Difference between revisions of "The Engine House"

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Revision as of 20:17, 20 March 2016

View of The Engine House from Highley Station (Wikimedia Commons)

The Engine House at Highley is the SVRSevern Valley Railway's main museum. It is situated approximately 200 yards from Highley Station, on the site of the former sidings of Highley Colliery. The Kidderminster Railway Museum is the other major museum on the railway, being run by separate charitable organisation.


History

The Engine House was originally conceived as a simple storage building to house "out-of-ticket" engines under cover in order to reduce the damage done by the weather. However, for various reasons including attracting external funding, the project morphed into the visitor museum that stands today, whilst still achieving the original aim of storing locomotives. The "modern" architectural design of the building has attracted polarised comments, with land instability due to mining often being cited as the reason why a more traditional look could not be adopted.

The Engine House was scheduled to open in the summer of 2007. However Highley was one of the locations which suffered significant damage in the freak storms in June and July of that year. As a result, opening to the public was delayed until Good Friday, 21 March 2008; the day which also saw the resumption of services over the full length of the line.

An opening ceremony was held in summer 2009. However the SVRSevern Valley Railway’s patron H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester was unable to attend due to illness, so The Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire carried out the official duties in his place. The Duke finally visited the Engine House on 21 October 2009, when he also carried out the opening ceremony for the new Highley footbridge.

There were over 120,000 visitors to the Engine House during the first 2 years of opening[1]. Before the opening of the Engine House, BR 80300 Post Office Sorting Van was used as the visitor centre.

Items on display and facilities

Steam locomotives currently on display while awaiting overhaul are:

Carriages and goods wagons on display include:

In 2015 a new display was introduced celebrating 50 years of the Severn Valley Railway. There are numerous other exhibits, video features and interactive items.

Facilities at The Engine House include the 'Flag & Whistle Food Stop' restaurant, a gift shop and an outdoor children's play area. The restaurant balcony and outdoor picnic areas overlook the line and give good views of trains leaving and arriving at Highley.

Entry to the Engine House is free with possession of a valid ‘Freedom of the line’ ticket; otherwise an admission fee is payable.

Gallery

References

  1. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 168

Links

The Engine House on www.svr.co.uk

See Also

Highley
Kidderminster Railway Museum