Terrible conditions weren’t enough to put off adventurous working class travellers on the early railways. What were those journeys like?
What were the dangers of early rail travel? How did the arrival of steam power shape our landscape? What will the train of the future look like? The museum team unravel questions like these to tell the story of the railways.
As the locomotive’s overhaul nears completion, you might be wondering how much of this rail icon has been there since it was first built.
The amazing collections at the National Railway Museum encompass global as well as British rail history.
Cinema has been closely connected to the railways since its earliest days—as the films in our archive show.
Relive a dramatic railway disaster with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Signalling School.
Like all modern technologies, the railways have come a long way from their origins.
What can our archives tell us about the realities of life for servicemen fighting in the First World War?
We recently acquired some interesting publications from W.H. Smith & Son. You may wonder why as, on the face of it, the railway connection is rather tangential.
What was life like for the railwaymen who served at sea during the First World War?
We recently acquired a set of parliamentary papers covering the years 1837 up 1906. How will we begin to catalogue them?
How does mechanical signalling work, and what can go wrong if you don’t follow the rules?
This collection might seem somewhat dry at first glance, but it offers fascinating insights into 19th and 20th century society.