Scott to leave NRM

This from The Press, York...

"Andrew Scott is to retire as director of the National Railway Museum (NRM) later this year."

As well as encouraging new generations to the Railway Museum, Andrew also worked with today's industry, showing the railway how to celebrate its past and feel confident about the future.

He took a huge punt on the 2004 Railfest, when the industry finally showed it could work together, and also provided a venue for the legendary NRM Annual Dinner - the social event of the railway year!

So Andrew will be a hard act to follow.

Hopefully the DCMS will select a candidate of similar stature to become the new Guardian of the Railway's Collective Consciousness.

Indeed.

As My Lord Adonis now talks of 'we' and 'us' perhaps he may wish to get involved with the selection process.

As a good educationalist he will no doubt know that without proper regard to the past there is always the danger of repeating the same mistakes...

Up to a point Lord Adonis!

According to Ed Balls there will be no future spending cuts before the next General Election!

Of course attendees at last week's Fourth Friday/Modern Railway's Innovation Awards already knew this.

Lord Adonis spoke at the event and took questions at the end.

Asked whether the HLOS was still affordable he replied with a confident one word answer:

"Very!".

As the crescendo of applause died down it became apparent that in some areas of the room the response had been more muted.

Could it have been the presence of a former Rail Regulator that made an entire table of TOC MDs sit on their hands?

Or first hand knowledge of railway finances and the current 'downturn' in passenger revenue?