Locomotion Museum

National railway museum in Shildon, United Kingdom

Locomotion

The exterior of the main exhibition hall

Former names

| Timothy Hackworth Victorian Railway Museum (until 2004)
Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon (2004–2017)
Established| 22 October 2004; 20 years ago (2004-10-22)
Location| Shildon, County Durham, England
Coordinates| 54°37′27″N 1°37′50″W﻿ / ﻿54.6243°N 1.6306°W﻿ / 54.6243; -1.6306
Type| Railway museum
Visitors| 180,697 (2019)[1]
Director| Judith McNicol
Public transit access| Shildon railway station
Website| Museum Website
Science Museum Group

* National Railway Museum
* Locomotion Museum
* Science & Media
* Science & Industry
* Science Museum
* Dana Research Centre and Library
* National Collections Centre

Locomotion, previously known as Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon, is a railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, England. The museum was renamed in 2017 when it became part of the Science Museum Group.[2]

## Overview

[edit]

The museum was opened on 22 October 2004 by then Prime Minister and local MP Tony Blair.[3] Built at a cost of £11.3 million, it is based on the former "Timothy Hackworth Victorian Railway Museum". The museum is operated in partnership with Durham County Council and was expected to bring 60,000 visitors a year to the small town. It exceeded expectations, and during its first six months, the museum attracted 94,000 visits. Locomotion was shortlisted as one of the final five contenders in the Gulbenkian Prize, which is the largest arts prize in the United Kingdom.

As part of the 2025 plans for the National Railway Museum, a second building has been built to house more of the national collection.[4] In addition, parts of the original museum including the coal drops have been restored, having fallen out of use.

## Site

[edit]

The museum is sited near Timothy Hackworth's Soho Works on the world's first public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway (opened on 27 September 1825 with a train hauled by Locomotion No 1 which took 2 hours to complete the 12-mile (19 km) journey from Shildon to Darlington). The town was to become a major centre for British railway engineering thanks to the Shildon wagon works, which closed in 1984.[5]

Shildon station, on the Tees Valley Line was rebuilt and modernised as part of the museum's construction and is actually situated adjacent to the trail and demonstration rail line through the museum site. It is served by all services on the line, operated by Northern.

## Museum landmarks

[edit]

The museum is arranged as stops along the 1-kilometre (0.6 mi) demonstration line with station direction board signs and information points on the trail between the car parks and the main collection building. The museum has a six-spur apron in front of the main shed and another short length of track for showing off resident locomotives and visiting trains.

The trail starts at the 19th-century welcome building. The original Sans Pareil was previously on display here (It has since been moved to the Collection Building). The second building is Timothy Hackworth's house.[6] It contains several activities about the history of Shildon. Soho is a stone building that was a railway workshop, having originally been an iron merchant's store. The fourth stop is the former goods shed for the town, with most incoming and outgoing goods being delivered to the railway by horse and cart. The building is built partially from recycled stone sleeper blocks, the old fixing slots being visible in the wall.[7]

The railway station's parcel office is the next part of the trail and at the junction, visible across the tracks are the former stables for the early horse-drawn wagonways that linked to the line. The coal drops were a refuelling point for steam locomotives. Wagons were hauled up an incline and the coal 'dropped' down wooden chutes into the tender below.[8][9]

The trail passes under the roadway. There is a children's playground and a picnic area outside the Collection Building, the largest building in the museum, where the trail ends. It contains the exhibition hall and a conservation workshop with viewing gallery to see the work carried out by volunteers restoring some of the exhibits. Other facilities in the building include interactive games, a cafe and shop.

