Why we should mourn for the final coal train

Imagine a country that doesn’t destroy its coal fired power stations when they close – instead it mothballs them. Imagine a country that in times of need, reactivates them and gives coal trains priority over passenger trains, realising that ‘keeping the lights on’ is more important than bowing to green dogma that would see its population freeze in the dark and render their computers useless. Well, in Germany it is a reality – the Government, very wisely, realising that ‘Freeze to be green’ is not a great political slogan. I suspect that even dictators like Kim Jong Un would baulk at using it, for fear of a revolution.

Plans are already well underway for next year’s celebrations that will mark the bicentenary of the railways – a mode of transport initially invented to move coal. However, with the closure of Ratcliffe – the UK’s last coal fired power station – due in September, this month will see the final coal train to such a facility to travel on the national network. The final train is expected to run on 28 June and will bring the curtain down on a type of traffic that has provided jobs for millions of rail workers over many decades – the first Merry-go-round (MGR) being introduced in 1966 – a concept that revolutionised coal deliveries from pit to power station. Oxford station was typical of many locations in the 1970s and 1980s, with an endless procession of MGR traffic to and from Didcot power station.

Sights such as this coal train near Derby will shortly be consigned to the history books: https://www.flickr.com/photos/190687851@N02/53505489912/in/photolist-2pw6C3L

The green zealots who insist that power stations are wiped from the face of the earth are unwilling to learn from history – indeed, they remain a child, for doing so. By history I mean any time before they were born, not just a century and more ago. As for those that talk about being ‘on the wrong side of history’ they forget that history doesn’t take sides. The history books are more often than not written by the victors – although social media is giving opposing views an opportunity to challenge the conventional narrative on a number of subjects. That is something that would have been impossible until relatively recently.

Closure of pits, many with coal seams far from exhausted, and the decimation of coal traffic on rail has had a huge impact on workers, their families and communities. Behind every job loss is a suffering family.

‘Biomass’ they call, claiming it as a green substitute for coal. How can moving it half way around the world by ship and then transporting it by diesel hauled freight trains to the power stations be ‘green’? Just as this ridiculous pretence that battery cars are green – advocates conveniently forgetting the child labour used to mine cobalt in the most unsafe of conditions – they refuse to admit that off-shoring the UK’s pollution onto other countries is morally wrong. The Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) said that “Per unit of energy, biomass results in higher emissions than coal.” It went onto say that “When companies cut down and burn trees to make electricity, the result is increased climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions, devastated ecosystems, and displaced wildlife.” Hardly what one could call a consistent policy.

The west has benefitted from making use of million tons of coal over many centuries – what right have we to deny this same opportunity to up and coming countries such as India and China? both of which continue to build coal fired power stations. Only the most naive would believe that those governments are looking at the UK and thinking ‘Hey, let’s follow the UK’. If the UK Government really was serious about reducing emissions, it would invest in nuclear power and would tackle the energy crisis that has , according to the UK’s biggest rail freight operator DB Cargo, led to it scrapping its fleet of electric locomotives, as it claims they cost 50% more to operate than its diesel fleet – a price that it says customers refuse to pay. Following on from that, the Government would embark on a network wide electrification programme, instead of faffing around with batteries and hydrogen.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the final travelling Post Office train (TPO), although a very small amount of mail and parcels do continue to travel by rail. This however is to reduce even further this month, with news that the Newcastle to London and return mail trains are to finish – the mail gong by road instead. This train travels via the East Coast Main Line and the rolling stock is required to strengthen West Coast mail services, which have a much higher volume of traffic. Six drivers n the North East have been made redundant as a result. Again, electric trains give way to diesel, albeit lorries in this case.

How long before steam becomes extinct on heritage lines? I’m sure some activists are already preparing to go into battle over a Black 5, such as the one seen here at the Great Central Railway. https://www.flickr.com/photos/190687851@N02/53762857762/

*Now down to very limited stock* Railway books that the public were never meant to read. Gleaned from internal reports and staff directly involved in incidents, the  'A Funny Thing Happened on the Train'  books are a combination of history, horror and humour – most of which has never been in the public domain, until now! First two books in the trilogy are now down to limited stock. 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Train to London': https://www.chimewhistle.co.uk/shop/p/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-train-to-london and 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Train to the Midlands': https://www.chimewhistle.co.uk/shop/p/afunnythinghappenedonthetraintothemidlands Both books contain approximately 200 creative colour photographs.