Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre
Britain’s last surviving operational railway roundhouse: a listed 1870 engine shed with locomotives, a working turntable and signal box, and a café.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Barrow Hill Roundhouse stands near Chesterfield on ground once served by the Midland Railway’s lines to the Staveley Works. After a small four-engine shed of 1865 proved too small for the growing traffic, the Midland Railway built the present Roundhouse between July 1869 and November 1870. It has 24 roads arranged around a central turntable, and it is the last surviving roundhouse engine shed in Great Britain that still works as a railway depot.
The shed was in continuous use for 121 years. At its peak in the 1920s it housed around 90 locomotives, and it later became a base for diesel shunters and a signing-on point for crews working coal traffic. British Rail closed it in February 1991. Within the building is a set of timber lifting sheer legs, believed to be the only one still in place, which the museum hopes to return to working order.
A campaign to save the shed began in 1989, when the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Action Group, later the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society, was founded. The building was listed at Grade II in 1991, and Chesterfield Borough Council bought the site in December 1996. Funding from several public bodies paid for a new roof and the restoration of services, and volunteers cleared the site and replaced stolen track. The Roundhouse reopened to the public in July 1998.
Today the Roundhouse is run as an Accredited Museum with locomotives, a turntable and signal box that are demonstrated at weekends, a café and a shop. It also hosts railway events and, beyond the museum area, sits next to a working modern railway depot.
Highlights
- Last surviving operational railway roundhouse in Great Britain
- Live turntable and signal box demonstrations at weekends
- Collection of preserved locomotives, including the Half Cab 41708 restoration project
- Timber locomotive lifting sheer legs
- Café and shop with free entry
Permanent exhibitions
- Barrow Hill Roundhouse and its locomotives – The 24-road Roundhouse and its collection of preserved locomotives, with the story of the depot from 1870 to its closure in 1991 and reopening in 1998.
- Turntable and signal box demonstrations – Regular weekend demonstrations of the historic turntable and the signal box, showing how locomotives were turned and trains were controlled.
- Founded
- 1998
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £12 |
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| Children & teens | £8free up to age 2 · Children aged 3 to 15 pay £8; children under 3 are free. |
| Families | £362 adults and up to 3 children. |
Entry to the café and the shop is free; the admission fee covers the Roundhouse and its exhibitions. Tickets are bought in the shop at the start of the visit. Special events have their own ticket prices. Reduced child and family prices (£7 and £32) applied from 27 June to 23 August 2026.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Fully accessible toilets are available in the museum, and an interactive wayfinding map on the website shows toilets and other facilities. Special activity packs are offered for visitors with additional visual or hearing needs. Guide and assistance dogs are welcome.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 2 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | £36 · 2 adults and up to 3 children. |
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
- Baby changing facilities
The museum describes itself as family friendly. Activity packs with games and activities are available from the shop, including versions for children with additional visual or hearing needs. A baby changing facility is in the café toilets. The turntable and signal box demonstrations are popular with families.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
The nearest main line station is Chesterfield, with a taxi rank outside. Stagecoach bus 90 runs between Chesterfield (New Beetwell Street) and Barrow Hill every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays.
By car
Free parking
Free on-site parking. Use the signed public entrance on the left-hand side of Campbell Drive, about 100 metres from the junction with Station Road, and not the commercial entrance or residents’ parking spaces. Bicycle parking is at the entrance to the café and museum.
Sat nav code S43 2PR. The site is just off junction 29a or 30 of the M1. There are low railway bridges on two approach routes (3.96 m and 3.12 m), and the website gives alternative routes for coaches and tall vehicles. The site is within one mile of National Cycle Network route 67 on the Chesterfield Canal towpath.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
- Museum shop
On-site café (free entry, hot food until 15:00), museum shop and public toilets.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
Venue hire enquiries go to enquiries@barrowhill.org.
Inquiries & detailsPlan your visit
| Good to know | Live demonstrations run every Saturday and Sunday: signal box at 11:00 and 13:00, turntable at 12:00 and 14:00. Times can change with operational needs and volunteer availability, so check on arrival. The signal box also gives a view over the yard. |
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