Stategic Steam Reserve conspiracy on Radio 4

One of Britain's lessor known conspiracy theories was the subject of a 30 minute radio show hosted by comedian Steve Punt on Radio 4 today, 10 May 2008.

You can listen to that show at the link below (which may only be there for a few days):
www.bbc.co.uk...

The BBC gives this summary:

Steve Punt turns private investigator, examining little mysteries that perplex, amuse and beguile.

He explores the case of the missing steam trains supposedly hidden away ready to keep the country running in case of nuclear war. Steve tracks down former railwaymen, combs through declassified government documents and even visits the secret government bunker where it has been claimed the so-called Strategic Steam Reserve was kept.

There is a brief thread about the SSR on ATS at:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

All the best,

Isaac

excellent post thanks OP.

also thanks for the link to the other ATS thread,
i have a wealth of info on de-commisioned bases and underground bases in the uk, and have heard of the SSR before.
i would love to know more on this subject but there isnt much out there on it.

any one else know anything

Here are a couple of the more informative links I've found on the Internet (which, by the way, include quite a few facts not revealed in the entertaining Radio 4 documentary this morning...):

www.willys-mb.co.uk...
www.willys-mb.co.uk...

The Radio 4 documentary concluded that the Strategic Steam Reserve was merely an urban myth, having been considered as a possibility but rejected. However, these webpages (if taken at face value) suggest that the SSR did exist until 1983.

These webpages also purport to name some of the individuals involved, such as "the SSR's senior fitter Bob Watson" - so it should be possible to look into this "urban myth" further if anyone is so inclined...

Here are a couple of introductory bits from those webpages:

Less well known however is [the vast underground complex at Corsham, Rudloe Manor's] cold war function as home of a vast collection of retired steam locomotives - the legendary strategic steam reserve.

The Strategic reserve was created as a means of providing a rudimentary transport infrastructure in the period immediately after a nuclear attack.

Those webpages conclude:

"In 1983 however, as a result of another round of defence cuts, the strategic steam reserve was deemed 'surplus to requirements' and the locomotives were disposed of for scrap."

All the best,

Isaac

thanks for the updates issac,

i have suspected that the Box tunnel/ Rudloe/ Burlington complex houses a lot of stuff such as the SSR, mailny due to the sheer size of the complex.

after being de-classified recently it is now set for a major overhaul and new development.

there is an excellent review of this on the Alan Turnbull`s , Secet-Bases web site.
homepage.ntlworld.com...

thanks

snoopyuk