Mervyn Allcock, who 30 years ago founded the campaign to save Britain’s last rail-connected roundhouse – the former Staveley Midland shed at Barrow Hill – and turned it into a major heritage venue, is to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
The appointment in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List was made for “services to railway preservation and development”.
ROBIN JONES
The 1870-built roundhouse is just a short bike ride from Mervyn’s childhood home at Inkersall, near Chesterfield, and was a favourite place for trainspotting when he was a child.
Mervyn learned of the plans to close the site in 1989, which led him to set up the campaign to prevent its demolition. Built in 1870, it was threatened with demolition in 1991 when the site was closed by British Rail.
Since its reopening in 1998, thanks to Mervyn’s vision and passion, the roundhouse has not only become an award-winning museum and events venue capable of accepting incoming charter trips, but also a highly-successful commercial railway depot and home for other rail businesses, generating more than 60 jobs and making a valuable contribution to the local economy.
It also serves as a base for preservation groups, including the Deltic Preservation Society.
OBE for London Transport Museum director Sam Mullins
Sam Mullins, the director of London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, has received an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List.
Having been appointed as director in 1994, Sam, who comes from Salisbury and now lives in Dalston, is credited with transforming it into the world’s premier urban transport museum. He played a pivotal role in the award-winning Metropolitan Railway 150 celebrations in 2013, which marked the anniversary of the world’s oldest underground line.
He also opened the museum’s depot at Acton, the UK’s first publicly accessible museum storehouse that houses Transport for London’s outstanding and nationally designated heritage collection, from trains, trams and buses, to the design archive of signs, maps and posters.
TfL said that under Sam’s leadership, LTM has engaged and delighted millions of visitors, as well as engaging with young people in every London borough through its outreach programmes, encouraging them to travel safely and to pursue careers in the transport and cultural industries.
Want to find out more about the London Transport Museum, click here: www.coventgarden.london/museum/london-transport-museum
Advert
