I REALISE that mine is the lone voice saying no to steam in your paper but the simple facts will not go away.

Most people calling for live steam at our railway museum are over 60 years old and out of touch with modern enthusiasts.

For most of us, we would not lift our heads to watch a kettle steam past even if we were standing on the trackside.

So go ahead, spend another £200,000 of our money but don't expect it to change things around because it won't. It will continue, as at present, to attract the elderly and a few curious but no more.

What is needed is a name change (I think all parties agree to that) and to reflect the railway's long relationship with Swindon from Gooch (who always had much more to do with the town than Brunel) to the closure of the works in 1986 and on to the 21st century.

In other words it needs to appeal to everyone, not just the tiny minority who remember and enjoy steam locomotives.

Why is it not popular with schools people ask? It is because the children, indeed virtually anyone under 50, find nothing of interest there.

We need things we remember too.

G SCOTT

Swindon