Press Office

Going loco for new exhibition

This half-term the National Railway Museum (NRM) will be going loco for a new family-friendly exhibition focused on the largest item in the National Collection – the gigantic Chinese locomotive.

China 08 at the NRM

Hot on the heels of the success of the Museum’s ground-breaking photography exhibition ‘China: The Last Days of Steam’, the Museum is planning to open the footplate of its biggest locomotive to the public from 16 May.

A specially-constructed ramp will allow access to the area where the workers would have stood in the days of Chinese steam. A child-friendly new exhibition with cartoons and illustrations will answer common questions about the locomotive such as “why is it so big?” and “what does the Chinese writing mean?” There will also be a twice-daily talk by a member of the NRM’s team of Explainers focusing on what life would have been like for her crew.

The Chinese locomotive was given to the NRM by the Chinese Government in 1981. Although it was built to run on British railways in terms of track gauge, this massive machine had to arrive at the Museum by road as it is 2 ft too high and 1 ft too wide to fit under British railway bridges.

The new metal walkway is wide enough for all visitors including those with wheelchairs and pushchairs, which means the Chinese locomotive is well on track to be the most accessible in the National Collection.

Stephen Richards, Head of Creative Development at the NRM said:

“Given the level of interest in Chinese culture in the run up to the Beijing Olympics, we are very much looking forward to opening the cab of the gigantic Chinese locomotive to the public as our next oriental offering.”

The exhibition is part of China in Yorkshire, a celebration of Chinese culture and its influence on Western Society taking place across the region’s museums and galleries throughout 2008.

Also on offer to families during half term is the Museum’s ‘1968 and All That’ nine day gala in the Museum’s South Yard, with steam rides, shire horses and a barbecue. Children can also enjoy a China 08 workshop from 26 May where children can design their own Chinese logo complete with oriental letters and symbols.

Notes for editors

  • 4-8-4 Class KF7 No 607 is one of the largest non-articulated steam locomotives ever built in Britain and one of only three of its kind in Europe.
  • The total length of the locomotive (with tender) is 93 ft and 2 ½ inches.
  • Because of the high gradients and weak bridges on the Chinese lines the Vulcan designed Chinese locomotive was built so it wouldn’t put a massive weight on each axle.
  • The Chinese Locomotive was running until 1977, when British rail passengers were already well acquainted with diesel and electric locomotives.
  • The Chinese locomotive was presented to the Museum by the then Minister of Railways of the People’s Republic of China in 1981.
  • Although built to fit British railways in terms of track gauge this massive machine had to come to the Museum by road as it is 2 ft too high and 1 ft too wide to fit under British railway bridges.
  • It took five days to travel by road the 322 miles to the Museum and required the assistance of the police and telephone engineers. At its slowest point it moved seventeen miles in just one day.
  • The locomotive has a very large tender and boiler to cope with the poor quality coal in China and the large distances it would have to travel across the province.
  • The locomotive weighs an incredible 24 tons more than the world-speed record-breaking Mallard.
  • The Chinese writing on the door translates as ‘keep the handtool clean’.
  • On a normal journey the engine used 3.8 tons of coal per hour, so it has a mechanical stoker fitted to enable the fuel to be speedily fed into the firebox.
  • Although built by Vulcan Foundry, a number of other British locomotive builders of the time submitted designs including the North British Locomotive Co and Robert Stephenson & Co.
  • The NRM are working with various partners, including China in York, China in Yorkshire and CHINA NOW to mark the 2008 Beijing Olympics. www.chinayork.co.uk/ www.chinainyorkshire.org.uk/ www.chinanow.org.uk

May 2008