Originals and Replicas – Why Museums Should Display Both
Stephenson’s Rocket moves around a lot, but in 2019 the precious locomotive was moved to the National Railway Museum in York, supposedly long term, although due to repairs it’s now temporarily in Shildon. (It appears it will be returning in 2025, but there’s no commitment. It was also there many years before…I remember seeing it there as a child, although I couldn’t give you the dates, although Wikipedia claims it was in London the entire time. My memory may, of course, be faulty.
The National Railway Museum also has a replica of the Rocket. Isn’t this kind of redundant when they have the real thing? The same replica was also on display in London.
I am firmly of the belief that museums should display both originals and replicas.
(By the way, I do have a picture of the replica of Rocket, but museums in the U.K. charge a lot for commercial photography. I can’t even post it on Facebook!)
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