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The Great Britain Guide

Museums · Yorkshire & the Humber

National Railway Museum

Also known as: Amgueddfa Reilffordd Genedlaethol

Modern♿ Wheelchair accessible

National Railway Museum — National rail transport museum in York, England, United Kingdom.

National Railway Museum, museums in Yorkshire & the Humber

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Plan your visit

Typical visit
1.5 h–3 h
Best time of year
Year-round
Nearest railway station
York · 0.3 km
  • Family-friendly
  • Wheelchair accessible

About

National Railway Museum is a museum in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1975. Part of Science Museum Group. Address: YO26 4XJ. Wikidata describes it as: "National rail transport museum in York, England, United Kingdom". Coordinates: 53.9598°, -1.0977°.

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From the Wikipedia article

The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as Mallard, a Stirling 'Single', Duchess of Hamilton and a Japanese bullet train. In addition, the National Railway Museum holds a diverse collection of other objects, from a household recipe book used in George Stephenson's house to film showing a "never-stop railway" developed for the British Empire Exhibition. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001. Starting in 2019, a major site development is underway. As part of the York Central redevelopment which diverts Leeman Road, the National Railway Museum is building a new entrance building to connect the two separate parts of the museum together. At the same time, the space around the museum is to be landscaped to provide public spaces. In 2020, architectural practice Feilden Fowles won an international competition to create the museum's new £16.5 million Central Hall building—a key element of the museum's Vision 2025 masterplan. In January 2023, the museum's Station Hall (a Grade II listed "former goods station built between 1875–77") was closed until September 2025 for "urgent structural repair" which was to include the installation of a new roof over that area. The Station Hall reopened in 2025 following an £11 million refurbishment, with a redesigned layout intended to better integrate historical narratives and enhance the visitor experience.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

D9009 Alycidon, at the National Railway Museum]] Although there had been amateur attempts to establish a national railway museum from the late 19th century, the National Collection today results from the fusion of two long-running official initiatives. One was led by the state museums sector, evidencing pioneering technology, and the other by the railway industry, in which the key contribution came from the North Eastern Railway as successors to the historic Stockton and Darlington Railway. What became the Science Museum collection was begun in the 1860s by the Patent Office, whose museum included such early relics as Puffing Billy, Stephenson's Rocket and Agenoria (sister locomotive to…

Description

The National Railway Museum has over 6,000 objects on display of which around 100 are locomotives or rolling stock which tell the stories for Britain's railway innovation. The collection also includes fine jewellery worn by railway queens, models of planes, boats and hovercraft, and experimental technologies such as Louis Brennan's Gyroscopic Mono-rail car. It is the largest museum of its type in Britain, attracting 656,205 visitors in 2025. The largest in the world in terms of floor area of exhibition buildings is the French Cité du Train in Mulhouse, although this attracts far fewer visitors than the National Railway Museum. The National Railway Museum was established on its present site,…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
53.9598, -1.0977
District
York
Parish
York, unparished area
Postcode
YO26 4XJ
Parliamentary constituency
York Central
Established
1975
Nearest railway station
York0.3 km

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is National Railway Museum?
National Railway Museum is in Yorkshire, United Kingdom (postcode YO26 4XJ), in the parish of York, unparished area.
When was National Railway Museum built?
Built or established in 1975.
How do I get to National Railway Museum?
The nearest railway station is York, about 0.3 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode YO26 4XJ.
How busy is National Railway Museum?
National Railway Museum draws around 656,205 visitors a year.