I'm a volunteer on a preserved railway where I look after the signalling systems (mostly electro-mechanical). Most of the machines which operate the signals are 70+ years old (the manual is dated 1928 and most of the machines are stamped GWR!) and were installed 30 years ago after being removed by BR. To say they are overengineered is an understatement. We have some which have been operating 24/7 for the past 30 years without a major problem and I have begun to go through all our installed machines and refurbish them to last another 30, though this just seems to involve stripping them down, cleaning and painting and replacing the asbestos rope seal with something better. The motors and coils all test out okay, the bearings just require greasing and my hardest challenge has been finding some leather pads for the clutch brake. The controlling relays -massive glass cased things on a shelf- are of a similar vintage, again so overengineered that in 30 years of regular use I have only had to replace one out of about 20 despite two lightning strikes near the site which took out a number of fuses on the mains and signalling circuits.


Referring to the boiler comments, it would be interesting to compare the lifetime energy costs of -say- a modern gas boiler against one of the older models which lasted 20-30 years. I would include the energy involved in manufacture and replacement in this as it appears that while the older boilers weren't as efficient the new ones do not last nearly as long. So would it be better to have an old boiler, less efficient, but lasts 30 years or a new one, more efficient but requires replacement after 10?


Should we be demanding that manufacturers of appliances design for a life of 20 years or more, either by designing parts that can be easily replaced or using better quality components which will last the lifetime? Yes, I know this will be anathema to most manufacturers and those companies who'd love you to buy a new appliance every six months but just because your iphone isn't the latest must-have model is that any reason to replace it with another which does exactly the same job?

I'm a volunteer on a preserved railway where I look after the signalling systems (mostly electro-mechanical). Most of the machines which operate the signals are 70+ years old (the manual is dated 1928 and most of the machines are stamped GWR!) and were installed 30 years ago after being removed by BR. To say they are overengineered is an understatement. We have some which have been operating 24/7 for the past 30 years without a major problem and I have begun to go through all our installed machines and refurbish them to last another 30, though this just seems to involve stripping them down, cleaning and painting and replacing the asbestos rope seal with something better. The motors and coils all test out okay, the bearings just require greasing and my hardest challenge has been finding some leather pads for the clutch brake. The controlling relays -massive glass cased things on a shelf- are of a similar vintage, again so overengineered that in 30 years of regular use I have only had to replace one out of about 20 despite two lightning strikes near the site which took out a number of fuses on the mains and signalling circuits.


Referring to the boiler comments, it would be interesting to compare the lifetime energy costs of -say- a modern gas boiler against one of the older models which lasted 20-30 years. I would include the energy involved in manufacture and replacement in this as it appears that while the older boilers weren't as efficient the new ones do not last nearly as long. So would it be better to have an old boiler, less efficient, but lasts 30 years or a new one, more efficient but requires replacement after 10?


Should we be demanding that manufacturers of appliances design for a life of 20 years or more, either by designing parts that can be easily replaced or using better quality components which will last the lifetime? Yes, I know this will be anathema to most manufacturers and those companies who'd love you to buy a new appliance every six months but just because your iphone isn't the latest must-have model is that any reason to replace it with another which does exactly the same job?