Railfest 2012: Britain’s Finest Locomotive Festival

York is well known for its Roman and Viking heritage, the beautiful architecture of the Minster, and for many the civilised charm of Betty’s Tea Shop. But for trainspotters and Thomas the Tank Engine fans alike there is only one true draw to the North’s ancient capital: the National Railway Museum.

National Railway Museum, York, UK / Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by EmPemm

History of the NRM

Britain’s railway network began connecting its new industrial hubs in the mid/late 19th century, and as the network became more widely used, railway companies began to preserve their history. The first notable example was the Patent Office Museum in London acquiring the original Rocket steam engine in 1862.

In the 1920s, the Big Four railway operators – Great Western Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway and the Southern Railway – had gathered a large quantity of memorabilia, and in 1927 the LNER opened a railway-dedicated public museum in York. With the nationalisation of the railways in 1948 the collections of all four operators were brought under one roof.

The museum’s current location, a stone’s throw away from the platforms at York Railway Station and 700m from the Minster, was opened in 1975, and was the first national museum outside of London. Since then, the expansion of the museum in 1990 earned it the Museum of the Year Award, while the launch of the Institute of Railway Studies in association with the University of York developed its academic credentials. Recently the NRM added Search Engine, an archive and research centre, to its already impressive list of resources.

This Year’s Festivities

The festival runs from June 2nd-11th, and from 9.30am – 5.30pm daily. Included in the festivities is a massive public space full of trains covering a space the size of eleven football pitches, and includes retired speed-engine legends like the Flying Scotsman, Class 395, East Coast 91110 and Tornado. The NRM has worked on exhibits for novice train lovers, and fans of Chuggington who can pick up a special book and find the original vehicles their favourite trains are based on.

For the more seasoned aficionados, there are daily talks from members of the industry, film screenings and modern industry demos to keep you up to date on all the developments from within the world of railways. Also in attendance will be poet Ian McMillan, cartoonist Tony Husband and magician Ollie Mealing.

How to Get There

If you’re travelling by rail, it couldn’t be simpler. Just look up some cheap trains to York, hop off at York station and follow the signs! Ticket holders to Railfest can also get money off their next ticket booked through festival partners redspottedhanky. If you’re coming from slightly closer nearby, the museum is just a ten minute walk from York’s city centre, or the Green Line 2 bus picks up and drops off from right outside the museum.

If trains are your passion, there is no better place to be next month than the National Railway Museum in York. All aboard!

Catherine Halsey is based in Edinburgh and writes for a digital marketing agency. This article links back to https://www.redspottedhanky.com/trains/trains-to/york/.

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Tags: academic credentials, engine fans, flying scotsman, football pitches, great western railway, industrial hubs, london midland and scottish railway, national railway museum, national railway museum york, north eastern railway, railway companies, railway network, railway operators, railway studies, southern railway, steam engine, thomas the tank engine, true draw, viking heritage, york railway station

Category: Museums and Galleries, Museums and Galleries