Museum – Page 10 – RUDDINGTON.info

Canal Bridge Completed

7th July 20207th July 2020 Graham Wright

From Loughborough comes news that a major two-day operation at the start of this month has ‘all but’ finished the overhaul of the elegant Victorian railway bridge which spans the Grand Union Canal in the town. The relevance of this restoration for our village is that it marks another step forward for the eighteen mile heritage line vision between Ruddington and Leicester North by reconnecting the currently separate sections of tracks operated by volunteers from our own Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) and Loughborough’s Great Central Railway (GCR). Built in the…

Stay Off the Tracks!

22nd May 202022nd May 2020 Graham Wright

Managers at Ruddington’s heritage railway centre have issued a trespass warning – after reports that a number of people have been walking along their tracks between here and East Leake. It seems the problem started as villagers sought out longer, ‘socially distanced’ walks when exercise restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak were eased. It also appears to have been exacerbated by an online video blog recommending this activity – for which the blogger has since apologised. It’s clear that she, and others taking to the empty tracks, didn’t…

Ruddington’s ‘Resilience Quilt’

22nd April 202024th April 2020 Faye Stenson

Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum is inviting any frustrated creatives to support one another by helping to produce a quilt – made up of individual textile ‘responses’ to the unprecedented events and experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. The project is being led by Common Threads, an organisation which supports wellbeing through creativity inspired by historical collections. Explaining where the idea came from, Museum Manager, Jim Grevatte, says: “Our site has the amazing power to inspire resilience through creativity. It’s the story of our region’s textile industry struggling to make beautiful…

Helen’s COVID-19 Set To ‘Go Viral’

8th April 20203rd January 2021 Faye Stenson

Helen Brownett, who’s the Textile Artist & Technical Demonstrator at Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum, has designed her own version of a COVID-19 virus – and knitted it in 3D on one of the museum’s antique, circular knitting machines! Helen put the finishing touches to the blue Coronavirus by hand, adding pompoms on stalks to make her creation instantly recognisable. Explaining her motivation to design and knit a Coronavirus, Helen (pictured above on a Griswold machine) says: “I’ve always had an interest in knitting unusual things. Past projects have included the…

‘Factory Flyover’ Continues Railway ‘Reunification’

7th March 20208th March 2020 Graham Wright

Volunteers from Ruddington’s heritage railway are celebrating reaching another milestone in its ‘reunification’ project to create an 18 mile train line all the way between our village and Birstall on the outskirts of Leicester. The tracks comprising Ruddington’s Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) and Loughborough’s Great Central Railway (GCR) are set to be rejoined once the 500 metre gap in the middle is bridged – meaning services will then be able to run between the two for the first time since 1969. So far RUDDINGTON.info has told you about the installation…

Iconic ‘Railbus’ for Ruddington

20th January 20203rd September 2020 Graham Wright

Ruddington’s Great Central Railway (Nottingham) has revealed that the latest addition to its heritage fleet should mean it will able to run trains here all year ’round. Please see the September 2020 update below*. Currently services are operated by its volunteers only through the summer, in the lead-up to Christmas and over some other half-term holiday periods**. However, the imminent arrival of a Class 144 DMU Railcar (144003) from Porterbrook, to become preserved for heritage use, could see services increasing to 52 weekends a year. Once it’s released from mainline duties during the first…

WALK #1 – A Short Circular Stroll Around Ruddington

28th December 201931st December 2023 David R Thompson

This first walk is for Ruddington residents and tourists alike. It takes in many of the attractions of the village, as well as providing a number of opportunities to see the trains which run on the nearby Great Central Railway at weekends and bank holidays throughout most of the year, except for a number of weeks in winter. First, please click on the map below should you wish to open it in a separate window, for reference. Walk #1 begins in the centre of Ruddington, by the ‘Ruddington Church’ bus stop…

Calm January – Mindfulness in Ruddington

26th December 201929th January 2020 Graham Wright

After the madness of the festive period, it’s quite likely you’ll want to de-stress a little. Maybe you’ll even need a bit of help re-focusing your life into 2020? Ruddington mindfulness teacher Jakki Pritchard is now well established with her Tuesday evenings in the Old Chapel at the Framework Knitters’ Museum – where she’s already run five mindfulness courses. There’s now a sixth programme there, early in the New Year, which will be her seventh in our village. Jakki says: “The Old Chapel is a perfect space to practice mindfulness, it has…

Knit Your Own Christmas in Ruddington!

13th November 20194th December 2019 Graham Wright

If you’re looking for a unique yet inexpensive gift to give to someone this Christmas, you perhaps need look no further than our Framework Knitters’ Museum? The popular Ruddington heritage site is offering you the chance to ‘Knit Your Own Christmas’ on one of its vintage knitting machines – creating up to fifteen gifts over two hours using unlimited yarn – all for just £15! It was villager Sarah Godfrey who suggested the idea. “The women responsible for the Wilbur cat party were knitting tails and we thought ‘Knit Your Own Xmas’ would…

New High Speed Trains for Ruddington!

15th October 201918th October 2019 Graham Wright

The 125 Group has announced that two very special diesel trains will soon be joining the fleet of heritage locomotives here in Ruddington. It’s revealed two former Midland Mainline power cars will be coming to GCRN – Great Central Railway (Nottingham) on a permanent basis thanks to leasing company Porterbrook. Production Inter-City 125 high speed trains 43048 (pictured above) and 43089 owned by Porterbrook (currently operated by East Midlands Railway) will BOTH be handed over at the end of their careers in front line service. They’ll then be based here and begin running passenger trips…