Coleford Great Western Railway Museum, Railway museum in Coleford, Gloucestershire, England
The Coleford Great Western Railway Museum is a railway museum housed in a former goods shed from 1883 in Coleford, Gloucestershire. It displays a restored locomotive, Victorian-style rail carriages, and freight wagons that show what trains and rail transport looked like in earlier times.
The area had early railways as far back as 1809, when the first plateways appeared in the Forest of Dean. The museum itself was established in 1988 to preserve and share this railway heritage.
The exhibits show how railways shaped the community over time through photographs and documents that tell the story of local connection to rail transport. You can see how important trains were to everyday life and work in this part of the world.
The museum is housed in a historic building, so expect stairs and tight spaces when you visit. It helps to check opening times ahead of your visit and ask about any special events that might be happening during your stay.
The museum operates a working signal box that shows how train traffic was controlled in earlier times. Visitors can ride on a small electric train and experience for themselves what travel by rail felt like.
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