A travelling railway exhibition celebrating 200 years of Britain’s railways arrived in Kingston, welcoming nearly 1,000 people across two days.
Titled the “Inspiration”, the museum opened its doors to rail enthusiasts, families, and school groups on platform two at Kingston station.
The event was facilitated by South Western Railway and Network Rail staff, and SWR’s regional development manager, Phil Dominey, was overjoyed by “Inspiration”’s popularity.
He said: “We knew there was a lot of local interest in Kingston and people wanted the train to come here. There was a real appetite for the railway here.
“We thought people would be off the train in half an hour, but many stayed for more than an hour because they loved it.”
The museum began with the “Railway Firsts” section, which highlighted the history of Britain’s railways from 1825 to the present day.
The next section, “Wonderlab on Wheels”, offered engaging hands-on activities, such as bridge and railway construction, quickly becoming a crowd favourite.
The exhibition concluded with the “Your Railway Future” section, which highlighted lesser-known roles in the rail industry, to encourage people to consider careers in the sector.
Dominey added: “The message we want to send is that the railway has various different jobs and activities that people don’t think of.
“It’s not just about the drivers and people working in stations, so hopefully children will see a potential career in the railway after visiting the train.”
See the video below to find out more.
Feature image taken by Mikhail Shklover
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