{"id":18237,"date":"2018-06-11T21:25:14","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T21:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=18237"},"modified":"2018-06-29T15:07:32","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T15:07:32","slug":"the-railway-museum-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/the-railway-museum-york\/","title":{"rendered":"The Railway Museum – York"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Great Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am pretty sure I have said this countless times, but I think the secret to successful travel with kids (whether you are talking about a trip, a day out or a full on expedition) is to involve everyone with the decision-making process.\u00a0 \u00a0Whether that’s giving them a say in where we stay, what we do and see, and where\/what we eat (within reason), we have always tried to let our lot be a part of it all – if only to be able to tell them one day that they weren’t dragged around<\/em> everywhere by us, they chose to go to a lot of those places themselves!!<\/p>\n

Admittedly, we have visited some pretty weird and wonderful places that way, but there are also times when we will contemplate a destination and I think to myself “oh that will definitely be put on the list then” before somewhere is even spoken about, and the National Railway Museum in York turned out to be one of those places.<\/p>\n

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In awe…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With a husband with an engineering background, one son with a fascination with wheeled objects generally, and a toddler who would watch Thomas the Tank Engine on repeat (for an entire year without a break if he could), there was absolutely no way we could have spent any time in York and not visited.\u00a0 \u00a0 It was pretty handy location wise in any event, Queen Street<\/a> is literally just a few hundred yards away.<\/p>\n

Built in and around an original steam engine “shed” (complete with huge working turntable), this museum now features several vast halls and outbuildings, as well as track, cafes, restaurants and shops.<\/p>\n

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Just pipped to the post by a French Museum for the title of largest Railway Museum in the world, this place settles for the biggest of its kind in the UK instead, and as well as containing hundreds of different engines and carriages, there are thousands of further exhibits and artefacts illustrating the effect railways and rail travel have\/has had across the UK and beyond…<\/p>\n

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\"national<\/p>\n

Every trip to the National Railway Museum starts in the Great Hall with plenty of impressive locomotive specimens, old and new.<\/p>\n

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My favourites had to include the section of Japanese Bullet train<\/a>, even if it didn’t come with an authentic train guard who bowed each time you so much as moved, and sadly there was no sight of the best part of Shinkansen Travel – the intricate bento boxes.<\/p>\n

This particular carriage did however come with a slightly eccentric family, who had settled themselves in for the long haul.\u00a0 Two of them were engrossed in books, and one was fast asleep.\u00a0 I hope they were dreaming of Japan at least, it definitely made me fondly reminisce over our travels<\/a> there!<\/p>\n

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\"workshop<\/p>\n

Other favourite locomotives included the glorious Flying Scotsman that still makes it out for a day trip or two, and the stunning Blue Mallard – the fastest steam train in the world (in fact a lot of these trains still get wheeled out from time to time!)…\u00a0 \u00a0Long term readers will know how I love a bit of “industrial photography” and this great blue train is just beautiful.<\/p>\n

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The Blue Mallard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Incidentally the best point for a photograph is at the top of the steps before you go through to the workshop section, there you can take in the whole of the Great Hall and imagine yourself in some strange historic station hall from years and years ago.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It’s easy to imagine stepping back in time in plenty of the museum’s sections, and the main cafe by the post train is designed to make you feel like you could be waiting for a train in a station from days gone by…<\/p>\n

\"york<\/p>\n

There are trains here that helped life run better, with a great section on the National Post Train.\u00a0 To think\u00a0that the majority of our post was flung from trains at one point, caught by guards wielding giant fishing nets is mind-boggling.\u00a0 Obviously there was a lot less post back then, but I bet most of it still made it to its destination.<\/p>\n

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inside the post train. There was no way he was keeping still here hence the blurry pic!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then there are the trains that saved lives with the current very humbling exhibit of the ambulance trains that served as moving hospitals and transported the wounded during World War 1…<\/p>\n

Then there are the trains for people with other lives – old Royal Trains, and lengthy carriages straight out of an Agatha Christie film.\u00a0 I wonder what the people on those and many of the other trains here would make of the rail system in this country today, I bet many of the trains ghosts would argue that we seem to be currently travelling backwards at times rather than forwards sadly…<\/p>\n

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Coincidentally, our visit here was given a nice personal touch as the Toddler’s Godfather took the beautiful photographs of the Museum’s star attractions (we saw him the day before we visited and he happened to mention he had taken a few “snaps” for them, or else we wouldn’t have known they were his!)…<\/p>\n

\"Lee<\/p>\n

We had a really good few hours here (you should probably allow a whole day if you want to take part in any workshops and\/or watch any demonstrations – there’s also a working steam train out the back as well as a smaller child sized version!).\u00a0 I would tell you to absolutely put it on your list (or accept it on any child created “must see list”) even if you don’t really like trains as this Museum is so much more besides.\u00a0 Ultimately it contains a huge chunk of English history, and gives a glimpse of what life was like when we were an industrial nation to be reckoned with.\u00a0 \u00a0It’s well worth a chunk of any time spent in York…<\/p>\n

Open every day from 10-18.00 in the summer (10-17.00) in the winter (closed 24-26 December).\u00a0 Entrance is free but if you can you should make a donation…\u00a0 Leeman Road, York YO26 4XJ<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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PS.\u00a0 This place is not quite on a Venice with a pushchair<\/a> level , but it could involve a little bit of lugging up and downstairs if you aren’t a naturally patient person and there are queues for the smallish lifts…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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