What's Here & What's On
Daily talks and demonstrations
The NRM Explainers are a front of house team walking the floors of the Museum ready to answer any questions you may have about the National Collection. They are also responsible for giving daily talks and demonstrations about various objects or areas of the Museum (see times below). Between them the team covers an amazing range of knowledge about all aspects of the railways and their history from the purely technical to the social history side. This means that if you ask one Explainer a question and they don't know the answer, then they'll know someone who does! Look for the black uniform with 'Learning' written in apple green on the front and 'Explainer' on the back, and come and have a chat.
Daily Talks and Demonstrations
Listen for the announcements or look out for the signboards around the museum.
All presentations are dependent on staffing levels. We aim to give the full programme every day but sometimes things go wrong.
Great Hall
10.30 Shinkansen talk (opposite Mallard in the Great Hall) - a short introduction to the Bullet train - the only one outside of Japan.
11.00 Winding engine demonstration - first the vertical Weatherhill Engine near the car park entrance is demonstrated for about ten minutes, and then the horizontal Swannington Engine in the far corner behind the turntable is switched on at ten minutes past the hour. (These demonstrations are subject to the mechanical well-being of the engines.)
11.30 Turntable talk and demonstration (at the turntable in the Great Hall) - a short talk describing the turntable and its uses, concluding with a full turn of the table.
12.00-12.30 Chinese locomotive footplate access (track 19 off the turntable in the Great Hall) - come on board this engine for the very first time and chat to the Explainers about the history of the engine and how it works.
14.25 Shinkansen talk - as above
15.00 Winding engine demonstration - as above
15.30 Turntable talk and demonstration - as above
16.10 How a Steam Engine Works (either at Ellerman Lines or Rocket in the Great Hall) - an introductory talk about the mysteries of a steam engine demonstrated on one of our sectioned locomotives.
16.40 - 17.30 Mallard footplate access (Great Hall) - come aboard the fastest steam locomotive in the world to find out about the record-breaking run and how it went so fast.
The Works and Warehouse
11.00 Workshop roundup (on the Works balcony) - an introduction to the Museum workshops and the restoration currently being undertaken by the workshop staff.
12.00-12.20 and 14.25-14.45 Warehouse Tour (starts from the ground floor entrance to the Warehouse) - discover more about some of the interesting objects in the Warehouse. With ten thousand items to choose from, you'll find something to interest you!
Station Hall
11.30-12.00 Black Five footplate access (in Station Hall at the head of the Royals exhibition) - visit the footplate of one of the most prolific classes of steam engines in Britain and find out what made them so successful.
12.35-13.05 Station Hall Tour (starts from the Information Point in Station Hall) - a short tour taking in some of the highlights of Station Hall.
15.00-15.30 Black Five footplate access - as above.
16.50-17.30 Station Hall carriage access - an Explainer will open up one of our historic carriages and chat about its history.
Information Points
In case you miss the Explainers on the hall, you can always call at the Information Points - there's one in either hall. There are leaflets about our Museum and other attractions, information sheets about research, and forms to fill in if you have any comments, enquiries or suggestions. The Information Point will usually be manned by one of the Museum volunteers who are there to help you with anything you may need to know. Again, they hold a wealth of knowledge between them and are always willing to chat about railways, the Museum and its collection.