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As someone who is born and bred in York, I used to have my birthday parties there as a child but I haven't been in years but it will always be a childhood favourite with many great memories.
My dad did his engineering apprenticeship at the GWR and worked in the drawing office. About 18 months ago I took him to the NRM as he had never been. I have about 30 pictures of the back of his head as he was examining the valve gear of different engines.
This video has informed me that there is more than one railway museum in the UK. I had no idea. Even more surprising is that there’s apparently about 70 of them! Edit - the Wikipedia list doesn’t even show the heritage railway collections or places like Railworld so there’s even more than that.
@@relaxreflect5888 At the time, it was called "The National Railway Museum Shildon", alongside "the National Railway Museum". So, there were two "National Railway Museums"
If you only ever see two railway museums, the other should be the Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Not strictly speaking a railway museum, but still well worth a visit. And the old buses still smell like old buses!
@@paulhaynes8045 The Transport Museum does have some nice things to see, but overall it appeared to be aimed at children ages about 5 to 12. So it was a bit disappointing for me. The National Rail Museum in York however was great, and I highly recommend.
That 4-8-0 narrow gauge loco, was saved David Shepard, a famous artist who loved anything big like planes, animals and locos. He went over to South Africa to save some engines, and came back with that one and another. He also owned the 9F Black Prince (which hauled my parents' wedding train) and Standard 4MT Green Knight
Three things I remember as a child visiting York with my grandad: 1) Seeing Mallard at the railway museum. 2) Walking the walls around the old city. 3) Taking the ride at the Jorvik Viking Centre and being overwhelmed by the scent of apples in one of the exhibits. Ah, memories.
4) ask permission to film for commercial purposes. It's in the terms of entry for those that read the rules of the house before entering and doing whatever.
@@jtsholtod.79 its a list of things to remember... best make it complete. The city walls and Jorvik are both very good suggestions, on your walk around the walls you should also be able to spot the remains of the original York railway station and the way it pierced through those walls which is another interest flourish to add to this list.
I mean I think dropping the word National to just Railway Museum still gets the point across that it's THE railway museum in the UK to go to! Meanwhile, our National Railway Museum is actually in Wisconsin! Founded in 1956 by community volunteers in the village of Ashwaubenon by Green Bay. Two years later, a joint resolution by Congress recognized it as the National Railway Museum, and it has been a nonprofit since! They have everything from a GM Aerotrain (a streamlined train envisioned in the 1950s to go up to 100 mph/161 km/h and between NYC and Chicago in 10.5 hours...but due to modifications, it reduced its speed to 80 mph/129 km/h) to a Union Pacific Big Boy (which weighs over a MILLION pounds; one of the world's largest steam locomotives) and even a British Rail Class A4 (the one they have is the specific one named after Eisenhower). The A4 one was restored in 1963 and made it to Wisconsin in 1964, but it returned to England from 2012 to 2014 as a temporary display at York!
Problem is it's in Wisconsin. America is too vast to travel to niche museums. I want to go back to the USAF Museum in Dayton, OH before I die. But having been stationed there for two years, hard to justify the cost...or spending a night in Dayton!
Great review. Yes, I'd like to hear about the other locomotives you saw in York. York is a good place for museums since it also has the Jorvik Viking Museum and the Castle Museum which are both well worth a visit.
It's great to see about the Evening Star. It's uncommon to hear about it. The legend goes, 2 drivers won the competition to name it and called it the evening star. To bookend it with it's much older sister, the Morning Star.
Im getting old and my favourite museums are quiet spaces filled with interesting old things in glass cases with lots to read, not 'interactive history experiences', so i love the odds and sods hall at the NRM. Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford is another lovely example
I am very proud to say that the museum accepted my donation to their collection. It was a (drumroll) British Rail / Roland Rat / Keep Britain Tidy activity pack. Apparently they didn't have one. The form signing ownership over to them had to be countersigned and witnessed, presumably the same form was used for Flying Scotsman.
Such an integral part of my childhood. My grandad was first fireman then driver on British Rail, based out of Wath, and with my dad also being an enthusiast, this was a staple part of 'things to do on a day out'. The last time we went, we took our three small boys (now in their mid-late teens, so it was too long ago - must go back!). My parents were with us, and dad eagerly called them out into the yard to see the rocket. The were so confused when they couldn't see a rocket at all, just a very strange looking yellow and black locomotive!
