STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is housed in part of the former railway works in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, England –

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

's '

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated, or was expanded, as a result of a railway line being constructed there. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporary, ...

'. The museum opened in 2000.

The site

The museum is housed in a former engineering workshop, built c.1842 using squared rubble from the

Box Tunnel Box Tunnel passes through Box Hill on the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Bath and Chippenham. The tunnel was the world's longest railway tunnel when it was completed in 1841. Built between December 1838 and June 1841 for the Great We ...

, and forming part of the

Swindon Works Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835, Parliament approved the construction of the Great ...

of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

. The works was one of the largest in the world and operated from 1843 to 1986. In its heyday, it covered more than , and could turn out three

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s per week. Most of the former works buildings are now a

McArthurGlen McArthurGlen Group is a privately-owned and founder-led company known for developing and managing designer outlet malls. Background McArthurGlen Group specialises in developing, owning, and managing Designer outlet, factory outlet shopping c ...

Designer Outlet. Also on the site are the headquarters of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

(in the

Heelis Heelis is the central office of the National Trust, in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Heelis was the married name of Beatrix Potter, one of the key figures in the early history of the National Trust. It was built in 2005 by Feilden Clegg Bradley St ...

building) and offices of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

The museum

Apart from many exhibits of interest to railway engine and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

enthusiasts, it tells the social story of the railway community in Swindon, with recorded personal experiences and film archives. Lifelike exhibits show people at work and human interactions. There are exhibits explaining the construction of

s, of railway equipment and of the railways themselves. It also tells the history of the

and the life of

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

, the famous Victorian engineer, who masterminded the construction of the original Great Western Railway. There are many hands-on exhibits and interactive displays. Enthusiastic ex-railway workers are on hand, to give a personal insight into many of the exhibits. There is a series of reconstructions of areas of work, such as office, stores, workshop, signal box and foundry. The museum holds an extensive archive of books, periodicals, photographs, drawings and plans, relating to the Great Western Railway.

Location

The museum is near Swindon's town centre, adjacent to the Designer Outlet, at

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

mapping six-figure .

Predecessor

The museum replaced the smaller GWR Museum which had opened in June 1962 on Faringdon Road, just south of the former railway works. It was housed in a restored

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

1850s building which was originally a lodging house for employees at the works. The GWR Museum had five locomotives on display: ''North Star'', 3717 ''City of Truro'', 4003 ''Lode Star'', Dean Goods 2516 and pannier tank 9400 in the Churchward Gallery. In addition it had a selection of nameplates and some models and ephemera. Two rooms were dedicated to

and

Daniel Gooch Sir Daniel Gooch, 1st Baronet (24 August 1816 – 15 October 1889) was an English railway locomotive and transatlantic cable engineer. He was the first Locomotive Superintendent, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines on the Great Western Ra ...

respectively.

Collection

The museum is home to several GWR pre-nationalisation-era locomotives, two of which are the first members of their respective classes. The majority of these are part of the UK National Collection. * GWR Star Class ''North Star'' – a replica of an early

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

locomotive. Part of the National Collection * GWR 2301 Class 2516 – Built in 1897. Part of the National Collection * GWR 2800 Class 2818 – Built in 1905. Previously part of the National Collection. In 2017 the locomotive was deaccessioned from the National Collection and ownership was transferred to the STEAM Museum. * GWR 3700 Class 3717 ''City of Truro'' Built in 1903. Famed for allegedly setting a speed of 102.4 mph on Wellington Bank in 1904. On loan from the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historical ...

and arrived alongside 6000 King George V as a replacement for 4003 ''Lode Star'' & The GWR Railcar. *

GWR 4073 Class The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. ...

4073 ''Caerphilly Castle'' – Built in 1923. Part of the National Collection * GWR 4200 Class 4248 – Built in 1916. Largely dismantled to look like a locomotive in the works. *

GWR 6000 Class The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class or King Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives designed for Inter-city rail, express passenger work and introduced in 1927. They were the largest locomotives built by the GWR, apart from the unique ...

6000 ''King George V'' - Built in 1927. Arrived alongside 3717 City of Truro. On loan from the

as a replacement for 4003 ''Lode Star'' & The GWR Railcar. * GWR 7800 Class 7821 Ditcheat Manor - Built in 1950. Displayed in the nearby

Swindon Designer Outlet Swindon Designer Outlet is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England. The outlet occupies most of the restored Great Western railway works and is owned by McArthurGlen. Built by Tarmac Construction and opened in March 1997, it is a few m ...

GWR 9400 Class The Great Western Railway (GWR) 9400 Class is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, used for shunter, shunting and bank engine, banking duties. The first ten 9400s were the last steam engines built by the GWR. After Transport Act 194 ...

9400 – Built in 1947. Part of the National Collection The museum also displays a small collection of Great Western rolling stock and equipment, including:

Gallery

File:Female boilersmiths 1943.jpg, Female boilersmiths at Swindon Works in 1943 File:Coachbuilding.JPG, Carriage building File:Horse dray.JPG, Horse dray File:Scamell 1 db.jpg, Scammell Scarab File:4073 at Swindon.jpg, ''Caerphilly Castle'' STEAM station scene.jpg, Station scene with 4003 ''Lode Star'' File:GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro Locomotive Great Western Museum Swindon.jpg, GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro File:GWR 2800 Class 2818 Locomotive Great Western Museum Swindon.jpg, GWR 2800 Class 2818 Locomotive

References

External links

*
Friends of Swindon Railway Museum

2009 video report on the Steam Museum
by BizView.tv {{authority control

Buildings and structures in Swindon

Isambard Kingdom Brunel buildings and structures