Science and Industry Museum Power Hall to reopen

The hall houses one of the UK's largest collections of historic engines

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester is set to reopen its Power Hall attraction after six years of closure.

Visitors will be able to see engines that powered everything from cotton mills and chip shops to electricity generators and railways.

It is the latest building to reopen as part of a multi-million-pound regeneration project currently taking place across the museum.

Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery will open its doors again on 17 October.

The Grade-II listed Power Hall was built in 1855 as the shipping shed for Liverpool Road Station, the world's first purpose-built passenger railway station.

It reopened in September 1983, when it became home to one of the UK's largest collections of historic working engines.

The free gallery temporarily closed in 2019 to allow for urgent repair and renovation works.

Visitors can discover working steam engines, some of which are running for the first time in almost a decade

Visitors will be able to see the Pender, a steam locomotive used to transport holiday makers around the Isle of Man in the 1870s.

The Durn Mill steam engine, which was originally used to power weaving machinery at an 1800s mill near Rochdale, will also be up and running.

There is also a replica of the Planet steam locomotive, built by skilled volunteers inside the Power Hall in 1992.

The original Planet pulled passengers between Liverpool and Manchester from 1830 to 1840 and was the next iteration of steam locomotive after Stephenson's famous prototype, Rocket.

Visits to Power Hall are free and included as part of a free museum ticket

Sally MacDonald, director of the Science and Industry Museum, said the Power Hall symbolised "the city's innovation, creativity and resilience".

"Many people have told me that the Power Hall was inspirational for them as children," she said.

"I hope now it can inspire a new generation of inventors and technicians."

Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery project received funding from the AL Philanthropies foundation.