LOCOMOTION, SHILDON
NATIONAL COLLECTIONS CENTRE
Based in the world’s first railway town, Shildon in County Durham, Locomotion offers visitors the opportunity to see more than 70 vehicles from the national collection. Highlights include the prototype Deltic, British Rail’s Advanced Passenger Train and the iconic LNER locomotive No 4771 Green Arrow. Locomotion’s workshop carries out a range of restoration projects which visitors can watch from a purpose-built viewing platform. This year the team completed the restoration of a 2HAP EMU, the most-travelled unit in the NRM Collection, which is now on display. The museum continues to host a busy programme of events, exhibitions and activities from steam spectaculars to guided tours. Locomotion continues to benefit enormously from its partnership with Durham County Council, which includes generous financial support. Work on the restoration of the historic buildings, including the home of the early railway pioneer Timothy Hackworth, has started with options for their future use being explored. Plans are also in development for a new storage building on a site adjacent to the existing Collections Building. Planned for completion in 2021 this will allow us to considerably expand the number of vehicles housed on site and boost our visitor offer.
The Science Museum Group’s site at Wroughton in Wiltshire was founded in 1979 on a 545-acre former airfield. It houses a superb range of large artefacts – such as the world’s first hovercraft and an early robotic arm used in manufacturing – available for both exhibition and research, as well as the Science Museum’s Library and Archives. In February 2019 construction started on our new collections management facility. By 2023 the site will become the home for over 80% of the collection, providing stable conditions for its long-term care and increased public access.
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