32 - Swing Bridge

Here we are at the Swing Bridge opposite the main Roundabout building. Look around you. There are so many locomotives! And they’re not all here, because some of them have been taken to other museums so that the children visiting can see them. That’s because the collection in this museum is one of the most import in Europe!

Did you know that most locomotives can’t be turned around or parked like the carriages can? … That’s why they had to build a swing bridge on this track on a round pit in the centre of the ground. When a locomotive was returned from a trip to rest, it was placed on top and the operators moved it around until it was facing towards its parking slot. The following day, the operation was repeated so the train could go out on its journey.

Would you like to see a locomotive close up? Well we’re going to able to climb inside one of the oldest, which is also named after a prehistoric animal ...