New £1m Centre Boosts Tramway Attraction

THE man who introduced trams to Britain was an American... called George Train and trams were needed to replace horses because of the piles of dung the animals left in the streets.

You might not know these facts already, but you would if you popped along to Crich Tramway Village's new £1 million learning centre.

Officially opened on Tuesday 26th July by Andrew Lewer, leader of Derbyshire County Council, it is hoped the attraction will boost the number of people coming through the gates.

Already the village, which features old trams restored to working order, has 100,000 visitors every year.

Glynn Wilton, the curator of the tramway village's museum, is realistic about the appeal of trams alone, but says they should be viewed in a wider context.

"We are aware that trams are a technical, industrial subject, so they can appear quite dull," he said.

"But the history of trams is about people, the need to move people around, and the reasons behind that. It's fascinating."

Mr Wilton is full of interesting facts about trams, details that are displayed in the learning centre, which is packed with interactive exhibits.

One asks kids to choose which food to give to horses, including sausages or pizza, while a second gets them to pump a bellows. Another station has a pile of horse manure and a vat of urine, the same amount one animal would produce in a day, to show what was dumped on Victorian streets.

The centre describes the history of trams, including the reasons why they were needed, namely the industrial revolution, the growth of the middle classes and the spread of diseases. While the exhibits are upstairs, downstairs is a classroom where kids can be taught about life in the 1800s.

The building which dates back to 1841 and was once used by George Stephenson, the man who built the world's first public railway. He ran it as a smithy and wagon works for a line taking limestone from Crich to Ambergate.

The £1 million centre was paid for with Heritage Lottery funds and refurbished by Derby based construction company G F Tomlinson Building Limited.