Railway enthusiasts have a final chance to visit the exhibition train Inspiration, as the final stops on its tour have been announced.

Inspiration was launched in June 2025, as part of last year’s celebrations of the bicentenary of the modern railway.

Since then, it has travelled thousands of miles around the country, from the Scottish Highlands to the south coast.

It has visited stations, heritage railways, museums and a freight depot, at each stop giving visitors the opportunity to learn more about the railway’s past, present and future.

More than 80,000 people have visited Inspiration, enjoying the interactive activities, engineering challenges and historical artefacts that it contains.

Visitors have included thousands of schoolchildren, who have taken part in bespoke tours, learning about the careers available to them as workers on the railway network.

The first tour dates for 2026 were announced in November last year, and further dates were announced in January.

Inspiration’s final tour stops are

• East Somerset Railway:  Monday 1 June – Wednesday 3 June 
• Hull:  Friday 5 June – Sunday 7 June
• Weardale Railway:  Monday 8 June – Sunday 14 June 
• Rail Live (Long Marston):  Wednesday 17 June – Thursday 18 June (separate event registration required)
• Scarborough:  Saturday 20 June – Monday 22 June 

The Inspiration exhibition train was co-curated with the National Railway Museum. The train’s tour was supported by a £250,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook funded its attention-grabbing livery.  

“It’s been incredible seeing the fantastic welcome Inspiration gets in towns and cities all over Britain.

“Not only has the railway family supported the train every step of the way, but tens of thousands of new people have discovered how rail travel changed our world. Many visitors don’t regularly use the railway, some have never been on a train, so it’s been really special to share the story of rail and how it’s shaped our lives.

“Thank you to everyone who has visited, volunteered or helped organise this remarkable journey. We hope to see some of you at the final stop in Scarborough!”

Emma Roberts, Railway 200 Programme Manager