Locomotion moving to Shildon

The 3rd "tat" photo above carries a banner for a nearby railway which was celebrating reopening a station and raising supporting funding, obviously some enthusiasts believe that a national museum should be purely historic and keep out of the heritage sector but many people clearly prefer an active living involvement in the working railway, clearly the SMG feel that Locomotion is delivering for the public hence the forthcoming massive investment there rather than an alternative site.

 

Reading between the lines dont think any objection was raised to having the stalls their (heritage or commercial) it was simply their placement (and that of other items - a personal pet hate) infront of exhibits. Especially at locomotion, which is a large open space surely the stalls could have been placed in a way to still allow open access & viewing of the exhibits. This then caters to all types of visitor

 

When Eastleigh works closed, Eastleigh borough council considered turning into part of it into a transport museum. There was talk about it becoming a southern outpost of the NRM, but not sure how serious that was.

However then the works reopened.

 

Is it just me....There is a large, instantly recognisable locomotive in this picture. It is probably the thing most civilians actually go to see. On its side is a brass name plate with letters a foot high, clearly stating its name for all to see.
Why then, do the clever people think it necessary to put up a sign in front of said locomotive, with its name in smaller writing, with a photograph of it outdoors. What can be learned from the photograph when THE REAL THING IS RIGHT THERE

 

That was a staircase to the cab to permit entry for those who wished to pay a certain amount to have a few minutes in the cab of 60103. I forget how much the fee was, but there was a queue stretching to the back of the tender and more.

 

The sign is obviously there to explain the exhibits background and usage. Otherwise to Joe Public it's just another big lump of metal not much different to those around it. They may have heard of Flying Scotsman, but how many know where and when it ran, what sort of trains it pulled? As long as it's not too intrusive I see good signage as a good thing.
So to answer your question. . . . Yes, it's just you

 

My thoughts entirely. And as much of the charisma of a locomotive lies in it's sound and smell, something that helps draw out why that locomotive - or any of the others there - is interesting can only be a good thing.

 

Last year I had the pleasure of visiting the US, and I made the pilgrimage to Green Bay to see 60008. There have been all kinds of accusations from British enthusiasts over the years that the Americans don't really understand or appreciate their A4, but personally I was quite impressed with the standard of the interpretation. They had a board up talking in detail about her third cylinder, for example - this being a very unusual feature in the US. There was even a board talking about corridor tenders, although it had a picture of 4464's tender because 60008 doesn't have one!

 

It was well displayed back in 2011 when I visited Green Bay as well, and that was before it was repainted whilst over here in the UK...

 

It is a star exhibit in GB, a largely disparate collection much of which is in lines seemingly left as placed over half a century ago.
This museum is not comparable to the NRM or Locomotion.

 

I'd not realised this was still an issue, but for your perusal, a petition flagged today, to keep Locomotion No.1 in Darlo:

https://www.change.org/p/science-museum-group-keep-the-loco-in-darlo?signed=true