The Collections 

The museum has a wide range of collections consisting
of:-

GWR archives and memorabilia

Social history collections,

Local Art Pottery collections

Photographic collections

Archive collections

Oral archive collections

Small film collection

Butterfly & Moth collections

Costume collections (small)

Polish costume collections (small)

As with most museums, the exhibition objects displayed are just a small part of the collection. 

The museum has a policy of changing the exhibitions very regularly, for interest, and to excite new audiences, as well as being able to display different categories of the collections.

Each year new artefacts are donated to the museum, keeping the collections alive and interesting.

This year's exhibition is on "The Sights and Sounds of Newton Abbot" through the ages. 




 

The Nisbet Collection-The Broad Gauge Photographic Collection. 

On a wet day in June 1998, a visitor came to the museum with a parcel under his arm, he showed the contents of the parcel as a loose leaf album of photographs.  John Nisbet had purchased the album many years ago in Leamington Spa, in a small antique shop.

The album contained well over a hundred photographs of broad gauge engines, many of them photographed at Newton Abbot Railway Station, and the local area.  The Curator knew that many railway experts would be fascinated by the collection. 

Mr Nisbet very generously allowed the museum to loan the album for two years,and wanted the photographs to be seen by the public. 

The Festival of Transport 2000 was at that very moment being organised by the District and Town Councils, together with the museum.  It was, therefore, an ideal time to produce a Broad Gauge Album for sale within the museum and the Festival.

The Museum contacted a range of experts, including the Broad Gauge Society who immediately appreciated the rarity and scholastic importance of these historic photographs.

The District Council funded the Broad Gauge photographic exhibition which the museum
mounted in old Ford House as part of the Festival of Transport 2000.

 

As part of the Brunel 200 celebrations the museum commissioned local model engineer Peter Parks to build a model of an atmospheric carriage of the South Devon Railway.

This  model was based on the drawings from The Broad Gauge Society.

To complement the model The South Devon Model Railway Society have created a representation of "Newton Station" c. 1848.
This model was created using the watercolours of the area by William Dawson.
These watercolours are held in the Institution of Civil Engineers, London. The watercolours have been copied by the Devon Record Office, Exeter. 

The working signal box takes pride of place within the GWR Room, a hands-on connection with the great days of the Great Western Railway.

Within the GWR Room there is an audio system where you can hear ex-GWR men talk about their life on the railways. Fry-ups and tales of snowstorms await you!