Worth A Visit? Inside STEAM: The GWR Swindon Museum! — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:01The Swindon Works were as  grand as they were gigantic.
2. 0:05Spanning more than 300 acres and employing  a small army of over 14,000 people,
3. 0:12three brand new locomotives a week  could be rolled out for GWR metals.
4. 0:17They also built thousands of carriages,  wagons, and everything inbetween.
5. 0:23Eventually, decline set in, leading to  an unceremonious full closure in 1986.
6. 0:30But, since then, the history of  this remarkable place has been
7. 0:34painstakingly preserved for  future generations to enjoy.
8. 0:40STEAM - The Museum of the Great Western  Railway - opened in 2000, to royal fanfare.
9. 0:46“Are you all trying to get in?”
10. 0:47It’s a poignant homage, not just to the  Swindon Works, but to the wider GWR as a whole.
11. 0:54Nowadays there are plenty of locations where  you can scratch your Great Western itch. Many
12. 1:00ex-Western lines were saved for  preservation, and they’re all terrific.
13. 1:04But here’s the thing - the origins of these lines,  from the permanent way, to the station buildings,
14. 1:10to the rolling stock that ran in them on their  heyday - it was all built here in the first place.
15. 1:17And STEAM, based in one of the  works’ former engineering shops,
16. 1:20showcases this through some excellent  storytelling within its unique setting.
17. 1:24The Museum’s trail starts with a display  called ‘The Offices’. Here you’ll learn
18. 1:29all about the administration feats of the  clerks of the time, and how they would make
19. 1:33even the most expert of Excel spreadsheet  users blush. Meticulous staff inventories,
20. 1:39payroll details and more - all done  before the advent of computers.
21. 1:44You move on to the General Stores - or in  its heyday what would have essentially been
22. 1:49the GWR’s equivalent of Amazon. Anything  from engine parts, to railway sleepers,
23. 1:55to station benches, to office supplies like  pens could be processed and ordered from here.
24. 2:01Then you’ll start to get towards the nitty  gritty of the construction elements as we pass
25. 2:06through to areas like the Foundry, the Pattern,  Machine, Carriage Body and Erecting shop displays.
26. 2:13It all makes you really appreciate  the sheer grit and determination of
27. 2:18the men and women who worked here. Enduring  intense heat, smoke, and noise levels that
28. 2:23left many deaf by the age 30, it would send  a health and safety officer into a meltdown.
29. 2:30The re-created boiler shop gives us our  first glimpse at a full size locomotive,
30. 2:35or at least what’s left of one.
31. 2:37This is a 4200 class tank engine. One of the  very last to leave the famous Barry Scrapyard.
32. 2:43Its remains have returned to where they were  originally built, and they make for an interesting
33. 2:48peek at what locomotive construction  would have looked like back in the day.
34. 2:53After getting to know some of  the ‘behind the scenes’ elements,
35. 2:56you get to feast your eyes for the first  time at the fruits of the works’ completed
36. 3:01labour when you’re greeted by the  rather splendid Caerphilly Castle.
37. 3:06Completed for the equivalent of around  a million pounds in today’s money,
38. 3:10she was the first completed  member of the iconic Castle Class.
39. 3:14Other Castles have been preserved and are  even still running on the mainline today,
40. 3:19but this is the only place where  you can get up close and personal
41. 3:23with this majestic machine at its birthplace.
42. 3:26You can also walk underneath the locomotive to  inspect and admire all of the different parts of
43. 3:32the precision engineering of the Swindon  workforce for yourself - a nice touch.
44. 3:37Progressing through the trail, you’ll  learn more about the origins of how the
45. 3:41old GWR was built. As a waxwork of Isambard  Kingdom Brunel keeps a close eye on you,
46. 3:47you’ll also cross paths with one of his  fabled Broad Gauge beasts - ‘North Star’.
47. 3:53This replica was constructed at the  Swindon Works a century ago as a tribute,
48. 3:58incorporating some components from the  original North Star in its assembly.
49. 4:03Entering the main hall, more locomotives can be  admired, and they are unmistakably and grandly
50. 4:09Great Western. The copper cap chimneys and brass  safety valves were Swindon staples - symbols of
51. 4:15excellence from the workforce and the pride  they took in their finished masterpieces.
52. 4:20But the real stars of the show can be  found near this wonderful platform display,
53. 4:25where you’ll see some true icons of steam power.
54. 4:30King George V, complete with its bell  from its tour of the United States,
55. 4:34looks glorious in every aspect.
56. 4:37There’s a real aura and splendour to number 6000,
57. 4:41named after the reigning monarch of  the time in 1927 when it was built.
58. 4:46After a ban in the late 60’s,  it was one of the first steam
59. 4:50locomotives to run again on British Rail tracks.
60. 4:53It’s a true pioneer, not just for the class  of locomotives nicknamed ’the Monarchs of the
61. 4:59rails’ - but a preservation trailblazer  for mainline steam as we know it today.
62. 5:05Close to the King, you’ll find another  icon in City of Truro. One of the first
63. 5:11man-made machines to break the 100mph  barrier. At least as far as we know.
