Rail museum set to close

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.

“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.