World’s oldest train station is here in the UK – and it’s now free tourist attraction that kids love
FOR some the oldest passenger train station in the world is enough of a tourist attraction on its own.
However, inside the building is a museum celebrating 250 years “of innovations and ideas,” right in the city where the station exists.
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Manchester played a huge part in the UK’s industrial revolution and the Science and Industry Museum is the perfect place to learn all about its role as the “world’s first industrial city”.
Even its building is a celebration of industrial heritage, given that it’s housed in Liverpool Road Station, the oldest existing passenger station in the world.
Liverpool Road dates as far back as September 1830, when it became the terminus for the world’s first inter-city passenger railway.
It eventually closed to passengers just 14 years later in 1844, when the line was extended to join the Manchester and Leeds Railway.
After its closure, it was taken over by Manchester Victoria Station.
However, the building is still a place to witness the science and industry of the city, with a museum dedicated to those topics.
It’s home to a “huge collection of vintage vehicles and historic working machinery” according to Manchester City Council.
They added: “Witnessing halls full of vast, steam-powered machines in action is an unforgettable experience.”
The museum’s website invites visitors to “Journey through Manchester’s rich legacy of ideas and discoveries” including the ancestors of modern computing to one of the first Rolls-Royce motorcars.
The city’s famous cotton industry is also celebrated, as is the the textiles industry, both of which are shown through innovations in design, printing and finishing.
For gaming enthusiasts there’s currently a special video game exhibit on at the museum, offering people the chance to “play your way through 50 years of video games“.
Power Up has more than a hundred different consoles, including classics like Pong , Pacman, Sonic and Street Fighter.
There’s also a wide selection of games that people might not be aware were created in Manchester.
Sun Travel's favourite train journeys in the world
Sun Travel's journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.
Davos to Geneva, Switzerland
“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire
Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey
London to Paris by Eurostar
“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski
Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail
“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton
Beijing to Ulaanbatar
“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray
Meanwhile, the museum is also currently hosting the Operation Ouch! Food, Poo and You exhibit, in which visitors can “dive headfirst into the digestive system for an unforgettable journey of super-sized science”.
It takes guests “from the tip of the tongue to the end of the bum”, and shows what each organ in the digestive journey does.
Beer fans can also learn about the fascinating history of Boddingtons, which was brewed at Strangeways in Manchester for 227 years.
The museum carefully record the last days of brewing there in 2005 before the original brewery was closed.
It also holds a sizeable collection full of objects and archives from the beer company.
From thousands of TripAdvisor reviews, the museum has an overall score of 4.5/5.
One visitor said: “A go-to museum for me and my family, one of our favourite places to visit.”
Another added: “An iconic institution that offers visitors an engaging and immersive experience into the world of science, technology, and industry.”
Meanwhile, this man is the owner of Britain’s only poo museum.
And this UK town with a crab museum is becoming famous in America.