The Friends of the National Railway Museum

The Friends of the National Railway Museum FNRM was formed in 1977 to support the National Railway Museum.

We help to fund the restoration of exhibits in the National Collection, the acquisition of new artefacts, and other projects that would otherwise not be possible.

In 1903, the Great Western Railway decided to buy three French De Glehn 4-4-2 Compound locomotives for comparison purpos...
03/06/2026

In 1903, the Great Western Railway decided to buy three French De Glehn 4-4-2 Compound locomotives for comparison purposes. The first, ‘La France’ arrived in pieces at Poplar Docks, London in October 1903. The parts were taken to Swindon Works in thirteen wagons for assembly. A standard GWR tender was fitted and trials of the locomotive started shortly afterwards.

The four cylinder locomotives with their 6 feet 8½ inch diameter driving wheels were regularly hauling trains of 320 tons on the 184 miles between Paris and Calais, with a stop at Amiens, in 190 minutes. ‘La France’ was built at the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques works at Belfort. GWR Chairman, Earl Cawdor, explained that, “the man who built the engine, although not bearing an English name, is an Englishman”. Engineer Alfred de Glehn had lived in France for 35 years and was a brother-in-law of the Bishop of London. ‘La France’ ran over 728,000 miles before withdrawal in 1926. These were not the first French locomotives to run on British rails, as thirty years earlier the Great Eastern Railway had taken delivery of some express locomotives built by the Schneider company at their works at Le Creusot, Eastern France.

Words and image: Mike Peart

The latest in the films just added to the Film Archive of Railway Signalling and People (FARSAP) cover the Keighley and ...
01/06/2026

The latest in the films just added to the Film Archive of Railway Signalling and People (FARSAP) cover the Keighley and Worth Valley heritage railway – the KWVR. There are three films totalling about 50 minutes. The first shows the Shipley Bingley Junction signal box which closed in 1994. The last day of operation is seen before the removal of the box to the KWVR. The second film shows signalling on the KWVR from the early days to the present. There are detailed explanations of signal box moves and a look at the Damems Junction Midland Railway tumbler frame originally moved from Frizinghall (Bradford). The working of the tumbler frame along with ground frames on the route with Annett’s locks and Keylocks are pictured and explained. The final film shows how the film ‘The Railway Children’ influenced the line and led to its success today. The five miles of line with its six stations between Keighley and Oxenhope originally closed in 1962. Thanks to local pressure and considerable volunteer effort it was re-opened in 1968. It has run for over 200 days a year ever since. The line is also featured in many film and TV productions and also stars in TV adverts. It’s a fascinating story with signalling as well! The Friends of the NRM and the Signalling Record Society with the valued support of Network Rail have made FARSAP an impressive collection of films about our railway heritage past and present. The archive continues to grow and the signalling locations and other subjects covered can be found in the index at www.farsap.co.uk

How many famous Belgians can you name? Well, there’s the artists Van Eyck, Rubens and Magritte; inventor of the saxophon...
01/06/2026

How many famous Belgians can you name? Well, there’s the artists Van Eyck, Rubens and Magritte; inventor of the saxophone Adolphe Sax, film star Audrey Hepburn and author Georges Simenon amongst others. But how about Egide Walschaerts? In 1844 he invented a type of steam locomotive valve gear which grew to be extensively used around the world from the late 19th century onwards. Even 21st century new-build ‘Tornado’ (pictured) has it.

Engineer Egide Walschaerts (1820 – 1901) was a workshop superintendent for the Belgian State Railways. In 1878 he was awarded a Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition. His valve gear was patented by his employers as he might have been considered too lowly. At settings controlled by the driver, the valve gear operates the valves to allow steam into the cylinders and let exhaust steam escape for both forward and reverse movement. Other types of valve gear were available – Stephenson, Joy, Caprotti, Lentz and Reidinger to name but a few. But there’s no doubt that Walschaerts valve gear was widely and successfully used in British steam locomotive practice. There’s every reason that Egide Walschaerts should be added to the list of famous Belgians.

Image and words: Mike Peart

The 2-8-0 class known as ‘RODs’ were built in the Great War between 1917 and 1919 by several different builders for the ...
29/05/2026

The 2-8-0 class known as ‘RODs’ were built in the Great War between 1917 and 1919 by several different builders for the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers. Over 500 were built to a design similar to that of John G Robinson’s 2-8-0 locomotives built in 1911 for the Great Central Railway’s mineral traffic into and out of Immingham Dock.

The ‘RODs’ were intended for war service in France, but not all were needed. They had steel fireboxes, two outside cylinders and 4 feet 8 inch diameter driving wheels. Their work in Britain was on unfitted freight trains as they only had steam brakes, although Westinghouse air brakes were fitted for war service. Following the war, many were bought by British railway companies such as those which became the GWR, LMS and LNER, whilst others were exported as far afield as Australia, Egypt, Iraq and China.

The example pictured, number 3025, has been slightly ‘Great Westernised’ with a safety valve cover and cabside numberplates. It worked until withdrawal in 1954. Others worked until 1966. One was saved for the National Collection and is under overhaul, and three more are preserved in Australia.

Image: Mike Peart’s collection.

