Shildon Locomotion Museum
Encyclopedia
Shildon Locomotion Museum is a railway museum
in Shildon
, County Durham
, England
. The museum is a branch of the National Railway Museum
(NRM), which is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry
(NMSI). Shildon acts as an annex, with the most important exhibits on display in the NRM's headquarters at York
, though exhibits are regularly rotated.
which is "the largest arts prize in the United Kingdom
".
on the Stockton and Darlington Railway
(opened on 27 September 1825 with a train hauled by Locomotion No 1
which took 2 hours to complete the 12 mile journey from Shildon to Darlington
).
Shildon railway station
, on the Darlington
to Bishop Auckland
Tees Valley Line
was rebuilt and modernised as part of the museum's construction and is actually situated adjacent to the trail & demonstration railline through the museum site. It is served by all services on the line, operated by Northern Rail
.
was operating on the line on 3 May 2010, during a visit to the Museum.
is on display here.
's house. It contains several activities about the history of Shildon.
Since private vehicles are not allowed beyond here for the 750-yard journey to the Collection -- see 8), the museum's courtesy link bus, known as the Eco Bus, runs from near here on its 15-minute sequence. The first bus normally leaves at 10.30 am.
The current Shildon Railway Station can be reached from here -- a short walk across the track, just after the Coal Drops.
The trail then passes under the roadway, with the Eco Bus route crossing on to the museum's rail line for a short distance.
It is home to several locomotive
s from the National Collection, including a replica of Timothy Hackworth
's Sans Pareil
. The original engine was built to compete in the Rainhill Trials
, and is also at Shildon. These trials were to decide which engine was used to operate the intercity passenger railway between Liverpool
and Manchester
. After 175 years of absence from the town, residents were delighted at her return. The original Sans Pareil now sits proudly in the Locomotion "Welcome" building. The Mallard
which is regularly displayed in the NRM's main branch was temporarily on display in the museum from June 2010 to July 2011 before returning to its original location.
The main building is home to the majority of the collection and includes the sole examples of the prototype APT-E and Deltic
units. The museum has a wind turbine
which also provides power to the National Grid and an on-site biodiesel
bus for transporting visitors around the site without harming the environment
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Shildon
Shildon
Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated 2 miles to the south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 miles from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The museum is a branch of the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
(NRM), which is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry
National Museum of Science and Industry
The National Museum of Science and Industry is a collection of British museums, comprising:* The Science Museum, incorporating the Science Museum Library and the Wellcome collections of the history of medicine at South Kensington in London....
(NMSI). Shildon acts as an annex, with the most important exhibits on display in the NRM's headquarters at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, though exhibits are regularly rotated.
Overview
The museum was built during 2004 at a cost of £11.3 million, and is based on the former "Timothy Hackworth Victorian Railway Museum". The museum was expected to bring 60,000 visitors a year to the small County Durham town. However, during its first six months, the museum attracted 94,000 visitors. It was shortlisted as one of the final five contenders in The Gulbenkian PrizeGulbenkian Prize
The Art Fund Prize, formerly known as the Gulbenkian Prize, is an annual prize awarded to a museum or gallery in the United Kingdom for a "track record of imagination, innovation and excellence"...
which is "the largest arts prize in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
".
Site
The Locomotion Museum is sited near Timothy Hackworth's Soho WorksShildon railway works
Shildon railway works opened in 1825 in the town of Shildon in County Durham, England.- Overview :Shildon was the terminus of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, when it opened in 1825. Its first locomotive superintendent was Timothy Hackworth, who maintained their locomotives at the Soho Works...
on the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
(opened on 27 September 1825 with a train hauled by Locomotion No 1
Locomotion No 1
Locomotion No. 1 is an early British steam locomotive. Built by George and Robert Stephenson's company Robert Stephenson and Company in 1825, it hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825....
which took 2 hours to complete the 12 mile journey from Shildon to Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
).
Shildon railway station
Shildon railway station
-Information:Shildon railway station is on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in North East England and serves the town of Shildon in County Durham, England built by Timothy Hackworth...
