The Workshops Rail Museum

For museum lovers the ratings might be higher but we went there for the Lego Construction activity and also a bit of fun. The museum was well planned but several simulator activities were broken, the animal exhibition was closed and there is no longer a Thomas the tank engine display area either. ( Which I’m told used to be very popular.) The Lego construction event was underwhelming to say the least and set outside on the concrete area and looked nothing like the website photos. One activity involved hammering a foil sheet into a square but I noticed that the foil was obviously splitting when it was being bent to form corners, leaving a sharp exposed edge for kids to cut themselves on. All in all I found the images on the website to be misleading and if We had known what would be there in terms of kids activities and the play areas. I will say that the trains and the museum area was clean and I imagine that in itself would be a challenge with all that exposed machinery. The range of museum items was also extensive but the children activity and play areas were sub-standard for sure and a waste of time to attend in my opinion. I asked two other parents what there previous experience had been here and both mentioned that the children’s areas used to be significantly better and that they had noticed a significant drop in quality of experience for kids. I asked one mother to give me an object rating of what she thought the museum rating should be. She said “I have been coming her for 6 years, once every school holidays and it has always been a wonderful experience. I would usually have rated this a 5, but now I would rate this a 3. “ She explained what the museum used to be like and it seems it used to be much better and there were heaps of activities to make the day special. She wondered if perhaps there had been some budget cuts in government funding. All in all the trains are great for the children to see and the museum was mostly clean although the small strain exhibition showed signs of damage and neglect. There was a sign up saying that they would be working on repairing that exhibition. All in all a disappointing day, especially after having travelled more than an hour to get there. I do hope the museum can regain it’s previously good reputation. Unfortunately, we will not be going back. I am posting some photos so have a look. We could not take too many photos of the activity areas because their were other children playing in the area.
2 7 years ago (13-04-2018)

Suitable for adults and children who have an interest in trains. Some great displays. Some a bit tired. Can be busy during school holidays but very quiet on the week day afternoon we went. Good tours when they are on offer.
4 7 years ago (15-03-2018)

It's tidy, and clean. Has history, science fun facts, a huge moving train model, and a kids playground. Got potential to be a great museum. But I think it needs a renovation to bring the overall look of the building up to date. So far it looks like a big old train shed. The second area looks undone. Potentially looks like a good area to display mini train models. Didn't manage to join the guided tour as we didn't wear protective shoes.
4 7 years ago (18-12-2017)

Absolutely fantastic A very well designed and professional operation except we went to view the animals and the display wasn't open. Very disappointing. Otherwise it would have been five star.
4 7 years ago (12-04-2018)

Great place to visit, yearly pass works out cheapest if you plan to revisit. Great play areas for young children, but unfortunately no air-conditioning, so best to avoid in middle of summer.
5 7 years ago (16-04-2018)