Swindon Steam Railway Museum
Encyclopedia : S : SW : SWI : Swindon Steam Railway Museum
Swindon 'Steam' Railway Museum is located at the site of the old railway works in Swindon, England - Wiltshire's 'railway town'.
The site
It is housed in a restored Grade II listed railway building. This was part of the old Swindon railway works, which was one of the largest in the world and operated from 1843 to 1986. In its heyday, it covered more than 300 acres (120 hectares) and could turn out three locomotives per week.The museum
Apart from many exhibits of interest to railway engine and rolling stock enthusiasts, it tells the social story of the railway community in Swindon, with recorded personal experiences and film archives. Exhibits explain construction of locomotives, railway equipment and the railways themselves. It also tells the history of the Great Western Railway and the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous Victorian engineer. There are many hands-on exhibits and interactive displays. Enthusiastic ex-railway workers are on hand, to give a personal insight into many of the exhibits.There is a series of reconstructions of areas of work, such as office, stores, workshop, signal box and foundry.
The museum holds a massive archive of books, periodicals, photographs, drawings and plans, relating to the Great Western Railway.
Location
The museum is near Swindon's town centre, adjacent to the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet Village. It is located at Ordnance Survey mapping six-figure grid reference SU 143848External links
- [STEAM Museum] official website
- [Map of location]
- [Friends of Swindon Railway Museum]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.