Collection Sharing to Support Today’s Railway
Network Rail Scotland and Museum representatives beside interlocking equipment at the Larbert Training Centre, where MoSR’s Portobello Interlocking will support the training of future signalling technicians.
The Portobello Interlocking and a New Partnership with Network Rail
When the Museum acquired the Portobello Scottish Region Geographical Relay Interlocking, it faced a familiar challenge…
… how best to preserve a large and technically complex object whose significance lies as much in its operation as in its physical fabric?
Rather than display the interlocking purely as a historical object, the Museum has developed a partnership with Network Rail Scotland’s signalling training centre at Larbert, which serves up to one hundred delegates a day and maintains the competency profiles of 4,500 railway personnel across Scotland’s rail network. Under the agreement, the interlocking will be restored to working order and used to train future signalling technicians while remaining in Museum ownership.
The partnership brings our Recognised Collection beyond the museum environment, keeping a historic signalling system in active use while supporting future railway professionals and building relationships with today’s railway industry.
