At the National Railway Museum

No9 has worked a Peterborough to York and return tour and we have gone into the museum to turn on the turntable. Before going in I put six good shovels of coal along the back as the fire was just about out and needed cleaning. One of the museum's engineering staff came storming onto the footplate complaining about the smoke. I told him I didn't want to sit down on the table due to lack of steam as we had virtually no fire. The driver backed me up and the engineer stormed off the footplate. OK there is a bit of smoke, but the atmosphere inside was wonderful. Two or three weeks later we were booked to do another Peterborough to York return trip, only this time we did not turn in the museum, I don't know why!! Photo Mike Mather 5/10/1996

Bert Hitchen's ex LMSR Black Five 45231 "Sherwood Forester" stands outside the museum between main line trips. 21/8/2007

The combined age of the three locos at the time of the photo was 213 years. All are over 70 years old an all will have parts which are much less than that!

Quite a line up, A4 60009 "Union of South Africa", Princess Coronation 6233 "Duchess of Sutherland" and Black 5 45231 "Sherwood Forester", a name it never carried in LS or BR service. 21/8/2007

The end of another trip and we are over the pit in the prep bay cooling down. The drain cocks are open and steam in the steam circuit blows out and fill the bay. I'm not sure who is approaching with the lamps. 16/3/2008 Photo Mike Mather.

It is clearing a bit and the front end and headboard can be seen. Photo Mike Mather

60009 stands in the workshop area of the museum, this is off limits to the public as it is a live working area but there is a viewing gallery where I took this photo. 6/6/2008

The loco is in the workshop to use its wheel drop to remove the cartazzi wheelset so work could be carried out on the journals. Ross and I went down a couple of days before hand to strip down and remove all the pipework around the wheelset and prepare for its removal. This view is looking up to the cab from the wheel drop pit.

The wheelset has been dropped down into the pit with engineer John Graham looking on and operating the lift.

The wheelset complete with axle boxes is lifted clear and will go away by lorry for work to be carried out. It was a good and interesting few days.

Stanier's mighty Princess Coronation class Pacific 6229 "Duchess of Hamilton" looks simply stunning restored to its original streamlined condition. Sadly it is no longer a runner. 29/10/2010

Not long after the National Railway Museum opened its doors for the day and the Great Hall is quiet and virtually empty. The restoration in this guise was carried out by the staff at Tyseley.

The NRM claimed one of the prototype HST powercars when BR no longer had a use for them. 41001 stands in the former diesel depot shed, now part of the museum. The prototype full set was numbered 252001, the production powercars were numbered 43xxx and the sets were 253 for Western Region and 254 for Eastern Region.

The first of the class 31 locos built by Brush was originally numbered D5500 but under the TOPS renumbering scheme it became 31018.

On the main turntable is former North Eastern Railway class X1 2-2-4T loco No66 Aerolite. It was built at Gateshead Works in 1869 to a design by Edward Fletcher and was withdrawn in 1933.

The workshop area of the museum is a working area where the public can look down on activities. Inside "The Works" is the tender from 4472 "Flying Scotsman", D8000 the doyen of the English Electric type 1 class 20 locos. Also present is Deltic 55002 Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and Western class 52 D1023 Western Fusilier.

A closer look at 55002 and both roof panels are off and the Napier Deltic powerplants are receiving attention.

Over in the Peter Allen Building which was the former goods shed, ex North Eastern Railway class M1 4-4-0 No 1621 has its footplate accessible for visits. The loco was built Gateshead Works in 1893 to a William Worsdell design and was withdrawn in 1945 as an LNER class D17.

One of the once numerous M7 class of 0-4-4T locos built by the LSWR and designed by Dugald Drummond. No 245 was built at Nine Elms, London in 1897 and withdrawn in 1962.

This elegant 4-2-2 loco is No 673 and is a Spinner class. Designed by Samuel Johnson for the Midland Railway, it was built at Derby Works in 1897 and withdrawn in 1923.

The ubiquitous LMS 4-6-0 class 5, known as Black Five. No 5000 is first of a class of 842 examples. This loco was built at Crewe and designed by William Stanier, being turned out in 1935 and withdrawn for preservation in 1967.

This delightful little 0-4-0 No 3 is called "Copperknob" and was built as early as 1846 by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy of Liverpool, it was designed by Edward Bury. It operated with The Furness Railway and they withdrew it in 1900 and displayed it at Barrow in Furness station.

Unrebuilt Battle of Britain class light pacific 34051 is named "Winston Churchill". It was designed by OVS Bulleid and introduced in 1945 and built by the Southern Railway at their Brighton Works. The loco was withdrawn in 1966 and was used to haul Sir Winston Churchill's funeral train on 30th January 1965. As it stands here on this day, the loco is in as withdrawn condition complete with the original paintwork, it has never been cosmetically restored.

Outside is former Royal Train locomotive 47798 "Prince William". When EWS, who operated the Royal Train, replaced the class 47's with new class 67 locos, they offered 47798 to the museum in full working order. The loco remains (in 2010) mainline approved.

Also a runner but not on the mainline is D6700, the first of the popular class 37 type 3 locos. It was turned out of English Electric's Vulcan Foundry in 1961.

A replica of a first class coach of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

This is an electric motor open 3rd brake vehicle No 28249. It was built in 1915 by the Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company for the London and North Western Railway for use on the North London Line.

Vehicle S11179S is an electric motor open 3rd brake from a 4-COR set No 3131 built by the Southern Railway in 1937. 29/10/2010