Case Study: Vibration Monitoring at The National Railway Museum in York

In July 2023 Vibration Monitoring Services Ltd commenced monitoring at York National Railway Museum at the start of an exciting project to create a Central Hall to connect existing museum buildings. 

Our purpose was to protect the many surrounding listed buildings to ensure that vibration levels did not exceed a pre-set limit and cause damage. 

Monitoring was carried out using the most up-to-date monitoring equipment, which gave us and our client, Graham Construction instant text messaging when ground borne vibration increased during the heavy groundwork. The monitoring was carried out during the demolition of existing buildings and construction, including piling works. 

Graham Construction was able to access the vibration equipment software to view real-time vibration levels for each monitor location. 

The National Railway Museum is the cultural heart of York Central, with residential neighbourhoods, civic spaces, and high-quality commercial real estate in one of the UK’s most historic and desirable cities. 

The Central Hall is the museum’s new welcome space and gallery and is located between the museum’s Great Hall and Station Hall, connecting the two buildings. The collection includes over 260 locomotives and rolling stock, 600 coins and medals as well as railway uniforms, equipment, documents, artwork, and photographs.