South Yorkshire Transport Museum Leaps into Current Decade!

As its name suggests; Chamber member the South Yorkshire Transport Museum, in Rotherham, houses a collection of transport related exhibits – having moved on, in this century, from being a collection of historic buses.

The typical size (and weight) of railway exhibits has in the past been a major hindrance to accommodating railway rolling stock indoors. That changed in 2023 – with the acquisition, from the Museum of Science & Industry, of the driver’s cab of one of the electric locomotives, dating from 1952, formerly used on the Woodhead Line between South Yorkshire and Lancashire

The Museum has now jumped into the 2020s – with the scoop acquisition of a life-size replica of the driver’s cab section of one of the new trains that will come into service on the London Underground’s Piccadilly Line in 2025. The story of the new trains has recently been seen on Look North and other TV programmes.

These new trains, the majority of which are being built by Siemens Mobility Ltd., in Goole (not quite South Yorkshire but only outside by less than 10 miles) will replace the fleet that entered service on the Piccadilly line in the 1970s. Some of the apprentices involved with the mock-ups are now building the actual new rolling stock.

The Museum is immensely grateful to Siemens for the very kind gesture of donating the driver’s cab replica. Visitors will get the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat and see what it feels like to take the controls of these new state-of-the art trains that are set to transform journeys on one of the Tube’s busiest lines. It’ll provide a great photo opportunity for anyone wanting to sit at the controls, not just for rail enthusiasts but also for the general public on ‘Open Days’ plus the groups, including local schools, that visit the Museum. www.sytm.co.uk