[MSN] BRASS nameplate has been stolen from a 19th century locomotive on display at a Yorkshire museum in the latest theft to blight the region's railway heritage.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Museum condemns thieves who stole historic engine's nameplate
Paul Jeeves
A BRASS nameplate has been stolen from a 19th century locomotive on display
at a Yorkshire museum in the latest theft to blight the region's railway
heritage.
Thieves managed to lever off the sign from the steam engine, nicknamed
Coppernob, at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York. The theft was
discovered by staff on their cleaning rounds.
Police were called in after the oval shaped, brass and black painted plate
was taken from the 1846 locomotive, Furness Railway 0-4-0 No 3, which is
displayed in the Station Hall. A security review is under way.
The nameplate is the latest in a series of thefts of railway heritage amid
fears that the historic items are being lost forever as criminals are simply
melting them down to sell the metal.
Andrew Scott, the head of the NRM, said: "Unlike many museums where
artefacts are exhibited behind glass, these great railway treasures are
openly displayed in good faith for the benefit of the thousands of visitors
who come to the NRM to enjoy our collections at close quarters.
"It is a very great shame when that trust is abused by a small minority of
extremely selfish and dishonest people.
"The plate taken from Coppernob is priceless to the nation but worth much
less on the open market because it can never be sold or displayed honestly.
"Fortunately theft of items on display is rare and the NRM has an excellent
track record over its 31-year history. Nevertheless we will, as a matter of
course, review our security arrangements following this incident."
Staff discovered the plate had gone missing while cleaning the steam engine,
which got its nickname because of the copper dome over the fire box on the
boiler, on January 2.
The 24-tonne locomotive, designed by Edward Bury, was used to pull iron ore
and slate from North Cumbria as well as hauling the first passenger service
on the Furness Railway. It was last used in 1898.
In another case, West Yorkshire Police released closed circuit television
images last week of two men stealing signs from England's smallest train
station on a popular tourist line.
Criminals have repeatedly targeted the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway,
which carries passengers on steam trains from Keighley to Oxenhope in the
heart of Brontë Country in West Yorkshire. Four stations along the route
have had signs worth more than £1,000 stolen in just two months.
26 January 2007

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