National Railway Museum in York / Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Martin Robson

On leaving the Station, you will come across the fantastic, Victorian built Royal York Hotel. The hotel was opened in 1878, originally named The Royal Station Hotel. Today, you can enter the hotel’s pretty gardens and ascend 60 metres above the city on The Wheel of York, taking in the awe inspiring views across the city, and getting a unique view of the station and its surroundings.

Continuing on towards the city centre, you will come across a statue of George Leeman, who was the Chairman of the Railway Association of Great Britain and Deputy of North Eastern Railways. The statue was unveiled in 1885 and Station Road became Leeman Road, two years after his death.

Taking a left down Leeman Road, you will come to the world famous National Railway Museum, which opened in 1975 on the former site of the York North locomotive depot. The museum houses the national collection of historic railway vehicles, and includes some fantastic examples of Royal Trains, the Flying Scotsman, Mallard, and many steam locomotives.

In June 2012, the museum is holding ‘Railfest’, a celebration of Britain’s railways, where you can take a rare look inside the driver’s cabs, and ride on various trains. Rarely seen railway giants such as snow ploughs and a sail powered railway vehicle will also be on show.

A road train runs from the museum the short distance to the city centre; on this journey you will pass under the Bar Walls, through an impressive archway.  Opposite you will see a grand Georgian building, aptly named The Cedar Court Grand Hotel, York’s first five star hotel. It was originally built in 1906 by the North Eastern Railway Company and housed their headquarters. The street to the right of the building is the site of the old railway station.

Continuing past the old Headquarters, the first street on your right is Rougier Street, which leads onto George Hudson Street. Hudson, known as ‘The Railway King’, is famed with bringing the railways to York. He became Lord Mayor of the city in 1837, the same year he had a chance meeting with George Stephenson, ‘The Father of Railways’, who had built the world’s first steam locomotive railway line. The pair worked together on the building of the railways and were also friends. By 1844, Hudson was in control of over a thousand miles of railway, but despite his success, after being discovered of committing fraud, he died penniless in 1871.

York Minster / Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by andy

Continuing on the road train, you will pass over Lendal Bridge, look to your left and you will see Scarborough Bridge a short distance down river. This train bridge takes trains from York Station to the seaside destination of Scarborough on a single track. The road train will take you to Duncombe Place, from where you can be inspired by the magnificent York Minster, and take time to wander through the streets of the historic city itself.

Returning to the Railway Station, it is impossible to leave the city without a feeling of wonderment, having taken in the history of the rail revolution, the very thing that makes York what it is today.

Author: Julie Ward writes on behalf of the Love My Vouchers Lifestyle blog, the UK’s discount and voucher code blog that helps you visit the UK on a budget.

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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 http://www.redspottedhanky.com/trains/trains-to/york/.

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