Locomotion landmarks

* Hackworth's cottage

* Soho workshop

* Goods shed

* Coal drops

* Engine Shed interior

## Exhibits

[edit]

The museum is home to several locomotives from the National Collection, including a replica of Timothy Hackworth's Sans Pareil. The original engine, built to compete in the Rainhill Trials, is also at Shildon. The trials were to decide which engine should operate the passenger railway between Liverpool and Manchester. After a 175 years absence from the town, the locomotive was returned and is displayed in the Collection building.[10] LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard which is usually displayed in the NRM's York museum was temporarily displayed in the museum from June 2010 to July 2011.[11] In 2014, ahead of the 75th-anniversary celebrations for Mallard's setting the world steam speed record, 8,000 visitors turned up to welcome five sister A4 locomotives including 60008 "Dwight D Eisenhower" and 60010 "Dominion of Canada" that were repatriated from North America, the latter was given a cosmetic overhaul in Shildon's workshop.

The main exhibition building houses most of the collection and includes the sole examples of the prototype APT-E and Deltic units.[12] The museum has a wind turbine which provides power to the National Grid and an on-site biodiesel bus for transporting visitors around the site.

The NRM recommends checking with them in advance if going to see a particular exhibit.[13]

Steam Locomotives  Class  | Number

(and name if applicable)

| Livery  | Image  | Current

Status

| Additional Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST | 3850 Juno | Green  |  | Static  | New to Stewarts & Lloyds ironstone quarries, Buckminster
SR Battle of Britain Class | 34051 Winston Churchill | BR Lined Green  |  | Static  | Hauled Winston Churchill's Funeral Train
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 | 5000 | LMS Lined Black  |  | Static  | First Black Five in class
Locomotion | 1 Locomotion | Wood lagged  |  | Static  | Original built for Stockton and Darlington Railway
Locomotion replica  | 1 Locomotion | Wood lagged  |  |  | Moved here from Head of Steam – Darlington Railway Museum in March 2021.[14]
NER Class C1 | 65033  | BR Black  |  | Static (awaiting restoration)  |
LNER Class V2 | 4771 Green Arrow | LNER Apple Green  |  | Static (potential restoration opportunity)  | Now moved to a museum in Doncaster alongside 251 [15]
Sans Pareil replica  | Sans Pareil | Green and Yellow painted wood  |  | Static  |
Timothy Hackworth entry for Rainhill Trials | Sans Pareil | Exposed Metal  |  | Static  |
LNWR Class G2 | 49395  | BR Black  |  | Static  |
Hetton colliery railway locomotive | Lyon | Black  |  | Static  |
NER Class M1 | 1621  | NER Apple Green  |  | Static  |
GNR Class C1 (large boiler) | 251  | GNR Apple Green  |  | Static  | Now moved to a museum in Doncaster[16]
LSWR 0298 Class (Beattie well tank)  | 30587  | BR Black  |  |  | Now on display at the National Railway Museum, York[17]
South African Class 7A 4-8-0 | 390  | Black  |  | Static  | Cape Gauge,

Now on display at the National Railway Museum, York[18]

LNWR Improved Precedent Class | 790 Hardwicke | LNWR Lined Black  |  | Static  |
Andrew Barclay fireless locomotive | Imperial No. 1  | Imperial Paper Mills Green  |  | Static  |
Diesel & Electric Locomotives  Class  | Number

(and name if applicable)

| Livery  | Image  | Current

Status

| Additional Notes

|
|
|
|
|

LNER Class ES1 Electric Shunter  | 1  | NER Lined Green  |  | Static  |
British Rail Class 03 Shunter  | D2090 (03090)  | BR Green  |  | Operational  |
British Rail Class 08 Shunter  | 08911 Matey | BR Blue with NRM branding  |  | Operational  |
English Electric DP1 | DP1 DELTIC | Blue with grey lining  |  | Static  | Prototype Deltic
British Rail Class 41 (HST) | 41001  | Reverse BR Blue & Grey  |  | Static (awaiting inspection)  | Prototype HST power car
British Rail Class 43 (HST) | 43102  | InterCity Swallow  |  | Static  | Named "The Journey Shrinker". Holds world speed record for diesel traction, arrived from East Midlands Railway
British Rail Class 71 | 71001  | BR Blue  |  | Static (under restoration)  |
British Rail APT-E | APT-E  | Reverse BR Blue & Grey  |  | Static  | Gas Turbine
Sentinel Diesel-hydraulic Shunter  | H001  | RMS Locotec Blue  |  | Static  | New to Bass Brewery; rebuilt for CEGB, Haverton Hill
Wickham Trolley | 960209  | BR Brown  |  | Static  |
Southern Railway Waterloo & City line Shunter (1898)  | 75S  | L&SWR Salmon  |  | Static  |
Diesel & Electric Multiple Units  Class  | Number

