This post is dedicated to my father, Malcolm Sharpe, who died twenty years ago today and is still deeply missed. I am the daughter of a train spotter, two train spotters if we’re being really honest, however it was only my dad who carried around the ubiquitous notebook and binoculars associated with an English train spotter. For the first five years of my life, weekends and bank holidays generally consisted of the same thing, driving out to a random field and waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Eventually someone would spot the telltale column of white smoke rising in the distance and a dozen cameras and pairs of binoculars would be simultaneously yanked from their cases. We were never alone, there were always a good number of cars filled with folks just like us. We would wait for the train to pass, taking pictures as it went, then leap into the car and race to the next spot along the track, to do the same thing over again. Everybody knew the good spots, the bridges, fields and stations that would present the best views of whichever train was out that day. If you have ever been out driving and passed a small cluster of cars parked apparently in the middle of nowhere beside a bridge, with a group of middle aged cardigan-wearing men hovering about nearby - there’s probably a classic train on its way.
When my father passed on twenty years ago, the trips to nowhere stopped as my mother didn’t yet have a driving license, however we would still go out spotting trains. Instead we went to the local historical steam train societies (the UK is filled with privately run steam lines) or travelled to local stations on the rare occasions when a steam train had been permitted to run on the mainline. My childhood was filled with steam trains, from my Thomas the Tank Engine wallpaper to the day trips to nearby engine sheds, so I was delighted when my son began to show an interest in trains as well and began pointing at the TV shouting “choo choo” in hopes that I will put his Thomas DVD on for the fifth time in a day. As my husband (a devout non-trainspotter who finds the hobby immensely tedious) had some time off work over summer, we decided to pack the car and head the two hours north to York and the National Railway Museum. The National Railway Museum is home to many trains of major significance to UK and world history. Amongst the many exhibits are Mallard, who holds the current world speed record for steam at 125.88 mph (202.58 km/h) and The Flying Scotsman, possibly the most famous locomotive in the world and the first ever to reach a speed of 100 mph. The Flying Scotsman is named for the London to Edinburgh run which she was the first to pull non-stop on May 1st 1928, this route is still one of the most important train lines in the UK today and trains that pull along this line still bear the name Flying Scotsman in her honour. The Flying Scotsman was bought for the nation by the museum in 2005 and is about to come out of a major refurbishment which will allow her to once again run on the British mainline.
Another important engine at the museum is the Duchess of Hamilton built in 1938, another locomotive that was saved and restored by the museum. Duchess is currently the centre of an exhibit on streamlining, having been recently restored to her original streamlined condition - her casing had been removed in 1947 for maintenance-efficiency reasons. The Duchess of Hamilton is an engine of huge significance to my family as my father’s ashes were placed inside her furnace by my mother, sister and myself a few years after his death. For me it is wonderful to be able to bring my son to “visit” his grandad at such a great location.
Along with these two historically significant engines, the museum also plays host to many dozens more. The Station Hall is currently home to many royal trains including the personal carriages of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and Queen Mary. Back inside the Great Hall, the only Japanese Bullet Train outside Japan is open for visitors to board and relax inside (it is fully pram and wheelchair accessible) and a fully functioning train turntable is central to the room with demonstrations given throughout the day.
Also in the Great Hall is the bright maroon Hogwarts Express, decked out with the Hogwarts crest on her tender and the name plate "Hogwarts Castle". The engine, otherwise known as No. 5972 Olton Hall is the exact locomotive used in the Harry Potter films and is occasionally available to climb aboard or take rides with. We visited on August 31st and found her sat by one of the exits to the building, clearly ready to set off to London later in the day, ready to collect wizarding children at Kings Cross the next morning.
Outside in the South Yard there are some more interactive elements for children. An outdoor play area is available free of charge for children over the age of three and for a small fee of less than a pound/dollar (no charge for children under two), you can take a five minute trip aboard the miniature railway, I think this was the highlight of my toddler’s day. During school holidays, and for another very small fee, you can take a short ride with a real, full size steam engine. Sadly when we came to ride, the steam engine had sprung a leak and been replaced for the afternoon by a diesel engine which didn’t have quite the same thrill about it.
All throughout our visit to the museum, I kept overhearing snippets of conversation that made me smile. Trainspotting is, to paraphrase GeekMom Sarah Pinault, “some seriously old school geekery” and it delighted me to overhear a new generation of kids discussing the engines and rolling stock in great depth. I would often be passing by a family group and hear a young child - mostly boys it must be said - waxing lyrical on technical specifications I didn’t begin to understand. It makes me happy to think that these less fashionable forms of geekery are still going strong, and being passed down to the next generation. I know I will be taking my son to see trains for many years yet and I hope he can see the appeal of old school geek hobbies along with the new.
The National Railway Museum York is open all year (excluding December 24 - 26) from 10am - 6pm and entry is free to all although additional charges may apply for special events and attractions.
