Museum staff will be travelling from Sunderland Ho Chi Minh City. © Tyne & Wear Museums

A group of intrepid museum staff from the North East is set to mark the re-opening of their railway museum by making the longest trip possible from Sunderland by rail.

The 9,300-mile journey will take the three staff members from Monkwearmouth Station Museum in Sunderland to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, in Vietnam.

Along the way the group will be filming and noting their experiences and collecting objects which will then form the basis of an exhibition called Sunderland to Saigon. It will be the first exhibition to be shown at the redeveloped Monkwearmouth Museum when it re-opens in the summer of 2007.

Setting off on January 25 the 40-day trip will take them across Europe, through Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus and Russia before heading into Asia through Kazakhstan, China and eventually Vietnam. The eventual date of arrival is March 6 at Ho Chi Minh City and as part of the trip the group will travel on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway.

An artist's impression of what the new Children's Gallery at Monkwearmouth Station Museum will look like. Courtesy Tyne and Wear Museums

“A film-maker, assistant and a member of museum staff will be making this amazing journey, making links with various museums, railways and schools along the way,” explained Helen White, Senior Manager at Tyne and Wear Museums.

“They will be collecting objects from the different countries they visit and making a film of their experiences. The aim is to find out about the cultures and people of the different countries, and also to let people across the world know about the City of Sunderland,” added Helen.

Links will also be made with some key international railway museums including the China Railway Museum in Beijing, the Railway Museum in Belarus and Moscow’s Metro Museum.

Monkwearmouth Station Museum closed in September 2005 to allow for a £900,000 redevelopment and restoration, paid for in part by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Housed in an original Victorian station building, it boasts a large collection of railway and transport artefacts and a preserved 1866 railway station booking office.

An artist's impression of what the refurbished Platform Gallery with its views of the Metro and train line into Sunderland will look like. Courtesy Tyne and Wear Museums.

New galleries in the museum will feature many interactive displays, while improved access will allow local people and visitors to experience more of the region’s rich transport history.

Visitors will also be able to witness modern rail travel as Metro and regional trains travel past an innovative Platform Gallery into the city centre.

Extensive work has also been undertaken to refurbish the children’s galleries, which will allow children to learn in a fun environment while school clubs will also have access to new bespoke education spaces.

The travellers on the Beijing trip also will be making contact with schools along the route to teach pupils about life back in Sunderland and to help set up links with schools back in Sunderland who will be able to learn about life in Russia, China and Vietnam.

“When it re-opens, Monkwearmouth Station will explore journeys and modes of transport, so it is an ideal way to celebrate the forthcoming re-launch of the museum and a way to raise the profile of the city internationally,” added Helen.

People can check the progress of the travellers by visiting the Monkwearmouth Station website from January 25.

The project was funded by Culture 10 and Renaissance in the Regions.