Railways Act 1993

125 Railway heritage

(1) A publicly owned railway company, the Board or any wholly owned subsidiary of the Board may dispose of any historical record or artefact which it owns and which is in its possession, but only if the disposal is in accordance with any directions given to the company or, as the case may be, the Board or the subsidiary under subsection (2) below by a committee (“the committee”) established under a scheme made under this section.

(2) It shall be the function of the committee—

(a) to designate those classes or descriptions of record or artefact which, in the opinion of the committee, are of sufficient interest to warrant preservation and to notify publicly owned railway companies, the Board or any wholly owned subsidiary of the Board of the classes or descriptions so designated;

(b) to give directions to publicly owned railway companies, the Board or any wholly owned subsidiary of the Board—

(i) specifying the person or persons or the classes or descriptions of person to whom the companies or, as the case may be, the Board or subsidiary must offer any historical record or artefact; and

(ii) where there are two or more such persons, specifying the order in which the offers are to be made; and

(c) to give directions to publicly owned railway companies, the Board or any wholly owned subsidiary of the Board with respect to the terms (including any terms relating to payment) on which the companies or, as the case may be, the Board or subsidiary must offer any historical record or artefact to any such person.

(3) Directions under paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (2) above may be of a general or specific character and may make different provision in relation to different classes or descriptions of record or artefact or different records or artefacts of the same class or description.

(4) A scheme under this section—

(a) shall provide for the committee to consist of a chairman, and not less than six other members, appointed by the Board with the approval of the Secretary of State;

(b) may make provision requiring the Board—

(i) to provide the committee with such administrative and secretarial assistance as the committee may reasonably require;

(ii) to reimburse any out-of-pocket expenses duly incurred by the chairman and other members of the committee in the performance of their functions; and

(c) may contain such supplemental and incidental provision as the Secretary of State may consider necessary or expedient.

(5) The power to make a scheme under this section shall be exercisable by order made by the Secretary of State after consultation with—

(a) the Board; and

(b) such other persons as the Secretary of State may consider appropriate.

(6) Subject to paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the [1958 c. 51.] Public Records Act 1958 and any Orders in Council made under that paragraph, nothing in that Schedule shall cause any records disposed of under or by virtue of subsection (1) above to become, by reason of that or any subsequent disposal, public records within the meaning of that Act; but any records disposed of under or by virtue of that subsection which at any time are for the time being in the custody of the Secretary of State for Scotland may be treated for the purposes of section 5(1) of the [1937 c. 43.] Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937 as records belonging to Her Majesty.

(7) Nothing in subsection (1) above, and no provision of any scheme made under this section, shall apply to any disposal made in accordance with a transfer scheme under Part II above.

(8) Without prejudice to the continuing operation of section 144 of the [1968 c. 73.] Transport Act 1968 in relation to the transfer or other disposal of any such historical records and relics, or other documents or objects, as are mentioned in that section—

(a) by any body or person which is a relevant authority, within the meaning of that section, or

(b) by any such subsidiary or former subsidiary as is mentioned in subsection (7A) of that section,

that section shall, in consequence of this section, cease to have effect in relation to transfers or other disposals of any such historical records or relics, or other objects or documents, by the Board as from such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(9) In this section (except subsection (8) above), “historical record or artefact” means any record or artefact of a class or description designated by the committee pursuant to subsection (2)(a) above.