Annual Report 2010
requirement for each steam locomotive to be equipped with a state of the art system costing EUR 200,000. The group had another meeting in small committee at Brussels on 13th November, where it discussed lobbying options and technical solutions for the costly ERTMS equipment. Fedecrail‘s Environmental Working Group had also done a good job by using the questionnaire circulated in late 2001 as a guideline for prioritising future action. We are grateful for the responses provided by several HRA member railways. The problems which occurred most frequently were lineside fires and air pollution. Dr. Phys. Reinhard Serchinger started working on this, and he has come forward with some good suggestions which will need to be tested and then made available to interested heritage railways and train operators. The Fedecrail Youth Exchange also took place in Budapest in August, and was hosted jointly by MAV Nosztalgia and the famous Children‘s Railway. It proved a great success again. These
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annual events have been getting more and more participants each year and open ways to involve young people in European cooperation, also within Fedecrail we may hope. Much to our gratitude, the next Exchange will be hosted by our new Polish member PFK from Friday 29th July to Sunday 7th August 2011.
opment and meet and support our new friends - an interview with Fedecrail‘s President was later transmitted on a national TV channel. The Bulgarians had missed our AGM and Conference but we were able to come over to them instead. Next day most of us travelled over the scenic 760 mm narrow gauge line to Bansko, as In June, our Council accepted part of our getting acquainted the Bulgarian Association for with Bulgaria. Train Modellers as a new member, pending approval by the Also in June our Council was next AGM. This had been rec- still investigating the plan to ommended after my visit to Sofia have next year‘s Conference to their first anniversary recep- in Switzerland, but alas curtion in May. Despite its title, this rency exchange rates made it new member was not just busy clear that a conference could with its huge model railway but not be organised within our has also had taken over respon- budget and so we had to take sibility for maintenance and de- the alternative route: velopment of the long existing small museum in the Transport The 2011 Conference and High School ―Todor Kableshkov‖ supporting visits programme in Sofia, together with the static will be held Wednesday, 6th exhibits outside: an electric loco- April - Wednesday 13th April at motive from the Czech Republic Dresden, Germany. The tour and a Polish steam engine for programme will feature visits the 760 mm gauge. The plans across Saxony. It is envisaged are now to agree with BDZ to that a post-conference tour to take over responsibility for all Poland may also be offered. their heritage rolling stock, which Further details have been published in HRA Sidelines will be a huge task. and are available on the On 23rd October our Council F e d e c r a i l website went there for its autumn meet- www.fedecrail.org ing, so all could see this devel-
MAV Nosztalgia Railway Heritage Park during the Fedecrail visit on 22nd April 2010 Photo: John Crane