National Railway Museum, York.

The day after we went to the Yorkshire Air Museum we went to the National Railway Museum. We arrived before opening time. It was raining, windy and very cold. While my dad was in a meeting, my mom and I went in. I really enjoyed this museum.

Only when you are right next to a train you actually realize how massive they are. When we went to the big warehouse one of the first things we saw was the Flying Duchess:

We then went to find the fastest steam train in the world: The Mallard, it still holds the record for the fastest steam train in the world. It reached 124.5 mph or 200.4 km/h. I can think why nobody has tried to beat it, try shoveling enough coal and keep the train from overheating at that speed. A tough challenge!

We had a look around and came across the Flying Scotsman. This train is famous because it had to pull many heavy carriages.

This is the real Flying Scotsman, a working train.

We had a look at the workshop/restoration room. I enjoyed looking at all the tools and especially the half taken apart trains. There is a paint shop where a man was busy painting (by hand, with a small paint brush) the lines and decoration on an old freight carriage, probably used for carrying felled trees.

We found the:

The Rocket was not the first train ever, but it brought together many different techniques. The Rocket was built in 1829 for a steam competition, the Rainhill trials, held by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which it won. It was better known as Stephenson's Rocket. It was powered by steam and had a top speed of 28 mph or 45 km/h, quite fast for something of this size.


I found these two funny trucks and had a good laugh. This one's back wheels are closer together than the front wheels.

This three wheeler looks like it will over turn around a sharp bend if there is no passenger. I like the tiny wheels. They look fit for my pushcart back in South Africa.

Though they both look fun to drive, just don't drive too fast around a sharp bend!

Thank  you for reading.

I hope you enjoyed it.