Duke of Gloucester visits National Railway Museum transformation

24 Jul 2026 | York Central

His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester paid a flying visit to the National Railway Museum to view plans for the museum's ambitious multi-million-pound transformation, part of the wider York Central regeneration scheme.

The Duke’s visit to hear more about the Museum’s landmark new entrance building and a new gallery exploring the future of rail, formed part of a wider visit to the historic city of York where he also visited York Castle Museum and York Minster.

During his visit to the National Railway Museum, The Duke of Gloucester toured some of the museum’s most iconic exhibits, including Stephenson’s Rocket and Mallard. His Royal Highness also viewed the Duke of Gloucester Cab, a full-size replica locomotive cab originally created as a working model for enginemen to test its layout.

Duke of Gloucester's visit to the NRM visiting Duke of Gloucester Cab

“We were delighted to welcome His Royal Highness to the National Railway Museum and showcase both our historic collection and our exciting plans for the future. The Duke of Gloucester's longstanding interest in railway history and engineering made this a particularly meaningful visit. When viewing the Duke of Gloucester Cab, His Royal Highness shared his own memories of driving the real Duke of Gloucester locomotive back in the 1980s." - Andrew McLean, Assistant Director and Head Curator at the National Railway Museum

With his interest in rail, His Royal Highness was keen to know more about items in the collection including the Queen Mary nameplate, named after his late Grandmother and commented on his passion for the Duchess Class of locomotions when viewing the Duchess of Hamilton.

His Royal Highness was given a guided tour of the museum’s Our Transformation exhibition, which showcases proposals for Central Hall, a spectacular new entrance building that will provide level access across the site, and Futures Gallery, a permanent new exhibition space exploring innovation and inviting visitors to imagine the future of rail.

“Alongside celebrating the remarkable story of the railways, our transformation will help create a more accessible, welcoming and inspiring museum for millions of visitors in the years ahead, and it was a privilege to share our ambitions with His Royal Highness. With his background in architecture, the design for Central Hall, based on a working railway roundhouse, coupled with an ambition to welcome even more visitors in the future, were of particular interest to the Duke.” - Lisa Moore, Masterplan Project Director, National Railway Museum

The museum’s overall transformation will create a more accessible, sustainable and welcoming destination. Central Hall, a bespoke building designed by award-winning architects Feilden Fowles, will unify the National Railway Museum’s buildings as a central entrance space to the museum, providing level access for the first time as well as a new gallery space, toilets, café and shop.

The museum’s transformation forms part of the wider York Central partnership which positions the National Railway Museum as the cultural heart within one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration projects.

For more information visit www.nationalrailwaymuseum.org.uk.