Time Out’s Best UK Museums 2026: York’s National Railway Museum

All aboard, because we’re tracing a path to each of the best cultural institutions around the UK, and our next stop is a spot entirely dedicated to locomotive history.

In May, Time Out released a list of the 20 best UK museums to visit in 2026. Topping the list was the seaside treasure trove of clawed curios that is Margate’s Crab Museum, with Stoke-on-Trent’s Gladstone Pottery Museum and Tring’s Natural History Museum also making the ranking.

We’re spotlighting every museum in the list, and for number 13 we’re heading to the National Railway Museum. Based in York, the NRM is a gold mine for anyone looking to nerd out about the history of railroad transportation. It’s got plenty of actual trains to gawp at, including some you can even step inside. Mallard, the world’s fastest steam locomotive, the Japanese shinkansen (bullet train), and the Intercity 125 all feature among its exhibits. 

Plus, if you can believe it, the museum is set to get even better thanks to a years-long, multi million pound refurb. Work to transform its Station Hall into an immersive space was completed last year and cost a whopping £11 million. Fresh details include retro packaging and vintage signage dotted around the hall, as well as artifacts like a completely restored 1921 WH Smith bookstall that originally lived in Waterloo station. 

Now, the makeover is focused around a new central hall. Inspired by the ‘roundhouses’ of bygone rail stations, the new space will link the two halves of the museum together. Construction begins this year and, when opened, it will provide access and a brand-new Railway Futures Gallery.

The best museums in the UK to visit in 2026.

Did you see that Stonehenge is offering free private tours for the first time in over 100 years?

Plus: one of Oxford's best museums has had its biggest ever transformation.