The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) North East has been helping half-term visitors to a Northumberland museum to have fun and learn about the region’s railway heritage.
Youngsters who visited the Bailiffgate Museum Gallery, in Alnwick, were able to learn about and make their own semaphore railway signal, with the help of ICE North East volunteers.
The activities were part of a major exhibition run jointly by the museum and the Robert Stephenson Trust, entitled Robert and the Railways, which runs until Friday, April 1.
Stephenson was one of the greatest engineers of the 19th Century and one of the ICE’s most famous presidents. The exhibition features a large display of local and regional railway memorabilia.
Mike Gardiner, regional education coordinator for ICE North East, said: “Most of the young people who came along didn’t know what a semaphore signal was until they sat down and learned all about them with us.
“However, they all became very enthusiastic and thoroughly enjoyed their time creating their own models and were delighted to take them home. Every young boy – and many of the girls - still want to be railway drivers, and there is something magical about the heritage this region enjoys that inspires fun and learning to come together.”
The Bailiffgate Museum is open every day between 10am and 4pm.