Planetarium planned for underground Victorian reservoir

source - B.B.C. News

Planetarium planned for underground Victorian reservoir

Some welcome news coming out of the East Midlands in this next article, which details the fascinating-sounding plan by a Nottinghamshire-based observatory to make use of a long-dormant bit of Victorian engineering in the creation of a new visitor attraction.

This is the volunteer-run Sherwood Observatory in Sutton-on-Ashfield, owned by the Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society, which also has as part of the land next to the observatory the remains of an old disused 19th century reservoir.  Now the plan, judging by this recent report from the B.B.C., is for what is left of this long-forgotten facility to be turned into a new planetarium that will complement the existing building and its telescope.

The proposed design looks jolly interesting and I am pleased to note the way in which they intend to keep the existing Victorian structure while merging it with some forward-looking, 21st century space-age motifs - both of which are in keeping with and sympathetic to the building's heritage as well as its new-found purpose.  All-in-all it looks to be a successful fusion of old and new and I look forward to hopefully seeing it become reality. 

source - B.B.C. News

The provision for teaching areas has also been considered in the design of the new building - a remarkable-looking domed structure that will sit partly above ground as well as within the large cavity that once formed the reservoir - with part of the underground area to be given over to classrooms that would give visitors further insight into the work of the society, the exhibitions and information gleaned from the observatory on the cosmos in general.  

The importance of this to the furtherance of STEM learning in the U.K., especially among young people, cannot be overestimated and I am glad to see that the Heritage Lottery Fund recognises this as well and has put £36,000 towards helping realise the project.  It sounds like there is still some way to go, with more funding yet required, a firm design plan to be formulated and more talks with the HLF in the offing but hopefully with luck the Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society can make good on their aim to have this splendid new building up and open by their 2023 target.  That they regularly had over 3,000 visitors a year before Covid struck is a testament both to the work of the volunteers and the attraction of the stellar sciences in general and I sincerely hope that they can reach their goal, build their Victorian-based planetarium and attract many more visitors from Nottinghamshire and beyond - perhaps even including the next generation of astronomic scientists - from 2023 onwards.

Brooklands race track to return to use with £4.7m grant

Brooklands race track to return to use with £4.7m grant

Well, this has just about made my year and no mistake!  I doubt there'll be any more welcome [vintage] news in 2015 to trump this, and we're not even a quarter of the way through the year.

Yes, this is the overwhelmingly joyous news (which had me bouncing off the walls in excitement, I can tell you!) that the Brooklands race track in Weybridge, Surrey - first constructed in 1907 but defunct as a motor racing ciruit since the start of the Second World War in 1939, when it was largely built over and used for aircraft production - has been awarded nearly £5,000,000 in Heritage Lottery funding for use in restoring some of the track to its original 1930s condition.

Although efforts have been underway for some time now in this regard, confirmation of the Hertiage Lottery Fund's £4.7million contribution means that the projected overall costs of £7,100,000 have very nearly been met and work will begin soon.  This will involve dismantling the Grade II listed Bellman Hanger (erected by Vickers Aviation in 1940 for the production of Wellington bombers and more recently used to exhibit some of the Brooklands Museum's wonderful aeroplanes) and moving it, plus all its contents, several hundred yards where it will be rebuilt and restored to once again house many aeronautical exhibits.  Once this is done the next exciting part of the work can begin - the restoration of the start-finish straight (above).  Unseen and unused since Vickers built their production facilities over it in 1940, it will once again echo to the cheers of spectators and the roar of racing engines for the first time in 75 years.  Connected to the surviving banking at the north-east corner of the circuit it will provide the longest section of usable track since Brooklands' heyday in the 1920s and '30s.

Alas, despite the somewhat misleading B.B.C. article the entire track will not be returned to use since in the intervening decades a retail park and housing estate have been built over other sections.  Still, this is the best news that could have happened for Brooklands and will certainly return the track to as close to its pre-war glory as is possible.  And with this work, who knows what may be in store for the future?  Maybe we will see a complete circuit yet?

I last went to Brooklands in 2007 when the circuit was celebrating its centenary and what a fantastic day out that was.  Period outfits were worn and famous Brooklands racers including John Cobb's Napier-Railton and the later Napier-Bentley (above).  The Brooklands Musuem put on a fantastic event and is well-worth the visit and, although I didn't have the time or money to experience it on the day, the Mercedes-Benz World complex within the track is reputedly well worth a look-see.  Mercedes' contribution to the circuit's revival should not be overlooked and we owe them a debt of thanks for assisting the Museum in keeping the "Brooklands spirit" alive.



Personally I can't wait to see the results of the "Re-engineering of Brooklands" once it is complete, hopefully by the summer of 2016.  I'm sure it will breathe a whole new lease of life into an already fantastic place and my return there is only a matter of time.  With luck there will be some [period] special events to celebrate the reopening (already Brooklands plays host to many annual events and meetings, including the Double Twelve and 1940s Weekend - which I keep meaning to get along to) and I look forward to seeing the fruits of the restoration - Brooklands 1930s-style!

Graceful days of travel re-lived on railmotor coach

Graceful days of travel re-lived on railmotor coach

In April 2011 I did a little post about a 1903 "autocar" - an early form of petrol-electric railway engine carriage - that had been restored thanks to an Heritage Lottery grant.  This was one of Britain's first [part] electric-powered locomotives, a glimpse into the history of a train type we now take for granted and a very rare example being one of only three ever built.

The 1908 Steam Railmotor that features in this story from Cornwall would seem to owe something to the North Eastern Railway's slightly earlier autocar - certainly in its overall design and appearance - but still retained the tried and tested steam propulsion of more traditional locomotives of the time.

Now, having lived a life of self-propelled coach, locomotive-hauled carriage and even a railway office it has finally been restored to its original condition after decades of fund-raising and thanks - once more - to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (perhaps even part of the same pot?).  Last Sunday it undertook its first passenger-carrying run under its own power since the 1930s, along the achingly picturesque East Looe River branch line of the West Coast Railway, and will return for a further series of journeys this weekend.

Another unique and fascinating piece of railway history has thus been saved for future generations' enjoyment thanks to the hard work of volunteers and enthusiasts plus the collective might of the Heritage Lottery Fund and First Great Western.  Steam Railmotor 93 makes a pretty sight chuffing along the banks of the Looe and long may it continue to do so.

Revamp for 'oldest' Tube carriage

Revamp for 'oldest' Tube carriage

When I blogged recently about the Boardwalk Empire subway I mentioned that the London Underground/ London Transport Museum didn't have any rolling stock older than the late 1930s.  Well, that won't be the case for much longer!

Metropolitan Railway Carriage Number 353 will become by far the oldest fully-working carriage in the London Transport Museum's collection thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund donation.  Of 1892 vintage it will be a whopping one hundred and ten years old next year and should be renovated by 2013 in time to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground system - the world's first below-ground transit network.

Not only will we get a beautifully restored 19th-Century Underground carriage (which will be touring the London and South-Eastern regions upon completion - ooh, must keep an eye out for it!) but the work required to get it back to its former glory will also give up to 160 people the chance to gain a qualification related to restoration work and carpentry, so there's an extra bonus involved to boot.

You can read more about this piece of history on the London Transport Museum's website here, where you can see it in its current condition.  All the more reason to look forward to what's in store come 2013.