[VIC] Stack Talk December 1999

[James Brook <ajmbrook@ozemail.com.au>]

If anyone here has got Stack Talk, take a look at Keith Findlay's
article on pages 8 and 9. I believe he makes some very good points about
the future of rail preservation in Victoria that have many similarities
to the arguments I was making a few months ago about the limited
resources and unsustainability of the current level of preservation in
Victoria. For all those here who were saying why can't we have all the
locos returned to service, get a copy of Stack Talk December 1999 and
read that article. I also fully agree with his belief that Steamrail
needs to become semi-professional and profit driven (but in my opinion,
only to a certain extent). The only thing I don't agree with is the
comment, "I believe the days of purely railfan tours are coming to an
end". I believe that there is room for at least one or two pure railfan
tours every year, for at least the next few years. I don't want to see a
return to the "good old days" because that is clearly commercially
unwise, but I think Steamrail and other groups need to remember where
they came from and not to forget it. Steamrail and other groups need to
run some tours every year that are popular with railfans, ie: plenty of
photo stops and wooden cars if possible.

Note: If you are going to reply to this please read the relevant article
in Stack Talk December 1999, "Railway Preservation at the Crossroads".


--
- James Brook -

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