Donating to the Museum
We are the most visited museum outside London, and recognised as the leading railway museum in the world. We must work to ensure we remain successful and relevant in today’s fast moving world. Success will ensure that the NRM becomes one of the greatest museum experiences in the world.
We want you to be thrilled, surprised and engaged by your experience. Our aim is that you'll have a wonderful time – and that you'll leave understanding more about the world around you, how the railways have helped shape it, and how railways might influence the future.
Your donations will help us enrich the experience for all our visitors and conserve our railway heritage for generations to come.
All gifts, large or small, make a real difference to our work.
Make a donation through The Big Give
Leave a legacy
A gift in your Will can help to transform the visitor experience, and could have life-changing effects. Planning your Will is an important decision that takes time and thought. As you consider how best to care for the needs of your family and those you care about, you may also want to consider the causes that are important to you. Your gift will help us give the next generation a thought-provoking and powerful experience. It will help us ensure that our reputation as the world’s leading railway museum remains intact – but also enable us to reach out to new audiences across Britain and the world.
Download our PDF about leaving a legacy (PDF, 391Kb)
Donating Objects
The object-rich collections of the National Railway Museum have been built up over the past 150 years. Some gaps still exist though, and you may have precisely the right object to fill them, so please do get in touch. Please do not bring objects into the Museum without having made a prior appointment with the relevant curator.
Steam Our Scotsman
Flying Scotsman is a national icon - representing the apex of British engineering and the romance of steam for the public. In 2004 the National Railway Museum rescued Flying Scotsman for the nation ensuring the locomotive maintains its place as the 'people's locomotive'.
Since the Museum acquired Flying Scotsman, the locomotive has undergone a huge amount of work in order to be fully functional and back on the rails. However, due to the rising cost of copper and the poor condition of the boiler, the restoration has cost a great deal more than anticipated.
The Steam our Scotsman Appeal aims to raise £250,000 towards this overhaul.
