Locomotion County Durham

At Locomotion, you can see highlights of the national collection of railway vehicles in the world’s first railway town.

The town of Shildon has had an exciting story to tell since the earliest days of the rail industry, making it the perfect place to explore the rich seam of local railway history and discover how the railways have changed all our lives.

Locomotion offers a range of workshops focused on STEM and social history topics for Key Stages 1, 2.

Locomotion is dedicated to igniting our visitors’ curiosity about the people, places and engineering marvels behind the railways, we put our passion for amazing stories into everything we do.

Your visit can be tailor made to fit your groups needs through our Online Group Booking Portal.

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Visitors to Locomotion can explore our vast collection of historic rail vehicles.

Enhance your visit with our bookable workshop, George Stephenson & Son. This is led by our Explainer team, lasts 55 minutes, and is free of charge.

There is no maximum group size.

Some activities have limits on the number of children who can attend at one time.

Our required adult-to-student ratio should be at least 1:4 for Early Years (children under 5 years), 1:8 for KS2 (children aged 7-11) and 1:10 for KS3 upwards (children aged 11-16).

We have a number of learning resources available to download for free on our website.

Groups are permitted to take photography, film or audio as part of their visit. Any equipment used for this needs to be restricted to handheld devices only (no tripods or lighting without prior consent).

When capturing any photography, film or audio we ask group leaders to be mindful of other visitors.

Our website contains all the health and safety information you’ll need to help you write your risk assessment.

If you have any queries, you can get in touch with our Contact Centre on 033 0058 0058 or send an email to info@ScienceMuseumGroup.co.uk

Entry to the museum and our educational workshops are free.

Please note all workshops are available on a pre-booked basis only.

Many of our visiting groups choose to wear distinctive identifiers such as high-vis jackets displaying school information to easily identify their students and make it easier to reunite lost students with their groups.

We have trained staff to provide first aid – please ask if you require assistance.

For information on getting to Locomotion visit our dedicated Travel Information page.

Indoor/outdoor picnic areas are available, and can be booked in advance. Bags, coats and lunches can be stored securely in the boxes provided.

Our shop can provide goody bags containing souvenirs of your visit. Bags cost approximately £3 each and must be ordered in advance.

We have a large railway-themed outdoor play area.

Toilets are located at the front of the Main Hall.

You can find more information here: https://www.locomotion.org.uk/visit/accessibility

Our museum is open for all visitors – please find our accessibility page for the provisions we have in place: https://www.locomotion.org.uk/visit/accessibility

Our normal opening hours are Wednesday–Sunday, 10.00–16.00 (winter), 10.00–17.00 (summer).

Check our Visit page for the latest information.

For the latest information about what we have to offer and to book, please visit https://www.locomotion.org.uk/learning

Please contact us for more information and to book:

Call 0330 058 0058

Email info@ScienceMuseumGroup.ac.uk