Brighton Toy and Model Museum In Ground-breaking New Community Rail Partnership With Brighton Railway Station

At midday 21st March 2018 Brighton Toy and Model Museum founder, Chris Littledale signed up to the Community Rail Partnership agreement, along with Anthony Dowsett, Govia Thameslink Railway Station Manager, and Catherine Simmons, Sussex Community Rail Partnership. Brighton Toy and Model Museum is the first organisation that this programme has taken on board and the staff at the toy museum are all very excited about what the project will mean for the museum and the wider Brighton and Hove community in general.

What It Means For Us

As part of the agreement Brighton Toy and Model Museum will gain access to advertising and promotional space all over Brighton Station, including 'Swan Neck' poster displays on the main concourse and banners on the station railings, visible as you leave the station and head down to the beach. We will also be displaying pieces from our collection in cabinets in the ticket office so travellers will have something interesting to look at and spark their enthusiasm as they wait to book their tickets. This is a great opportunity for Brighton Toy and Model Museum as it allows us to reach local people and visitors to Brighton alike. So many people say “I go past the museum every day, but I've never been in,” and now we can reach out to them, giving them a little bit of the museum while they do something else.

What It Means For The Railway Station

Because we're located directly underneath Brighton Railway Station, it's always been an ambition of ours to form a friendly relationship with the station owners. The station isn't just a place you pass through on your way somewhere else, it's a place to meet, to part, and to spend time together with friends and family as you see one another off, or have a coffee while you make plans for your visit to our beautiful city. Our commitment to Brighton Train Station will mean that we supply an exhibition which is entertaining and interesting, which reflects the role played by rail in the development and popularity of Brighton and Hove, and where that relationship between trains and the people they serve is headed in the future.

What It Means For You

Brighton Toy and Model Museum is working hard to become the best quirky, unique venue for arts and entertainment in the city. As well as corporate events and special days geared to model rail enthusiasts, we are now a venue for Brighton Festival Fringe. This year we are playing host to a plethora of performers from comedy to theatre including local talent from Hubble Bubble Productions, Adriano Fettucini and the well-loved children’s author Jane Hissey. As well as being a performance space, we will also be hosting an exhibition of work created by students at Brighton MET College. This will give the young designers the perfect opportunity to design, create and curate an exhibition of their work to the general public during the Fringe Festival.

Having this agreement with Brighton Railway Station means that we will be able to promote, market and display all these activities to the community as they pass through the train station, and as we're so conveniently located, we hope that they will all come down and support us and the work that we do to preserve childhood memories and local railway heritage.