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Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York, part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of the history of rail transport in Great Britain and its impact on society. It is home to the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as the Mallard, Stirling Single, Duchess of Hamilton and the Japanese Bullet Train. In addition, the National Railway Museum holds a diverse collection of other items, from a household recipe book used in George Stephenson's home to a film showing the "never-stopping railway" developed for the British Empire Exhibition. The museum has won numerous awards, including the European Museum of the Year award in 2001.
From 2019, the museum is preparing for a major redevelopment of the site: As part of the York Central redevelopment, which diverts Leeman Road, the National Railway Museum will build a new entrance building to connect the two separate parts of the museum together. At the same time, the area around the museum will be modified to create public spaces.
In 2020, architectural firm Feilden Fowles won an international competition to create a new £16.5m central hall building for the museum - a key element of the museum's Vision 2025 masterplan.
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Contact Us
Address
National Railway Museum York
Leeman Rd,
York
YO26 4XJ
Contact
+44 333 016 1010
Opening hours
Wednesday-Sunday
10:00-17:00
Free entry
We recommend that you book your free entry to the museum in advance to save time on arrival and to be sure that you will be allowed into the museum.
Tickets are usually released six weeks in advance. During the school holidays, tickets are available more in advance.
Didcot Railway Centre
See our unique collection of GWR steam engines, coaches, wagons, buildings and small relics; and a recreation of Brunel's broad gauge railway.
Didcot Railway Centre is based around the original four track GWR Engine Shed built in 1932. Operational locomotives not in use on an open day, and those restored for static display can generally be seen in or around the Engine Shed.
The main demonstration line at Didcot runs the entire length of the Centre, a distance of nearly half a mile. On steamdays you will usually be able to ride on a train of coaches from the 1930s hauled by one our larger steam locomotives.
The Branch Line runs down the western side of the Railway Centre, from Didcot Halt, located near the Turntable in the centre of the site, to the Transfer Shed at the north end of the Centre. On steamdays you will usually be able to ride on a train hauled by one our smaller steam locomotives, or maybe even on the GWR Diesel Railcar.
There is also a recreation of Brunel's Broad Gauge track, and on special occasions a replica of Daniel Gooch's 1840 broad gauge locomotive 'Fire Fly' operates on this track.
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Visit us
Address
Didcot Railway Centre,
DIDCOT,
oxfordshire,
England
OX11 7NJ
Contact
+44 (0) 1235-817200
FAX: +44 (0) 1235-510621
East Anglian Railway Museum
The East Anglian Railway Museum, based just outside Colchester, Essex, is a Working Museum dedicated to preserving the history of railways in the Eastern Counties. The entire site, based at Chappel and Wakes Colne Railway station, forms the Museum, which is made up of Station Buildings, Signal Boxes, Goods Shed and Restoration Shed.
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Visit us
Address
Contact
East Anglian Railway Museum
Chappel Station
Colchester
Essex
CO6 2DS
+44 1206 242524
Ribble Steam Railway & Museum
The Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge preserved railway in Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2005, running along Preston Docks. The railway began by housing much of the collection from the previously closed Southport Railway Museum (Steamport), which was based in the old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway engine shed at Southport (BR shed code 27C).
The project was first started in 1973, a preservation centre opened in Southport, on the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway steam shed at Derby Road, However, the shed was becoming a costly burden to handle for the museum, so a relocation scheme was started. Preston Docks was chosen as the new location for the museum. Preston Docks has a large railway network, that used to serve the vast docks and quays. But when the docks closed, the railway was not used. The project finally closed the Southport Railway Museum in 1999.
The project's new site now could be re-developed with new large workshops, platforms and a museum. The first building to open was the workshop, in 2001.Locomotives could now go into the building, and more space could now be utilised. Next to the workshop, is the machine shop, built in 1978. At the other end of the workshop is the visitor centre, which contains the museum, cafe, shop and railway platform. The museum was finally completed in 2004. The collection of locomotives (61, one on loan from the National Railway Museum, one from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust. 55 are currently on site.), is one of the largest collection of locomotives in the United Kingdom.
The railway lines around Preston Dock largely fell into disuse after the closure of the docks. A preservation group that was operating in Southport relocated to Preston in 1999 and started operations as the Ribble Steam Railway in 2005.
The museum also operates passenger services to Strand Road Crossing and back, from its own station - Preston Riverside. The frequency of its trains is hourly, and are usually made up of two or more Mark 1 coaches and a small steam engine or diesel engine.This service is only operational in the summer months.
