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Photograph shows Ian Brown Railway Heritage Commitee member and MD London Rail, Transport for London; Kevin Moore, Museum Director; Sir Howard Newby, Acting Deputy Chairman RH Commitee and Neil Butters, Secretary RH Committee |
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Unusual Addition to Museum’s Collection
The National Football Museum has just received an unusual addition to its collection…a sign from a railway station, complete with graffiti! The sign however does have a football connection and an interesting history.
It’s from the Ramsline Halt station which was opened in 1990 to serve the Baseball Ground, formerly the home of Derby County Football Club. The station was conceived as a way of tackling football crowd disorder which was a problem in the 1970s and 1980s. It was believed that if visiting fans could be taken directly to grounds by rail, it would avoid conflicts in city centres and at main railway stations. Derby County was not immune to these problems and approached The Football Trust for financial assistance towards building a station near to the Baseball Ground.
The station cost over £26,000 to build but only four trains ever stopped there. In 1997 Derby County moved to the new Pride Park Stadium and Ramsline Halt closed.
The Railways Heritage Committee, who are responsible for ensuring the long term preservation of the nation’s important railway records and artefacts, agreed that the sign was as an important part of railway history. Sir Howard Newby, trustee of the National Football Museum and Acting Deputy Chariman and Chairman of Artefacts Sub-committee of the Railway Heritage Committee and Lord (Richard) Faulkner, former trustee of the National Football Museum and former Chairman of the Railway Heritage Committee decided that the ideal place for the sign would be the National Football Museum.
It was formally handed over by members of the Railway Heritage Committee to the Museum on 3 July. Kevin Moore, Museum Director said ‘It’s important that we collect and display a diverse range of artefacts that reflect the many aspects of football. Often the unusual and not so obvious objects have the most interesting stories behind them. We will now be looking for a suitable place to display the sign.’
For more information about The Railways Heritage Committe visit their website www.railwayheritage.org.uk