MATT CLARK explores an exhibition that should appeal to young and old alike.

GO on, admit it – you secretly love trains, we all do. Not in a collecting numbers way, but who wouldn't stop in their tracks if the Flying Scotsman flew by in a hiss of steam and a billow of smoke?

Very few it seems. York's record year for tourism was 2013 when the National Railway Museum' (NRM) commemorated the 75th anniversary of Mallard breaking the locomotive world speed record.

Mallard may have had her day in the spotlight, but there are still plenty of reasons to visit the NRM this Easter. Take Playing Trains, an immersive new exhibition about railway-related toys of the past and present that asks a simple question: why do children love trains?

Is it the sounds they make or the exotic places they can take you? Maybe it's the stories trains appear in, or all the different types, shapes and colours.

Watching two-year-olds Zach Jones and Xander Skevington playing with one of the child-friendly railway sets tells you precisely what the attraction is: trains are fun.

"It's very easy for us to reminisce about a collection of models from 1850 to 1950 and be very adult about it," says self-confessed big kid and project manager Chris Walker. "But that's not a lot of fun for those who actually play with them.

"So if we're going to celebrate a childhood love of trains, which is what this is all about, we decided to make a gallery for children not just about them."

And children of all ages. Terry Atkinson is having as much fun, if not more, than his grandchildren as he reads to them a chapter from Train Stories, one of the many nostalgia books on display.

There are whistles to blow, caps to wear, luggage to carry, not to mention flags to wave. That's the best bit, according to Charlotte Butterwick, visiting with her mum from Hull.

"We've tried to pick up key ideas why children like trains but I think you can extend that to why people like trains, " says Chris. "Maybe because they make wonderful sounds, the clickety clack of them, the whistles.

"And not just steam locos; a lot of children's stories have diesel locomotives. You hear children around the museum honking like a diesel engine."

Trains, whether branch line work horses or streamlined thoroughbreds, are impressive and they are impressive because they are big. Even more so when you are three feet tall.

"We've got a museum full of engines impressing children every day, but this exhibition gives them a chance to get their hands on them and live out the dream," says Chris.

"It's not about putting things in cases and being aloof. Children can drive the train, dress up as the guard and pretend to set off to the seaside, the zoo or circus; all those wonderful places trains used to take you to."

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But this is not a playground, it's playing trains. Steering you along your journey are tracks painted on the floor and, after punching your ticket, you are greeted by the bracing Skegness fisherman, before happening across four or five railways sets, cases stuffed full of model locos and specially commissioned illustrations by acclaimed children's author Sam Usher.

An arch leads you to the inspiration for the exhibition; a Wagons-Lits bed set made in 1935 for master Christopher Oldham with the engine a desk, the coal tender a set of drawers and a bed styled like a carriage, with fabric and materials donated by the Wagons-Lits company.

"Mr Oldham gifted this to the museum and we thought it's a wonderful thing, what can we do with it?" says Chris. "That started off this whole idea of children and bedtime and railway stories.

"Mr Oldham is now in his 90s and last week came to see the set installed. He just stood there and simply said 'oh my'. I think he felt this tall again."

Playing Trains is an absolute delight and while it's aimed primarily at children, with plenty of interactive things to keep young hands and minds occupied, it will inevitably conjure up nostalgia for adults, with exhibits from the NRM collection, including 100 models ranging from wooden push along locos to modern plastic trains.

"Adults will have just as much fun spotting their favourites, " says Chris. "There are bits and pieces in there that I wanted ever since I was four. I've had to wait 'til my late twenties before I was finally allowed to get them."

Playing Trains runs at the National Railway until September 6. Admission is free.

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