This weekend at Shildon sees the re-launch of the APT-E support group at the twice yearly Cab It event. The APT-E group are looking for more volunteers to help with their ongoing work to cosmetically restore E-Train, and would love to hear from anyone interested in getting involved. A taster for the weekend –…
After a long pause, work resumes on Sir Nigel Gresley in the National Railway Museum workshop. weeks commencing 19 October, 26 October and 2 November 2020 The tender coal space door frame has now been rivetted in place. This is the last major riveting that will be done on the loco. Riveting the coal door…
The sun is shining and a whole team of people are hard at work preparing for Railfest as 2 June gets closer. Here is the team working on laying a 15” gauge track ready for Hawk and Synolda, under the watchful eye of a member of the Kirklees Light Railway. Meanwhile West Coast Railways are…
If you missed our display of royal train-related items, Search Engine Assistant Peter Thorpe has picked out some highlights for blog readers to enjoy. Last week, Alison mentioned the royal train-related material which was going on display over the weekend to mark the Royal Wedding. Below are a few images of the exhibits that were on show for visitors to browse –…
Relive a dramatic railway disaster with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Signalling School. Our Lancashire & Yorkshire (L&Y) signalling school, the world’s oldest operating model railway, returns to home territory this coming Saturday (7th November) with a look at the Irk Valley crash of the 15 August 1953. Picture courtesy of Manchester Evening News (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/hunt-for-irk-valley-rail-crash-892940) The…
Discover the story of a snow plough design which still has relevance nearly a century later. Why would Network Rail—the company that owns and maintains Britain’s railways—need engineering drawings from the National Railway Museum’s collection that were produced at Darlington in 1924, to maintain a piece of rolling stock they still own and use today? I…
It’s not strictly all trains all the time for our conservation team—far from it. They work to preserve a staggering range of objects, from the quotidian to the truly unusual. Conservation of Fine Art MA student Izzy McKie is with the team for the next few weeks, working on a 19th-century gilt picture frame which…
Museum staff head to their meetings—travelling by steam Today saw a visit by three of our team to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, me to Pickering for meetings and Richard Pearson and Johnny Molloy from the workshop at Shildon to Grosmont to collect and steam crane parts. The NYMR is in the final stages of…
Explore the colourful, kooky world of advertising in the GEC Traction archive. The GEC Traction archive contains many quirky and unusual adverts. Project volunteers Danika Willis and Ben Cudbertson pick their favourites, selected for the humour, vivid colours and graphics. Metrovick’s Cosmos Lamps’, Metropolitan Vickers Gazette, 1937.NRM Ref: ALS2/55/C/9 ‘Electrodes for Every Purpose’,…
Archivist Alison Kay shares some beautiful designs from the Wolverton Works archive. The Wolverton Works archive contains thousands of drawings of carriages and wagons including intricate designs of their interiors. These fantastically detailed drawings give a taste of what it might have been like to travel in these luxurious carriages. The details below are taken…