News

A group of young history lovers, who followed in the footsteps of famed Leeds-born engineer John Smeaton, have scooped a top award.

Known as The Young Smeatonians, they brought past and present together, exploring how the work of pioneering engineers like Smeaton influenced the designs of modern toys like Lego and Meccano.

Historic relics from Leeds’s very first railway station have helped rediscover the city’s fascinating track record after being unearthed during an archaeological dig.

The remains of the former Marsh Lane station, which opened exactly 190 years ago this week, were revealed during a recently completed excavation carried out in the city centre.

The American ancestor of a 19^th century railway worker has rediscovered a fascinating family connection to a dramatic Leeds explosion with the help of the world’s oldest model locomotive.

Lisa Roger journeyed more than 5,000 miles from her home in Phoenix, Arizona to Leeds Industrial Museum to see the attraction’s remarkably detailed model of Salamanca, made by the city’s famed engineer Matthew Murray.

An Edwardian accident book detailing the harrowing injuries and tragic deaths suffered by workers who toiled in one of the world’s largest textile mills has been discovered in Leeds.

The fascinating trove of historic employee records was found stashed in a box by curators at Leeds Industrial Museum, which was once a massive, globally renowned hub for wool and fabric production.

A tiny loom designed to give a miniature masterclass on Yorkshire’s textile prowess has been carefully conserved in the shadow of its super-sized sibling.

The scale model, less than half a metre high, recreates in astonishing detail the hulking machines manufactured by Barnsley’s Wilson and Longbottom, who made looms for factories around the world during the golden age of Yorkshire textile production.

A book of historic lighthouse designs from the brilliant mind of Leeds-born engineering genius John Smeaton has gone on display in Leeds.

The beautiful first edition, penned by Smeaton himself, is among the fascinating objects featured in a new exhibition which has opened at Leeds Industrial Museum.

It’s a model example of engineering excellence which Leeds once put on show in a bid to impress some of the world’s brightest minds.

Now a remarkably detailed recreation of the city’s historic Crown Point Bridge is among the fantastic feats set to be celebrated in a carefully constructed new exhibition at Leeds Industrial Museum.