York Option: Visit to National Railway Museum
Overview
WIth over 100 locomotives and nearly 300 other items of rolling stock, the National Railway Museum is the largest museum of its type in Britain. The main indoor exhibition spaces are The Great Hall with a selection of locomotives from all ages of the railway arranged around a central turntable and Station Hall which is laid out like a station platform with more locomotives and carriages on view, including the royal trains. Among the locomotives are the world's fastest steam engine Mallard, the exquisitely streamlined Duchess of Hamilton, a replica of George Stephenson's pioneering Rocket and the only bullet train to be found outside of Japan.
There's also the Workshop where you can see preservation work happening, and the North Shed where you can discover more about life as a railway signaller, track real-time train movements via our electronic signal display, find out how a wheel drop works and travel back in time with archive railway films. The collections store has further artefacts from railway furniture to crockery and from concept models to historic posters.
Venture outside and steam trains are normally running in the South Yard.
Overall there are over a million railway-related objects in their collection and it is a must-see for any railway enthusiast!
Entry is free but they appreciate a donation.
This event is an optional extra on the York Celebration Weekend, but open to anyone.
Location & Itinerary
There are cafes within the museum.
There's lots to see, even if you only have a passing interest in the railways. If you are really interested you can spend all day there, and the museum doesn't close until 6pm.
The museum has wheelchair access although there are steps to climb to get close to the cabs of some of the exhibits.
Meet at the reception of the Park Inn by Radisson at 11:15am and we will walk over to the museum in a group. If you are making your own way to the museum, please meet us at the Main Entrance on Cinder Road (where the road train stops) at 11:30am.
If you are staying at the Park Inn then we'll walk over as a group - meet in hotel reception at 11:15am.
If you are making your own way, the easiest way to get there is by rail and the museum is just alongside York Station. It is in square AA4 of the York City Map.
If driving, you can use the museum's visitor car park on Leeman Road priced at £10. However, please note that if you are also joining us for our afternoon tea this afternoon, your car parking will be free, so please do not pay!
Please note that the main entrance where we meet is at the same side of the road as the car park but is further away from it than the Leeman Road entrance.
Host & Everything Else
Gallery
