Heritage Railway Conference, York 2001

["Robert Lee" <robsl@ozemail.com.au>]

Greetings all.

There has been a lot of discussion on policy issues of preserved and
heritage railways in this group recently. There will be an international
conference on presicely this question next year. This conference will
provide an opportunity to compare notes with similar organisations around
the world, and also to discuss policy issues in a serious way. I'm one of
the convenors, so if you would like to contribute a paper, you can contact
me directly. I would like to have a significant Australian presence at this
conference. I have written individually to a few of the larger
organisations, but this is the first general publicity I've generated here.
I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone who might like to attend or
contribute.


Institute of Railway Studies
in association with Heritage Railway Association and FEDECRAIL

'Slow train coming: heritage railways in the 21st Century
An international conference marking 50 Years of railway preservation
1951-2001'

21-23 September 2001
National Railway Museum, York, UK

Second announcement and final call for papers

Since 1951 ‘preserved railways' and tourist lines have become a
significant part of the leisure economy in many countries. Such
operations are also an important way in which people can learn
informally about the past. But heritage railways (including tramways)
face an uncertain future. Increasing competition for people's leisure
time and money, ageing volunteer workforces, ever more stringent health
and safety regimes, and doubts about whether heritage railways are a
theme park experience or a genuine educational asset are only some of
the challenges to be met.

This conference offers a unique opportunity to discuss in an
international forum the future of heritage railways over the medium to
long term (5-50 years). We want it to be a meeting ground between those
with hands-on experience of setting up and running heritage lines, and
their supporters and critics in universities and elsewhere. Possible
themes include:
• identifying the threats to heritage railways
• training initiatives and the transfer of skills from one generation to
the next
• the changing role of volunteers
• the legal and regulatory context - especially health & safety and the
environment
• attracting new audiences and visitors
• conserving equipment and infrastructure
• the role of replication
• funding
• the educational role

Proposals for single papers or for sessions of up to four linked papers
(preferably with a nominated chair/session organiser) are equally
welcome. Although historical and contemporary analyses of heritage
operations are invited, contributors should bear in mind the
forward-looking nature of the conference. Purely descriptive accounts
are not wanted. All proposals *must* include a short abstract of 200-300
words per paper, a brief rationale of the session, if appropriate, and
full contact details for all contributors, including whenever possible
email addresses.

Please note that all participants will be responsible for their own
registration, travel, accommodation and other costs. Basic registration
costs will be kept to a minimum, and a range of accommodation will be
available through the York Tourist Bureau. The conference language is
English, although we hope to provide some translation to and from
Frencch.

The deadline for proposals is *31 January 2001*. Offers may be made
directly to the conference organisers or to the appropriate national
representative on the International Co-ordinating Network:

Conference Organisers:
Colin Divall, Institute of Railway Studies, National Railway Museum,
Leeman Road, York, YO26 4XJ, UK or University of York, Heslington, York,
YO10 5DD, UK; cd11@york.ac.uk
Peter Ovenstone, Heritage Railway Association, 33 Palmerstone Place,
Edinburgh, EH12 5AU, UK; fax +44 (0) 131 220 5886

International Co-ordinating Network:
Germany: Heimo Echensperger, Chair, Verband Deutscher Museums und
Touristikbahnen; Vice-President, FEDECRAIL; Echensperger@t-online.de
Italy  Stefano Maggi, University of Siena and Chair, Val d'Orcia
Railway; maggi@unisi.it
USA:   Courtney B. Wilson, Executive Director, B&O Railroad Museum, 901
West Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD; cb-wilson@juno.com
   William L. Withuhn, Curator of Transportation, National Museum of
American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560;
wwithuhn@aol.com
Asia-Pacific:   Robert Lee, University of Western Sydney, PO Box 555,
Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; r.lee@uws.edu.au

Further details includinb registration forms etc will be posted in due
course on the IRS web site: www.york.ac.uk/inst/irs/