I fully agree with John Hine's suggestion that something should be done to develop hitech steam traction in the UK, which was after all the birthplace of steam technology and remains today the focal point of its preservation. What John doesn't mention is the sad fact that steam was superseded by diesel traction, not because steam had reached its potential or because diesel was intrinsically better, but because of insufficient interest or engineering skill available within the railway industry to put up a battle for steam's retention. Equally it was to do with the politics and perceptions of the day, that steam became regarded (and is still regarded) as old-fashioned and outmoded and fit only for the scrap-heap or museums.

David Wardale's excellent book "The Red Devil and Other Tales of the Age of Steam" described his attempts to extend the development of steam traction technology in South Africa and other countries. To me it was a revelation to discover what one man could achieve, and to realise how much more could have been achieved had the interest and engineering skills been available, or made available, to develop the steam locomotive - or had the railway engineering fraternity been less conservative and more open-minded towards the ideas of Chapelon and later Porta (and even Wardale himself, even though he modestly professes to be no more than a student and practitioner of their theories). Most of the design improvements that Wardale undertook seem so fundamentally obvious as he describes them, that it is amazing that they were not evolved during the hey-day of steam.

For instance the principles of the deep bed "Gas Producer Combustion System" firebox for improving combustion performance and reducing emissions, is so obvious - and the achievements such amazing results - that one has to wonder how no-one thought of it before (especially on the GWR which used deep-bed fireboxes for 50 years without ever comprehending the full benefits that the concept offered). Similarly, the improvements Wardale achieved in the performance of exhaust systems are breathtaking. His book is full of similar basically simple design ideas which resulted in amazing improvements in performance and/or maintenance costs, that (quite frankly) it maddened me to read it. It so quickly became obvious that steam didn't just die - it was killed by arrogance, ignorance, conservatism and prejudice.

With the dawning of the 21st century, it is surely a good time for British railway enthusiasts look forward - to consider the future of steam heritage when the people of my generation who grew up with steam are gone, and when all that is left are preserved examples of early 20th century technology which serve only to confirm that steam really was out-of-date in the 1960s and that it deserved to be got-rid-of. If funds can be found to resurrect second-rate designs that were out-dated long before they began life on a drawing board, then surely it is worth the effort of raising the funds to design and build a prototype 2nd Generation Steam Locomotive to demonstrate the unexploited capabilities of steam traction, and to provide a living monument to what might have been. It might even act as a catalyst to spark the interest of future generations of engineers to look more closely at steam, and thereby preserve both interest in its history and even sponsor its further development.

I for one, would be willing to volunteer my available time and energy, and such engineering and management skills that I can offer, to such a project. Unfortunately though, whilst I am living in China I can't envisage being able to take a leadership role. One could only hope that David Wardale might be persuaded to rekindle his interest in steam development to provide his skills and knowledge to such a task. I wonder if John Hines and other readers of the Railway Magazine - and even the Magazine itself - might be interested in pushing such an idea towards reality.

Best wishes

Chris Newman