Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

work in progress

Questions about the museum

Why aren't you free?

Although it's a charity, the Museum is independently run, and isn't owned by the Council. The money to run the Museum doesn't come from your council tax, it's mostly from a combination of donations, bequests, sponsors, and the entrance ticket fees. The Museum is non-profit, the money goes to paying a manager, for Museum maintenance, and for expenses like paying rent, insurance, and the electricity bills that keep the lights on. Most of the people that you'll see working at the Museum are actually volunteers, giving their time for free.

Why don't you run the bigger trains all the time?

We try to run one or two trains on the 00-gauge layout whenever there are visitors in the Museum (if nothing seems to be running along the back wall, ask us: it's possible that something may be stuck).

For the larger 1930s centrepiece layout, there is a round white plastic button near the lead Mickey Mouse figures that will make one train do a single circuit of the outer track.
There are a few reasons why we don't usually run the other trains:

1. They are very old

These aren't just modern reproductions of 1930s locomotives: they are genuine 1930s models, with the original 1930s electric motors and gears.

2. The track isn't designed to run everything at once.

Some of the locos are powered by three-rail track, and some by two-rail. Most of the layout isn't designed to be run "unsupervised".

3. We have too many locos!

Since we use the central layout as a display area, parts of it are packed solid with locomotives and trains. If more tracks were "live", we'd have to find somewhere else to put these pieces.

Why don't you always open on Mondays?

Mondays are useful to us as a day when we can get essential maintenance work done without blocking off exhibit areas and disappointing visitors. We also find it useful to book in large school visits on Mondays, so that they don't disrupt the other visitors' experiences. However, we do try to open on Mondays on Bank Holidays and other school holidays.

Brighton visitor information

How do I get to the Jurys Inn Hotel?

The hotel is East of the railway tracks, and its sign is easily visible from the railway platforms. The simplest way to get from the museum to the hotel on foot is to walk up Trafalgar Street and enter the front of the station. Face the ticket barriers and on your right there's a walkway that runs alongside the tracks. this packes you to the cab pickup p[oint and the Jury's Inn Hotel.

Where is the local DVLA Office?

The DVLA used to have a public office in Trafalgar Place, but nowadays queries are answered via their website, or by email or phone.

Where can I hire a bicycle?

Amsterdammers is in Trafalgar Arches, a couple of minutes away. Leave the museum, turn left, and follow the Victorian brickwork around the corner. It has a bicycle above its doorway.

How do I get to Seven Sisters?

Many of the Number 12 buses go fairly directly to Eastbourne bypassing the Seven Sisters section of coastline. Others take a more circuitous route via Birling Gap and Beachy Head which takes in Seven Sisters. There's also a dedicated "Tourist Trail" 13X service to Eastbourne that always takes this more scenic route, but the 13X is currently only scheduled for weekends, or weekends and public holidays.

The situation with 12- and 13X services has been slightly fluid in the past, so we normally tell visitors that they probably need one of the 12 variants or a 13X, but to pop up to the dedicated grey bus information booth outside the front of the station for exact and up-to-date advice, to be sure.