Media personality and railway enthusiast Michael Portillo will open Exbury’s new Engine Shed walk-through exhibition detailing the story behind the hugely popular Exbury Garden Railway.

Michael Portillo, who presents the BBC TV documentary Great British Railway Journeys, will wave his green flag and blow a whistle to open the permanent show, which features graphics, videos and hands-on interactive displays along with railway memorabilia and models.

The winning combination of a beautiful garden to walk through and a steam railway has proved an irresistible hit with visitors, many of whom have wanted to know more about the railway, which was the brainchild of Mr Leopold de Rothschild, whose family owns the Gardens.
 ‘Mr Leo’, who is often to be seen driving one of the engines and who has loved steam trains since childhood, was the motive force behind the Exbury Garden Railway, which opened in August 2001.
“The railway has been more popular than we ever dreamed,” said Mr Leo, who confessed that he was never allowed a proper electric railway when he was a child. “We believe this permanent exhibition will be of interest to many of our visitors and we are delighted that Michael Portillo has agreed to come to Exbury to open it officially.”
The exhibition will be open to all those who purchase a ticket to ride the railway, having entered the Gardens. The roomy Engine Shed is atmospheric and well-lit, and accessible for all.

The opening of The Dream that became Steam, the eagerly-awaited exhibition, takes place on the afternoon of Sunday May 23, when the world-famous Gardens are at their peak of spring beauty. Azaleas and rhododendrons and many flowering trees and shrubs combine to give colour off the scale in the 200-acre woodland garden.