Wales’ railway heritage set to reach more of the public

Adam Johannes

Wales’ rich railway heritage is set to reach more of the public as Amgueddfa Cymru announces plans to rehome part of its historic collection of railway rolling stock.

The museum says the move is part of its ongoing programme of active collection management, aimed at giving underused objects a new lease of life. Many of the trains and carriages have been sitting in storage at the National Collection Centre in Nantgarw since the Welsh Industrial & Maritime Museum in Cardiff Bay closed in 1998.

Previous plans to display the stock at the Wales Railway Centre fell through, and when the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea opened in 2005, it was not possible to include the rolling stock due to space constraints and display limitations.

Over the years, Amgueddfa Cymru, a family of seven national museums rooted in communities across the country, has worked with heritage railways to loan or transfer rolling stock. This has allowed the public to experience a taste of Wales’s industrial past.

As an example, vehicles were loaned to the Vale of Glamorgan Railway from 1998 until the railway closed in 2005. Several locomotives and carriages have also been transferred to heritage railways over the years.

Now, the museum is extending this work, moving more of its collection to organisations that can display or operate the trains, ensuring they can once again be enjoyed by the public.

Dr Kath Davies, Director of Collections and Research said: “Being able to rehome some of this stock is the best outcome possible as we love nothing more than being able to showcase Wales’s historical treasure.”

“With over 5.3 million objects in our collection it is impossible to show everything, so being able to rehome these stocks at different museums to bring them a new lease of life is something we are happy doing.”

All vehicles being rehomed received expressions of interest from Welsh museums and heritage railways. Amgueddfa Cymru is now working with the recipient organisations and specialist haulage contractors to complete the rehoming over the course of this month.