To: Brenda_Brownjohn@ipc.co.uk
From: cna@public2.bta.net.cn
Subject: Letter to the Editor (re Wardale's proposal)
Date: 29 Jan 2001

Your article (Feb 2001) revealing David Wardale's proposal to build a 21st century 4-6-0 provides certainly welcome news indeed. His "Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam" was the most enlightening and educative (and entertaining) of all the books that I have read about steam locomotives, and was the first to bring home to me just how under-developed steam technology remained at the time it was superseded. Like most UK enthusiasts, I enjoyed the belief that the A4s and Duchesses approached the zenith of steam capability, but as David demonstrated so vividly with the Red Devil, they really didn't come near it. Sad, I know, but it's a truth that shouldn't be denied.

David rightly concluded that no matter whether further developments had been allowed, they could only have postponed the replacement of steam on the world's main rail networks, but nevertheless it seems a tragedy that the enormous untapped potential of the steam locomotive was never exploited to its full potential (or even near it).

I fear that there will be too many closed minds amongst UK's steam fraternity for David's idea's to germinate into reality, just as was the case in China when he endeavoured to put his ideas into practice - but for different reasons. In China (as everywhere else) it was diesel-blinded managers and operators whose minds were closed! Nevertheless, I for one, would love to participate in and support the development of a 21st Century steam locomotive under David's leadership, so that the world - and future generations - can be made aware of what steam could have achieved if a little more care and attention had been given to it by its designers.

I would be happy to commit £10,000 towards the cost of getting the venture off the ground with more to follow (such as I can afford) if the venture proves viable. Unfortunately, living in China as I do at the moment, I'm not well placed to take an active role in the team that would be needed to establish a business plan, but I would gladly offer to do whatever is practical and possible to assist with the work.

Like David, I am not optimistic that there will be enough like-minded folk to take the idea any further, but I can't think of a better way to engage the interest of 21st century children in the fascination of steam than to build a new high-performance locomotive that shows what could have been their heritage if only it had been permitted. The engineering theories and design principles (which will be better and more clearly defined than any used previously in the UK) would provide a basis for future study and refinement by students of steam technology. Indeed, the locomotive could itself become an educational platform for students and researchers to expand the current knowledge and understanding of steam and provide a basis for further development of the technology in the future.

It's a very exciting opportunity that David is offering and one can only hope that the steam-loving fraternity will not turn their noses up at it just because David's model doesn't fit their ideas of aesthetics or historical significance. As to aesthetics, the "bitsa" model (bits of this and bits of that) is not unhandsome, and at the end of the day "handsome is as handsome does". As to its historical significance, this could be a chance for all of us to make history for once, instead of trying to recreate it.

It's a unique and exciting opportunity to take advantage of the unique skills and knowledge that David has amassed over many years of practical experience and experimentation. It should not be missed. As an engineer, and a lover of steam, I offer it my full support.

Yours

Chris Newman