One of Britain’s most iconic locomotives, Columbine, has been moved from the Science Museum in London to the National Railway Museum at York and reunited with its tender for the first time since 2000.

Columbine was moved to the Science Museum in 2000 for its “Making the Modern World” gallery in London. The original intention was for both the locomotive and tender to remain at the Science Museum, but space constraints meant there was only enough space for the locomotive.

A decision was made to move the tender to the Science Museum Group’s Science and Innovation Park at Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire. It remained there until this week, when, after a separate journey to York, it was reunited with Columbine and went on public display on the turntable in the Great Hall, allowing visitors a free and rare opportunity to see the complete locomotive in its entirety.

Columbine is now on display without its cab, which is how it would have appeared in the early 1870s. It has an important role in the history of British locomotive engineering and is one of the National Collection’s most significant locomotives, being the first standard type of locomotive built at Crewe with six-foot driving wheels.

The move from London to York was supervised by Becky Peacock, Conservation and Collections Care Manager at the National Railway Museum, and involved specialist teams, equipment, and expertise from across the Science Museum Group. Working together in a complex night-time operation, the team of 26 people used dozens of pieces of specialist equipment, including an electric forklift and a large low-loader, to move the locomotive weighing about 18 tonnes, and measuring 4.5 metres long and 3 metres high, from London to York.

Admission to the museum, including the chance to view Columbine, is free, and tickets can be obtained at https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk.

At the beginning of June, it was announced that the National Railway Museum had received an additional £3 million of government funding to redevelop the Central Hall. Last year, in an equally complex move, a historic bronze statue of Robert Stephenson was moved to the Locomotion Museum at Shildon in County Durham.

“The return of Columbine to York and its reunification with its tender is a significant milestone, both for the locomotive itself and for the National Collection. This project has brought together specialist expertise from across the Science Museum Group, from conservation and collections care to transport logistics and installation. We’re delighted that visitors can once again experience Columbine as a complete vehicle and appreciate its important place in Britain’s railway story.”

Becky Peacock, Conservation and Collections Care Manager at the National Railway Museum