We actually have our own railway museum in Pyongyang called the Railway Revolutionary Museum dedicated to the DPRK's railway construction projects. When you enter, there's a huge mural of my father and grandpa opening the main Pyongyang station (first opened in 1906 but had to be rebuilt after the war in 1958). You then see maps of both the DPRK and Eurasia, with the specific lines lit up in red that my grandpa and father traveled on (my grandpa did a big Europe and China trip by train in 1984)! There are big dioramas of both the bombing of the DPRK railway network during the war as well as the construction in the war's aftermath. We heavily took advantage of our railway to transport troops and military hardware, in addition to using them as ‘gunships’ in their own right, so of course the South and the US wanted it to target it. But we managed to rebuild everything because we keep moving forward and rose out of the ashes. Besides those, we also have old rolling stock dating from the Japanese period, as well as recent pictures showing us building our own rolling stock, and our main goal of electrifying the whole network.
The last time I went to The Raily Museum was when there 6 A4's side by side to celebrate the anniversary of Mallard geting the world speed record for steam locomotives. It was a great day out from the south of England. I had been many times before when I lived in the North. It was always a great place to visit.
I’m a big fan of the Shinkansen that they have there. It has a very distinctive smell (not unpleasant) when you board which brings my memory straight back to my Japan trips. I assume it’s a chemical in the upholstery.
Mallard is rightly famous for having gone fast. The class was designed for the Kings Cross- Edinburgh route The Princess Coronation class were developed slightly later for the Euston-Glasgow line. This is slightly longer but twistier & hillier so power was considered more important than speed. The first of the class, 6220 Coronation, set a national speed record of 115mph in 1937 before Mallard beat it a year later. Both companies then agreed that they were trying to go faster than could be done safely at the time. Soon after it was built, Duchess of Hamilton was sent to the USA for a publicity tour. It swapped identities with 6220 Coronation for this. Not all of the class were built with streamlined casings. Those which did have them, had them removed in the late 1940s because it was a pain for maintenance & of little practical benefit below 90mph (& apart from the publicity runs, they rarely exceeded this speed). Duchess of Hamilton & Duchess of Sutherland were bought by Butlin's after withdrawal for BR & cosmetically restored as tourist attractions. Sutherland was displayed at Ayr & Hamilton at Minehead. City of Birmingham was also of the same class & is now preserved in Thinktank, Birmingham. Hamilton was overhauled in the early 80s & ran on the main line for a few years. In the late 2000s, it had a new streamlined casing built for it, which it carries today. Sutherland is currently operational. It is technically based at Butterley in Derbyshire but spends more time hauling charter trains on the main line. Duchess of Sutherland was built without a streamlined casing. City of Birmingham was one of the first of the class to be de-streamlined but is preserved in the condition in which it was withdrawn.
I agree - I think Duchess of Hamilton is far more elegant than Mallard. Apparently Sir William Stanier was less than enthusiastic about the 1930s streamlining fad, viewing it as a marketing gimmick rather than providing any real technical benefit.
Thank you, Mr. Hazzard - as ever, I'm sure! Although living in Kent at the time, I visited this museum upon it's opening day in 1975! Sir, please do return! I would love you to do a feature upon its E.M.U.'s as no-one else ever does. Notwithstanding this, there are so, so few heritage railways where these can be seen either.
I like EMUs, I was very very sad when the Class 365s were scrapped, as I have so many fond memories of them when I've been pootling up and down the ECML between London and Peterborough. 😭 I miss them!
@@sapphireseptember So, that's two of us who like electrics! (I'm sure that there are many, many more.) Of course, I grew up in E.P.B. -land! There are just a handful of survivors of these, scattered and generally in a very poor state.
"And I want to talk about the puff puffs" - Jago once again speaking to my heart. Edit: video on train speeds, Cecil J Allen and the Dynamometer cars? Or is that too nerdy?
Glad 🙂 you had an adventurous time at the Railway 🚃 Museum in York. I used to go there with my autism group there between 2007-2011. In 2012, loooooooooooong story short, things didn’t quite work out the way I wanted them to so that year we never 👎 went back there. But I enjoyed every trip there with my group. Sweet memories of my rather difficult 😥 20s.
I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I've been to London and I've travelled on the tube no less than twice but I always find you videos interesting and informative and there is occasionally a Kohinoor diamond in your crown like this.
As a boy born and bred in Luton, travelling to St Pancras and on to Clapham with my Father some 60 years ago was an annual treat. Much was my chagrin when that railway museum closed.
My school had a day-trip to York Railway Museum in 1976. Highlights that stick in the memory include eating our packed lunches in a railway carriage - monitored by an accompanying teaching assistant resembling mid-70s Deirdre from 'Coronation Street'; and meeting an old guy who turned out to have been a former driver of the Mallard, kindly signing all our brochures as though he was a pop star surrounded by adoring fans. It was his day for being David Cassidy, and who would begrudge him that?
