Back to the UK after 50 years

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We spent 6 days in and around York so I will break it up into manageable bites.

The city walls - "The city or ‘bar’ walls of York are the most complete example of medieval city walls still standing in England today"

The York City Walls: History of York

York city walls - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The first walls were erected in AD 71 by the Romans. Most of the current walls date from the 13th - 14th C. Roughly 3.4 km is walkable today. Not quite the same as the walls of Carcassonne but still a pleasant walk. We did the walk over two days as it is 'broken' up by the loss of certain parts of the fortifications. On our first day there we had absolutely lovely weather and on our last drizzly, gloomy weather.







The walkway is often pretty narrow. I gather it was wider when in military use.



Our apartment building







The railway station





Lookin inwards. The housing comes right up to the inner ramparts



The city uses a interesting very stable machine to mow the steep banks

 

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Continuing on

It really was a lovely day to walk along the wall



There was plenty of signage

 

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The final part



At first I thought that this was the remains of some type of kiln. But it was in fact an icehouse built around 1800.



A remnant of the Roman Walls





For some context - "one of only ten Jewish cemeteries in medieval England and the only to be extensively excavated"

Jewbury Cemetery: History of York

It now lies beneath this Sainbury's car park











Merchant Taylors' Hall - "a medieval guildhall located on Aldwark in York, England. Constructed primarily in the late 14th century, it has served continuously as the headquarters of the Company of Merchant Taylors of the City of York for over 600 years."

 

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On our first morning in York we went to the National Railway Museum. A truly fabulous place for anyone with any interest in railway history or even industrial progress. The next few posts will contain LOTS of photos and some videos on this subject so feel free to ignore them if you so desire.

Home | National Railway Museum

Immerse yourself in the home of iconic locomotives and an unrivalled collection of engineering brilliance at the National Railway Museum.

www.railwaymuseum.org.uk

National Railway Museum - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Normally the entrance would only have been a few hundred metres from where we were staying. But they are doing a lot of redevelopment so we had to walk in a big 'circle' to get there. A closer entrance has been opened in the last few days.

The entrance used to be between the Station Hall and Great Hall. Our apartment building was basically next to the arrow to the city centre.



A couple of short videos giving an idea of the size and variety of the collection

Arguably the most famous loco in history - Stephenson's Rocket 1829.

Stephenson's Rocket | Science and Industry Museum

Stephenson's Rocket - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It is displayed in its final form having been modified in various ways during its working life





A 1935 replica of the Rocket in its original form



This locomotive must have been amazing to see in operation with all those levers and rods thrashing about

 

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I got to fulfill one of my childhood ambitions here to see the Mallard. It has fascinated mw for decades. I think I must have first run across it in something like a 4th hand "Boys Own Annual" from the UK when I was under 10. Its streamlined lines and sense of immense, if out of date, power always remained with me.

It didn't disappoint me in real life being absolutely beautiful and immaculately preserved. It operated from 1938 - 1963.

Mallard: The world's fastest steam locomotive | National Railway Museum

This powerful, aerodynamic masterpiece rocketed to 126mph in 1938, a steam speed record that was never surpassed.

www.railwaymuseum.org.uk

LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A video of another "Mallard Class" engine at high speed

In 1936, Nigel Gresley, the chief mechanical engineer of the LNER, ordered a new batch of six 4-6-2 "Pacific" Class A4 engines to be built at Doncaster Works. The A4s were known for their distinct streamlined and aerodynamic design and designed for hauling long-distance express passenger services at high speeds.

Born in 1876, Sir Nigel Gresley was an engineering powerhouse with a long list of achievements in his career. He designed A1 Flying Scotsman, the first locomotive to break 100mph in the UK, while Mallard combined a number of technical innovations—from the streamlined casing to the efficient Kylchap exhaust system—to make it a prime candidate for the steam speed record.

And here it is in all its art deco glory











The drivers cabin seemed almost old fashioned compared to the body shape - not my best photo but the other one was even worse





As a spoiler I got a surprise chance to see the only operational survivor of this class of trains at a station a few days later and took some photos and a video.

 

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Back to the rest of the exhibits





Certainly the way to go







An 'exploded' view of the inner workings of a steam train











The turntable












Used in building the Chunnel

 

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There was even a Shinkansen - "A 1976-built 0 Series Shinkansen car, which is one of only two Japanese bullet trains preserved anywhere outside of Japan. The 0 Series represents the world's first high-speed rail system, launched in Japan in 1964 to connect Tokyo and Osaka"





There was a vast collection of railway bric-a-brac and memorabilia













I am sure that I remember Platform Tickets from the Perth Railway Station in the early 1960's.

 

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We then moved onto the second hall.

It contained a lot of 'Royal Trains' and carriages





The interiors were had to photograph because of reflections and glare





















There was a painted line inside the tub tom show the 'safe' water level

 

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By this time we were running out of energy so we had brunch

This was another place where you had to either order via your phone or a couple of 'mounted' tablets. As usual this took twice as long as doing it the old fashioned way





Ploughman's Sandwich



As usual in the UK the sausage roll was pork. Served with chutney



There was a flash dining carriage but it wasn't open











Some more memorabilia

A Hall Clock for someone?









I remember my mother using 'Blue' in her old gas fired copper.