Locomotion’s £8m New Hall to open in May
EX-LNWR ‘SUPER D’ No. 49395, ex-NER ‘Q7’ No. 901, and unique 2-2-4T No. 66 Aerolite will form part of the largest undercover display of rail vehicles in Europe when the National Railway Museum’s £8 million New Hall opens at Locomotion, Shildon, in May.
The three locomotives are part of the 46 rail vehicles going on display in the new exhibition building at Locomotion, which is scheduled to open to the public on May 24; when combined with the vehicles already on-site at Shildon, there will be a total of 99 rail vehicles on undercover display at Locomotion, making it the largest such collection in Europe.
Installing the various vehicles – which, in addition to Nos. 66, 901 and 49395, also includes the Hetton Colliery Lyon and ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Juno, as well as diesel and electric locomotives, carriages, wagons, snowploughs and even a tamping machine – has involved the museum’s biggest ever rail shunt. To enable this to take place safely, Locomotion will be closed on weekdays from March 27, with the final vehicle expected to be installed at the end of April.
New Hall is the centrepiece of a site-wide redevelopment programme at Locomotion, which also includes the restoration of the Stockton & Darlington Railway’s Gaunless Bridge – one of the world’s oldest iron railway bridges – following its relocation from the NRM at York. This is being funded by the Ironmonger’s Company and members of the public.
Head of Locomotion Sarah Price said: “I would like to thank all our partners involved in creating the magnificent New Hall, especially Nationwide Engineering and Durham County Council. New Hall effectively doubles the size of Locomotion and gives us much-needed covered display space to help conserve the collection, as well as giving visitors the chance to find out more about the railways and the North East’s railway heritage.
“I hope the significant regeneration at Locomotion can draw even more people to visit the museum and the region as part of the national Railway 200 celebrations and beyond.”