National Railway Museum, York

We arrived at our second house sit on Saturday, 6/11 to get acquainted. We don't actually start until Monday, when Sue leaves for her holiday, so we were free to explore today. We went to the National Railway Museum in York.

The Railway Museum opened in 1975, in a huge space that was Engine Shed No. 4 at the train station. It was bombed during WWII air raids, but has been restored and used since then. The turntable and working area are surrounded by beautifully restored engines and railroad cars of all types, telling the history of British railways.

On display is Robert Stephenson's steam engine, Rocket, built in 1830. Its top speed was 30 mph, but paved the way for very rapid development. Stephenson is known for the engineering paradigm shift in the design of steam boilers, and to honor him, he is buried in Westminster Abbey.

There was also a Bullet, the only one outside of Japan.Read more