The Crewe Heritage Centre, formerly the Crewe Railway Age is a railway museum, located in Crewe

Crewe

Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The Railway Age was rebranded to its original name of Crewe Heritage Centre in early 2008. It is administered by Crewe Heritage Trust Ltd.

Background information

The museum is located between the junction to Chester and the West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line

The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

, in the old LMS

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

 railway yard which was once part of Crewe Works

Crewe Works

Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....

. There are three signal boxes including the large, all electrically operated Crewe North Junction signal box

Crewe North Junction signal box

Crewe North Junction Signal Box is a Westinghouse All Electric Style 'L' lever frame which was commissioned, along with Crewe South Junction Signal Box , on 29 March 1940 as part of a resignalling project at Crewe railway station, it saw continued use until 19 July 1985 when it was decommissioned...

, which the public can operate and look around. There is also an extensive miniature railway with steam, diesel and electric traction. Brake Van rides are available to the public during special events and galas. The most prominent exhibit of the museum is the BR Class 370

British Rail Class 370

British Rail's Class 370 tilting trains, also referred to as APT-P , were the pre-production Advanced Passenger Train units...

 APT

Advanced Passenger Train

The Advanced Passenger Train was an experimental tilting High Speed Train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s....

, which is open to the public and includes a number of exhibits associated with the APT and models. The Main Exhibition Hall features many artefacts and exhibits associated with Crewe from its locomotive and carriage construction, and famous junction railway station. A cylinder and Caprotti valve gear from BR Standard Class 8 4-6-2 Pacific, no. 71000 'Duke of Gloucester', which was constructed at Crewe Works

Crewe Works

Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....

 in 1954 is also on display. The prototype of the Bentley Continental GT

Bentley Continental GT

-Flying Spur:The four door Continental Flying Spur saloon was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. The Flying Spur utilizes most of the technical underpinnings of the Bentley Continental GT, and was introduced to European and North American markets in the summer of 2005...

 motor car, which was launched in 2003, and built at the nearby Bentley

Bentley

Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...

 Motor Works in Crewe, is on display.

Locomotives

In addition, steam locomotives are often stabled at Crewe Heritage Centre between working railtours on the main line.

The 6201 Princess Elizabeth Society have made Crewe Heritage Centre their mainline operating base, although 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' is currently at Tyseley Locomotive Works undergoing boiler repairs.

The smoke deflectors for new LMS Patriot Class

LMS Patriot Class

The Patriot Class was a class of 52 express passenger steam locomotives built for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The first locomotive of the class was built in 1930 and the last in 1934. All of the Patriot class locomotives were withdrawn from service by 1965...

 number 45551 'The Unknown Warrior' are on display in the Crewe North Junction signal box

Crewe North Junction signal box

Crewe North Junction Signal Box is a Westinghouse All Electric Style 'L' lever frame which was commissioned, along with Crewe South Junction Signal Box , on 29 March 1940 as part of a resignalling project at Crewe railway station, it saw continued use until 19 July 1985 when it was decommissioned...

 having been unveiled at the The LMS Patriot Project's 2010 AGM. 40 of the 52 'Patriot' class were constructed at the nearby Crewe Works

Crewe Works

Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....

.

Signal boxes

• Crewe Station A Cabin
• Crewe North Junction signal box
  Crewe North Junction signal box
  Crewe North Junction Signal Box is a Westinghouse All Electric Style 'L' lever frame which was commissioned, along with Crewe South Junction Signal Box , on 29 March 1940 as part of a resignalling project at Crewe railway station, it saw continued use until 19 July 1985 when it was decommissioned...
  
  
• Exeter West signal box