Cotswold line celebrates its heritage through new exhibition
THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has ‘doubled’ its presence in the tourist honeypot of Broadway with the opening of a new showpiece exhibition.
The top floor of Broadway Museum & Art Gallery, at Tudor House, in High Street – at the opposite end of the town centre from the GW/R’s current northern terminus – is hosting Journey Through Steam until May 7, which traces the history of the Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham main line and the heritage railway subsequently laid over 14 miles of it.
The exhibition features a stationmaster’s desk, ticket machines, platform posters, locomotive nameplates and headboards, station running-in boards, signalling and lineside equipment, archive pictures and a cinema screen featuring footage of the heritage line past and present.
Displays highlight the stories of residents who lived and worked on the line, its roles in wartime, and railway holidays.
It was assembled within six weeks by a team led by GW/R marketing manager Catherine Johnson and museum director Anona van Lawick. Railway members and supporters loaned artefacts which were collected and assembled by volunteers Mike Dodd and Rose Phillips.
Historical importance
One of the aims of the museum is to provide a counterbalance to the town station, which was reopened in 2018 after rebuilding. Passengers will be encouraged to make the journey into the town centre, a 15-minute walk away, and frequent its shops, cafés, and other attractions, while visitors who come by road with the sole purpose of seeing the Cotswold stone town may well be enticed to venture to the railway once learning all about it in the museum.
For those who come to Broadway with the main aim of riding on the trains, the exhibition will add another dimension of awareness of its historical importance and heritage that could not otherwise be accommodated in the station.
The GWR’s Birmingham to Cheltenham main line was constructed around the end of the British era of railway building, by which time much urban development in settlements along the way precluded traditional town centre presences.
Accordingly, several of the route’s stations were built on the outskirts of the places they purported to serve, Winchcombe being another classic example, and Shirley on the route’s northern stretch, the North Warwickshire Line.
However, once car ownership had become more widespread, many people chose to drive to their ultimate destination rather than use their local station, and passenger figures dwindled
Broadway station opened in 1904 and was closed in
1960, to be demolished three years later, although the line through the line remained open for through passenger trains until 1969 and goods until its official closure in November 1976. The last regular passenger service, a nonstop Leamington Spa to Gloucester service usually worked by a Class 122 ‘Bubble Car’ unit, ceased in May 1969.
Catherine said: “We are delighted to be working so closely with the museum to unfold our important part in the 20th century story of
Broadway. Our railway has become a vital part of the wide range of attractions that bring visitors to Broadway and the surrounding area, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the railway put Broadway firmly on the tourism map – a function it performs today.”
‘Lifeline’
Anona said: “We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with the G/WR to curate this exhibition to show how the arrival of the railway changed Broadway’s history.
“The artefacts and images that this exhibition showcases really brings the story to life.
“The line didn’t just enable local people to easily visit places such as Cheltenham, Evesham, Worcester, Oxford; it was also a lifeline for local traders and businesses.”
Once its initial time at the museum comes to an end, it is intended that the exhibition will then be moved to a succession of other venues or around the line, again with the purpose of highlighting its history and heritage.
The museum is open Saturday to Thursday from 10am to 4.30pm, with the last entry at 4pm.