WILTSHIRE LIFE Awards 2018 5
Striking railway
posters feature in The
Art of Publicity, an
exhibition at STEAM,
which focuses on
the artwork used
to publicise tourist
destinations along
the GWR’s routes,
and runs until
December 31.
Discover
how the GWR
employed some
of the finest graphic designers of the
time, and see both posters and carriage
prints from the STEAM collection.
GWR’s publicity department is the
theme for two further exhibitions at
STEAM this year, which you can read
more about below.
You are also invited to join STEAM
on a virtual journey. Each month, their
social media channels will share a
picture of a location along the GWR
route, beginning at Paddington Station
and ending in Penzance.
Cllr Garry Perkins, Swindon Borough
Council’s cabinet member responsible
for STEAM, says: “Some of the posters
and carriage prints are marvellous.”
Get connected
Facebook: @SteamMuseum
Twitter: @Steam_Museum
www.steam-museum.org.uk
What’s on
The GWR Publicity Machine*
March 30-December 31
An exhibition exploring GWR
merchandise, such as jigsaws and
games, which helped make the
company part of everyday life.
GWR with Everything*
July 27-December 31
An exhibition of GWR-branded items
made or sold by the company, from the
obvious to the unexpected.
*Supported by Great Western Railway.
Find out more about STEAM Museum
Our venue for the Wiltshire Life Awards
2018, STEAM – Museum of the Great
Western Railway is housed in a beautifully
restored grade II-listed railway building in the
heart of the former Swindon railway works.
Situated opposite the Swindon Designer
Outlet, the museum tells the story of the
men and women who built, operated and
travelled on the Great Western Railway, often
referred to by historians and railway fans as
God’s Wonderful Railway. The pioneering
vision and engineering genius of Isambard
Kingdom Brunel led to the Great Western
Railway network becoming regarded as the
most advanced in the world.
STEAM is in the heart of what was
once one of the largest railway engineering
complexes anywhere. Swindon Railway
Works opened in January 1843 as a repair and
maintenance facility for the new GWR. By
1900 the works had expanded dramatically
and employed more than 12,000 people. At
its peak in the 1930s, the works covered more
than 300 acres and was capable of producing
three locomotives a week.
The railway dominated the fortunes of
Swindon until after the Second World War,
when new industries moved to the area. The
completion of the last steam locomotive for
British Railways, Evening Star, at Swindon in
1960, marked a watershed in the history of
the works, and in 1963 a large part of the old
carriage and wagon works on the eastern side
of the Gloucester branch line was closed and
sold for redevelopment.
Despite a brief renaissance in the 1970s, the
works finally closed in 1986. The purchase of
the works site in 1986 by Tarmac Properties
offered the opportunity to redevelop a large
part of Swindon that was largely unknown
to its population. Surrounded by high walls
for most of its history, few Swindonians,
apart from those who worked there, had
much opportunity to view the heritage
which had played such an important part in
the development of their town. What also
became apparent was the significance of the
architectural heritage which had survived the
150-year occupation of the site by the GWR
and its successors.
It was within this context that the building
now housing STEAM was renovated. The
structure consists of a number of buildings
built over a long period. The earliest is the
1846 machine and fitting shop, part of
Brunel’s original works complex. Known
as the ‘scraggery’, this area is now occupied
by the entrance hall and public facilities
for the museum (when nuts and bolts were
renovated for re-use, the process was known
as ‘scragging’). The building still retains its
queen-post roof and some original windows.
To the south is the much modified
blacksmith’s shop, which also dates from
1846, although its conversion to a substation
early in the 20th century dramatically altered
the character of this building.
The main body of the museum was a
machine and turning shop. Despite all the
alterations to the building fabric, it retains
many original features, some of which
re-emerged in the process of refurbishment.
/www.steam-museum.org.uk