Brings back so many memories. My dad worked for BR, back when it truly was BR. As we got to travel for free he used to take us here all the time. Although long passed, seeing this again warms my heart with those memories.
Interesting choice of Tyne & Wear Metro map - not the original map for when the network first completed as Palmersville was added later. At that time it was the stop for the largest hypermarket in the country - run by the co-op who later sold their large supermarkets.
I have visited York Museum four times in my lifetime so far, in the various stages of it's development: 1969, 1971. 1975 and more recently in 2022! In the earlier days it was aimed primarily at railway enthusiasts, but now the presentation is squarely marketed at the general public, which sadly comes across as being rather dumbed down compared with how it used to be in my humble opinion. Still well worth a visit though! :) PS: Their newer north eastern sub-museum "Locomotion" at Shildon is very interesting too.
I’ve been to the National Railway Museum so many times and this is where I got the love and passion about trains and transport. Such a incredible museum in York.
The railway museum in York is a wonderful place. I'm lucky enough to live nearby and it's perfect for a day out with the kids: free entry, play areas, despite the catering outlets they don't mind you bringing a picnic, and of course the range and quality of the collection is fantastic. Every time we go my kids become more and more enthusiastic about rail, about steam, and about history.
Would love to know more about the LNWR's electrification of the North London Railway and Watford DC lines, after all the surviving LNWR electric unit is at York.
I think the rationale was pretty well explained in a recent RailNatter, the museum wants to become the premier railway museum in the world. Also that 0-series Shinkansen is absolutely glorious. Only one outside of Japan.
problem is that network rail have said the mainline will be out of bounds to it. due to the wheelbase/conflict with points/something with tyre flanges. it comes up occasionally in the heritage press. its some combination of features that makes it incompatible with the modern permanent way. which leaves you with not much change from 1 million quid for something to just plod around short lines at 25mph.
The rivalry between the different companies gave us so much of the diversity we see in this wonderful museum. I have visited many times during holidays to York and this is one of my favourite places on Earth. Thank you, Jago, for stirring my memories.
Yes! More! There's nothing about the Railway Museum at York (or any other railway museum for that matter) that should not be featured on your excellent videos.
I was in the museum earlier this month. A standout for me was the Bullet Train from the mid 60s and how advanced the drivers cab was, and we will still building the last of the steam trains!
Slightly off the subject Paul, but I really do wish they'd bring HSFV1 back and put it next to the Bullet train - where it should always have been when it came to York. Both vehicles (in their own way) finally explained the relationship between rail and wheel. It had only taken a 150+ years to do so 😂
whats fascinating about the bullet train is that japan didnt end steam until about 1973. so for roughly a decade the country had this futuristic bullet train and still had loads of steam clanking around the old system.
An amazing place! I can't wait to visit again some day. Much as it hurts to say, it is a superior collection to either the RR Museum of Pennsylvania (Houses mostly the Pennsy collection) or the B&O.
I enjoyed visiting the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore 25 years back, and I took a ride on a modern museum train on a section of the first passenger railway in the USA opened in 1830. I was shocked to hear about the devastating building collapse of the Roundhouse museum in 2003 that did so much damage to the exhibits , but pleased to hear it has all been restored. I hope to revisit one day as well.
Yes jago, I'd Like to Hear about and see some of the other locos at the Museum. I can't visit myself, as I live in Wales and have a job and can't just Jump up and off to York, so your assistance in this area is greatly appreciated. If you're interested, LMM has visited a few railway shows recently, so go check him out too.
Evening Star did however - occasionally - pull freight trains. I know, as I once saw it pulling a coal train. And honest, it really was the Evening Star, copper knobs and all.
Nice visit...thanks for sharing the clips. I'm curious to know if any of your viewers who are serious UK rail fans (that would exclude me on both criteria) can explain what that cascade of copper tubing so clearly seen at 06:29 was for. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that on any other steam loco.
I have a clear memory from primary school days of seeing Evening Star hauling - yes - a goods train on the line between Bristol and Avonmouth slowly past at Sea Mills. I’d been told it was the last steam locomotive and had just built an Airfix model of it so it made a strong impression.
Thank you. I'm planning a visit to Britain because I'm fascinated by the canals and railroads. As I watch videos like yours, the itinerary keeps getting longer and longer.
Been here many times as i live about 25 miles away so its easy to get to i can remember going to the original museum site when it was a lot smaller than now. and yes we would like to know more about your visit.
