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Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

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Phone
  
+44 1236 638460

Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

Address
  
Heritage Way, Coatbridge ML5 1QD, UK

Hours
  
Open today · 10AM–4PMFriday10AM–4PMSaturday10AM–4PMSunday10AM–4PMMonday10AM–4PMTuesday10AM–4PMWednesday10AM–4PMThursday10AM–4PMSuggest an edit

Similar
  
North Lanarkshire Heritage, Drumpellier Country Park, Blairhill railway station, Strathclyde Country Park, Monkland Canal

Profiles

Summerlee museum of scottish industrial life photos


Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, formerly known as Summerlee Heritage Park, is an industrial museum in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was built on the site of the Victorian Summerlee Iron Works and incorporated the main workshop of the former Hydrocon Crane factory. The museum is managed by CultureNL Ltd.

Contents

It temporarily closed in 2006, but reopened on 26 September 2008 following a £10m refurbishment (pictured right).

The former main hall was completely redesigned by North Lanarkshire Council's in-house Design Team and now includes a stainless steel café pod and futuristic viewing pavilion. The museum aims to show Lanarkshire's contribution to engineering, and incorporates interactive displays and a temporary exhibition space.

The museum also incorporates several railway steam locomotives, preserved carriages from a 1960s era Glasgow Class 311 and has a short working tram line.

Scottish museum of industrial life summerlee caotbridge


The museum

This contains...

  • the main exhibition hall
  • the Scheduled Ancient Monument of the remains of Summerlee iron works
  • the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Gartsherrie cut of Monkland Canal and Howe's basin
  • the railway
  • the sawmill and Foster engine
  • the miners' row and gardens
  • the Summerlee Sweetie Shop
  • the exhibition of Vulcan: Scotland's first iron boat contained within a replica of the original barge
  • the tramway and depot
  • the replica mine and surface buildings
  • 22 acres of space including an award-winning play area
  • Tramway

    The Summerlee Transport Group (STG) was formed in 1988, in order to support the maintenance and operation of the tramway. The original tramway used to terminate only 300 yards from the entrance at the timber shed, before the extension of the Gartsherrie Branch canal bridge and thence towards the Miners' Cottages. As continued tradition, the cars still halt at the timber shed before continuing over the bridge and around the bend.

    The tramway was the first operational tramway in Scotland for twenty-six years following the closure of the Glasgow Corporation Tramway in 1962, and continued to be the only tramway in Scotland for another twenty-six until Edinburgh reopened its tramway in 2014, save from the Glasgow Garden Festival Tramway, which opened six weeks after the Summerlee Line.

    Whilst the first two operational trams at Summerlee were continental cars, it has always been the intention to use traditional British cars, preferably with local connections, which is now being realized.

    Other transportation

  • A replica of the 1819 barge Vulcan (barge), the first all-iron hulled vessel, resides at the Miners' Cottage terminus.
  • References

    Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life Wikipedia