FOR once, some good news about Steam. Since opening in June of 2000, the railway museum has hung, in financial terms, like an albatross about the neck of Swindon Council and, by extension, the taxpayers of the borough.

Its status as a money pit is bitterly ironic, as it would be difficult to find a more excellent museum than the one which tells of the proud history of the GWR and the people who worked for it.

That is not just the opinion of this newspaper or the people of Swindon: hundreds of thousands of people who have passed through the museum's doors, along with the judges of several museum award schemes, agree.

The problem goes back to the late 1990s, when potential visitor numbers for the attraction were grossly overestimated.

But now, thanks largely to Swindon Services chief John Short and his team, the museum is becoming less of a financial burden. Since taking over the museum's finances at the end of November, he has shaved £90,000 over what looked set to be a £650,000 loss for the financial year.

He modestly points out that what he is doing is not rocket science.

To which we can only say that, if we ever need some rocket science, we'll know where to go.