Faulty Logic

[deird_lj]

I'm working on some upgrades to the Victorian train network. (Which are secret, at the moment. But I'm allowed to say that much.)

You know the sort of thing: add new signals, change the level crossings, and paint the stations. Nothing terribly major.
Except that we've got all these bits we can't upgrade, because they're heritage listed. All nice and old and pretty, so we're not allowed to change them at all.

Now, I'm a sucker for nostalgia. Love all the heritagey stuff. But it occurs to me that the logic in heritage listing goes something like:
- These buildings / level-crossings / random-pieces-of-metal have not been upgraded for over fifty years.
- Therefore we can't upgrade them now.

Except, aren't they the bits that need upgrading?

Comments

[twilight-dew.livejournal.com]

Also, I find that in this country they tend to 'heritage list' anything that's more than 2 years old!!

Just because it's old people, doesn't mean it's cool to keep.

[deird1]

Oh, what's really fun is the heritage-listed stuff from the 80s. Beige concrete cube-shaped buildings may be authentic, but do we really WANT to keep them around?

[carlos-v-b.livejournal.com]

Yeah, whilst it is important to keep certain parts of the city as an example to the future, it's annoying when it comes in the way of progress.

I guess I should be glad that the IT industry is so positively Darwinian in nature; old tech is occasionally saved for a museum, but apart from that it's high tech all the way.