84001 - next to be de-accessioned?

Does that matter in the wider picture ? There are many stories to be told about Flying Scotsman and as the current NRM icon its trundling around the country gives a wider public the opportunity to relate to railways - howsoever that inter-action takes place. That public also generates income which helps fund the NRM's other activities whilst (hopefully) the NRM diverts a portion to (a) repay the loan for restoration then (b) reserve funding for future maintenance needs. At least the sight of 60103 alerts a wider public to the existence of the NRM and its siting at York with the expectation that a percentage might respond by visiting York with the city also getting a spin-off in terms of accommodation and general spend.

Referring to the mission statement it is a typical Civil Service statement that can have numerous meanings; in the context of Flying Scotsman "how they fit into the story" could be simply how visitors remember their railway experiences which may / may not related to Flying Scotsman. In that context Flying Scotsman is simply the key to that door opening into memory hence why that is an equally valid reason for its travels around the country.

 

I agree that the operation of 60103 is not doing anyone any harm, and will even have spin-off benefits for the NRM as a whole. The premise of the previous poster was that the NRM is quietly congratulating itself on its fantastic investment, because the high profile operation of the loco is going a long way towards fulfilling the museum's mission statement. I suspect that the reality is that the NRM is desperately trying to put a positive spin on the whole affair, citing the general public interest as justification in its own right, whilst trying to fend of its critics. My concern is that the NRM now regards "ratings" as its key success metric.

Maybe that mission statement needs to be revisited.

 

Back in the 1980's it was understood that the NRM had borrowed 84001 until such a time as something more representative of an AC locomotive could be secured, then it would finish its trip to the scrapyard. Later on this changed and the NRM decided to keep it as it was built by NBL and as already stated it is the last post steam mainline loco.

 

And in order to do that, the museum has to engage with the public. You will note that my use of those four words was not in quotes, therefore I was not quoting any official NRM 'mission' and it is not something that you will 'read' anywhere other than in my post. I was merely using the English language to highlight what the NRM does. If it does not engage with the public on some or all levels, it will have no visitors, therefore it will close.

I can play semantics and punctuation pedantry with you as much as you like. However, if you're going to try and be a smart(blank), please at least first understand the basic use (or lack) of quotation marks.

 

OK, lets leave semantics and punctuation pedantry to one side. I really wasn't trying to be a smart (blank) either. There is a serious point and I'll try to rephrase it.

You are absolutely right that the NRM needs to engage the public in order to fulfil its mission. And yes, the museum will fail if it doesn't engage. However, this is a means to an end and not an end in itself. The danger is that the NRM seems to see the engaging of the public (via the promotion of Flying Scotsman) as a self-justifying goal in itself.

Sorry if my previous post annoyed you. It wasn't intended to.