The exhibition train Inspiration has welcomed its 50,000th visitor as it cotinues to tour around locations across the United Kingdom.
Inspiration introduces visitors to the story of railways, and forms part of the railway industry’s celebration of its bicentenary. It is co-curated with the National Railway Museum, and has four carriages containing interactive exhibits and stories.
Inspriation will stop at sixty locations across Britain between June 2025 and June 2026. The first dates for next year’s visits were announced last month.
This week, Inspiration made its 28th stop, visiting the south coast city of Southampton, where sea shanties welcomed it and a mural has been created to commemorate the visit. While it was there, the 50,000th visitor boarded the train to explore its contents.
Southampton is its most southerly destination to take, with its most northerly stop being in the Cairngorms in Scotland. and as far south as Southampton. It has travelled as far east asLowestoft and its and as far west as Llandudno in North Wales.
The exhibition train and mural at Southampton // Credit: SWR
Inspiration has so far made 28 stops across the UK, travelled 6,086 miles, consumed 22,660 litres of HVO recycled vegetable oil fuel, spent 117 days open to the public and welcomed 51,402 visitors.
It has also been displayed in Derby at the biggest ever rail festival and at Shildon, where the modern railway was born. People can also take a virtual tour of the train.
Visitors to Inspiration have enjoyed the experience, with nine in ten saying that they would recommend Inspiration to a friend. Words that visitors have used to describe the exhbition train include “fascinating”, “brilliant” and “interactive”.
More information and tickets are available from the Railway 200 website. Teachers can book visits for school children free of charge.
Richard and Mags Wylie outside Inspiration in Southampton // Credit: SWR
“We are hugely proud to reach a major milestone for this travelling attraction: 50,000 happy visitors!
“We are truly thankful to everyone who’s visited so far, and we cannot wait to welcome even more people in 2026, including thousands more schoolchildren.
“It’s remarkable to think that railways, an invention dreamt up by brilliant British engineers 200 years ago, continue to connect communities across the UK and the world today.”
Emma Roberts, Programme Manager for Railway 200
