This Black History Month, we talk to our archivist about a project to record the stories of communities of railway workers under-represented in our history. The Network Rail archive, based in York, is working on the Capturing our Histories project to collect a wealth of information held by our employee networks. The networks contribute to … Continued
Bristol Temple Meads railway station turns 183 years old today. It’s a station absolutely teeming with history and we are adding more pages to the history books. We have been upgrading Bristol Temple Meads over the past few years with more improvements to come. Let’s take a look at the station’s past and what’s in … Continued
We take great pride in protecting and maintaining iconic structures across the railway. We’re in the final stages of refurbishing the world-famous Forth Bridge near Edinburgh. Here’s how … What we did Our teams and contractor, Balfour Beatty, are currently refurbishing and repainting the North Queensferry approach span of the bridge. We began work in … Continued
Her Majesty The Queen has a long tradition of supporting Britain’s railways and has attended many celebrations on the railway during her 70-year reign. We are grateful to Her Majesty for her continued support of this essential public service. Here is a look back at our recent history with The Queen in celebration of her … Continued
“The railway was crucial in WWII … keeping the heart of Britain going.” The railway played a crucial role in WWII, for which we say thank you to all those who served and sacrificed. At the outbreak of war, railway companies evacuated 1.3 million children and some adults from big towns and cities. In May … Continued
Stunning original drawings of one of Britain’s earliest railways have re-emerged in our archive. The archive, in York, has just rediscovered engineer Thomas Longridge Gooch’s plans for the Manchester and Leeds Railway, which opened in 1839. The original contract drawings for this line, which date from about 1836, are rare examples of highly artistic railway … Continued
Television presenter Tim Dunn joins a night shift in the latest episode of The Architecture the Railways Built to find out what it takes to look after our Victorian infrastructure. Watch episode four of series three on Yesterday to watch Tim and our engineers inside the beautiful Bramhope Tunnel in Leeds. The two-mile tunnel on … Continued
London Charing Cross station stars in the new series of The Architecture the Railways Built on Yesterday. Read on for some bonus history and find out what Sir Christopher Wren has to do with it … In episode three, presenter Tim Dunn visits Charing Cross – London’s most central terminus – and finds incredible hidden … Continued
Historian Tim Dunn has returned for a third series of The Architecture the Railways Built on Yesterday – and filmed some exclusive bonus footage … Tim took a trip back to Newcastle – one of the world’s most important cities for railway heritage – to find out more about its story. In this video, he … Continued
Plans for Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s hidden underground shelter from the Blitz are some of the most intriguing in our historic archive. There are 270 working stations on Transport for London‘s (TfL’s) network but at least 40 that still exist and are closed to passengers, according to TfL. Down Street – in Mayfair and sitting … Continued