, on the Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
to Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
Tees Valley Line
Tees Valley Line
The Tees Valley Line is a name for the railway route between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington and Middlesbrough. Also operated on the line are services from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Middlesbrough and Saltburn via Darlington....
was rebuilt and modernised as part of the museum's construction and is actually situated adjacent to the trail & demonstration railline through the museum site. It is served by all services on the line, operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
.
Museum landmarks
The museum is arranged as stops along the 'line' with station direction board signs and information points on the trail between the car parks and the main collection building. The Museum has a short length of track that is used to operate some of the operational resident locomotives and visiting trains. The New A1 locomotive TornadoLNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado
60163 Tornado is a main-line steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, in 1960...
was operating on the line on 3 May 2010, during a visit to the Museum.
1: Welcome
The welcome building is the building starting the trail up to 'Collection'. The original Sans PareilSans Pareil
Sans Pareil is a steam locomotive built by Timothy Hackworth which took part in the 1829 Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, held to select a builder of locomotives...
is on display here.
2: Hackworth
This building is Timothy HackworthTimothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :...
's house. It contains several activities about the history of Shildon.
4.1: Goods
This building was the former goods shed for the town, with most incoming and outgoing goods being delivered to the railway by horse and cart. The building is built partially from recycled stone sleeper blocks, the old fixing slots being visible in the wall.Since private vehicles are not allowed beyond here for the 750-yard journey to the Collection -- see 8), the museum's courtesy link bus, known as the Eco Bus, runs from near here on its 15-minute sequence. The first bus normally leaves at 10.30 am.
5: Junction
Visible over the tracks are former stables for the early horse-drawn wagonways that linked to the line.6: Coal drops
The coal drops were a refuelling point for the steam locomotives operating on the line. Wagons were hauled up an incline and the coal 'dropped' down wooden chutes into the tender below.The current Shildon Railway Station can be reached from here -- a short walk across the track, just after the Coal Drops.
L: Light engine
The light engine is an interactive pole that displays colours. You can change the name of the pole if you text in.The trail then passes under the roadway, with the Eco Bus route crossing on to the museum's rail line for a short distance.
7: Play
There is a playground for children and a separate area for picnics with rest benches. This is located adjacent to the sidings / marshalling area outside the Collection building.8: Collection
The final and largest building in the locomotive museum contains the main exhibition hall and a conservation workshop with viewing gallery where visitors can see the work carried out by volunteers to restore some of the exhibits. Other facilities in the building include interactive games, a cafe and a shop. The courtesy Eco Bus first leaves here, back to the Goods building (see 4.1), from 10.45am.Eco bus
The eco bus is a courtesy coach that runs from 10.30am, and from Goods to Collection and leaves the buildings every 15 minutes. Its final return trip leaves "Collection" at 4.30pm (summer) and 3.30pm (winter).Locomotives
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s from the National Collection, including a replica of Timothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :...
's Sans Pareil
Sans Pareil
Sans Pareil is a steam locomotive built by Timothy Hackworth which took part in the 1829 Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, held to select a builder of locomotives...
. The original engine was built to compete in the Rainhill Trials
Rainhill Trials
The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways, run in October 1829 in Rainhill, Lancashire for the nearly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway....
, and is also at Shildon. These trials were to decide which engine was used to operate the intercity passenger railway between Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. After 175 years of absence from the town, residents were delighted at her return. The original Sans Pareil now sits proudly in the Locomotion "Welcome" building. The Mallard
LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard
Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938. While in other respects a relatively typical member of its class, it is historically significant for being the holder of the official world speed record for steam...
which is regularly displayed in the NRM's main branch was temporarily on display in the museum from June 2010 to July 2011 before returning to its original location.
The main building is home to the majority of the collection and includes the sole examples of the prototype APT-E and Deltic
British Rail DP1
DP1, known as Deltic from the name painted on the sides, is a prototype demonstrator locomotive employing a Deltic engine, built by English Electric in 1955...
units. The museum has a wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
which also provides power to the National Grid and an on-site biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
bus for transporting visitors around the site without harming the environment
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
.
External links
- Museum website
- The official National Railway Museum print website containing many vintage posters and prints from the museum's collections