Locomotion is the national railway museum at Shildon, County Durham — a town often called the world's first railway town. The site sits beside Timothy Hackworth's former Soho Works on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public steam-hauled railway, which opened on 27 September 1825 when Locomotion No 1 hauled its inaugural train the 12 miles (19 km) from Shildon to Darlington in around two hours. Part of the Science Museum Group, Locomotion cares for more than 70 vehicles from the United Kingdom's National Railway Collection.

Opened on 22 October 2004 by then Prime Minister and local MP Tony Blair at a cost of £11.3 million, the museum was built around the earlier Timothy Hackworth Victorian Railway Museum and took its present name in 2017 when it joined the Science Museum Group. On 24 May 2024 a second display building, New Hall, opened with 47 vehicles, bringing the total under cover to 99 and creating the largest undercover collection of historic rail vehicles in Europe.

The museum is laid out along a one-kilometre (0.6-mile) demonstration line that links the 19th-century welcome building, Timothy Hackworth's house, the Soho workshop, the goods shed, coal drops and the main Collection Building. Shildon railway station, on the Tees Valley Line, sits adjacent to the site and is served by Northern.

The six-spur apron in front of the main shed is the prime spot for photographing resident and visiting locomotives in the open. New Hall offers tightly packed rows of vehicles over six display roads, while the Collection Building's conservation gallery gives elevated views of restoration in progress. The demonstration line and the restored coal drops provide period industrial backdrops, and on operating days the working Locomotion No 1 replica and other live exhibits run along the site. Check current photography guidance on the official website before tripod or commercial use.

For railfans the draw is the depth of the National Collection on show. The main Collection Building holds the sole surviving prototypes of two landmark British designs: APT-E, the experimental gas-turbine Advanced Passenger Train, and DP1 'Deltic', the English Electric prototype that led to the Class 55 fleet. The collection also includes 41001, the prototype Class 41 High Speed Train power car, and 43102, a production Class 43 HST power car associated with the world diesel rail speed record.

Steam highlights centre on Shildon's own story. Timothy Hackworth's Sans Pareil, built for the 1829 Rainhill Trials, is displayed alongside a working replica, and the pioneering Locomotion No 1 (1825) connects directly to the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Other engines associated with the site include the LNWR Improved Precedent 'Hardwicke' and the LNER electric shunter ES1 No 1. New Hall adds vehicles built at Shildon Works and the surrounding area, arranged over six themed roads that trace the North East's story from coal to modern freight, with curiosities such as the world's oldest oil tanker, two snowploughs and a tracked Bren Gun Carrier.

Because Locomotion is part of the Science Museum Group, vehicles occasionally move between Shildon and the National Railway Museum at York, so the exact line-up changes over time.

Admission is free and there is no need to pre-book for general entry. The museum recommends allowing around two hours, though railfans often stay longer. The visit follows the demonstration-line trail from the welcome building to the Collection Building, where a conservation workshop with a viewing gallery lets visitors watch volunteers restoring vehicles.

Family facilities include a children's playground and picnic area outside the Collection Building, plus interactive games inside. The on-site café — fitted with former Eurostar seating — serves hot and cold food daily, and the shop near the Main Hall exit stocks model railways from Hornby and Bachmann alongside books and gifts. The site has won a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice award (2025) and the Heritage Railway Association's 2025 Manisty Award for Excellence.