National Railway Museum in York

In Brief.

The National Railway Museum in York is a long established destination on the history of railways in the UK, with a large collection of engines and carriages, as well as exhibitions, for example on signalling.  The collection includes famous locomotives such as The Flying Scotsman and Mallard (the world's fastest steam locomotive), as well as an impressive collection of Royal trains from over the years.

Mallard, a record holder at 126mph in 1938

What's Here?

The National Railway Museum has two main exhibition spaces, the Great Hall and the Station Hall. The former features a wide collection of locomotives from the history of train travel, from a reconstruction of Stephenson's Rocket through a variety of other steam locomotives to the Intercity 125 and the Eurostar.  Although these could perhaps have been used to tell a story on the evolution of railways, in practice the space feels more like a collection of different exhibits than a history of the railways.  There are a few trains and engines with cut-aways that show some aspects of how they work, but perhaps with less detail than is really necessary to obtain much understanding.  The Great Hall is adjacent to the North Shed which has a more detailed display on The Flying Scotsman, though the engine itself was not present on my visit.

Inside Ellerman Lines

The recently renovated Station Hall occupies a building that from the 1870s to the 1960s was York's goods station.  This is laid out and themed as a station, with trains at platforms, artworks showing station scenes, and a platform cafe.  Here the emphasis is more on coaches than engines, though both feature, including such highlights as Queen Victoria's train, and for special occasions afternoon tea served in the 1907 Countess of York dining carriage.

Gladstone, from 1882, in the Station Hall.

Other train-related blogs in this series include the East Lancashire and Keighley and Worth Valley heritage railways. There us also a blog entry on York.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 79 miles

Drive Time: 1hour 55 minutes

Price: Free, donations requested.

Parking: I parked at the museum's not-so-large carpark with city centre prices. As the museum is beside the railway station, it may be better to travel by train.

Food and Drink: There are several cafes within the exhibition spaces, with a particularly pleasant one on a platform in the recently restored Station Hall.  I had a rather unsatisfactory scone in a cafe in the Great Hall, and thus had lunch in town.  There is also afternoon tea available in a refined railway carriage.

Retail therapy: There are fairly unambitious train-themed gift shops in several places.

Child Friendly: In addition to the exhibition spaces, there is a model railway in the Great Hall, and a miniature railway and play area outside.  There is also a WonderLab scientific exhibition for young people, for which an entry fee applies.

Toilets: In the museum.

Do it justice in: 2 hours

Inside-Outside: 90:10