Shildon Locomotion Museum

From Freepedia

The Locomotion Museum is part of the National Museum of Science and History (NMSI). It was built during 2004 in the town that gave birth to passenger rail travel, Shildon, at a cost of £11.3 million. The museum was expected to bring 60,000 visitors a year to the small County Durham town. However, during its first six months, the museum pulled in a staggering 94,000 visitors. It has been shortlisted as one of the final five contenders in The Gulbenkian Prize which is "the largest arts prize in the United Kingdom". If it wins, the museum will receive a cash prize valued at £100,000.

It is home to 60 locomotives from the National Collection, including Timothy Hackworth's Sans Pareil (French: 'without parallel'). The engine was built to compete in the Rainhill Trials. These trials were to decide which engine was used to operate the intercity passenger railway between Liverpool and Manchester. After 175 years of absence from the town, residents were delighted at her return. The Sans Pareil now sits proudly at the entrance of Locomotion. It is the first engine visitors will see.

The museum is highly ecologically friendly: its roof is made of solar panelling, it has a wind turbine which also provides power to the National Grid and an on-site biodiesel bus for transporting visitors around the site without harming the environment.

On September 27th 1825, the world's very first passenger train made its first journey from Shildon to Darlington on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The train, hauled by Locomotion No 1, was unlike modern trains. It was slow, and took 2 hours to complete the 12 mile trip. The Locomotion Museum is sited near Timothy Hackworth's Soho Works.