Locomotion in Shildon opens new hall
A brand new £8m collections building has opened at Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham
A brand new £8m collections building has opened at Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham. It is the museum's most significant regeneration project since it opened 20 years ago, making it the largest undercover collection of historic rail vehicles anywhere in Europe.
Over 100 vehicles are now on display, celebrating the role of Shildon as the world's first railway town. Along with a host of other improvements, the museum aims to attract 250,000 visitors a year to the region.
Locomotion is a partnership between the Science Museum Group and Durham County Council, with the latter having provided significant funding towards New Hall.
Sarah Price, Head of Locomotion, said: "I can't wait for our visitors to experience New Hall. Great days out are made at Locomotion, and now it's bigger and better than ever.
"Whether you're joining our special opening celebrations or making a date to visit us in the future, New Hall is the place to be to celebrate the North East's railway story for generations to come, ahead of the nationally significant bicentenary celebration of the railways in 2025."
Highlights of New Hall's collection include historically significant vehicles built at the Shildon works, two snowploughs, a tracked Bren Gun Carrier, two cranes, and the Hetton Colliery Lyon, built in 1851. The museum's existing Main Hall has also been refreshed and redisplayed.
Almost 1,000 vehicle moves were undertaken to achieve the new displays—the museum's largest ever series of shunts, involving a team of in-house workshop and traction experts, conservators and specialist contractors.
Inside New Hall, oral histories from former Shildon's rail workers are used alongside historic film clips and graphics that bring the collection to life and highlight the significance of coal, industry and freight transportation and how the North East's industry and innovation influenced the world.
The building is the centrepiece of a host of other improvements and additions to Locomotion's site, including the return of the iconic Gaunless Bridge, designed by George Stephenson.
Originally spanning the River Gaunless, from 1823 to its removal in 1901, Gaunless Bridge is one of the first railway bridges to be constructed of iron, and the very first to use an iron truss. The bridge was sympathetically restored and repainted to its original colour scheme in early 2024 and is now installed on the approach to New Hall.
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