In the Great Hall today, sharing the work of the Friends at the LNER Family Day at the Railway Museum. 🚂
27/05/2026

In the Great Hall today, sharing the work of the Friends at the LNER Family Day at the Railway Museum. 🚂

A different view of InterCity 125 High Speed Train power car ‘Sir Kenneth Grange’ in the Great Hall at the National Rail...
27/05/2026

A different view of InterCity 125 High Speed Train power car ‘Sir Kenneth Grange’ in the Great Hall at the National Railway Museum, York.

This enduring and successful class was introduced in 1976. While most of the class are now withdrawn from regular passenger service, some can still be seen on the national network. Others have been sold to overseas railway companies.

This example in the National Collection was built in 1975, named after its designer in 2016 and retired in 2019 after over 40 years in service. It was returned to its original livery by the team at Plymouth Laira depot who looked after the GWR IC125 fleet.

The industrial designer Sir Kenneth Grange CBE was born in 1929 and died in 2024 at the age of 95. He was knighted in 2013. His prolific output of designs also include food mixers, hair dryers, irons, cameras, cigarette lighters, lamps, pens, post boxes, parking meters and London taxis. In retirement he was able to enjoy travelling in his own design in a regular commute from London Paddington to Devon.

Image: Emma Allison
Words: Mike Peart

Another photograph from the 'Scrapyard Series'.How fortunate we are to have so many working and static heritage steam lo...
25/05/2026

Another photograph from the 'Scrapyard Series'.

How fortunate we are to have so many working and static heritage steam locomotives in the National Collection and in the hands of UK museums, heritage railways and private owners. The end of steam in the 1960s saw large numbers of workworn withdrawn locomotives being bought up by scrapyards in England, Scotland and Wales. Others were scrapped at railway works where they might have been made. Their steel, brass and copper needed to be reclaimed, and gas axes reduced locomotives to manageable pieces. The sights that could be seen in scrapyards were strangely reminiscent of some exhibits that you might see in sculpture parks. Yes, it was sad to see, but it needed to be done. This stark example of locomotive parts such as tubes and smokeboxes on a grey day came from a scrapyard in Newport, South Wales.

Image: Angus Davis
Words: Mike Peart

Another in the series 'Scrapyard Blues': The closure of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) in March 1966 was on...
22/05/2026

Another in the series 'Scrapyard Blues':

The closure of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) in March 1966 was one of the unpopular Beeching cuts. This line (sometimes known as the ‘Slow and Dirty’) carried a lot of holiday traffic on the demanding route from the North and the Midlands via Bath (Green Park) down to Bournemouth West. It also served the Somerset coalfield around the Radstock area. The S&DJR was formed by an amalgamation in 1876 between the Midland Railway and the London & South Western Railway. A further branch ran from Evercreech Junction via Highbridge to Burnham-on-Sea and featured in a BBC documentary film by John Betjeman who wanted the line saved. Until 1952 there was another branch from Glastonbury to Wells. The variety of locomotives which operated on the line include the British Railways 2-10-0 92220 ‘Evening Star’ now in the National Collection, and preserved 2-8-0 freight locomotive 53808 built in 1925 which is currently awaiting overhaul. The picture shows the view of the workforce chalked on the wall of the closed and derelict engine shed at Bath (Green Park).

Image: Angus Davis
Words: Mike Peart

Another in the series of 'Scrapyard Blues' How fortunate we are to have so many working and static heritage steam locomo...
20/05/2026

Another in the series of 'Scrapyard Blues'

How fortunate we are to have so many working and static heritage steam locomotives in the National Collection and in the hands of UK museums, heritage railways and private owners. The end of steam in the 1960s saw large numbers of workworn withdrawn locomotives being bought up by scrapyards in England, Scotland and Wales. Others were scrapped at railway works where they might have been made. Their steel, brass and copper needed to be reclaimed, and gas axes reduced locomotives to manageable pieces. The sights that could be seen in scrapyards were strangely reminiscent of some exhibits that you might see in sculpture parks. Yes, it was sad to see, but it needed to be done. This example came from Newport, South Wales.

Image: Angus Davis
Words: Mike Peart

The ‘Big Four’ railway companies (GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) used many ways to promote their services. This example from abo...
18/05/2026

The ‘Big Four’ railway companies (GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) used many ways to promote their services. This example from about 1935 is a promotional ‘Victory’ jigsaw puzzle produced for the Southern Railway. The boxed 200-piece puzzle was priced at 3/6d (17.5p). It shows the ‘Atlantic Coast Express’ (also known as ‘The ACE’) passing through Seaton Junction station in Devon (which was closed in 1966). It’s hauled by SR 1925 'King Arthur' class 4-6-0 No. 451 'Sir Lamorak' with the ‘1’ and ‘5’ disc headcode up for a Waterloo to Plymouth service. Number 451 or 30451 in BR days was withdrawn in 1962. To the left is S15 class 4-6-0 number 824 from 1927 running light engine. 824 (or 30824 in BR days) lasted until withdrawal in 1965. To the right is the branch line service to Seaton which also closed in 1966.

Image: Angus Davis
Words: Mike Peart

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Leeman Road
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YO264XJ

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+441904636874

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