when it seemed like heaven on earth to an excitable kid (my secularist values hadn't kicked in when I was 4/5…).

Simon

 

Same. Although bizarrely one of the most vivid memories I have of it is the huge donation bucket (I recall it as being about six feet across and twice as deep though it probably wasn't) in the entrance. More than some of the engines, of which I only vague recollections of size and shinyness. Funny what sticks in the memory.

 

I remember that. And the neverending flight of stairs to get in in the first place…

 

I recall going on a trip to York by train not long after it opened too - first the Jorvik centre and a walk along the wall, before the NRM. Must have been 1976 as I was in my last year at junior school.

And on-topic, watched FS steaming along this morning, albeit from a distance.

 

First visited the NRM in the month it opened. Took a BR Merrymaker excursion - Class 40 haulage IIRC. Back then it didn't open on Sundays until after lunch so we decamped to the Railway Mania Bar in the station hotel. My first experience of Theakstons Old Peculier and I discovered that I rather liked it. Was a tad unsteady on my legs during the walk around the NRM.

 

Theres a reason its called "The Legend"...