16 October 2025 – A Year of Celebration – Railway 200 and the National Railway Museum at 50 by Andrew McLean
Andrew began by highlighting that this was a huge year for the railway and he hoped to give a flavour of the celebrations and the background. He would cover Railway 200 – what it is commemorating, and including the celebrations that have taken place every 50 years from September 1825 to the present day. It celebrates not the first railway or the first locomotive as the heritage goes back much further – but it is a celebration of past, present and future.
The first celebration in 1875 for Railway 50 took place after the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&D) had been taken over by the North Eastern Railway (NER) in 1863. The NER had previously largely dealt with the coal trade, was wealthy but had a relatively poor safety record. This was an opportunity for good publicity and to sell the idea of a railway celebration using the image of the oldest railway bridge still in use as a railway bridge now, ie Skerne Bridge on the S&D. The whole event was part of the NER myth making, gained huge attention and proved to be very successful. The next celebration in 1925 was again very successful but as the original Locomotion no longer existed, a replica was made – with a diesel engine in the tender and burning rags in the chimney to give the effect of smoke, and a driving crew wearing top hats which was NOT the case in 1825! The 1925 cavalcade attracted large audiences with the Queen Mother in attendance.
By 1975 another grand cavalcade took place at Shildon which is where the original Locomotion started its journey, and because it was around the site of the original works facilities. There had been dramatic changes since 1825 and the Railway 150 celebration was the most popular outdoor event in the whole of the UK that year, with its cavalcade and the replica Locomotion working properly. The HST prototype was the only non-steam present – looking to the future.
It was decided that something must be done to celebrate Railway 200. At the same time, local authorities in the North East created the S&DR 200 which was separate from Railway 200. Both groups worked together. Railway 200 was Peter Hendy’s (now Sir) brainchild with the then prime minister Boris Johnson promising funding. Unfortunately, he left post shortly after and the money was no longer forthcoming. It was decided that there should be a replica of the original train with the replica locomotive running along part of the original track bed – TV programmes to come include Anthony Coulls from Locomotion, Shildon and Tim Dunn, Guy Martin on the footplate of Locomotion. All of this is important for the railway industry, presenting a very positive picture and a great opportunity. Lots of events are taking place around the country to highlight the future eg Class 93s – with a naming ceremony for 93001 – as well as the i-wagons being developed in the Black Country.
The Inspiration Train was in Glasgow at the time of the presentation, launched at Paddington in the Summer, set up to engage young people into the industry including past, present and future. This has interactive exhibits, details of training opportunities and much more. One of the biggest events was the Greatest Gathering at Derby with lots going on and much to see with tickets sold out almost immediately. The National Railway Museum (NRM – now known as the Railway Museum?) had a stand there too with some museum exhibits on display including D6700 and Midland Compound 1000, with the train brought in by Flying Scotsman. Other anniversaries to celebrate were 150 years of Glasgow Depot which brings us on to the NRM’s own 50th Anniversary.
The idea of a national railway museum was first conceived in the late 19th century. Other countries had done something similar but we needed to do so as well. The Science Museum did keep a few things and some small museums maintained a core of interest, but not having a dedicated railway museum was an omission by the country that started it all. With nationalisation of the railways, BR inherited much but had to decide what to do with it – most went to the Museum of British Transport. However, the 1968 Transport Act meant that a decision was made to set up a proper dedicated national railway museum. The then Minister of Education was firm that it should not be in London but at York. The old diesel depot there was a large site providing a perfect opportunity. Some argued that people would not travel to York but were quickly proved wrong.
Andy provided a lot of interesting information about the history of the site and the work involved from the start when British Railways (BR) provided the architects to produce suitable plans for adapting the site from a depot to a museum. Before and after photographs were included as illustration of the changes and to show the work required. The logistics and difficulties of getting the collections all up to York in 1975 were briefly described and how difficult it quietly without too much publicity. There were even photographs of some of the original displays. The then Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the museum on 27 September 1975 and the current Duke of Edinburgh has also attended recently. It is part of the Science Museum Group and has been part of it right from the start. Visitors surpassed 200,000 in the first couple of weeks that it was open and it is one of the most visited museums in the UK right up to the present day with the 10 millionth visitor welcomed back in 1982, so it was a good decision to use the site at York. However, there have been problems with the condition of the original buildings with major works required. Other problems included how to get things on site and what happened to the collection during major building works. The solutions were explained with a new show while the Great Hall was being rebuilt providing a quite different atmosphere. There was an interactive gallery even then. Some exhibits went on tour during the redevelopment period. The remaining active diesel depot adjacent to the main museum site had become defunct so that too became part of the set up. Another first for the museum was opening up the ‘warehouse’, a museum store – a new idea 25-30 years ago. However, it does needs a refresh now.
Moving forward, there are new ideas for expansion which are part of the museum masterplan. Included are the new building at Shildon, new developments at the NRM: new galleries; past present and future; exciting new developments – eg NASA developing a railway for the moon in the future etc. York is still not big enough so developing a new museum store is being considered which is at least part of what lead to the development of the Locomotion museum at Shildon. There was plenty of land and not too far from York, not originally part of the Science Museum Group, it is now. Another reason for choosing Shildon was to provide a new asset for the area after the closure of Shildon Works. Shildon too has proved to be very popular.
In summary – it is the first national railway museum with the greatest collection, technical, national and international exhibits, inspirational, the site is both an asset and has constraints. Rebuilding is ongoing, Station Hall repairs are now completed officially reopened by Princess Anne who showed knowledge and active engagement, with new information and interpretation. All in all, overwhelmingly positive. Andy showed two photographs from the celebrations taken from the same place but 50 years apart. He was inspired by his father who was involved in 1975 and where Andy attended himself aged 5. The second showed the same view but with Andy himself involved. He described it as emotional, generational, bringing people together, and he was not the only one feeling this way. There are lots of links into the past and going forward, a successful project taking some pride of place in the North East with memories to be passed down for the future. There will be something to celebrate in 2075!
There was an equally interesting question and answer session to finish the evening including subjects such as funding for all the works going on at the NRM – from a combination of sources including fundraising; the source of artefacts both historically and today; how much research is carried out using the museum’s resources – substantial numbers at different levels from casual to specialist, including remote access where information is available online; lowering the age for train drivers; what’s next after the S&DR 200; the Inspiration Train; security of coal supplies into the future; looking back at technology over time and looking forward too; AI and driverless trains; hacking electronic systems.
The vote of thanks was given by Alan Nichols who highlighted the sheer volume of interesting things at the museum and comparisons with other museums. An inspiring and very well presented subject.