Funding earmarked for railway museum plans

The Oliver Cromwell engine - one of the possible exhibits at the museum Credit: Great Central Railway

Proposals for a world-class heritage railway museum in Leicester have moved a step closer after the plans were endorsed by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The new attraction - spearheaded by the Great Central Railway, the National Railway Museum and Leicester City Council - has received more than £9.5 million in HLF support.

Development funding of £494,500 has also been awarded to help the partnership fully develop the proposals for the project - called Main Line - and apply for a full grant at a later date.

Bill Ford, managing director of the Great Central Railway (GCR), said:

The attraction will sit alongside the GCR's Leicester North station and tell the story of how the railways helped Leicester become a thriving industrial city.

Housing locomotives, carriages and other railway artefacts from the national collection, the attraction will be fully accessible by rail, thanks to the Great Central Railway reunification project.

The building will offer visitors close up views of heritage trains arriving at the station, allowing visitors to experience the day-to-day workings of a heritage railway.

Welcoming what will be the most significant national museum collection on display in the East Midlands, City Mayor Peter Soulsby, said:

The exhibits at Main Line will be drawn from the prestigious national railway collection.

The National Railway Museum, York Credit: PA

Paul Kirkman, Director of the National Railway Museum said:

Some 300 short-term construction jobs will be created while the museum is built and the attraction will provide nine full-time posts when it opens.

60163 Tornado, a locomotive based at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough Credit: PA

Atul Patel, Trustee at the Heritage Lottery Fund, said:

Subject to funding, Main Line could open to the public in 2019.