When and why did the idea of create fhe Asturias railway Museum crop up?
The museum cropped up because 150 years ago in the mining bowl was an important railway, arond Asturias central area, with a lot of things that, surprising, in the eighty years srvived: there was about 65 vapour engines, more or less consrved.
Also, there was agreat sensibility to build a museum and the Gijon's town council was who decided build at the begining of ninety with european helps.
What are the dimensions and technical characteristics of the museum?
It's in the city center because an urban plan has transformed the zone -port to industrial to urban area- with a new beach, courts and public services. The museum is very important for urban regeneration.
It's 17000 squaremetres, 4000 of whom are covered and built about two structures: in one side, the old station and a house with only a flooor built in 1993 with about 1800 squaremetres; and in the other side an enormous nave made last year used as restoration workshop, exhibition zone and warehouse, which is around 1700 squaremetres.
Also, we have a long garage with a lot of rails with 9000 squaremetres, a reserve area where there are the broken trains and a green zone. The Museum makes up a rectangle with about 400 metres of length and 40 metres of width.
And around the material, what kind of things could you point up?
The new collection is constituted for about 60 different pieces, of whom 16 are vapour engines. The greater part of the things are connected with mine and industry. In addition to, there are 250 pieces of other material as lamps, plates, signals,... We want to show the Asturias social history railway. There isn't a technique history museum, although also it is, but this is a social history museum.
In Asturias there have been eight different width, here we have seven and we want to the eight. Is strange that in a small zone had been so much rail width: 500, 600, 650, 750, 800, metric, international and Renfe.
What kind of services and activities do you offer to the tourist?
We have an exhibition area tempority about the museum. In this moment there is on swift underground in Gijon, based on the posibility of restore the tram another time in the city. Soon, the will be an exhibition about industrial archaeology in Asturias. The most of them are for half of a year.
Another important service is the documentation center that we think is basic for the museum, not only for the user, besides for our job. Also, we have got a library with 6000 books, a papers archive,... At last, the museum has got a shop with a lot of things and easy to used fpr people who can't walk.
What is your conservation politics?
We put objects in exhibition and try to preserve the most important elements of the asturian railway. In this way, the collection on show is the half of the complete collection that we have. We could make another museum with all this material.
The objects that aren't here, there are restoring, but we can't restore all we want to , because it's very expensive, but we take advantage of employment plan.
What kind of collaboration does the museum have with others institutions: town council, Renfe, Feve, Ministry of Public Works,...?
We are a public museum, also depend on Gijon Town council. In relation to the enterprises, Renfe, Feve, Hunosa, Ensidesa, Aceralia,... until twenty, they have given up material amd pieces. There has been intentions of handover workers.
What kind of public does the museum visit?
The museum opened last october and during the first months we had got 54000 visitors, the museum most visited in Asturias. We thought that we could have between 60000 to 65000 people.
The public is very plurality, and we cant separate in three groups: on tuesday, day that the entrance is free, come retired and people who have much free time and they want to see it peacefully; on wednesday, thursday and friday are days for young people who come with their teachers; and saturday and sunday for the families.
It isn't a museum for experts, besides opened to all the society. In this way, I think that the railway has something that makes to the people come to it.
With the AVE, the train is on fashion. Can we keep the old railway in the presence of the fastest train?
We want to compatibilite both. At first, some people criticized at us and said that seem a graveyard of the railway because all was died, but it is wrong, because the object of the museum lives and is causins material. In a few years, not an AVE, but we could have trains that now are moderns, because we want to emphasize the Asturias history railway.
Have you got relations with others spanish railway museums?
Yes, we have with near museums like Vasco Museum or Ponferrada Museum. Also, some months ago the Association Iberian Of Railway Museums And Tourist Interest (AEFETUR), who holds twenty associations, museums,... dedicated to the conservation of the railway material.
Which one are the most important problems of the museum?
All the museums have the same. In general, the economic is the most important, but our most important problem is that we haven't got connection with Renfe or Feve, who are in the other side of the road. Another problem is that we haven't got space, because in the railway museum keep things too big.
What kind of plans does the Asturias Museum have in a few time?
We want to be better the exhibition, we are going to put a simulater conduction of Feve and a course for learn about vapour engines. Also we want to put on a vapour engine by metricway, and we must to repair one that we have here
And the last one, on 24 th and 25th of july wiil prepare, with the Railway Friends of gijon, two special vapour trains with the Mikado of the Railway Friends of Leon for celebrate the 125 th anniversary of the line Gijon-Pola de Lena, so the 125 th anniversary of the museum building, that was on the old station of that line.
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