Old railway museum in York before the NRM

[Ken H]

Trying to remember this from when I was a kid. We definitely went there as a family.
It was in the railway buildings near where the Railway Institute is today.
I think it was the old LNER museum.
Any memories to share?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Presume we're talking about before the mid 1970s?

 

[Ken H]

Presume we're talking about before the mid 1970s?

I think a bit before then. The old railway museum closed some time before the NRM opened.

 

[Rescars]

I'm afraid I can't help with this, but I do remember Clapham.

 

[Titfield]

Yes went to York with my Great Uncle Lewis and Great Aunt Ethel in IIRC 1970 or 1971. (Certainly pre 1973 as sadly Great Uncle Lewis passed away in 1972). Somewhere I have a very faded yellow and black badge bought for me in the shop there. We also visited the cub scout shop (was this in York or Leeds) and a small book of games and things to make was bought for me. I also still have that book. GUL and I made one of those cardboard spinners with three blades from a plan in that book. Funny how memories can be triggered and come flooding back. Miss you GUL.

 

[Ken H]

I'm afraid I can't help with this, but I do remember Clapham.

Thats just jogged my memory. The entrance tickets were edmonson type and had an advert for the Clspham museum. Thankd

 

[Harvester]

My first visit to York as a young lad was around 1960, and I can remember walking from the station to the old railway museum, which was south of the station on the route towards the racecourse. The only loco I can vaguely remember seeing was preserved 4-4-2 ‘Henry Oakley’. Visited the Transport museum at Clapham in 1964 after ‘Mallard’ had arrived for display, and the Science museum that year when ‘Caerphilly Castle’ was on show.

 

[Spartacus]

It was in the old building still there off Queen Street. There's some good info on it here: https://www.on-magazine.co.uk/yorkshire/transport/national-railway-museum-york-history/

 

[John Webb]

I have a copy of the guide to the old York Railway Museum, dated 1968, when it was in the care of British Railways and after the Clapham, London, museum had been opened. The guide was mainly written by one L T C Rolt.
The museum was in two parts - the Queen Street section near the station with the larger exhibits and the 'Small Exhibits' in a part of the old York station that was inside the City wall. It was the old LNER museum expanded a bit. Regrettably I never visited it, only getting to Yorkshire a couple of years after the NRM had opened.

 

[30907]

I've certainly visited, probably 1968: there was a schools excursion headed by 4472 from New Southgate (!) to York, returning behind IIRC an EE Type 4 aka Class 40, and the school Railway Society preferred the museum to the Minster

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes went to York with my Great Uncle Lewis and Great Aunt Ethel in IIRC 1970 or 1971. (Certainly pre 1973 as sadly Great Uncle Lewis passed away in 1972). Somewhere I have a very faded yellow and black badge bought for me in the shop there. We also visited the cub scout shop (was this in York or Leeds) and a small book of games and things to make was bought for me. I also still have that book. GUL and I made one of those cardboard spinners with three blades from a plan in that book. Funny how memories can be triggered and come flooding back. Miss you GUL.

This is a great post because I know exactly what you mean @Titfield about how memories can be triggered. Your post reminds me of my first visit to the 'modern' NRM back in the '70s.

I found a couple of pics from inside the old museum taken in 1970 here - this one and the next

1970 - Inside the Original York Railway Museum..

The original LNER railway museum at York, first opened in the 1920s, and closed in the early 1970s, to be replaced by the 'National Railway Museum'.. See where this picture was taken. [?]

www.flickr.com

 

[billio]

Trying to remember this from when I was a kid. We definitely went there as a family.
It was in the railway buildings near where the Railway Institute is today.
I think it was the old LNER museum.
Any memories to share?

In 1957 I was on a school trip to York and we visited the 'museum' which was in the old station. (The railway entrance to which is now being more clearly exposed by the current reshaping work in front of the station.) My memory of the content is limited, I just remember a group of carriages, which being 11 at the time didn't appeal very much.

