After the westalgie post, here’s a classic quote:
The stores were always full and we had spares for everything
He’s talking about working in a British power station during the nationalised era. He also says it was wasteful and bureaucratic, but then, I only came for the ironic resonance.
I wonder whether they kept spares for the really long-lead items (turbine rotor forgings &c.); but then if that goes you’re possibly better off building from scratch.