The museum is currently located in an industrial estate, and is not well publicised.
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Visit us
Address
Contact
Chain Caul Rd,
Preston,
Lancashire
PR2 2PD
+44(0)1772 728800
STEAM
Museum of the Great Western Railway
STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway is housed in a beautifully restored Grade II railway building in the heart of the former Swindon railway works.
STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway is housed in a beautifully restored Grade II railway building in the heart of the former Swindon railway works.
Situated right opposite the Swindon Designer Outlet, the museum tells the story of the men and women who built, operated and travelled on the Great Western Railway, often referred to by historians and railway fans as 'God's Wonderful Railway'.
The pioneering vision and engineering genius of Isambard Kingdom Brunel led to the Great Western Railway network becoming regarded as the most advanced in the world.
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Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon
Locomotion, previously known as Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon, is a railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, England. The museum was renamed in 2017 when it became part of the Science Museum Group.
The museum was opened on 22 October 2004 by Prime Minister and local MP Tony Blair. Built at a cost of £11.3 million, it is based on the former "Timothy Hackworth Victorian Railway Museum". The museum is operated in partnership with Durham County Council and was expected to bring 60,000 visitors a year to the small town. However, during its first six months, the museum attracted 94,000 visits. Locomotion was shortlisted as one of the final five contenders in the Gulbenkian Prize, which is the largest arts prize in the United Kingdom.
As part of the 2025 plans for the National Railway Museum, a second building will be built to house more of the wider collection. In addition, parts of the original museum including the coal drops will be restored having fallen out of use
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Visit us
Address
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Locomotion
Dale Road Industrial Estate
Shildon -
DL4 2RE
Contact
033 0058 0058
Head of Steam
Darlington Railway Museum
The museum is closed due to extensive reconstruction until 2025.
The Head of Steam is located on the route of the 1825 Stockton & Darlington Railway, the world's first public steam railway.
The museum is dedicated to the area formerly served by the North Eastern Railway, with particular reference to the Stockton & Darlington Railway and the railway industry in Darlington.
Exhibits include Stephenson's No. 1 locomotive built for the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and "Derwent", Darlington's oldest surviving locomotive, on loan from the National Railway Museum Collection.
The larger exhibits are complemented by a range of smaller items including station and track signs, uniforms, furniture, crockery and paintings. The lobby and ticket office have been restored in a period style and are enriched with displays of objects such as porters, luggage, posters and advertising signs.
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Museum of Scottish Railways
The Museum of Scottish Railways is a railway museum operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society. It is based on the Society's large collection of railway artefacts from across Scotland. The museum is located at the SRPS's headquarters at Bo'ness, and is the largest building on site.
It is the largest railway museum in Scotland, consisting of three large buildings which contain heritage locomotives, carriages and other exhibits.
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Visit us
Address
The Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway
Bo'ness Station
Union St
Bo'ness
EH51 9AQ
Contact
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two foot-bridges, one of which provides wheelchair access. Each side has a demonstration line with various workshop buildings as well as museum buildings.
While other closed stations on the former MR lines north of Aylesbury were generally demolished or sold, in 1969 the Quainton Railway Society was formed to operate a working museum at the station. On 24 April 1971 the society absorbed the London Railway Preservation Society, taking custody of its collection of historic railway equipment.
Present
With an extensively redeveloped site on both sides of the working mainline, BRC houses around 170 items of locomotives and rolling stock, in buildings dating from 1874 to the 1960s. The adjacent World War II warehouses of the Ministry of Food Buffer Depot in the former downside yard have been taken over to display many items awaiting restoration, whilst the Society have added a members' reference library.
Rewley Road
Large white wooden building with a large glass canopy
The former Oxford Rewley Road station building following its reconstruction at Quainton Road
Rewley Road, the Oxford terminus of Harry Verney's Buckinghamshire Railway and of the Oxford to Cambridge Line, closed to passengers on 1 October 1951 with trains diverted to the former GWR Oxford General, the current Oxford station. In co-operation with the Science Museum, Rewley Road was dismantled in 1999. The main station building and part of the platform canopy were then moved to BRC and re-erected in 2002 at the north-west corner of the site, now providing improved visitor facilities and the main offices of the QRS.
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Visit us
Address
Contact
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
Station Road
Quainton
Aylesbury
Bucks
HP22 4BY
Tel: 01296 655720
Email: office@bucksrailcentre.org