ON TRACK: READING'S RAILWAYS PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
20 May 2016: Together with the Mayor of Reading opened a major new exhibition in the Madejski Gallery of Reading Museum On Track: Reading’s Railways Past, Present and Future celebrates the chequered history of the town’s railways. Visitors journey through time from the rail network’s modest beginnings in 1840, when the first passenger carriages left for London, right up to the plans for the Elizabeth Line and beyond. The gallery, which has been in development for about a year, uses memorabilia sourced from ordinary residents as well as significant loans from heritage museums. Notable artefacts include a 1990s leaflet heralding the arrival of Crossrail, as well as a promotional Paddington Bear tin tray that was designed in the town. The classic children’s character was inspired by author Michael Bond’s memories of evacuees passing through Reading station in the Second World War. Read report in Reading Chronicle |