See & do · Museums
National Railway Museum
Opening hours
- Monday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Images provided by Google Places
Railway history & artefacts, with 300 vehicles including steam world record holder, the Mallard.via Google
A massive museum housing iconic locomotives, including the Mallard and a Japanese Bullet Train.
- Good to know
- Free entry, donations welcome, allow 3 hours.
Reviews from Google
Amazing place. Free. So either donate or spend in the shops/cafe etc. Large area to explore. Two main halls. Toilets clean and accessible. Easy to move about. Advise going just after opening with pre ordered tickets... very quiet. Highly recommend coming here. For me it's the smell! Engines and oil. Amazing. And I found each Engine had a personality. Almost real.
🚆 National Railway Museum – York I visited the National Railway Museum in York, which actually consists of two main locations: the main museum with its vast collection of historic trains and royal carriages, and a secondary hall for special exhibitions and interactive displays. Both locations are very spacious and educational, showcasing steam locomotives, carriages, and railway history from the UK. One highlight is being able to see famous trains up close. There is also a café inside the main museum, perfect for resting and enjoying food or drinks. Entry is free, making it accessible for everyone. From an accessibility perspective, both museum areas are wheelchair friendly. Entrances are step-free, floors are flat, and aisles are wide for easy maneuvering. Lifts are available where needed, and accessible toilets with wheelchair logos are clearly marked. Staff are present and ready to assist when required. ♿ Accessibility Checklist ✅ Step-free entrance ✅ Wide aisles and spacious layout 🛗 Lifts available 🚻 Accessible toilets available (wheelchair logo) ♿ Flat and smooth flooring 🤝 Staff assistance available 📝 Note The museum is large and comfortable for wheelchair users. Even during busy hours, the wide aisles make it easy to move around. The café provides a nice break spot during a long visit. Both locations are worth exploring for a full experience. #GoogleLocalGuide #WalkAndSee #WheelchairAccessible #AccessibleTravel #York #MuseumVisit
Free to enter which leaves money for some of the extras like the land train back to the city centre afterwards. Or the VR experience. Option to make a donation if you feel able to pay a fiver or more... Site split between carriages (station hall) and engines (great hall). The latter is more cavernous and has the better café and gift shop options. Didn't have time to see it all. No-one staffing the information points that I could find.
I had heard of this museum long ago and finally got the chance to go. It looks close to the train station, but it is quite a walk. It's a big museum but not as huge as I expected. They have plenty of nice steam trains here. The best part is the sectional model. I have never seen anything like this in any other transportation museum. It is very impressive. I also like how they have a train with carriages designed for women, in other words, each carriage has an individual door connecting to the outside, instead of a hallway inside the train. The miniature train section is also well displayed. It’s lovely to see how they move and change rails. All products at gift shop are overpriced, so I don’t mind buying things from here. I did not go inside the gallery which requires an extra ticket. Booking free tickets in advance is recommended.
Excellent museum with so many exhibits you can't see them all. Incredible history, excellent staff abd there are cafes abd gift shops, as well. They also have a viewing terrace to watch trains go by north of the York station. Highly recommended, and plan on 3-4 hours minimum. Truly extraordinary.