13 May 2014
|
Ellen with her favourite toy train. Courtesy of the NRM blog.
York museum preparing for a major exhibition in 2015 exploring railways and childhood. ...
National Railway Musueum on the hunt for the nation's favourite railway toy Images
The National Railway Museum in York is asking collectors and model railway enthusiasts what their favourite railway toys are, in preparation for a major exhibition in 2015 exploring the theme of railways and childhood. Anyone interested can nominate their favourite toy in person at the Big Fun with Little Trains event (running from 24th May to 1st June) or online via Facebook, Twitter and the museum's website.
"We’ve been going through all the toys in the National Railway Museum’s collection. It might seem a bit odd that we collect toys, but as every parent knows, kids love trains. For lots of us our first introduction to railways would have been through books, toys, TV, clothing and furniture. Our nurseries are full of railway characters and adventure. So it’s an important part of how we experience ‘trains’ and there are lots of things in the Museum’s stores which are familiar from childhood," said Ellen Tait, interpretation developer at NRM.
Ellen went on to nominate her own favourite train toy: a Fisher Price Circus Train from the 1990s. "This is the best railway toy because of all the amazing adventures you can imagine the people and animals on this train having," she added.
"But the exhibition isn’t about what the curators here love. It’s about what kids love and have loved over the last 100 years. That’s where you come in. We want you to send us pictures of your child and their favourite railway (not that we want to discriminate on the basis of age – if you’re out of short trousers but still remember a particular toy you adored when you were tiny, then we’d love a picture of that too)." The exhibition is expected to open next spring.
Remember, to get the latest collecting news delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks, sign up for our e-newsletter.
![]()
"We’ve been going through all the toys in the National Railway Museum’s collection. It might seem a bit odd that we collect toys, but as every parent knows, kids love trains. For lots of us our first introduction to railways would have been through books, toys, TV, clothing and furniture. Our nurseries are full of railway characters and adventure. So it’s an important part of how we experience ‘trains’ and there are lots of things in the Museum’s stores which are familiar from childhood," said Ellen Tait, interpretation developer at NRM.
Ellen went on to nominate her own favourite train toy: a Fisher Price Circus Train from the 1990s. "This is the best railway toy because of all the amazing adventures you can imagine the people and animals on this train having," she added.
"But the exhibition isn’t about what the curators here love. It’s about what kids love and have loved over the last 100 years. That’s where you come in. We want you to send us pictures of your child and their favourite railway (not that we want to discriminate on the basis of age – if you’re out of short trousers but still remember a particular toy you adored when you were tiny, then we’d love a picture of that too)." The exhibition is expected to open next spring.
Remember, to get the latest collecting news delivered direct to your inbox every two weeks, sign up for our e-newsletter.
Content continues after advertisements