Stephenson's Rocket is an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), held in October 1829 to show that improved locomotives would be more efficient than stationary steam engines.
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019.
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as Mallard, Stirling Single, Duchess of Hamilton and a Japanese bullet train. In addition, the National Railway Museum holds a diverse collection of other objects, from a household recipe book used in George Stephenson's house to film showing a "never-stop railway" developed for the British Empire Exhibition. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001.
The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, England, traces the development of science, technology and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields. The museum is part of the Science Museum Group, a non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, having merged with the National Science Museum in 2012.
Sans Pareil is a steam locomotive built by Timothy Hackworth which took part in the 1829 Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, held to select a builder of locomotives. The name is French and means 'peerless' or 'without equal'.
Mary Doreen Archer, Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare, is a British scientist specialising in solar power conversion. She is married to Jeffrey Archer, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Archer is the current Chancellor of the University of Buckingham.
The APT-E, for Advanced Passenger Train Experimental, was the prototype Advanced Passenger Train tilting train unit. It was powered by gas turbines, the only multiple unit so powered that was used by British Rail. The APT-E consisted of two driving power cars and two trailer cars. Each power car was equipped with four Rover-built Leyland 2S/350 gas turbines, which initially produced 300 hp each but were progressively uprated to 330 hp. Two GEC 253AY nose suspended traction motors provided the traction on the leading bogies. The vehicles were manufactured from aluminium and were approximately 70 ft long (21.34 m), with articulated bogies between them.
Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first station, built in 1825, and locomotive works on the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Locomotion, previously known as Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon, is a railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, England. The museum was renamed in 2017 when it became part of the Science Museum Group.
Locomotion No. 1 is an early steam locomotive that was built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson at their manufacturing firm, Robert Stephenson and Company. It became the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger-carrying train on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR).
Planet was an early steam locomotive built in 1830 by Robert Stephenson and Company for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
Dame Margaret Kate Weston, DBE, FMA was a British museum curator who was the director of the Science Museum, London, between 1973 and 1986. She began her career as an electrical engineer before joining the Science Museum in 1955. Weston oversaw the expansion of the museum into the Science Museum Group, including the foundation of the National Railway Museum in York and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford. She also played a key role in acquiring Concorde 002, which is now housed at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton.
The British Rail Class 306 was a fleet of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains introduced in 1949. It consisted of 92 three-car trains which were used on the Great Eastern Main Line between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street.
Martin John Earwicker was Director of the National Museum of Science and Industry group of British museums from 2006 until 2009. Prior to taking on this role, he was Chief Executive of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
Head of Steam, formerly known as the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, is a railway museum located on the 1825 route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was the world's first steam-powered passenger railway. It is based inside the station building at the North Road railway station. Its exhibits are devoted to the area formerly served by the North Eastern Railway with a particular focus on the Stockton & Darlington Railway and the railway industry of Darlington. In 2022, plans were submitted to expand the museum as part of the Railway Heritage Quarter.In December 2023, the museum temporarily closed its doors to undergo a £35 million redevelopment.
Lindsay Gerard Sharp is a museologist who lives near Wollongong/Gerringong in the coastal hinterland of New South Wales in Australia. He works as a museum consultant and writer.
There are a number of national museums in the United Kingdom, which are owned and operated by the state. The national museums of the UK are funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the British government, and are all located in England. There are 14 national museums, all established by Acts of Parliament, as well as another eight which are sponsored by the DCMS.
Andrew John Scott, born 1958, was Director of the National Railway Museum in York, part of the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) in England from 1994. His previous museum appointments had been with the West Yorkshire Transport Museum in Bradford, the Bradford Industrial Museum, and the London Transport Museum 1988–94. Before that he was an engineer in the public sector, having gained a BsC in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Mining Engineering, both at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Anthony Coulls is a British museum curator and historian. He is the Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway Museum, the author of several books on railway and industrial history, and is active in the steam heritage movement.
