HS2 has teamed up with Thinktank, Birmingham’s award-winning science museum, to launch a brand-new exhibition celebrating the city’s past, present and future connection to the railways.
The family-friendly showcase forms part of the nationwide ‘Railway 200’ celebrations, which mark 200 years since the birth of the modern railways. HS2’s year-long exhibition officially opens on Saturday, 27th September – the date of the world’s first passenger train journey along the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Visitors will be transported back in time as they learn about construction of the Kilsby Tunnel – almost 200 years ago – on the route of the original London to Birmingham railway. The Kilsby Tunnel took nearly five years to complete by hand, with workers using pickaxes and dynamite.
Fast forward to today, the exhibition tells the story of how HS2’s engineers safely completed the first section of the 3.5-mile Bromford Tunnel - linking North Warwickshire and Birmingham – in just 22 months.
An immersive audio-visual experience will illustrate HS2’s advances in civil engineering and technology. It plays the real sounds of a 1,600-tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) hard at work, slicing through the earth, while a short film shows how the giant machine was assembled before being powered into action. Two cutter discs, taken from one of HS2’s giant TBMs, will also be on display.
Luke Nipen, head of community engagement at HS2 Ltd said:
“Birmingham’s historic and future connection to the railways is a fascinating story and we wanted to bring that to life for visitors of all ages as part of the Railway 200 celebrations.
“Thinktank’s prime location, directly opposite the site where HS2’s brand-new terminus station will be built, brings the whole experience to life for visitors. On arrival, they will see the sheer scale of the progress we are making to bring high speed rail into Birmingham for the very first time.”
More than 12,500 people in the West Midlands are currently helping to build HS2, and the story of what it was like to work 40 metres below the ground, inside the 125-metre-long tunnel boring machine, is brought to life by Tunnelcraft Pit Boss, Steve Rocke, who managed the underground team that built the Bromford Tunnel.
A veteran of the tunnelling industry, with 43 years’ experience, Steve is now in the final stages of his civil engineering career. Bromford Tunnel, which is being delivered by HS2’s construction partner in the Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI, is Steve’s last mission before retirement. The past three and a half years working on HS2 have enabled him to pass on his skills and experience to the next generation of tunnellers.
Steve Rocke, who led the underground team working on HS2’s Bromford Tunnel, said:
“I’m immensely proud to finish my career working on HS2, a monumental feat of engineering that will ultimately bring the UK’s two biggest cities closer together. Knowing that rail passengers of the future will speed through the tunnels I have helped to build really is a privilege.
“As my career draws to a close, I look to the young men and women that have joined us as apprentices and graduates with admiration, knowing that they will play an important role in shaping the next 200 years of Britain’s rail story. Hopefully one or two visitors to the museum will feel inspired to join them too.”
HS2 is striving to inspire the next generation and has already created thousands of opportunities for young people to develop new skills through its education programmes, work experience placements and apprenticeships. Through its partnership with Thinktank, it aims to build on that success and encourage more young people, and adults, to find out more about Britain’s new railway and even play a role in its construction.
Toby Watley, director of collections and estate at Thinktank said:
“We’re delighted to be part of the Railway 200 celebrations, which commemorate Birmingham’s proud railway heritage and look ahead to its exciting future.
“Thinktank is all about sparking curiosity, and this exhibition gives families the chance to step inside the story of rail – from the early days of Birmingham’s locomotives to the high-speed journeys of the future. We hope it inspires young visitors in particular to imagine themselves as the engineers and innovators of tomorrow shaping the next 200 years of rail.”
Birmingham’s Thinktank museum is open Wednesday - Sunday, 10am–5pm.
For more information, visit birminghammuseums.org.uk/thinktank