64. 5:17She was preserved as far back as the 1930’s due  to her historical significance. Like King George,
65. 5:23it’s currently enjoying a well-earned rest on  static display here for the public to enjoy.
66. 5:29There’s lots of other things to see and do at the  Museum including two unique interactive features.
67. 5:35You can try your hand at signalling  in this demonstration box,
68. 5:39which shows you how to keep the trains  running across the different lines.
69. 5:44If switching points doesn’t stir the blood,  then perhaps driving a steam engine will.
70. 5:48Head over to this excellent footplate  simulator to take control of your own
71. 5:52locomotive - which even rumbles as you take to  the controls to add a great touch of realism.
72. 5:59There are other top-notch displays  scattered around. Beautiful old posters,
73. 6:03model railways and other splendid items to  view of the GWR’s past. It all looks the part.
74. 6:10Now, I’ve been telling you all about how  marvellous this museum is for several
75. 6:13minutes to the point where you’d think  this is probably a paid promotional piece.
76. 6:17But, this isn’t, so in the spirit of balance,  putting a critic’s hat on, are there some areas
77. 6:23that perhaps could be looked at by the Museum  to create an even better visitor experience?
78. 6:28For instance, the section featuring how the  GWR was built. Would this perhaps be better
79. 6:34suited being shown earlier as you walk through  the exhibits? If you’re going to start anywhere,
80. 6:40would it not make more sense  to start from… well… the start?
81. 6:45Caerphilly Castle commands a reasonably big area  of its own, rightly so, but it seems strange that
82. 6:50King George V and City of Truro have been grouped  together near the back of the main hall. Could
83. 6:56one argue that they deserve greater fanfare and  to be featured as more prolific centrepieces?
84. 7:02Large parts of the latter history of Swindon  Works are largely forgotten or glossed over.
85. 7:08Diesel feels like a dirty word within these halls.  Apart from some old nameplates and archive video,
86. 7:14they have virtually no presence  - although associated with the
87. 7:17Works decline, could there be more coverage here?
88. 7:20The interactive footplate and signal  boxes are fun. Could more items like
89. 7:25this be installed for the public to  allow for them to get even more hands on?
90. 7:29A quick glance at some Trip Advisor reviews  reveals mostly positive feedback from visitors,
91. 7:34though there are the odd quibbles  about parking options and entry fees.
92. 7:38There are obviously space, logistical  and financial considerations around
93. 7:43all of those points - and admittedly they  could be considered incredibly harsh when
94. 7:48you consider how much there is to see and do here.
95. 7:52Where there can be absolutely no  doubt is that the storytelling
96. 7:56aspect of the Museum is absolutely first class.
97. 7:59There are interactive prompts featuring hours  of archive footage, providing visual and audio
98. 8:04aids for the pristine exhibits. Everywhere  you look and listen, you feel like you’ve
99. 8:09stepped back in time to Swindon’s heyday - albeit  without the same ear-drum busting noise levels.
100. 8:15The way you build up from the behind the  scenes elements before coming face to face
101. 8:19with a completed Castle or King adds an extra  wow factor for when you do come to greet them.
102. 8:25It isn’t a collection as large as somewhere  like the National Railway Museum in York - and
103. 8:30the size of the facility here in one  of the old works buildings is but a
104. 8:34snapshot of the gargantuan size and scale  of the full Swindon Works in its prime.
105. 8:39But, what the team have done with the space they  do have deserves recognition. It’s a truly fine
106. 8:45blend of storytelling and pleasantly preserved  exhibits. There’s also a cafe, a gift shop,
107. 8:51and a short distance from the Museum, you  also have the Swindon Designer Outlet.
108. 8:56This outlet is a big part of the  old Swindon Works which has been
109. 8:59redeveloped - and there’s even another  locomotive to view - ‘Ditcheat Manor’
110. 9:04can be found here at the time  of this video’s publication.
111. 9:07With the STEAM Museum specifically,  this channel’s take is that it’s a
112. 9:11smashing place to visit, a fitting memoir to  both the GWR and Swindon’s Works at large,
113. 9:17and certainly up there as being one  of the best railway museums in the UK.
114. 9:21City of Truro in particular is one of my personal  favourite exhibits - it’s an engine I’ve always
115. 9:27grown up admiring. Having once been lucky  enough to spend an afternoon on the footplate
116. 9:31of this legend while it was in working order,  it will always hold a special place in my heart.
117. 9:37Technically, one of it’s great rivals  in Flying Scotsman holds the official
118. 9:42record for breaking the 100mph barrier,  though the GWR and its loyal followers
119. 9:47insist that City of Truro’s famous run  in 1904 broke the ton barrier first.
120. 9:53Flying Scotsman itself needs little introduction.
121. 9:56Like City of Truro and King George  V, it’s one of all-time greats.
122. 10:01But it has a rather complicated past, and this  video explores why it may be the case that,
123. 10:06strange as it may seem, not everyone is a fan  of one of the world’s most famous locomotives.