Tag: railways

Science and Industry Museum in Manchester to Add New Galleries as Transformation Plan Extended 

Science and Industry Museum in Manchester to Add New Galleries as Transformation Plan Extended 

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Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum has revealed plans for new permanent galleries and a new railway visitor experience as part of the next phases of its redevelopment.  The museum plans to create a new Wonderlab gallery, similar to that in other Science Museum Group museums, such as the Science Museum in London and the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.

The new gallery will explore Manchester’s history of science and invention, drawing on the architectural features and history of the site to reflect the city’s creativity and innovation. It will be aimed at a target audience of ages four to ten, plus access for early years. An open competition to design the gallery has already opened.

In addtion, feasibility work will begin this year on a new free Technicians interactive gallery for 11-16-year-olds. The museum said it is looking to ascertain whether there is potential for the gallery to  open towards the end of the decade. It would be housed within the arches of the museum property’s viaduct, and would mark the first time this space would be used as public galleries.

The museum is also planning a new gallery and static rail experience at the 1830 station, which is set to re-open in 2030 in time for the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

Finally, feasibility work is also set to commence “in the near future” on landscaping and improving access in and around the museum’s Lower Yard, to create a new science playground and open the museum site, providing more access from other Manchester locations and attractions. 

Phase One of the Museum’s Transformation Plan, improvements and extensive repairs to the Power Hall, will be completed this summer. By the end of 2025, half of the museum’s site will have been restored over the last five years, following an investment of more than £40m from national government, charitable trusts and foundations, and philanthropists. The second phase will be completed in 2027.

For more details follow these links:

https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/about-us/we-are-changing/revolution-in-progress

https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2025/03/science-and-industry-museum-plans-wonderlab-gallery-as-it-extends-revamp/#

The entrance to the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester. Image courtesy of
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.

Railway 200: Celebrating the Birth of the Modern Railway in 2025

Railway 200: Celebrating the Birth of the Modern Railway in 2025

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2025 marks the bi-centenary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825 connecting places, people, communities, and ideas, and ultimately transforming the world. To celeberate the birth of the modern railway, three councils, Darlington, Durham, Stockton-on-Tees, and Tees Valley Combined Authority, have joined forces with a range of local, national, and international partners, to deliver a nine month festival of internationally significant projects throughout the bicentenary year.

The ‘Railway 200’ events are designed to showcase how the railway shaped and continues to shape national life, as well as inspiring a new generation of young pioneering talent to choose a career in rail. Events across the year will build to the main celebration on the 27th September, the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

A Global ‘whistle-up’ on New Year’s Day 2025, with more than 50 hetritage railwys blowign the ihsiltew son their engiens at the same moment, signalled the start of rail’s 200th anniversary. From January to September a wide variety of activities and events are planned to celebrate rail’s remarkable past, its role today, and its importance to a sustainable future.

For more details on these events follow this link: https://railway200.co.uk/ 

Heritage Steam to Return to Elsecar

Heritage Steam to Return to Elsecar

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Barnsley Museums and Barnsley Council have launched their new vision for the historic Elsecar Ironworks site, including the re-establishment of a heritage railway and much more. They would like to thank everyone who has shared ideas and thoughts already about this very special historic site with a proud history, which is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, thanks to our Heritage Action Zone Partnership with Historic England.

The future vision for the former ironworks includes:

  • New heritage railway destination, including a reconstructed 1849 Fitzwilliam locomotive, powered by sustainable fuels
  • New rail college and rail technology test track, training more than 400 students each year
  • Advanced engineering workshops showcasing the region’s innovation
  • New ‘Cultural Canteen’ and outdoor events and performance area, against the spectacular backdrop of the ironworks furnaces and restored blast wall
  • Active Travel Hub and Cycle Hire, to enable families and visitors to travel to Elsecar, and explore the Elsecar Valley, on foot and by bike

Barnsley Museums and Barnsley Council look forward to inviting everyone, starting with local residents, to special events, activities and tours in the New Year to discuss how this vision could be taken forward. It will take time to make the new development a reality and to secure funding to make it happen, but they are confident of being able to do so, and all the positive benefits it will mean for our region.

The proposed development is in addition to works due to start in Spring 2024 to The New Yard and The Ironworks events building, for which funding has already been secured from the Cultural Development Fund.

For more information, to watch a film about these proposals, and read a vision document and frequently-asked questions, please see: www.elsecar-heritage.com/forging-ahead

Science and Industry Museum Manchester Partners with Landmark Trust to Create Heritage Holiday Home

Science and Industry Museum Manchester Partners with Landmark Trust to Create Heritage Holiday Home

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A pioneering partnership between the Science and Industry museum Manchester and the Landmark Trust will see the Station Agent’s House made available for overnight stay for up to eight people, alongside free public open days. This is one of Manchester’s oldest surviving Georgian houses, and adjoins the Museum’s Grade I listed 1830 Station.

The Station Agent’s House will be the Landmark Trust’s first property in the region, and will join a collection of 200 historic buildings once completed. A final £118,000 is needed to meet the costs of the repair and conversion work, which will include an improved environmental performance through the installation of heat pumps.

The building, on the corner of Liverpool Road and Water Street in Castlefield, was built in 1808 for John Rothwell, partner in a nearby dyeworks. The house then provided accommodation for the Station Agent at Liverpool Road Station before being converted for shop use in the mid 20th century. More recently, the former residential house was used as offices when the Science and Industry Museum opened on the site in 1983. The shop frontage was removed, and a replica of the historic doorway was reinstated. The adjacent 1830 Station is currently being repaired ahead of re-opening to the public in future years as part of the museum’s major conservation and redevelopment plans.

Sally MacDonald, Director of the Science and Industry Museum said “We are delighted that the Landmark Trust will be bringing their expertise in sensitively restoring incredible heritage buildings to enable Station Agent’s House to be experienced by the public for the first time.”

Anna Keay, Director of The Landmark Trust, said the Station Agent’s House “is an outstanding piece of industrial heritage. The building will be sensitively repaired and made available to all through self-catering stays and free public open days. As a charity, the Landmark Trust is committed to saving and sustaining outstanding heritage, and is thrilled to be playing a role in Manchester.’

Science & Industry Museum Manchester Receives £3 Million Donation

Science & Industry Museum Manchester Receives £3 Million Donation

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The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester has received a £3million donation from The Law Family Charitable Foundation to fund the future of its iconic Power Hall gallery. The donation, the museum’s largest philanthropic gift to date, will support the gallery’s regeneration.

In recognition of The Law Family Charitable Foundation’s generosity and the significant benefit it will have for visitors, the gallery will be known as the Power Hall: The Law Family Gallery, when it reopens to the public in 2024. The Grade II listed Power Hall building was built in 1855 as the transhipment shed for Liverpool Road Station, the world’s first purpose-built intercity passenger railway station. It houses one of the UK’s largest collections of working stationary steam engines, most of them built in Manchester.

The gift is in addition to the £4.3 million given by the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to transform the whole museum’s environmental sustainability and place zero carbon technology at the heart of the museum’s visitor experience. £2.6 million from that grant will enable the Power Hall (currently undergoing urgent restoration thanks to £6 million from the DCMS) to reduce C02 emissions by 60% by 2030 through enhanced roof insulation and glazing to improve energy efficiency, an electric boiler and water source heat pumps to heat the space and power the historic engines sustainably, and a new building management system to monitor and control energy use of this iconic gallery.

Further details here: https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/about-us/we-are-changing/power-hall