Doing Time Exhibition at Steam Museum

STEAM Museum is proud to announce our new exhibition ‘Doing Time – The Railway Apprentice’.

In celebration of Rail 200, this special exhibition explores the incredible history of Swindon Works’ renowned apprenticeship programme, which shaped generations of skilled workers and made a lasting impact on Britain’s railways.

From the mid-1800s, to today, the railway apprentice has played a vital role in ensuring that the knowledge and trade of experienced staff is passed on to the next generation.  Doing Time begins by looking at the experiences of the first railway apprentices, and follows the story through to the final apprenticeships offered at Swindon’s Pre-Apprentice Training School, up until the closure of Swindon Works in 1986.

The exhibition features a wealth of objects from the Swindon Museums collections.  A rare apprentice register dating from 1908 documents the names of the GWR’s newest recruits.  A charcoal drawing from the Museum & Art Swindon collection by local artist Hubert Cook depicts an apprentice at work in Swindon Works.  And an array of archives and apprentice made objects from Swindon’s Pre-Apprentice Training School depict an era in the history of apprenticeships which some visitors to the exhibition may recognise.

Doing Time – The Railway Apprentice opens on Thursday 6th February 2025.

Many images of railway apprentices can be seen on the STEAM Picture Library website www.steampicturelibrary.com

BOOK TICKETS!