Coal for Heritage Steam

RAILWAY NEWS FROM AROUND THE PRESERVATION SCENE

Coal for Heritage Steam

The following article is based upon a report by Steve Oates, Chief Executive, HRA, which appeared in the August 2021 edition of HRA News and is reprinted with grateful acknowledgements to that organisation

I’m often asked what the latest position is on coal, what we’re doing to challenge the Government, and have we thought of doing this or saying that!

In all that the HRA has done on the subject we have increasingly liaised with other heritage users of coal and, although heritage railways are the largest users for steam, our approach is now to work with, and speak for,all sectors of heritage steam.

Earlier in the year, many readers will have attended one of our preseason briefings, our Scottish Forum, or perhaps the STICK (Scottish Transport and Industry Collections Knowledge Network) conference. In each event I set out the current position on coal.

The following summary is based on those presentations.

Some Stats...

100 years ago, the UK consumed 192,000,000t of coal. Last year, it was 7,100,000t. In 2025, after closure of the remaining coal-fired power stations, UK consumption will be 5,000,000t or probably less.

In 1913, just before WW1, some 1.2 million people were employed in mining in the UK and extraction was at its height with 292,000,000t extracted in that one year. 107 years later, in 2020, UK mining produced just 1,700,000t and, by 2025, it’ll be just 2,500t, largely from the Forest of Dean free miners.

Heritage steam consumption remains steady at just 35,000t per year. For the past three years or so, problems relating to supply and our future use of coal have grown exponentially. Since 2018, the HRA has significantly ramped up its work on this and, for some time, we’ve been asking the UK Government for clarity on the future of coal for heritage steam.

The End of UK Mining

The initial response had been encouraging, with statements in both houses of parliament that the Government has no wish to see the end of heritage steam in the UK. However… • We have responded robustly to UK and Welsh government consultations on the mining, use and burning of coal, and on their Clean Air legislation. • We have met with ministers, their advisors and officers. • We have provided extensive briefings to MPs and other parliamentarians for debates and questions on coal in both the Commons and the Lords, and questions have been raised to both the Scottish and Welsh governments. • We and many individual railways have widely promoted the issue on radio and television, in national andregional press, online, on social media and in the steam magazines. • We’ve joined with others in highlighting the massive contradictions and differences in environmental impact between mining in the UK and importing fromthousands of miles away. • We’ve stated and restated the economic and social value of heritage steam – the jobs, the wellbeing, the social and community benefits, the asset values, the value to the nations’ cultural heritage, our charitable aims and our educational value. • The HRA gave extensive evidence to the study into the future of coal for heritage steam undertaken by the All-

Party Parliamentary Group for

Heritage Rail (APPG). • We’ve worked hard to help

UK mining companies secure consent to continue mining in the UK, lobbying the UK and regional governments and giving evidence at a regional authority planning meeting.

But the closure last year of Scotland’s and England’slast mines at Garlaffem in Ayr and Shotton near Newcastle, the Government’s blocking of the proposed Highthorn surface mine in Northumberland, the refusal of permission for the Dewley Hill surface mine near Newcastle, the proposed end of mining in Wales under the Welsh Governments’ new coal policy, and the now virtually inevitable closure of Wales’ last mine in 2022, means that, unless the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments change tack, mining of bituminous coal in the UK will end.

But what about still burning coal?

During the course of the APPG enquiry, DEFRA ministersdid confirm that the ban on domestic coal burning in England would not cover the heritage sector. That commitment was also confirmed by the then DCMS minister Lord Ashton in a debate initiated by HRA President Lord Faulkner in June 2019.

Lord Ashton stated: “Obviously, we appreciate the need to reduce public health risks, but we are working carefully to consider how we might achieve a successful balance between enhancing environmental and public health protection and ensuring that the UK’s heritage vehicle industry - and, indeed, heritage houses that burn coal in grates - continues to thrive.”

“We fully recognise the enormous benefits that heritage railways bring to the UK’s economy and tourism industry. The proposals in the consultation on domestic burning would not prevent heritage railways purchasing the fuels they need.”

That was probably the most supportive ministerial statement that our sector has received in recent years, and it gave us a lot of encouragement. Unfortunately, that didn’t continue and when Lord Faulkner asked an oral question on 21 January this year, the DEFRA minister, Lord Gardiner, said: “The legislation, which will come into force from May 2021, will end the sale of bituminous coal to households in England and lead to significant health benefits. While we acknowledge the indirect impact that this may have on the supply of coal to businesses, it is vital that the Government and the sector continue to work together to transition to cleaner alternatives.”

And, just for good measure two further recent Welsh Govt consultations may impact on the future use of coal there. So, a combination of new clean air acts and the closure of all mines producing bituminous coal – as well as a ban on any new mines – has left us facing the prospect that steam railways could, ultimately, be driven out of business, heritage fairs and road steam events would

no longer be able to operate, and the UK’s lastcoal operated steamboat and iconic main line steam locomotives such as Flying Scotsman and Tornado, would become museum pieces.

