Phone +44 24 7699 7397 | ||
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Address Rowley Rd, Baginton, Coventry CV3 4PB, UK Similar Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway T, Bideford Railway Heritage, Coleford Great Western, Southall Railway Centre, Gartell Light Railway Profiles | ||
The Electric Railway Museum (formerly the Coventry Railway Centre) is located in Warwickshire, south-east of Coventry city, near to Coventry Airport and the village of Baginton. The heritage railway centre was also known as "The Airfield Line" as the railway was built on the site of a greenfield. The site is managed by the Electric Railway Museum Limited, and is home to a sizeable collection of preserved electrical multiple units, which is the most diverse and historically significant collection of EMUs in the UK, containing unique items that are the last survivors of once typical and numerous classes. In addition there are three small industrial electric locomotives two small industrial diesel locomotives and one small industrial petrol locomotive site along with some other railway vehicles, which are owned by third parties. The land is leased from Coventry City Council, though it is located just outside the city boundary and is in the county of Warwickshire.
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Coventry Steam Railway Centre
The site was originally established, as the Coventry Steam Railway Centre, in 1986 by a group who set out to preserve Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 tank locomotive number 1857. The group established the site and located the loco and other collected items of motive power, rolling stock and infrastructure including Little Bowden Junction Midland Railway Signal Box there. The land was previously used as part of the municipal water treatment works and there was never any railway infrastructure there until the creation of the Centre.
Suburban Electric Railway Association
Never blessed with a large membership progress was slow and by the mid-1990s had slowed to near stop. The late nineties saw one of the original founders retire due to ill health and he sold his interest in the site to a consortium of Suburban Electric Railway Association (SERA) members, except the tank engine which was sold to another railway. By 2004 the other founders had called it a day and SERA took over sole running of the site's future.
Electric Railway Museum
In 2009 the responsibility of managing the site passed to Electric Railway Museum Limited, a charitable company which had been established in 2008 to create a permanent home for preserving and representing Britain's electric railway heritage. With this development the original Coventry Railway Centre Limited company was wound up and its assets passed to Electric Railway Museum Limited. The site is open to the public, group and individual visits can be admitted by prior booking.
Track layout
The track layout comprises two three road fans of sidings. Those at the end of the site adjacent to the Midlands Air Museum are complete with a headshunt that runs through a 40-metre cutting that was excavated by the members of the original steam centre in the early nineties. The sidings nearest Rowley Road are unconnected. The sidings are protected by an inner fence to create a secure compound to deter unwelcome visitors.
Facilities
Other improvements made to the site by Electric Railway Museum in late 2009 include the provision of mains electricity on site and state of the art CCTV equipment.
Stock
The vast majority of items not being actively restored are sheeted over to protect them from rusting, vandalism, and other damage.
Electrical Multiple Units
Overhead EMUs
3rd Rail Southern Region
3rd Rail Midland Region.
Others
Locomotives
Diesel Locomotives
Electric Locomotives