WILDFIRE RESIN
Over the course of the last 12 months, the National Traction Engine Trust has been carrying out trials and gathering feedback from members and non-members alike on their experience of using various coals and manufactured fuels in road steam applications. This was a planned activity to seek alternatives to the eventual closure of the coal mine at Ffos-y-fran, coal from which the heritage steam sector has enjoyed since 2007 as readily affordable and available, almost becoming taken for granted.
However, these trials were somewhat thrown into the limelight by the temporary pause in Ffos-y-fran coal supply to the heritage sector in early 2022 and the subsequent disturbances to supply experienced since. This situation coincided with the most obvious alternative supplies of coal from Russia becoming embargoed, along with other sources also disappearing or their trade route becoming prohibitive. The European energy security situation saw the traded commodity price of coal double and remain elevated as a result. The outlook in early 2022 was sobering for many and certainly remains an important and challenging topic for many owners, operators and enthusiasts of road steam.
Happily, Ffos-y-fran coal supply to the heritage sector resumed in May 2022 but has been beset with various issues since