We now conclude that, unless there is a significant change of policy, UK mined coal will no longer be available after 2022 and the environmental issues surrounding the burning of fossil fuels is an ever expanding threat.

Economic Value of Heritage Steam

The UK’s 160 steam railways and the heritage road steam, maritime steam, and heritage industrial steam sectors attract millions of visitors each year, employ over 4,000 people, and engage some 30,000 volunteers.

Asset values extend to hundreds of millions and, combined, the positive economic impact of heritage steam to the nation’s economy runs to well in excessof £1 billion. Additionally, the national and international PR value to the nation of ‘Flying Scotsman’, ‘the Hogwarts Express’ and other film and TV icons is virtually incalculable.

All are at risk without coal.

Heritage steam has two simple needs. We need a sustainable, robust and affordable supply of high-quality bituminous coal to run and provide these much loved, iconic and educational assets for the publicto learn from and enjoy… And to minimise the threat to jobs and the long-term sustainability of heritage steam, we have been saying for some time that we must work together, we must think differently, and we must seek external – government – support.

Engaging with Government

Engaging with Government on the problems faced by heritage railways is extraordinarily difficult. Responsibilities are split between Westminster and the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Governments, and within the UK Parliament between DEFRA, DCMS, Transport and BEIS.

However, in May we were able to engage with Lord ‘Zac’ Goldsmith who is steering the Government’s new Environment Bill through the Lords… In answer to a question from HRA President Lord Faulkner he said:“The noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, mentioned heritage rail.I enjoyed a passionate conversation with him recently, and he really made the case for the exemption. The Government are very confident, as am I, that heritage railways will continue to operate, because although our electricity systems will no longer rely on coal, it can still be used by a range of industries that need it. The decision on where to source coal is, obviously, a matter not for the Government but for the companies involved”.

Technically speaking, we are not seeking an ‘exemption’, but simply an absolute assurance that the ban on domestic coal-burning will not apply to heritage steam operations and our preference would be to have that on the face of the Bill. Therefore, to strengthen heritage steam’s position, Lord Faulkner tabled an amendment to the draft Environment Bill which, if it were passed, would make the Act notapplicable to smoke emissions from heritage vehicles or historic buildings.

The amendment – Amendment 279 – was debated during the Bills’ committee stage in early July and received wide support. Following this positive outcome, just before the summer recess Lord Faulkner tabled a further, straightforward, amendment - signed by the same peers who put their names to the one considered in committee - which is intended to stop local authorities from using bylaws or other Clean Air Act provisions to prohibit the burning of coal for heritage steam purposes. He has also re-tabled the original amendment (Amendment 279) with the intention that it, and the new amendment are considered together at the Environment Bill’s Report stage. That will give the opportunity for the widest possible debate, with the expectation that at the very least we shall get cast iron ministerial undertakings on the record.

Where will our coal come from?

For 2021 there’s coal… and plenty of it. And this is likely to run well into 2022. Not much bituminous lump coal was used during 2020 so remaining stocks from Garlaffem, Shotton, Bradley and elsewhere are still being used up, plus there’s still coal coming out of Fos-y-fran in South Wales and there are a few imports coming in.

However, prices have gone up and there is a problem for users of smaller quantities as bagged coal

But what of 2023 and beyond? - Imports

Individual heritage railways and other heritage users will need to transition from buying coal from UK producers to buying stock on the World market and importing those supplies from overseas.

The current annual spend by the heritage steam sector is estimated to be in the region of £7 million, so for some months there has been a good deal of behind-the-scenes research and collaboration going on tofind high quality coal which can be imported on a consistent basis.

A new import partner – Hatfields - has been identified. They’re experienced in the aggregates and minerals market, and a couple of sources of high-quality Russian coal suitable for heritage locomotives have been sourced. Five UK heritage railways successfully trialled an initial consignment of this coal with positive reports on the burn quality and economy of the coal.

Importantly, Hatfields are prepared to work with heritage steam on an open-book basis so we all know the cost, charges and margins being made.

But we do need to be aware that securing future supplies will be subject to the World market and Global demand changes rapidly. Ideally, heritage steam must get to a situation where we can collectively order an annual supply of 35,000t – normally in 5,000 to 10,000t loads. The first 5,000t consignment has already come in and is being used by a number of railways. Thus, although it’s still early days, we know that imports of the right quality are available and Hatfields are happy – indeed, keen – towork with heritage steam.

And on the subject of bagging smaller loads, they’re talking through how to solve that for the road steam market.

Environmental Issues

So, we believe we can source sufficient high-quality coal on an ongoing basis and we know and have impressed on others our economic value to the visitor economy.

