Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to Keith Tweddle’s letter recently (issue 1147) in which he comments on Locomotion and New Hall in particular.
New Hall is a display building with six set themes, one per track, looking at such things as the origins of moving coal by rail in the North East to the track which celebrates our rich heritage and legacy of wagon building for the world in Shildon. The vehicles on display have been carefully chosen to fit the stories, and as such, New Hall is a museum gallery with no need to move vehicles in or out for a good number of years. The rails extend out on to an apron for road access, so movements are possible by low loader, but the levels on site meant that ground work and trackwork to connect New Hall to the Locomotion sidings complex would have been prohibitively expensive. This has been explained on many occasions, during our consultation events in town and also “Meet The Museum” evenings where folks were able to engage and discus the plans.
Mr Tweddle refers to architects with bulging back pockets, and I can assure him that this is far from the case. New Hall does have lights on all day, yes, but these are designed to be energy efficient, and are better for the environment in which the vehicles are displayed than would be the case if glass windows were installed all the way along. On a summer’s day – not that we’ve had many of those – the building would have turned into a greenhouse, and sunlight damaged paint finishes, labels and all sorts. There is no need for a reception area, as Main Hall is the location where visitors begin their visit, where orientation and assistance is freely available. He also mentions limited access toilets. New Hall’s toilet is fully accessible, whilst Main Hall has the most fantastic Changing Places facility, which is a real major development; previously the closest for our visitors was Aycliffe Tesco.
As for being unable to walk down both sides of the vehicles, it is the same for Main Hall, although if Mr Tweddle really wants to see both sides of the vehicles, I’d be happy to give him a tour by appointment where we go down the maintenance aisles together and see what he wants to see. I’d also offer a chat and cup of tea where we can discuss his “etc etc”.
Investment in new museums and facilities is a rare thing in these financially straitened times, and the fact the New Hall exists at all is something to celebrate, and I look forward to seeing readers at the museum soon.
Yours sincerely,
Anthony Coulls, Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology, National Railway Museum
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
