Full steam ahead as Marcon scoop '˜fit-out' contract for new museum

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland has appointed specialist museum and heritage firm Marcon to carry out the fit-out works at its new Museum and Interpretive Centre in Whitehead.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Nov 2016, 10:20 BST
Updated 18th Nov 2016, 12:22 BST
Ross Mullan, Project Manager, Marcon Fit-Out; Johnny Glendinning, RPSI Director and Chair of Whitehead Curatorial Committee; Martin McErlean, Heritage Contracts Manager, Marcon Fit-Out and Griff Boyle, Director, GBDM. Picture from Marcon.Ross Mullan, Project Manager, Marcon Fit-Out; Johnny Glendinning, RPSI Director and Chair of Whitehead Curatorial Committee; Martin McErlean, Heritage Contracts Manager, Marcon Fit-Out and Griff Boyle, Director, GBDM. Picture from Marcon.
Ross Mullan, Project Manager, Marcon Fit-Out; Johnny Glendinning, RPSI Director and Chair of Whitehead Curatorial Committee; Martin McErlean, Heritage Contracts Manager, Marcon Fit-Out and Griff Boyle, Director, GBDM. Picture from Marcon.

Marcon will put the finishing touches to the £3m project which is set to transform the RPSI’s base into a modern tourist attraction.

It will be “full steam ahead” for Marcon’s heritage team which will be responsible for the manufacture and installation of all specialist joinery, display cases, integration of audio visual hardware, interactives and installation of graphics within the new museum space.

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Working closely with leading interpretive designers GBDM and Multimedia Team CMC Associates, Marcon will transform the carriage workshop and locomotive sheds into a fully functioning museum.

RPSI intends to open Whitehead Railway Museum on March 1, 2017. While work progresses, the site is closed to visitors.

Martin McErlean, Heritage Contracts Manager, Marcon commented; “The RPSI does some amazing work, showcasing and restoring historically important locomotives and protecting our railway heritage for the next generation.

“We are really excited to be working on this living museum that will tell the story of the development of the railways and the RPSI in an engaging way. Visitors of all ages will be able to watch from a viewing gallery as work is carried out on locomotives within the engineering workshops.”

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Griff Boyle, Director, GBDM added; “RPSI’s new Whitehead Railway Museum will be a unique insight into the age of steam train travel and its heavy engineering traditions.

“Across this expansive, transformed engineering site, visitors will be offered a mix of traditional museum, engineering workshops, immersive train experiences and interactivity.

“Add to that the ‘Museum on the Move’ steam train journeys run by RPSI on the main line to Portrush, Dublin and further afield and you have a truly unique visitor facility.”

Denis Grimshaw, RPSI chairman, said the Society looked forward to seeing the commencement of the fit-out of the museum with multimedia displays, educational facilities and audio links, all of which would be key to creating this significant new tourist attraction.

He added: “We aim to attract at least 15,000 visitors during the museum’s first full year of operation.