National Railway Museum, York

Founded (heritage operation)	1975
Length	Static museum (with operational siding)
Gauge	Standard 4 ft 8½ in
Headquarters	Leeman Road, York
Principal stations	N/A (adjacent to York railway station)
Annual visitors	~750,000
Website	www.railwaymuseum.org.uk

The National Railway Museum (NRM) on Leeman Road in York is the national museum of the British railway, and on most measures the largest railway museum in the world. It opened in 1975 in a converted North Eastern Railway motive-power depot adjacent to York station, taking over the collections of the former British Transport Commission Museum at Clapham and the LNER railway museum that had occupied the site since 1927.

The collection includes the world steam speed record holder Mallard (LNER A4 4468); the most famous locomotive in the world, Flying Scotsman (LNER A3 4472 / 60103, owned by the NRM since 2004); the surviving LNER A4 Sir Nigel Gresley; Stirling Single 1; Stephenson's Rocket (replicas and components, the original is at the Science Museum); the Royal Trains from Queen Victoria onwards; the Japanese Shinkansen 0 series; and many hundreds of other locomotives, carriages, and artefacts.

The museum is currently undergoing major redevelopment as part of the "Vision 2025" programme, including a new Central Hall designed by Feilden Fowles, due to open during the bicentenary celebrations of the modern railway in 2025.

History

The NRM opened on 27 September 1975, the 150th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, merging the British Transport Commission Museum collection at Clapham with the LNER museum that had occupied the York site since 1927. The Great Hall, the former NER roundhouse, is the centrepiece, with the adjacent Station Hall housing carriages and the Royal Train collection. A second site, Locomotion at Shildon, opened in 2004 to display additional reserve collection. The NRM is part of the Science Museum Group, alongside the Science Museum in London, Locomotion at Shildon, and the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.

Stations and infrastructure

The museum site comprises the Great Hall (the former NER roundhouse, around the original turntable), the Station Hall (a former goods yard, displaying the Royal Trains and carriages), the South Yard (working area and additional storage), and the Search Engine archive and library. A demonstration line allows occasional running of selected exhibits.

Route and stations

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Special events and operations

The museum runs Railfest (major themed gatherings of locomotives), Mallard 75/80 reunions of the surviving A4s, the bicentenary Railway 200 programme, and an extensive ongoing exhibitions and events calendar.

Visitor information

Free admission. The museum is a 5-minute walk from York railway station.

Engines based here

1 — Preserved GNR Stirling Single 4-2-2 of 1870, the iconic 8-foot driving-wheel express engine. National Collection.
1000 — Preserved Midland Compound 4-4-0, the prototype of a class developed and continued under the LMS.
1008 — Preserved L&Y Aspinall 2-4-2T radial tank, part of the National Collection.
11 Livingston Thompson — Double Fairlie of 1885, preserved at the NRM.
1198 — Preserved Class 411 4CEP set, part of the National Collection.
1275 — Preserved NER long-boiler 0-6-0 of 1874.
251 — The only preserved GNR Ivatt Atlantic.
2818 — National Collection. Static exhibit at the National Railway Museum, York.
298 — Beattie Well Tank No. 0298 preserved as part of the National Collection.
3 Coppernob — 1846-built Bury 0-4-0 “Coppernob”, the only surviving locomotive of its kind.
3020 Cornwall — Preserved LNWR Cornwall, a unique 2-2-2 single rebuilt by Trevithick from an 1847 Crewe-built engine.
30245 — A preserved Drummond M7 0-4-4T at the National Railway Museum. Static display.
32677 Boxhill — 82 Boxhill, National Collection. On static display at the National Railway Museum, York. The only Terrier never to be rebuilt to A1X specification.
33001 — The class prototype (originally C1), the only preserved member of Bulleid's wartime austerity 0-6-0 design. National Collection.
34051 Winston Churchill — 34051 Winston Churchill, an unrebuilt Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific. Part of the National Collection. One of only two Light Pacifics acquired directly from BR service for preservation (along with 34023 Blackmoor Vale). Most famously hauled the funeral train of Sir Winston Churchill from Waterloo to Handborough in January 1965. Preserved in original air-smoothed ("Spam Can") condition.
35029 Ellerman Lines — 35029 Ellerman Lines, National Collection. Permanently sectioned (cutaway) for display at the National Railway Museum, York, allowing visitors to see the locomotive's internal workings. Will not steam again.
42700 — The first LMS Crab built (works no. 1, 1926). Part of the National Collection.
43002 Sir Kenneth Grange — First production HST power car, named after the HST designer.
45000 — 45000 (LMS 5000), National Collection. Static display at the National Railway Museum, York. Was operational on heritage railways and the main line in earlier preservation; based at the Severn Valley Railway 1977–1991.
46229 Duchess of Hamilton — 46229 Duchess of Hamilton, National Collection, on static display at the National Railway Museum, York. Restored in 2009 to streamlined form (the casing having been removed in 1947). Has not been steamed since 1985 and is preserved for display rather than operation.
4732 — Preserved 4SUB set, part of the National Collection.
60022 Mallard — 60022 Mallard (LNER 4468), the world's fastest steam locomotive (126 mph, 3 July 1938). Part of the National Collection on permanent display in the Great Hall of the National Railway Museum, York. Restored to working order for the 50th anniversary of her record run in 1988, but kept static since for preservation reasons.
60800 Green Arrow — 60800 Green Arrow, the sole surviving LNER V2 (out of 184 built). National Collection. Suffered a boiler failure on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in April 2008. The mainline crack in its monobloc cylinder casting has been deemed beyond economic repair, so the locomotive is permanently out of steam. On static display at the National Railway Museum.
66 Aerolite — Preserved NER 2-2-4T inspection saloon engine, used by NER officials and now at York.
673 — Preserved Midland Railway Spinner 4-2-2 of 1897, a Johnson single-driver express engine.
68088 — Preserved NER/LNER Y7.
790 Hardwicke — Preserved LNWR “Improved Precedent” 2-4-0 of 1873, famous for its part in the 1895 Race to the North.
8217 — Preserved GER J17 (originally GER Class F48) 0-6-0 mixed-traffic engine.
910 — Preserved NER 901 Class 2-4-0 of 1875, a Fletcher express design.
92220 Evening Star — 92220 Evening Star, the 999th and final BR Standard, and the last steam locomotive built by British Railways (March 1960). Built in BR Brunswick green with a copper-capped chimney. National Collection, on permanent static display in the Great Hall of the National Railway Museum, York.
D1023 Western Fusilier — D1023 Western Fusilier, National Collection. Mostly displayed at York; on static display since transmission repairs in 2010.
D2767 — Preserved Class 07 Ruston shunter.
D5500 — The first Class 31, originally D5500. Part of the National Collection.
D8000 — The first Class 20, part of the National Collection.
D9002 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry — 55002 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, the National Collection Deltic. Treated as a static exhibit at the NRM in York.
E5001 — The first Class 71, the only one preserved, Southern Region 750V DC electric.