Historic railway town opens new train exhibition

A museum's latest exhibition is celebrating the history of one of the world's first railway towns.

New Hall at the Locomotion museum in Shildon, County Durham, has opened to showcase the important role north-east England played in the creation of the railway.

The new £8m building houses 47 of the museum's rail vehicles, which have now been brought under cover for the first time.

Anthony Coulls, the museum's senior curator, said the exhibition "tells the story of the railway and the North East's manufacturing industry".

The exhibition highlights how the North East fuelled the creation of the railway industry by using the trains to move coals and goods across the region.

It uses film clips, graphics and its collection of vehicles to explore the area's history.

Highlights from the collection include an armoured tank, the world's oldest oil tanker, two snow ploughs and a tracked Bren Gun Carrier.

Locomotion is based near the historic Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was built to support the coal industry.

Shildon was originally home to the railway works, which opened in 1833 to serve the line. It closed in 1984.

Mr Coulls said one of his favourite exhibitions was a track of wagons that were made at the site.

"It's a real tribute to the people of Shildon works," he said.

The exhibition also tells the story of the men who worked at the factory as well as the women who were brought in to work as riveters during World War Two.

The addition of New Hall has made Locomotion what is believed to be the largest undercover collection of heritage railway vehicles in Europe.

Mr Coulls described New Hall as a "legacy project".

"It means that our collection is no longer open to the elements, it's dry, accessible and we can tell its story," he said.

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