But what about our environmental value? We have been emphasising for some years that heritage railways must take their environmental responsibilities very seriously and mitigate emissions

and other environmental impacts. The easy bit is that we know many heritage railways operate in ‘green corridors’ with the tracksides of many lines identified as SSSIs. However, we are all subject to the growing climate concerns and, while we all know that coal is a highly efficient fuel, many children and young people have grown up without coal, blissfully unaware of its massive role as the fuel that drove the industrialisation and economic growth not only of this country, but of the World.

In 5 or 10 years time most, if not all, children and young adults will never have seen coal, let alone understood its use in powering the World… And perhaps their only ‘knowledge’ of it will be the viewpoint that it contributed to global warming!

So where does this leave us? We still want – need – to use coal. We know our environmental impact is minuscule. We know we’re a significant and successful economic driver. We know the iconic status of ‘Thomas’, the Hogwarts Express and Flying Scotsman. We know we are custodians of much of Britain’s rich transport and industrial heritage.

There’s the youth angle. Greta Thumberg: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money, and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!” …And in May, eight teenagers in Australia led a class action against their government to prevent a coal mine extension that could make it more difficult for coal mines to be approved in Australia on the basis of intergenerational equity and climate change.

Then there’s the wider environmental picture and this stark statistic: “When David Attenborough began his wildlife programme-making in 1954, the world’s population was 2.7 billion. Today it is more than 7.7 billionand will rise by another billion in the next 15 years.” And as we come out of Covid-19, there’s the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow this November with moves to end global coal extraction and the challenge of increasingly well-organised protest groups:

“Do not expect the view of our movement to be the same postpandemic… The environment and climate change activities will be stronger.”

We may soon get to the stage where we can no longer base our arguments on being only 0.02% of UK emissions… And what value are our economic arguments when there are all the emotions wrappedup in the environmental concerns?

As a basic minimum, and I’ve been stating this for three years now, we must get our PR right, we must introduce new strategies across our businesses to counter the environmental impact of burning coal, and together - as heritage steam and all users of heritage fuels – we must influence governments.

What about alternatives?

Currently the leading alternatives being researched are based on torrefied biomass. Yes, I know many are sceptical about this but there is realistic development underway and supporting the development of alternatives may well pay dividends in our ongoing wider discussions with government, environmentalists and others.

It is still early days but there are a few forms of alternative coal being developed, tackling the challenge of producing something from waste vegetation material and compressing and binding it into a product which stores well and is of comparable size, weight and burn quality of coal, and doesn’t just blast up the chimney when full steam draught is applied.

Coal Products Ltd have recently trialled Ecoal on the Bure Valley Railway in Norfolk. Using a 15inch gauge locomotive hauling a 50-tonne train, Ecoal, which is made up of 50% coal dust and 50% olive husks performed well. But whether it will work with larger trains remains to be seen. Meanwhile N&P from Holland are developing Subcoal which is also due to be trialled.

Perhaps the most promising is Biocoal, being developed at the University of Minnesota in conjunction with the Coalition for Sustainable Rail. This is still at the R&D stage and trails have been held up by Covid, but their trials so far suggest that biocoal may be suitable for use with 15-inch gauge and narrow-gauge locomotives. And there have been some trials with a larger US standard gauge locomotive which ran well.

But there is still much R&D work to do before any move to scaleup production and manufacture at scale to produce supplies in sufficient quantities. Assuming development is successful, this is estimated to be at least five to eight years away.

So, where does this leave us?

Going forward, our aim is to ensure that the coal we put into our historic and valuable locomotives is the best quality coal we can find. We believe such coal will be available. But between us, heritage steam and users of other heritage fuels such as the classic and vintage vehicle sector, need new thinking. It’s now about environmental and educational issues, and we must influence governments to ensure we can continue to use our heritage fuels for the long term. We’ve work to do to get in front of the Welsh and Scottish governments and, as indicated above, with the Environment Bill working its way through Parliament we’re working with the Steamboat Association and the Heritage Fuels Alliance to keep heritage steam’s voice heard in the UK Parliament.

Obligation… Opportunity… Duty...

I’d contend that heritage steam now, more than ever, has an obligation, an opportunity and a duty.

Our obligation is to proactively do all we can to minimise our impact and to be environmentally sustainable, while still being an economic force and maximising the wellbeing and community benefits we offer.

Our opportunity is to use our heritage and educational status to explain and demonstrate the use of coal and its place in the World. To become accredited museums andto use coal – even if heritage steam is its only use in the UK – to educate and enable future generations to learn and to ‘experience’ what coal achieved… and to see first-hand why it’s no longer in widespread use! Taking this further, as educational charities could we secure our use of coal for charitableeducational purposes?

And our duty is to actively investigate sustainable alternatives. To join with others in research and development, taking forward work already underway and seek new possibilities. And bearing in mind biocoal is based on vegetation and plant matter waste – who knows, we might be growing our own coal!!