Testing
National Railway Musuem, 2018

Testing was a temporary exhibition that shows how experimentation, prototyping and testing have driven innovation in the rail industry.

With a strong focus on processes and people, the exhibition demonstrated that rail engineers are ordinary individuals with extraordinary skills. It shows how they have used these skills to create new innovations and ideas that are shaping the railways of the future.

Big Shed, Little Shed.

Our concept was a row of sheds, each housing one of the five exhibits. Much of the experimenting and testing occurs in big specialised sheds. Trains have a long tradition with sheds, as does the engineer - whether an enthusiast tinkering in their garden shed, or a professional engineer  - sheds are magical and mysterious places of exploration and invention.

 By filling the gable end of our shed structures with a large, photo of the actual sheds, we connected the Little Shed we are standing in with the Big Shed, and evoke the scale and atmosphere of the place where the experimenting, prototyping or testing actually happens.

Out of little sheds come big ideas.

Each shed house a different project including the ground testing done to determine the route for HS2,  the HYP_ED hyperloop pod from Edinburgh University and Hitachi’s new IEP Cab.

The shed’s were designed using repeated custom steel frames to maximise the budget and were clad with Industrial tool storage panels which also used the flexible tool hook system to attach the graphic panels. Large custom vitrines were based on industrial work benches.

Specially commissioned photography by Mark Newton capturing the people, their workplaces and equipment was used throughout the exhibition.