Yucatan Railway Museum - 60 - a photo on Flickriver

            The Yucatan Railway Museum (Museo de los Ferrocarriles de Yucatan) is being given a new lease of life after being closed and abandoned for four and a half years. Ivan Godfrey took over as Director General in July this year, and he is hoping to bring this museum to the attention of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and the world... for indeed it has railcars and a history that is world class.

Ivan Godfrey Comes to Merida
So where did Ivan Godfrey come from and why has he been put in charge? Ivan was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England... just 15 miles from the world's first preserved standard gauge passenger railway, the Bluebell Railway. Ivan worked for British Railways, and is highly qualified as a railwayman in more than one area. He also worked professionally on one of England's more successfully preserved steam-operated railways. He was the project manager for the restoration and preservation of a Pullman Observation Car called the Devon Belle (pictured here). In 2006, Ivan obtained the sister Pullman observation car for repatriation to England from California for free, and in gratitude, the owner gifted the car to Ivan. At the same time, Ivan also obtained Sir Winston Churchill's funeral carriage (pictured below right) for free from City of Industry, CA. He also repatriated that railway car to England, and both are now restored on the Swanage Railway in Dorset, England. Ivan is still a member of the Bluebell Railway near his birthplace and has over 50 years experience in the railway industry. Luckily for us and for the Yucatan Railway Museum, the people that care about the museum found him and brought him to Merida to save this valuable treasure.

Restoring Merida's Railway Museum
As it turns out, Ivan has been brought in by a non-profit A.C. organization in Mexico City. The museum is not in any way associated with the local government or the national government. Someone with some money and energy at this non-profit has recognized the valuable historical assets at this museum, and has brought Ivan in to reclaim the place, make it attractive to tourists and restore some of the railcars and steam engines. The museum has been in existence since 1999, but for a variety of reasons has not been a success. Everyone is hoping that Ivan, with his years preserving railcars in England with highly successful preserved railways, will be able to bring the Yucatan Railway Museum back to life.
   

Taken in: México / Yucatan / Mérida / Industrial (show map)

Taken on: October 5, 2016

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Sets appears in: • Yucatan Railway Museum, Merida Mexico

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Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T5, f/10.0, 1/100 sec, 18mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS REBEL T5
Aperture:	f/10.0
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	18mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Landscape
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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