GWSR on show at Broadway Museum & Art Gallery

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) is working with Broadway Museum and Art Gallery to produce a temporary exhibition called ‘Journey through Steam’. Tracing the history of the Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham railway that passed through Broadway. 

The exhibition, on the spacious top floor of the Museum, opens to the public on Saturday 5th November 2022. 

It explores the contribution the railway made to the local economy, with a particular focus on Broadway station which opened on 1st August 1904. The station was at that time a terminus reached from Honeybourne, the line being constructed southwards and opening throughout in 1906. Broadway and other intermediate stations on the line closed in 1960 and most were demolished in 1963. The line was shut completely in 1976 and the track removed in 1979/80.

Today the railway between Broadway and Cheltenham Racecourse is owned and operated by the GWSR, which started to rebuild the derelict line in 1981. A comprehensive timetable of steam and heritage diesel trains operates from March to the following New Year with a wide variety of special events.

The exhibition presents a compelling collection of historic artefacts including uniforms, tickets, locomotive nameplates, signalling and lineside equipment as well as storytelling and pictures.

                                                                                                                       

Anona van Lawick, Director of the Broadway Museum said, “We’re thrilled to be able to collaborate with the GWSR to curate this exhibition. Showing how the arrival of the railway changed Broadway’s history. The artefacts and images that this exhibition showcases really bring the story to life. 

“The line didn’t just enable local people to easily visit places such as Cheltenham, Evesham, Worcester, Oxford; but was a lifeline for local traders and businesses as well.”

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