Railway Heritage Conference: Opportunities and Challenges

The Workshops Rail Museum hosted the international Railway Heritage Conference from 15 – 17 October 2009.

Conference Themes

Railway Heritage Conference: Opportunities and Challenges provided an important forum to contribute to ongoing discussion and debate about the future sustainability of railway heritage. The three day conference program of plenary and parallel sessions focussed on four major themes.

Environment

Who are the environmental innovators and what can we learn from them?

New challenges are emerging for heritage railway operations - the introduction of new environmental standards and carbon tax, use of recycled water, management of trackside vegetation, fire prevention/control, and noise and pollution management.

Theatre of the Railway

What do visitors take away from a heritage rail experience? How do we ensure historical accuracy and authenticity? Which stories should we be telling?

Visitors to railway museums and heritage railways now demand more than static exhibits and rides in restored trains. A meaningful and engaging experience for visitors provides railway museums and heritage railways with an opportunity to capture the public's imagination, build audiences and tell the stories of rail and its people.

Training & Regulation

What creative solutions exist to meet the training and staffing in an increasingly regulated environment?

Accessing / retaining the skills and knowledge necessary for maintaining heritage railway equipment and systems, and meeting current regulatory requirements is a major challenge for the sector. Until now, heritage railway operations have relied on vast numbers of former railway employees with the training, knowledge and experience to volunteer. As the number of people who have experienced working on mainline steam diminishes, training the next generation and meeting future regulatory requirements presents a significant challenge.

Financial Sustainability & Economics

What partnership opportunities exist which might ensure the continued prosperity and long term financial sustainability of railway heritage? How do we measure and quantify our economic benefit to the community?

Rail museums and heritage railways are largely fixed cost, capital intensive operations. One bad season or a major equipment or infrastructure failure can represent the difference between profit or loss, not only for the organisations concerned, but also for the communities in which they are located.