Pictures from two museums: the Ashmolean in Oxford and Locomotion in Shildon.
Ashmolean
The Ashmolean Museum has recently had a major refurbishment, although I’m not sure I ever visited the museum during my 7 years in Oxford!
This depiction of the Flight to Egypt by the Flemish painter Joos de Momper appealed; the setting is clearly Northern European, nicely illustrating the endless reframing of the Biblical narratives.
(L) UK currency over the years, including (bottom right) the Bank of England one pound note, which was withdrawn in 1988 in favour of the one pound coin. (R) Local tokens issued in periods when the Royal Mint was not producing new coinage, and local bank notes. Oxford Old Bank is now an upmarket restaurant / boutique hotel…
Locomotion
Engines in steam at the Locomotion museum, Shildon, an outpost of the National Railway Museum in York.
The Morayshire.
Its much more famous relative, Mallard, holder of the official world speed record for a steam locomotive (125.88 miles per hour).
An early, rather primitive-looking, steam locomotive.
A “fireless locomotive“, powered by compressed air. Useful for shunting around “proper” steam engines that would otherwise take hours to bring to steam.
Train running between the entrance to the museum and the engine shed.
The engine shed, complete with magnificent snow plough.
An old timetable, which took a bit of working out. The stations in CAPITALS are presumably served directly, while connecting services, separating by ; are in normal text.
Sans Pareil, a locomotive designed by Shildon local Timothy Hackworth, was one of the participants in the Rainhill Trials in 1829, a key moment in the development of the passenger railway.