The National Railway Museum explains its rolling stock strategy

THERE is an operational future for steam but not diesel on the main line – that’s the thrust of the Science Museum Group (SMG)’s recently published‘Operational Rail Vehicle Strategy 2019-34’.

Covering all three SMG sites – the National Railway Museum (NRM) at York, Locomotion at Shildon and the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester – the strategy includes rolling stock, which will remain operational and could return to action in future.

While the main point guiding the strategy is the view that, as museums, displaying collection objects is the best way for SMG to tell engaging stories and to reach a wide audience, it is intended to offer public rides at all three sites.

The document acknowledges that “there will continue to be an important role for operational locomotives” at SMG sites, heritage railways with loan partners and on the main line. However, operation of the museum’s main line diesel and electric locomotives on a regular basis is to cease, as it is felt this is well covered by the private and heritage sectors.

By its very nature, such a document will inevitably be controversial, as everyone has their ‘pet’ items of rolling stock. When asked the NRM to explain its strategy, York’s head curator Andrew McLean, who has worked at the