(and name if applicable)

| Livery  | Image  | Current

Status

| Additional Notes

|
|
|
|
|

British Rail Class 306 | 306017  | BR Green with yellow warning panel  |  | Static (awaiting restoration)  | Two cars on apron, remaining car behind workshop covered by white tarpaulin.
British Rail Class 142 | 142001  | Unbranded Northern  |  | Operational  |
British Rail Class 414 | 4308  | Network SouthEast on one side, BR Blue and Grey the other  |  | Static  |
British Rail Class 401 | 2090  | BR Green  |  | Static  |
Hauled Rolling Stock & Wagons  Class  | Number

(and name if applicable)

| Livery  | Image  | Additional Notes

|
|
|
|

British Railways Mark 1 Brake Corridor Composite Coach  | 21274  | BR InterCity |  |
BR ZZA Snow Plough | ADB 965232  | Network Rail Black  |  |
SR "Queen Mary" brake van | B56283  | BR Brown  |  | Used at museum for carrying passengers
BR merry-go-round train HAA coal hopper wagon | 350000  | BR Grey  |  | First built HAA wagon (prototype built at Darlington)
BR merry-go-round train HAA coal hopper wagon  | 368459  |  |  | Last built of 10,702 HAA wagons (built at Shildon)
NER Snow Plough | Snow Plough No. 12  | NER Brown  |  |
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits Night Ferry Sleeping Car | 3972  | CIWL Blue  |  |
High Speed Freight Vehicle | HSFV1  | Grey  |  | Basis for Class 142 chassis
Stockton and Darlington Railway Composite Coach (1847)  | 59  | S&DR Brown  |  |
Stockton and Darlington Railway Composite Coach (1846)  | 31  | S&DR Brown  |  | Formerly displayed at Stockton station.

Locomotion: visiting exhibits

* LMS Hughes Crab

* LNWR Cornwall

* LSWR T3 class No. 563

## See also

[edit]

* Trains portal
* North East England portal

* List of British railway museums
* List of transport museums
* B&O Railroad Museum (US)
* Exporail (Canada)
* Nuremberg Transport Museum (Germany)
* Workshops Rail Museum (Australia)

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
2. ^ "Locomotion Reaches 2.5M Visitor Milestone". Retrieved 22 July 2022.
3. ^ "Prime Minister opens Shildon Locomotion museum" The Railway Magazine issue 1244 December 2004 page 5
4. ^ "Our Future: Vision 2025". Locomotion. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
5. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 3
6. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 27
7. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 38
8. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 5
9. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 23
10. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 5
11. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 18
12. ^ Coulls 2012, p. 52
13. ^ "Objects and stories". Locomotion. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
14. ^ "WATCH: Locomotion No 1 arrives in Shildon". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
15. ^ "Steam locomotive 4771 Green Arrow moves to Doncaster for new rail museum". RailAdvent. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
16. ^ "Historic loco takes up residence in Doncaster as first ever heritage engine in town's museums". www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
17. ^ Longhorn, Danny (22 July 2022). "New arrival at the National Railway Museum". RailBusinessDaily. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
18. ^ Longhorn, Danny (22 July 2022). "New arrival at the National Railway Museum". RailBusinessDaily. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

### Sources

[edit]

* Coulls, Anthony (1 February 2012). Spirit of Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon. Spirit of Britain. Halsgrove. ISBN 9780857100641.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shildon Locomotion Museum.

