A journey of trains through a museum
Officially opened in 1928, the National Railway Museum in York holds a very dear place in my heart. The reason for this begins in 2014 with my admission to the University of York for my post-graduation. I would never have dreamt that a museum as opulent as this one existed! This museum houses some of the most remarkable and iconic locomotives that are nothing short of engineering brilliance. My first visit to the museum left me wanting to discover more. This prompted me to apply for a volunteering opportunity in their conservation and archives department. Getting accepted as a conservation volunteer was one of the unsurpassed moments of my time in York (Chrystal, 2016).
Let us first learn a bit about the history of The National Railway Museum in York. This Museum forms a part of the Science Museum Group (SMG). SMG is a collection of British Museum comprising of some of Britain’s most significant museums. They include the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, the Science Museum in South Kensington and the National Collections Center Museum in Swindon.
Of all the museums under the SGM, the National Railway Museum is the most prominent, because of its history and its collection. My memories of the Museum are filled with me chemical proofing the locomotives, documenting the rolling stock and greeting the Christmas crowd at the Museum. The Museum is home to a collection that comprises of historically significant railway vehicles such as Mallard, Stirling Single, Duchess of Hamilton and a Japanese bullet train. This is a museum that celebrates the railway industry by displaying over 100 locomotives and 300 other items of rolling stock, most of which either ran on the railways of Great Britain or were built here.
Volunteering at this 20-acre site opened up possibilities that I had never thought even existed in museums in the first place. In a sense, this experience was my best coach that trained me for my life in the museum industry.