The trams have seen a great deal of attention this month, with 114’s paintwork being brought closer to completion, Gateshead 10’s truck assembly continuing, Blackpool 31’s bogie repairs underway and Lisbon 730’s detailed inspection continuing.  The next step in the commissioning of 730 will be to remove one of the motors in order to investigate the meshing, which appears to be too deep and has caused the motor bearing (at least) to be damaged.  The tram is largely receiving attention from the Beamish Tramway Group, which enables the paid staff (of two) to concentrate on 10, 31 and the routine examinations on 16, 196 and 264.  The engineering team continue with their work on 10’s bogie assembly, which will soon be handed over to the Technicians for installing under the body.

Newcastle 114

Below: Work to restore the lining to the tram has been underway this month, with the complex white-gold waist panels being tackled.  This is white gold leaf, with black edging and the Greek Key corners ensure that the process is a time consuming one for Aaron.

Below: A close up of the white gold, after application of varnish but before the black edging lines are applied.

Below: John has been cleaning the staircase sides, treating the rust and preparing these for paint, and re-lining.  We aren’t carrying out a wholesale repaint of the tram, so it is hard to know where to stop sometimes, but it will certainly look superb when the work is complete, new varnish applied, the black ironwork repainted and a deep clean carried out.

Below: An overall view showing the completed lining.  The signwriter will be back in November, to re-sign Sunderland 16’s rocker panels (which were damaged by the application of temporary wording during a recent filming contract) and then will return in the spring to complete 114 (when the weather is warm enough to paint again – oh for a heated paintshop…).  Hopefully by then, some significant progress on the controller overhaul and removal of original material within it will have been completed, and the second controller (which has no material to remove) will also be in progress.

Gateshead 10

Below: The frames that secure the adverts in place, within the side window apertures, have been cleaned and re-varnished – the outward side was particularly faded and this work, albeit a detail, all contributes to the overall quality of the work being carried out.

Below: A close-up view of the assembled coil spring suspension cup and control linkage, seen in Part 1 of this month’s blog post.  The links have machined spacers between them, and the new grease lubrication points can clearly be seen – the slight mis-match in colours is due to the different batches of paint used – we will take a view in due course on whether to address this, or whether a layer of dust will hide the difference.

Blackpool 31

Below: Chris has drawn up the new bogie spacer side plates in CAD and these will be cut from material ordered in for the job.  The assembly of the bolster is such that the hangers that are fitted to these plates have some sideways movement, as well as fore and aft.  These movements are contained by side springs, which prevent the central bolster (which is free to float within the spacer assembly, and has a leaf spring to provide the cushioning secondary springing effect between the bogies and body) from moving excessively.  The pins were found to be very tight when removed, and so new ones have been machined – an old and new example being shown here.  Note the threaded end of the old example has been distorted out of true.

Workshops

Below: Yellow is the colour of the month for this post!  The new floor coating in what will be the Joinery area.  One large or two small vehicles can be accommodated in this area.  The electricians will next install new wiring for lighting, wall and machine supply, after which the woodworking machines can be moved in and then the LEV installed to extract the dust.

West Hartlepool 36

Below: With the withdrawal of Rotherham 220 for engine overhaul and re-upholstery of its seats, and progress on Darlington 4 halted whilst the new workshop area is created (see above), we are going to cover the gap in fleet coverage by use of visiting/loaned-in buses.  One example, which has recently changed hands, but is well-known in the region, is West Hartlepool 36.  Built in 1942, it is a Leyland Titan TD7 fitted with Roe H48C bodywork and, interestingly, a centre entrance and split staircase.  The bus will require some remedial work to its paintwork and upholstery, as well as servicing and commissioning, but the owner is keen to see it operational once again, and the former owner to see it working in the north east.  The agreement is a medium-term one, so there should be ample opportunity to enjoy 36 in operation, once it returns to service.

Rowley Station

Below: A long-planned addition to Rowley Station has been completed this month – the installation of a Royal Mail postbox in the wall of the ticket office.  The story of this was covered on the blog in 2023 (see link below), with the actual postbox itself being restored in readiness for installation when an opportunity arose.  There are further enhancements planned for Rowley – the big one will be the replication of the wooden screen/doorway that filled the arches at the front of the station, which is planned as part of our current five-year programme but I would certainly like to see in place by 2029 when we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the North Eastern Railway.

T&I News 20 2023…

Railway 200 – Transport Running Day

Below: Our contribution to the national event programme on the 27th September included Coffee Pot No.1 in steam, Rowley Station and the Waggonway in action and as many of our vintage & veteran vehicles on display and being demonstrated around the museum.  This enabled a very healthy lineup of motorcycles to be included.

Below: Local machines to the forefront – with three Denes and an NuT being visible in this photograph.

Below: The NuT is a 1925 776cc V-twin motorcycle, from a Newcastle-upon-Tyne manufacturer that constructed these machines between 1912 and 1933.  It is a rare survivor and one that joined the collection at Beamish relatively recently, filling a gap in the representation of local manufacturers.

Below: Local machines – the NuT joins the four Dene motorcycles in this view.  This represents 4/5 of the known survivors of the Dene marque.

Below: The Matchless Combination set was operated on the museum roads.  Appearances were also made by the SHEW car, Armstrong Whitworth, AJS, Royal Enfield, Triumph and Model Ts, Leyland Cub tipper and ex Newcastle City fire engine, Humber Quadricycle. Rotherham 220 and West Hartlepool 36.

Below: The recently acquired Dene V-twin, for which a sidecar has also been purchased.  It will not be restored, but commissioned in it’s original condition and made safe for limited operation at the museum.

Below: The older Dene has been reassembled from several boxes of parts that were donated at the same time as the V-twin.  The volunteers are currently restoring a locally owned Excelsior motorcycle, but this machine is now in the restoration queue – giving the very appealing prospect of four working Dene’s in the not too-distant future.

Below: The James is a 200cc machine dating from 1959 and currently our most modern motorcycle.

Below: At the other end of the age range is the museums Humber Quadricycle, which dates from 1899/1900 and is fitted with a De Dion Bouton 2.25 h.p. air cooled single-cylinder petrol engine.

There was a great deal of interest in the museum’s collection, and thanks have to be given to the staff and volunteers who worked hard to prepare and then display them on Saturday.  We hope to repeat this at least once in 2026, and make it a regular feature in the diary, and enjoy the opportunity to showcase the fabulous and regionally significant collection that we are lucky to have at the museum.

Photos in this post by Colin Goode, Paul Jarman, John Marshall, Jorden Sayer and Russell Walker