Accessibility statement

Rail search

Hannah Reeves, Matt Thompson, Alison Kay, John McGoldrick, Charlotte Hancock, Thomas Spain, Jane Sparkes, Tony Oldfield, Simon Batchelor

  • 26 September 2014
    6pm - 8pm

  • National Railway Museum
    Great Hall (map)

  • FREE admission
    No booking required

  • Wheelchair accessible

Event details

Exclusive after-hours access to the National Railway Museum, and a special chance to see the NRM’s research programme and collections up close and personal. Rail Search will present a series of short talks and displays by curators and researchers in the unique setting of the NRM’s Great Hall.

  • The Triangle (in between the Great Hall and Warehouse)
    - Access our ‘ambulance carriage’, a 1907 diningcar that served in WW2, and discover our plans for it with Interpretation Developer Jane Sparkes and volunteer Tony Oldfield
  • Warehouse
    - Demonstrations of the unique Lancashire & Yorkshire Signalling School model railway: What role has it played in modern safety?
    - Be a railway detective using aerial photography: Can you spot changes that our Curator Simon Batchelor has missed?
  • Great Hall
    Meet our curators and researchers past and present, and hear the stories the collections can tell, using original collections items:
    - Hannah Reeves: ‘The railway family’
    - Dr. Matt Thompson: How the Great Western Railway sold itself
    - Alison Kay: The reality of travelling on ambulance trains in World War 1
    - John McGoldrick: The stories behind some personal objects
    - Charlotte Hancock: The fascination with tunnels in the prints of T.T. Bury
    - Thomas Spain: 'food miles’, the railways and roads’ competition over food transport
    - Plus, a rare chance to experience the Great Hall after-hours!

The café and shop will be open; parking will be free for anyone visiting Researchers’ Night.