Seeing the Q1 in the closing shots, please do something on the Q1, Merchant, West Country and Battle of Britain class locos, and O. V. S. Bulleid's contribution to engine design. Would love your take on those.
@@AtheistOrphan would you not quarter the driving wheels, to ensure that the valves and pistons are not left in a position where the wheel is as likely to be pushed backwards when you wanted to go forwards
@@highpath4776 - Good point, but in my father’s case ‘quartering the buffers’ was a little more prosaic: This meant polishing the outer facing of the buffers horizontally and then vertically in opposing segments, purely for aesthetic reasons!
I've a childhood memory from the NRM - riding on the tender of the Rocket replica. Very gracious of the engine crew to allow that. Something I shan't ever forget.
Yes! More videos like this please! Their specific history is often so fascinating. Yet I often don’t have the mental wherewithal to follow all the various individual rabbit holes like you do. Not to mention, you are quite skilled at presenting them in an order which flows together well.
Please Jago, more videos from the national collection! Before the National Railway Museum was formed, the collection of locomotives at York where stored quite simply in a shed. I was privileged enough to be shown around all the locomotives by a very kind British Rail employee. I could have spent days in there!
As a kid I remember going to the museum when it was in Clapham, and was very excited to be reunited with Mallard when I finally visited York about 40 years later.
My father took me to the NRM the year it opened (Deltic-hauled from King’s Cross). He took me again the following year as he wanted to sample the then-new HSTs.
I'm old enough to remember the original York Railway Museum in York's first railway station. A tiny collection compared with today's vast, even overwhelming, offering.
Back in 1994 my 🇳🇱Parents and I visited York, for 2 days. I was to travel North, to stay with my Scottish friend in Glasgow and see Scotland by train. And they would travel cross country to the Lake District. They saw me off at York station and afterwards went to 'The National Railway Museum'. I've always regretted😔, not having stayed on for just one more day. So I could have seen my elderly Dad (a former 🇳🇱Dutch Steam Engine Driver) enjoy this beautiful museum. And listened to his firsthand technical knowledge and animated stories of "his days of steam"...🕊️
Visited there with my 5 year old son many years ago. We happened to find a diesel (a Deltic I think), with its engine running and no one in the cab. So I climbed up with my son into the cab. A truly unforgettable moment for us both. Had a feeling we shouldn’t have been there, so didn’t stick around for long.
Good memories and a great video. Must go back soon, it’s been 10+ years since I visited. I’d be interested in a further video from York covering the collection of early diesel and electric locos. I do often visit Didcot railway museum which has a great selection of locos, rolling stock and memorabilia. The engineering sheds where they maintain/rebuild the locos is excellent, well worth a visit.
I'd love to see a video on some "lesser known" exhibits and hidden gems at the Railway Museum! I think I'm due another visit, Shildon is more in my area but the part of the collection based at York is always worth seeing every now and again
I visited York on a whim during a trip to England in 2018 and stayed an extra day there mostly to see the museum. I still have a photo of Mallard on my phone.
I'd certainly be interested in hearing both about other engines in the museum, & those various items in the north shed. I recall there being a beautiful scale model of a "landscape with railway line" there; one that fascinated me when I was younger. (That sort of thing is probably all done with computers these days, so arguably provides a less rich experience than did such models.)
As someone who visited Clapham often as a child, whenever I visit York I do ask for our museum back.How they laugh. Not the only thing they nicked from South London, they have the stuffed charity dog from Wimbledon Station as well.
As I live near Clapham (we even went to the transport museum on a school trip) I was used to seeing the streamlined Mallard, that didn't prepare me for the sight of the then recently re-streamlined Duchess when I walked round the corner at York and saw it.
The museum in Utrecht was redesigned some years ago, in my view to its detriment. Still worth a visit though. My first visit (in about 1995) was memorable for me as I found a picture of my local station, Newatk Castle, among the exhibits.
I live in Canada and will be visiting family in May. We are staying in Yorkshire for a week and very much looking forward to visiting this museum. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Thank you for your video.
When I first read that title, I was happy that you were visiting New York for the first time; in a recent video, you revealed that you hadn't. Reading it again, I realised that it's old York you've visited. Oh well, it's a start, innit?
You have mentioned in another video your liking for the Stevenson long boiler 0-6-0's. An example of this type is the NSW 19 class, last of which were withdrawn in 1972 (4 preserved). Quite possibly the last of this type in service anywhere.
I'd be interested in hearing about the carriages from the Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway. Amazing how those three carriages are considered to be among the oldest in the country.
