The National Railway Museum is in York, and is free to visit. It is the home of engineering brilliance and iconic locomotives, with lots of railway artefacts thrown in for a good measure, plus some miniature trains.
As you enter the Great Hall you can see these elaborate gates, which once stood in the giant arch (demolished in 1960) at Euston Station. Thankfully, they were saved and stand proudly on display here.
You can climb up the steps and see right into these British Railways locomotives...
Driver's cab...
British Railways crest...
Where the fireman tended the steam engine boiler...
Milk tank.
The Flying Scotsman is housed in the museum, but was absent on tour when we visited.
This is a winding engine from 1833. Winding engines were used to hoist trains up inclines, using rope haulage.
There is a paying Flying Scotsman VR (virtual reality) experience next to this window, but we didn't bother having a go this time.
Replica Liverpool & Manchester "Traveller" first class carriage.
GNR (Great Northern Railway) No.1 locomotive. Most of the trains in this hall are steam powered, before moving further round to diesel, then electric trains.
1934 Replica of Stevenson's 1829 Rocket...
Southern Railway Q1 Class, No.C1 steam locomotive.
The museum sits in what was once a large goods transfer shed...
Wall of train emblems...
Furness Railway No.3 steam locomotive, nicknamed "Old Coppernob."
Closer view of the copper cladding on 1846 locomotive "Old Coppernob."
Great Western Railway Lode Star on the turntable...
LMS stands for London, Midland and Scottish Railway...
Narrow Gauge Railway Carriage. These little lines exist all over the UK and are the norm in some countries.
Gawping into the carriage...
Ffestiniog Railway No.3 Livingston Thompson was withdrawn from service in 1971, when it was worn out. I travelled on that narrow-gauge North Wales railway as a kid.
GW 112884 preserved wagon...
"Hippopotamus" class No.1275, dating from 1874.
The Southern Railway 8143 dates from 1925...
I peered in, and I remember carriages like this from my childhood. We took the train frequently, as we didn't own a car. Nothing much has changed for me!
Intercity Express Programme Train driving cab, 2013.
Eastern Counties railway coach, 1851...
The 1874 Bauxite locomotive worked at an aluminium smelting plant, and pushed wagons of bauxite (naturally occurring rock which is a primary source of aluminium.)
The Duchess of Hamilton dates from 1938, and was designed to cut through the air whilst looking stylish and luxurious.
The Mallard, sitting under the elegant viewing bridge. It was named after a bird; as were other A4 locomotives such as the Kingfisher, Golden Eagle, Falcon, Sparrow Hawk, Herring Gull, Poachard, Peregrine, Merlin and Bittern.
The bird names all suggest speed and flight. The Mallard is the world's fastest ever steam locomotive- in 1938 it achieved the speed of 126mph.
Inside the driver's cab...
The driver's seat, and the SuperDean was told off for attempting to sit on it. He was pleased that he managed to achieve getting one bum cheek on before being reprimanded, though!
The dynamometer car had very accurate speedometers in it, and could successfully record speeds.
This is a 1949 Ellerman Lines Night Ferry...
The side section has been opened to reveal its inner workings...
We nipped into the North Shed, although another of the galleries, Station Hall, was closed for refurbishment.This section had some smaller memorabilia, such as these china plates...
Silverware...
Historic chamber pots and bells...
This area is vast, and there are many artefacts housed here...
...And larger attractions, such as this 1937 LNER (London North Eastern) buffet car...
Gawping inside the buffet car...
GWR (Great Western Railway) diesel rail car No.4 was nicknamed "The flying banana."
Signalling...
Miniature trains...
Back in the Great Hall, and here's a view from the bridge. The way the trains are laid out reminds me of a clock face!
Express Passenger Locomotive No.737; South Eastern and Chatham Railway.
Train tracks were made of wood before iron was used. Then, in the 1870s steel became the standard material for rails. Despite the stairs, we weren't able to walk up to these rather posh vintage first class and second class carriages.
The Pullman Topaz luxury lounge car dates from 1913...
The InterCity 125 was built between 1975 and 1982. The 125 part refers to its top operational speed.
Close-up of the famous double arrow, which was created for British Rail in 1965. It brought to mind those "This is the age of the train" adverts from the 1980s!
Eurostar trains. It's a long time since I've been on one of these- I shall have to remedy that!
This particular Shinkansen is the only high speed bullet train outside of Japan, and the Shinkansen (the name for Japan's high-speed rail network) is a popular tourist attraction.
Inside the train, and this particular train was withdrawn from service in 2000. The Shinkansen can reach speeds of up to 320km (198 miles) per hour! It was inspired by aircraft of the time.
Chinese Governement Railways Steam Locomotive.
Boxhill tank engine, and this place is a must for all railway fans! You can certainly spend a good couple of hours pottering around- more if you decide to stretch the day out and have a snack/ coffee.
Back to the first trains we saw as we came in, and I just had to photograph the shiny copper pipes of this British Railways train...
The Model Railway room, and of course a railway museum wouldn't be a railway museum without a train set!
The library and chill-out area upstairs...
In addition to marketing posters, the Go as you Please exhibition is about rail travel from the perspectives of those with a neurodiverse condition, deafness or disability.The bright, neon sign reminded me of Tracey Emin's artworks!
We then headed out and took a walk around York City Walls, which are also known as the Bar Walls and Roman walls.
The offer up a plethora of little towers and interesting nooks and crannies...
In most places the walls are 13 feet (4m) high and 6 feet (1.8m) deep.
They date from 71AD, and are the longest town walls in England.
The River Foss. York sits on the confluence of that and the River Ouse.
There is a museum in here, next to these steps, called The City Walls Experience at Micklegate Bar- I shall check it out next time I'm here.
There are four main gatehouses or "bars." This is a nighttime close-up of Micklegate Bar.
York, you were fascinating, and I will definitely return- and to the National Railway Museum, too.
Until then,
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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