What is heritage, asks Jonathan Welch, why is it important, and what makes it relevant to the industry today?
As you will have read in last week’s issue, a new project headed by the National Association of Road Transport Museums (NARTM) to ‘grade’ or classify all of the nation’s preserved buses. When I first heard about it, I thought ‘why?’, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. But it makes sense.
I’ve heard some people say that heritage has no place in a magazine like CBW, which is aimed at the industry today, at managers, directors, operational staff, drivers, and everyone else who keeps the wheels turning. And it’s true, that’s a large part of our audience. But many of those have an interest in (some might even admit to a passion for) the wider industry, and that includes its past. How many companies have heritage vehicles in their fleet, for example, and how many staff own a preserved bus or two?
Quite a few, in fact; some more well-known than others. I drive them myself occasionally and see the effect they have on ordinary, ‘non-bus’ people. But it’s more than just about the vehicles. It’s about the other things too, the people, the places, the events, the pride. Buses play a huge part in people’s lives, and sometimes, it’s easy to overlook that in favour of the here and now. The immediate. The present. We shouldn’t forget that the industry that CBW is recording today, that will become tomorrow’s heritage.
There’s something else about buses too, and that’s how tactile they are. They’re the perfect interactive exhibit. Go to any classic vehicle event, and you can guarantee that while everyone will admire the cars and trucks, they will want to get on the buses. Relive memories of their youth, the feel, the smell. I’ve heard so many people mention the smell, and how it takes them back to memories of their youth. It’s a great PR moment for the industry as a whole.
But what does that have to do with the question, and why does it make sense for NARTM’s ‘Bus Inspectors’ to undertake what might be an expensive and laborious exercise to grade the nation’s buses?
A recent visit to the Museum of Transport in Greater Manchester (look out for more on that in a future issue!) highlighted something to me that’s easy to overlook. Two things, in fact. Space, and technology.
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The ‘Bus Inspectors’ have a mission to work out which buses are, objectively speaking, the most historically important, which, should the need arise, could help decide where funds are best spent in retaining those at risk, rescuing those which might be in danger, and ensuring the best representative sample of vehicles has a secure future.
That’s not to say that those which have been preserved for sentimental reasons are at risk or should be scrapped, of course. Far from it. But the issue of money and space is one which isn’t going to go away, and as owners get older, there may come a time when vehicles have to be sold on or face being scrapped if no buyer can be found. In other cases, owners might be seeking funding from bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund for restoration. In both cases, a grading system similar to that used for buildings can help make an objective decision about how important the vehicle is in the grander scheme of things. It’s something that, after some thought, I’m in full agreement with.
But as we know, heritage is about so much more. My museum visit reminded me that, as I wandered around the normally off-limits areas where artefacts and parts are stored. Vehicles, parts, archives, records, publicity, and even machinery, they all take up space, and it’s not finite. So there may come a time when we really do have to be more selective about what we preserve for the long term.
Looking over at the railways, and the preservation movement there, the problem is even more obvious. Coal supply issues aside, a steam train is relatively easy to keep running, but look at a modern high-tech, multiple-vehicle train. What do we do with one of those, even if we have the space? The technology will be beyond most would-be preservationists. Buses are no different. Technology can be great, and it will be just as important to make sure what we think of as modern and mundane today is preserved just like the early motorbuses or front-entrance, rear-engined double-deckers, for future generations, and that we preserve the laptops, the software and all the other things needed to keep them running, of that’s the aim.
But sometimes, a step back is needed. Subjectively, we’d like to save an example of everything. But where do we draw the line? The more we save, and the more time marches on, the harder it will become to find space, time, money and skills to look after everything. So it can only be a good thing to get a grip on the nation’s heritage fleet and what the thousands of preserved vehicles represent. If we’re going to be in the best place to look after the ‘fleet’ we need to understand it.
The heritage sector might only be a drop in the ocean compared to the mileages operated every day by buses and coaches across the country, but it does so much good, in so many ways, from skills to good public relations and so much in between. I’d say it’s more than important: It’s vital that we don’t overlook it.
