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GWR STEAM in Swindon.


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Evening All,

 

Last month I took the train down to Swindon to visit the GWR STEAM Museum and I was quite impressed.   If anyone's thinking of going, do.  The pictures I took are now on my Flickr site and they might tempt you to go; this is the first one in the Photostream :

 


 

They can also be found in this album : 

 


 

Hope they're of interest.

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I live in Swindon so have been several times.  There is a significant admission charge, and it's not a patch on the NRM, but there are some things worth seeing.  The focus is really on the social history rather than the exhibits but you can walk under Caerphilly Castle and get on the footplate of the Dean Goods.  It's never very busy so you can spend as long as you like looking at things.

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If visiting, don't forget to call in at the Designer Outlet which is built within the site of Swindon Works.  On display there is 7819 "HINTON MANOR" - although getting a clear view can be rather challenging.

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If visiting, don't forget to call in at the Designer Outlet which is built within the site of Swindon Works.  On display there is 7819 "HINTON MANOR" - although getting a clear view can be rather challenging.

Which is conveniently opposite the Hornby shop. Given they deal with returns, they occasionally have some good deals

 

David

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I find the best time to go to STEAM is when the annual model railway show is on. Apart from the MRS nothing much changes at the exhibition.

 

Regards

I think the "main attraction" (where KGV is in Ron's pictures) changes from time to time - it was "Evening Star" when I last went.  There were also a couple of long-term restoration projects under way.

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The prime exhibit is rotated with the NRM; since I've been going, they've had KGV, Evening Star and City of Truro at the front of the platform.  I remember being struck by how "modern" Evening Star's cab was compared to KGV - it was fully roofed-in and more ergonomic; the GWR screw reverser was notoriously uncomfortable to operate, sticking right into the driver's ribs.

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I live within 25 miles of Steam, visit Swindon most weeks  but I actually go the the NRM more often. Steam is great for a one off visit, but I find the noise and lighting in the entrance lobby is absolutely awful and the admission charge is a bit daunting,  on the plus side the staff and volunteers seem genuinely knowledgeable and enthusiastic unlike the cocky ignorant little twerps who infest the NRM, who demand a "voluntary payment"  and wouldn't know a Worsdell Von Boris Compound if they were standing right next to it. 

   

I didn't know about the Hornby shop at the Outlet centre.  Last time we tried to go to Steam my father in law tripped over a loose flagstone in the outlet village and we spent 4 hours in casualty instead.

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Reading through the stock, I was surprised that STEAM has such a small amount of stock.

 

The stock list is so small is because it is not a very big place. The museum occupies the former Machine Shop R of the old railway works, which was a relatively small part of the works.

 

Also quite a lot of the museum is given over to educational exhibits

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