National Railway Museum to showcase previously unseen items

Previously unseen exhibits are to go on show in a new exhibition at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.

The display in 2024, would include the Waterloo Station WHSmith bookstall kiosk which has undergone an extensive restoration process, officials said.

Six royal carriages would also be shown with images telling the stories of the royals travelling by rail, they added.

"We want to enhance the experience with more stories and collection items", a spokesperson said.

One of the themes of the new exhibition, The Station is a World In Itself, is set to explore "the unique landscape, rules and experiences of the station".

Meanwhile a second theme, Work and Play, would show visitors how stations became the starting point for journeys which "transformed the way people work, play and live today, as rail travel became widespread and more affordable".

Officials said the final theme, The Goods Life, would examine Station Hall's past working life as a busy freight station, which would include a prosthetic leg issued by the Great Western Railway to Harold Jarvis - a member of staff who was injured in a shunting accident.

Alongside Station Hall's exhibition, the Grade II-listed building is also receiving a £10.5m programme of conservation and repair works which includes replacing the roof.

The NRM said before roof work could begin a conservation team worked with scaffolders, to create bespoke wrapping and platforms, to protect the museum's carriages while work took place above them.

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