It is now five years since the last passenger operations at Rowley Station, during February half-term 2020 and featuring Peckett 0-6-0ST No.2000.  Not long afterwards and following instruction from the Government as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, the museum was closing up shop, along with the rest of the country, and we were deep-storing all of the rolling stock and locomotives for what was then to be an unknown duration.  Even when we began to reopen, the cost of hiring locomotives was prohibitive as the museum recovered from the financial disruption that came with the pandemic and the challenging years that followed.

The focus in the recovery era was on operation of the buses, trams and then the Waggonway, followed by the Colliery lines; as a way of achieving something like the old ‘normal’ as quickly as possible.  It is fair to say that Rowley Station has waited long enough, so it is very gratifying to be able to re-start the suspended operation there, more than five years later.  It will run during key holiday periods in 2025, the aim being more frequent operation once Dunrobin arrives, in 2026.  Next year is also notable in being the fiftieth anniversary of it being formally opened at Beamish too – so look out for some celebrations of this in 2026.

Below: No.2000 departs from Rowley Station in the winter sun, February half-term, 2020.

Below: More than five years later, Sir Berkeley makes its first moves onto the Rowley running line on Friday 9th May 2025.

Below: The first job today was to shunt the coaches outside.  Whilst we used 58A as a Christmas grotto in 2020, it is the first time they’ve been outside as a train since the pandemic struck.  At this stage, the coaches were in reverse order.

Below: A portrait of the North London Railway coach, which is on long-term hire from the Furness Railway Trust, showing the Olive-Green livery and Highland Railway lettering on the doors.

Below: The coaches were then reversed in order, so that the guard is at the front of the train when propelling (and has access to the vacuum brake setter).  Note the new station running-in board, with posts trimmed and painted, to the left.

Below: 58A was also able to show off it’s refreshed appearance and new canvas.  It was almost too bright for the phone’s camera to cope with, whence the slightly odd shade of green evident here!

Below: Finally – the train configuration that visitors can enjoy across the Festival of Transport, with Sir Berkeley heading up the Highland Railway train.

We now embark on some staff training and assessment days, in readiness for passenger operations to start on Saturday 24th May.

Photos by Paul Jarman