Catch up with the latest work on Sir Nigel Gresley in the National Railway Museum workshop. Weeks commencing 5, 12 and 19 April 2021 The trailing loco brake hangers put up in the previous report, are secured on their pins by slotted nuts. The old nuts were reused but were not slotted so these have…
Our archive is helping to record and make accessible personal stories of the First World War. We recently started a project to enhance the NRM’s list of 20,000 railwaymen who died in the First World War. We have now updated the records of over 1,100 men that served, providing more invaluable data for those that worked for…
Immerse yourself in the latest story in our short fiction series by York creative writing students. Welcome to the third Case Files story, part of a series by creative writing students at York St John University. The students’ inspiration came from real-life crime stories, objects in our collection or their own imaginations. To immerse yourself…
Work continues on locomotive Sir Nigel Gresley in the National Railway Museum workshop. Weeks commencing 17, 24 and 31 May 2021 The right Cartazzi bearing has now been scraped in, while scraping the of left continues. The left trailing Cartazzi horn liner is being ground to give the correct horn gap for the axlebox. This…
One famous locomotive, many different get-ups—how should Flying Scotsman look? Of all the locomotives in the National Collection, Flying Scotsman excites the most comment. For many she is the “most famous locomotive in the world” and should be resplendent in London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) apple green paint with the iconic number 4472. The…
Travel history writer Martyn delves into the history of luggage on the railways At the beginning of the railway era, moving passengers and their luggage trunks was little more than a lottery. Luggage not stored in basically more than a rudimentary goods wagon was lifted onto carriage roofs, strapped down and protected by tarpaulin. Any…
Photographic volunteer Anne McLean selects her favourite photos from our collection. 8 November 1949 was a proud day for the Shildon Works Band. They were on their way to London to play in the Lord Mayor’s parade, and these photographs show them about to board the train at Darlington for their journey south. I think…
This weekend saw the very popular Modelmotion event at Shildon, showcasing model railways from around the North East. Despite having lived in Shildon for 6 years now, I had never seen Shildon Model Railway Club’s 00 gauge model of our local station as it was in the 1930s, and I couldn’t resist taking this picture…
Today is the sixth #MuseumSelfieDay, a day when Twitter users from across the world share pictures of themselves snapped in museums and galleries. The brainchild of Mar Dixon (@MarDixon), Museum Selfie Day encourages people to share images of themselves having fun and interacting with artefacts and displays, challenging the traditional view of museums as staid,…
Curator John McGoldrick shares a recent acquisition which he hopes will spark trainspotting memories. While looking through one of the railway auction house catalogues, I was intrigued when I came across this sign from the old Nine Elms locomotive depot in South London. We had to have it. For a museum devoted to railways, we…