Anthony Coulls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anthony Coulls is a British museum curator and historian. He is the Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway Museum,[1] the author of several books on railway and industrial history, and is active in the steam heritage movement.

History[edit]

A graduate of firstly Aberystwyth University and then the Ironbridge Institute, Coulls began his museum career as a Collections Assistant at the National Railway Museum in 1997, moving to Leicestershire Museums in January 1999. Between 2001 and 2004, Coulls was the Curator of Energy at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, moving in 2004 to become Collections Care Manager at Locomotion, The National Railway Museum at Shildon.[2] In 2009 he was appointed the Senior Curator of Railway Vehicles at the National Railway Museum,[3] and is now the Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology there,[4] where he oversees the curation policy for the national collection of railway locomotives.[5] He is an active railway preservationist, as Chairman of the Friends of Thorpe Light Railway,[6] an advisor to the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum,[7] and a mentor - and former trustee - of the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Trust.[8] He is an expert on the Lowca Engineering Works of Tulk and Ley and Fletcher, Jennings & Co.[9]

In 2003, Coulls took on loan a 15-ton road roller, built in 1894 by Aveling and Porter,[10] from Beamish Museum,[11] which he subsequently restored to working order. He is a past general secretary of the Road Rollers Association[12] and from 2015 to 2019 was Chairman of the National Traction Engine Trust.[13] In 2019, Coulls was the Lead Curator for the Award-Winning exhibition of model steam locomotives at the National Railway Museum "Brass, Steel and Fire" which then moved on to the Science Museum, London in 2020, running to August 2021.[14]

Works[edit]

  • Coulls, Anthony (15 April 2018). Narrow Gauge Locomotives. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445675565.
  • Coulls, Anthony (15 July 2018). Road Rollers. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445675800.
  • Coulls, Anthony (15 March 2019). Stationary Steam Engines. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445691077.
  • Coulls, Anthony (15 July 2019). The Slate Industry. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445691053.
  • Coulls, Anthony (15 July 2017). Traction Engines. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445668864.
  • Coulls, Anthony (July 2016). The Lowca Legacy. Holne Publishing.
  • Coulls, Anthony (1 February 2012). Spirit of Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon. Spirit of Britain. Halsgrove. ISBN 9780857100641.
  • Coulls, Anthony (July 2016). Sierra Leone Railway Adventure : The Remarkable Story of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum. Holne Publishing. ISBN 9780956331779.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tighe, Chris (25 March 2018). "UK National Railway Museum embarks on £50m redevelopment". Financial Times.
  2. ^ "Manchester Museum of Science and Industry". Manchester Evening News. 17 February 2007.
  3. ^ "City of Truro steam locomotive withdrawn – has it steamed for the last time?". Railc.o.uk. 6 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Anthony Coulls". Amberley Publishing.
  5. ^ Williams, Michael (7 May 2015). The Trains Now Departed: Sixteen Excursions into the Lost Delights of Britain's Railways. Random House. p. 200.
  6. ^ Wibberley, David (19 April 2019). "It's full steam ahead as railway open days return". Teesdale Mercury.
  7. ^ Coulls, Anthony (10 April 2018). "From York to Sierra Leone - a tale of two railway museums". National Railway Museum.
  8. ^ "The Museum Trust". The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum.
  9. ^ Shildon Town Crier (26 June 2017). "Lowca Legacy at Locomotion". South West Durham News.
  10. ^ Christon, Stacey-Lee (12 November 2017). "Shildon family appeals for help to get vintage steam roller back on the road". The Northern Echo.
  11. ^ February 25, Paul Jarman /; News, 2013 / Leave a comment / (25 February 2013). "Ask a man who knows…". Beamish Transport Online. Retrieved 12 September 2019. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Association Business". Rolling (161). Road Rollers Association. February 2015.
  13. ^ "New Chairman for the NTET". National Traction Engine Trust. 7 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Brass, Steel and Fire exhibition at National Railway Museum wins award". The Press. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022.