THE National Railway Museum has confirmed that the workshop at York is to close in order to create both more gallery space and more space for displaying rolling stock.
Titled The Works, the Heritage Lottery Fund grant-aided facility opened in 1999, and it enables visitors to look down from a balcony on locomotives being overhauled, the most current highlight being LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, which is nearing the end of its overhaul.
Insiders say that this is one of the main reasons behind the decision by NRM management to call a halt on the restoration of Class 55 Deltic No. 55002 The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, as museum officials want to get started on converting the area into a display space as soon as possible so it can achieve its stated aim of completing the conversion, which forms part of a larger revamp project, by 2021. It is believed that work will commence in earnest once the A4 departs.
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When asked about the plan to close the workshop, NRM spokesman Simon Bayliss commented: “We are considering a range of options. The workshop occupies a larger space than we need for our current level of activity and it could be a prime visitor space.
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