* Museum website
* The official National Railway Museum print website containing many vintage posters and prints from the museum's collections

* v
* t
* e

Heritage railways, museums and preservation societies in England

Operational railways

| Narrow-gauge|

* Amerton Railway
* Amberley Museum Railway
* Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway
* Bure Valley Railway
* Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway
* Gartell Light Railway
* Great Whipsnade Railway
* Great Woburn Railway
* Hastings Miniature Railway
* Hayling Seaside Railway
* Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry
* Launceston Steam Railway
* Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
* London Post Office Railway
* Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
* North Gloucestershire Railway
* Perrygrove Railway
* Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
* Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
* Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
* Ruislip Lido Railway
* Seaton Tramway
* Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
* South Tynedale Railway
* Southend Pier Railway
* Steeple Grange Light Railway
* Volk's Electric Railway
* Wells and Walsingham Light Railway
* West Lancashire Light Railway
* Whistlestop Valley
* Yaxham Light Railway

|

Standard-gauge|

* Aln Valley Railway
* Appleby Frodingham Railway
* Avon Valley Railway
* Battlefield Line Railway
* Bluebell Railway
* Bodmin and Wenford Railway
* Bowes Railway
* Bristol Harbour Railway
* Cambrian Heritage Railways
* Chasewater Railway
* Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway
* Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
* Churnet Valley Railway
* Colne Valley Railway
* Dartmouth Steam Railway
* Dean Forest Railway
* Derwent Valley Light Railway
* East Kent Railway
* East Lancashire Railway
* East Somerset Railway
* Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
* Eden Valley Railway
* Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
* Epping Ongar Railway
* Foxfield Railway
* Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
* Great Central Railway
* Great Central Railway (Nottingham)
* Helston Railway
* Isle of Wight Steam Railway
* Keighley & Worth Valley Railway
* Kent and East Sussex Railway
* Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
* Lavender Line
* Lincolnshire Wolds Railway
* Mid-Norfolk Railway
* Middleton Railway
* Midland Railway – Butterley
* Mountsorrel Railway
* Nene Valley Railway
* North Norfolk Railway
* North Tyneside Steam Railway
* North Yorkshire Moors Railway
* Northampton and Lamport Railway
* Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust
* Peak Rail
* Plym Valley Railway
* Ribble Steam Railway
* Rother Valley Railway
* Rushden, Higham and Wellingborough Railway
* Severn Valley Railway
* South Devon Railway
* Spa Valley Railway
* Stainmore Railway
* Swanage Railway
* Swindon and Cricklade Railway
* Tanfield Railway
* Telford Steam Railway
* Watercress Line
* Weardale Railway
* Wensleydale Railway
* West Somerset Railway
* Yorkshire Wolds Railway

Centres and museums

* Barrow Hill Roundhouse
* Bressingham Steam Museum
* Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
* Coleford Great Western Railway Museum
* Crewe Heritage Centre
* Crowle Peatland Railway
* Devon Railway Centre
* Didcot Railway Centre
* East Anglian Railway Museum
* Great Central Railway (Nottingham)
* Hollycombe Steam Collection
* Hopetown Darlington
* London Museum of Water & Steam
* Mangapps Railway Museum
* Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
* Moseley Railway Trust
* Mountsorrel Railway
* National Railway Museum
* North Ings Farm Museum
* Rutland Railway Museum
* National Railway Museum Shildon
* Shillingstone Railway Project
* Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
* Southall Railway Centre
* Stephenson Railway Museum
* Museum of the Great Western Railway (Swindon)
* Tyseley Locomotive Works
* Yeovil Railway Centre

Planned railways

* Berkeley Vale Railway
* Bideford Railway Heritage Centre
* Combe Rail
* Don Valley Railway
* Lea Bailey Light Railway
* Norfolk Orbital Railway
* North Dorset Railway
* North Somerset Railway
* Poulton & Wyre Railway
* Southwold Railway
* Tarka Valley Railway
* Wisbech and March Bramley Line

Closed sites

* Abbey Light Railway
* Ashford Steam Centre
* Cadeby Light Railway
* Dartmoor line (mainline service restored)
* Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway
* Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire
* Elsecar Heritage Railway
* Great Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society
* North Woolwich Old Station Museum
* Wells Harbour Railway

* Heritage railways: England
* Scotland
* Wales
* Northern Ireland
* Isle of Man
* Channel Islands

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template