CURATOR TALK At Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon

“Snow White To Stephenson”

Thursday May 18, 2017


Over the next few months, Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon will host a series of talks by Curators from the National Railway Museum.


The first talk in the series will take place in the Hackworth Room, Collection Building, on Thursday May 18, 2017, starting at 1.45pm.


The title of the talk is “Snow White to Stephenson”, and the speaker is Bob Gwynne, Associate Curator for the National Railway Museum.


Bob will give an insight into the pre-history of railways, going back to Cumbria in the 1560s.


Railways have been a major part of industry for longer than you think – more than 200 years before George Stephenson!


Before 1825, there had been more than two centuries of railway history – longer than the period of what we might term the modern railway.


Far from being a bucolic byway, the railways were major arteries of industry.


Bob explains all in his short talk – come along and find out more of this fascinating story!


Tickets for the talk are £5 each – this includes tea/coffee and a scone. Tickets are available from the gift shop at Locomotion: The NRM at Shildon or from www.locomotionmodels.com.


For more information, please call the Locomotion team on 01904 685780.

 

“The Lowca Legacy”

Thursday July 20, 2017


Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon hosts a bi-monthly series of talks by Curators from the National Railway Museum.


The next talk in the series will take place in the Hackworth Room, Collection Building, on Thursday July 20, 2017, starting at 1.45pm.


The title of the talk is “The Lowca Legacy”, and the speaker is Anthony Coulls, Senior Curator of Rail Transport & Technology.


Throughout the 19th Century, many companies across the UK began to make steam locomotives. Some began from nothing; others were established firms seeking new income. A number grew into major concerns lasting over the century; others came and went.


The Cumbrian town of Whitehaven seems an unlikely location for a steam locomotive works, but for nearly 70 years, an engineering company there produced more than 200 locomotives as well as other engineering products.


This talk looks at the history of the Lowca Engineering Works and the firms that operated it, and finishes with where you can see the surviving engines from the site in operation or on display in the 21st Century.


Tickets for the talk are £5 each – this includes tea/coffee and a scone. Tickets are available from the gift shop at Locomotion: The NRM at Shildon or from www.locomotionmodels.com.


For more information, please call the Locomotion team on 01904 685780.