A PROJECT to mark the 150th anniversary of the Metropolitan Railway is going full steam ahead after a cash boost.

The Amersham Museum has become one of the first groups in the country to be given a grant as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s ‘All Our Stories’ campaign.

The £9,500 windfall will help community groups put together the ‘Metroland: the birth of Amersham-on-the-Hill’ project, which is set to culminate in an exciting exhibition in the town in May.

Museum Curator Emily Toettcher said: “The museum is delighted to receive this grant. It will enable us to research fully the story of Amersham-on-the-Hill and share it with the local community.”

Museum volunteers, schools and members of the Bucks U3A Railway Appreciation Group have all teamed up to research the project, which ties in with the 150th anniversary of the Metropolitan Railway. The line to Amersham was completed in 1892.

Funding for the exhibition has come from a new grant scheme called All Our Stories, which was launched earlier this year in conjunction with BBC Two show The Great British Story as an opportunity for everyone to get involved in their heritage.

Historian Michael Wood, who presented the show, said: “We British love our history, and no wonder: few nations in the world, if any, have such riches on their doorstep, and so much of it accessible to all of us.

“It is really tremendous that the people of Amersham have been inspired to get involved to tell their own story and dig deeper into their own past.”

May’s exhibition will coincide with the planned running of steam heritage trains to Amersham during the spring bank holiday weekend.