 

[Trackman]

Your post reminds me of my first visit to the 'modern' NRM back in the '70s.

Same here, trying to think of the year. Anyone know when the 'modern' NRM opened?

 

[Darandio]

Same here, trying to think of the year. Anyone know when the 'modern' NRM opened?

It's in that article from post #8, 27 September 1975.

 

[Taunton]

A very extensive series of articles on the "old" museum is here (parts 1 and 2 cover it) which I think will answer all points:

Britain’s National Railway Museum: Part 1

The LNER Museum At York Introduction A very warm day in London recently caused me to seek the cooler atmosphere of York, home of the National Railway Museum (NRM). I have maintained an interest in …

machorne.wordpress.com

There has been confusion (including in past posts on here) about its location, compounded by the old museum being in two separate buildings, the locomotives building being demolished shortly after they moved out, and the loco building being called Queen Street, when although the initial approach might have been from there in fact it was quite a long way away, hence confusion with other older railway premises much closer to that street.

We went there in 1966. I recall finding a bit underwhelming. Pretty sure we only did the locomotives building.

 

[WesternLancer]

In 1957 I was on a school trip to York and we visited the 'museum' which was in the old station. (The railway entrance to which is now being more clearly exposed by the current reshaping work in front of the station.) My memory of the content is limited, I just remember a group of carriages, which being 11 at the time didn't appeal very much.

Yes. The article linked above talks about the differing content of the two old York museums. Seems like locos in the other one.

 

[Sultan1056]

I last visited the old museum in the summer of 1973. IIRC it closed to the public in December 73. In order to extricate the locomotives temporary track had to be relayed before they could be shunted out of the building and across to the new museum. I remember reading an article about it in the local Yorkshire Evening Press. The article also included a photo of 08245 undertaking the shunting work.

 

[WesternLancer]

Thats just jogged my memory. The entrance tickets were edmonson type and had an advert for the Clspham museum. Thankd

Images of these are in the excellent link (part 3) that @Taunton provides below.

Yes went to York with my Great Uncle Lewis and Great Aunt Ethel in IIRC 1970 or 1971. (Certainly pre 1973 as sadly Great Uncle Lewis passed away in 1972). Somewhere I have a very faded yellow and black badge bought for me in the shop there. We also visited the cub scout shop (was this in York or Leeds) and a small book of games and things to make was bought for me. I also still have that book. GUL and I made one of those cardboard spinners with three blades from a plan in that book. Funny how memories can be triggered and come flooding back. Miss you GUL.

Also has an image of one of those badges on Taunton's link

In part 3 (as are the souvenir museum Edmundson images)

Britain’s National Railway Museum: Part 3

The Government Gets Involved Trouble on the Line I had hoped to cover what I wanted in four parts but owing to new material I thought worth including it will now be five. This part deals with the c…

machorne.wordpress.com

A very extensive series of articles on the "old" museum is here (parts 1 and 2 cover it) which I think will answer all points:

Britain’s National Railway Museum: Part 1

The LNER Museum At York Introduction A very warm day in London recently caused me to seek the cooler atmosphere of York, home of the National Railway Museum (NRM). I have maintained an interest in …

machorne.wordpress.com

There has been confusion (including in past posts on here) about its location, compounded by the old museum being in two separate buildings, the locomotives building being demolished shortly after they moved out, and the loco building being called Queen Street, when although the initial approach might have been from there in fact it was quite a long way away, hence confusion with other older railway premises much closer to that street.

We went there in 1966. I recall finding a bit underwhelming. Pretty sure we only did the locomotives building.

Thanks for posting that link Taunton - excellent set of essays there that really does set out the detail of the museums and how they came to be - and the debate and decisions that ensued in moving towards the single NRM (and indeed how the Swindon museum came to be separate under local authority guise) - well worth reading. A lot of very helpful images included too. A couple of hyperlinks to short Pathe newsreels that cover the Clapham museum that are worth watching too to get a sense of the interior of that.