WORKERS arriving at the Oswestry Transport Museum last Tuesday morning found equipment worth around £2,000 had been stolen after a break-in.
A strimmer, Stihl saw, a rail drill, and a bant which is used for laying bolts into sleepers, were all stolen after the wooden doors of an old railway truck had been forced by a metal bar sometime during the early hours of August 10.
Police arrived to inspect the scene at the premises in Oswald Road later that morning but the thefts have left workers disappointed as the revamp of the old Cambrian Railway Station and sidings continues.
Paul Mottram, who works at the museum, said: "It is disappointing for people here, but it must be someone who knew what they were looking for because the rail saw had only been put in there on Sunday night.
"Some of the equipment that has been stolen can only be used for certain things, such as the bant, it is a specialist tool, so cannot be used for anything else.
"The equipment is quite awkward to carry and there must have been at least two people with a van or car parked up."
Thieves had gone into the far end of the railway truck where the equipment was kept behind various other tools. Mr Mottram confirmed that similar equipment totalling nearly £4,000 had been stolen from the station site at Llynclys in recent months, but said there had been no other problems with break-ins or thefts recently at the museum in Oswestry.
The museum itself had been locked at around 4pm the previous afternoon before the theft was discovered at 6.30am the following morning.
Gates to the museum are left open each night to cater for people using the overnight car parking facility, although Mr Mottram stressed that cars had never been targeted there.
"Car break-ins have never been a problem here, the thieves knew exactly what they were coming for and they took it." he added.