Full steam ahead

Plans to open a museum showing Ashford’s proud railway history has been given the green light by Ashford Borough Council.

Members agreed to lease the former Tourist Information Centre in St Mary’s Churchyard to the Ashford Borough Museum Society so they can create a railway museum.

Plans include interactive displays about the town’s railway history as well as information about modern services including high speed trains and Eurostar.

The Museum Society also hopes to showcase railway materials currently in storage and items inherited from the now defunct Ashford Heritage Centre Project.

A small number of photos, books and blueprints will also be displayed to complement information available at the nearby Ashford Gateway Plus.

The council has agreed to contribute £5,000 towards the move and handover the lease of the former TIC, which moved to the new Gateway in July.

Cllr Bernard Heyes, portfolio holder for cultural services, said: “Ashford’s economy and social history is inextricably founded on the arrival of the railway in 1842 and the Railway Works built in 1846.

“Today, our economy also benefits from excellent rail connections via the International Station and the Eurostar and High Speed services.

“This small railway museum will benefit future generations and help safeguard the legacy of Ashford’s railway history.”

Chairman of the museum society Mike Boulding said: ““This is an opportunity for the museum to expand for the first time in 23 years.

“When the old library closed and relocated to the new Ashford Gateway Plus building, a lot of people were very concerned about what would happen to the railway collection.

“It will be wonderful to see so many items that have been in storage for so long finally out on show, and also to bring in more audio-visual displays.

"The internet is such an important tool for us, and anyone interested in history, so we hope we can make more use of it in our future exhibitions.”

You can find out more about the exhibitions at the museum’s website www.ashfordmuseum.co.uk  

Media release 201/11
06/09/2011