Revamp for National Railway Museum (From York Press)

Revamp for York's National Railway Museum

8:29am Saturday 9th June 2012 in News By Mark Stead, Political Reporter

PLANS for the latest stage of a huge revamp of one of York’s major tourist attractions have been drawn up.

A £2.8 million package of improvements is being carried out at the National Railway Museum (NRM) on Leeman Road, aimed at drawing in more visitors and making it easier for them to view its exhibits.

Proposals have now been handed in to City of York Council for a string of alterations to Station Hall - the former North Eastern Goods station, given listed status in 2003 - where locomotives, carriages and wagons are displayed on tracks and the platforms used to allow people to look around the site.

The changes include improving its entrance and repairing floors, with a statement by Atkins Ltd, the agents for the scheme, saying the work would “dramatically improve” the flow of visitors and allow them to gain a greater appreciation of its rail heritage.

“The new Station Hall entrance is intended to be sympathetic to its existing character and appearance, while creating a sense of occasion and theatre which is expected from a prestigious museum of this scale,” said the statement.

One aspect of the proposals is to address a “chronic lack of storage space”, which means some of the exhibits have had to be used for storage purposes, affecting their condition. Atkins Ltd also said the current doors to the building led to draughts and heat loss, making it more uncomfortable for visitors.

New stores, “draught lobbies”, concrete floors and brick walls will be created and better access arrangements put in place. A decision on the project is expected to be made next month.