Railway museum set to close down
ONE of Coventry’s hidden tourist attractions but a mecca for rail enthusiasts – the Electric Railway Museum is set to close later this year, it has been revealed.
The museum, on Rowley Road, Baginton, near Coventry Airport, announced it will be closing after its final open day of 2017 on October 8.
The museum has been forced to call it a day due to the creation of the Whitley South Technology Campus being created by developer Rockhill, which will support the growth of Jaguar Land Rover.
It was informed some time ago by Coventry City Council that its lease would not be renewed.
There are hopes it can find a new home but a location has yet to be found.
Established in 2007, the Electric Railway Museum is a charitable company which promotes the heritage of all electric trains in the UK through traction and rolling stock restoration and display and operation.
Run entirely by volunteers and funded by donations it has also been involved in gathering technical and photographic archives relating to electric trains. The museum announced its closure on Sunday after its latest open weekend and revealed plans to find temporary homes for its locomotives and rolling stock.
In a post on its Facebook page on Sunday the museum said: “We have reluctantly decided that we will close the Electric Railway Museum at its present location after the open day on October 8 2017.
“We will be actively working with the railway heritage sector to ensure that vehicles and locomotives currently on the site are not endangered with a view in the longer term to establish a new site for the ERM.
I“We would like to thank you for your support over the past ten years and continuing support in the future as we work to relocate the collection.”
Since the announcement, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched by Nick Hair, who is not directly connected to the museum but has concerns about the cost of relocating its trains.
He said: “I am not connected to the museum at all but feel extremely strongly about this very big loss for the community and nationally. Many of the exhibits are extremely historically important. “I have started a crowdfunding campaign for the many individual groups who have trains at the museum as they will need up to four lorries to transport the trains in their entirety to new homes across the country. “I believe that the community in Coventry would love to help in every way that they can and that they will be shocked at the loss of this great asset.” A Coventry City Council spokesperson said: “The Electric Train Museum has been on its current site at Baginton Airport for over decade but, as they have known for a number of years, the land will be required to facilitate the creation of the Whitley South Technology Campus which will support the growth and ambitions of Jaguar Land Rover.
“We are happy to support the efforts of the museum team and the developer Roxhill in trying to find new homes for the important parts of the collection and we understand that there has already been a meeting between the developer and representatives of the museum.
“It’s an interesting collection and we are sure there will be interest in safeguarding the exhibits.”
The link to the crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of moving Electric Railway Museum trains can be found here https://www.justgiving. com/crowdfunding/savethetrains