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Steam railways ‘will run out of coal’, industry warns
A body representing heritage railways in the UK has issued a stark warning after planning permission was refused for a coal mine near Newcastle.
The Heritage Railway Association (HRA) says English coal supplies will run out in early 2021, with Welsh supplies lasting until 2022.
Chairman of the West Somerset Railway Jonathan Jones-Pratt said: “The whole industry is in jeopardy over this.
“We’ve got so much coal here but the problem is that we can’t extract it.”
Steam locomotives rely on bituminous lump coal to burn, which is relatively smokeless and comparatively clean.