February has been and gone, with half-term stretching to two weeks this year to cover the misalignment of dates for school holidays that have occurred across the region.  Looking ahead, the preparation for Rowley’s season continues, albeit without an immediate expectation of Dunrobin’s overhaul being completed.  This means the cost of hiring in locomotives has to be incurred, but this does create some variety in the meantime.  It does limit the extent of the operation for 2026 as it is a cost we had hoped not to have to budget for, for the whole season.  Work on the tramcars continues, with 10 being the focus of attention, but work behind the scenes has also seen the process to procure new tyres for Sheffield 264 and Sunderland 16 reach the point we can place an order.  The overhaul of Rotherham 220’s engine is proceeding, whilst Darlington 4 will come into the newly opened up bus depot workshop as soon as the space exists, so that work on its chassis can be completed before it returns to the joinery.  We also want to see some progress on Sunderland 2 this spring as this has sat awaiting a suitable facility to put it into so that work can continue on the body frame and saloon in particular.

A separate post covers the Armstrong Whitworth overhaul, and there will shortly be a special feature prepared by Ian Bean on the newly acquired Dene motorcycles.  The blog itself will be migrating onto a new platform, as the museum’s new website is launched this spring.  This should bring it to a wider audience, as well as future-proof it against software glitches etc. as with my lack of expertise in this subject, the current blog that you are reading now is somewhat creaky and with numerous features and images no longer loading.  It will have an updated format so I need to learn how to create posts according to this, but the aim is to ensure continuation of news reports for readers to enjoy.

Rowley Station 2026

Below: We are very pleased to have reached agreement with The Flour Mill in the Forest of Dean, for a visit by their newly restored Great Eastern Railway 0-4-0ST No.229 for Beamish’s Easter holiday period.  The locomotive will be operating on dates throughout the Easter holidays, alongside one other locomotive, arrangements TBC.  More information on this visit in a future post…

Neilson & Co     Works No 2119    Great Eastern Railway 229 0-4-0ST

Edwardian Garage

Below: Refurbishment of the building has been underway over the winter, including installation of a new name board on the roof (the original was removed in connection with some filming work that was taking place, and the opportunity to renew it has been taken as part of this).  Various other jobs are also being undertaken whilst the scaffolding is erected.

Bus Depot Workshop

Below: Work has been taking place in February to remove the mezzanine floor from the workshop, and partition wall that sat beneath it.  This will open up additional space to work on double-deck vehicles, without obstructing the pit for prolonged periods of time.  The stores have been relocated as part of this programme of work.

Tramcar update

Below: Newcastle 114 is being readied for the visit by Aaron, the signwriter, next month.  This should complete most of the cosmetic work on the tram, though crests are still in production.

Below: The scumble on the opening windows and associated buttresses has faded, so this is being renewed as part of the work and whilst 114 is captive in the workshop.  In December it will celebrate its 125th anniversary, along with that of the opening of the Newcastle Corporation’s electric tramways – so it will be good to have it back in service this year so that we can mark the occasion.

Below: Another tramway reaching the 125 milestone is the Gateshead & District Tramway, and again we hope that No.10 from that company will be complete in good time to celebrate the occasion.  Some repairs have been carried out on the paintwork along the rubbing strip which separates the waist and roker panels on the body sides.  This was possibly settlement when the body was lowered back onto its wheels, but to avoid the risk of water ingress, John is carrying out repairs and sealing in this area, then repainting the affected paintwork.

Below: Lisbon 730’s cosmetic makeover continues, with the lamp dishes being prepared and fitted into the ex Oporto lamp cases.

Below: A lot of paint is being applied and then rubbed back, to create a high-quality finish, and we anticipate the numbers being applied next month too.

Below: The tram is something of a patchwork at the moment, but is making progress towards completion of the cosmetic work.  We also need to replace the destination blinds with something suitable for Beamish/reflective of Newcastle.  The tram still awaits a window to be placed over the pit so the motors can be dropped and the gear meshing investigated and a solution to the over-meshing be developed – probably entailing new bearings for the motor armature to restore the centre to centre relation between armature and axle.

Below: By the end of February work on applying layers of the paint were well advanced.  Signwriting should be undertaken in March, all being well, though Newcastle 114 is first in the queue for the lining brush.

Permanent Way – Tramway

Below: The final phases of rail welding have been underway during the evening/nights (as the Tramway has been operational during the daytime), so the work to the High Street section will shortly conclude.  After half-term concludes (end of February) the work on the Foulbridge turning circle and overhead line will resume, with completion anticipated before the main season commences at Easter.

Buses

Below: Weardale 909 and No.18 both suffered similar problems with their exhaust systems recently.  Here is 909’s showing the before and after for a new flexi-pipe section.

Below: On No.18 the flex pipe and plain pipe was replaced, and new strap hangers made for the silencer.  Not very glamorous, but essential all the same.

Armstrong Whitworth Stationary Engine

Below: Further to the separate post regarding the Armstrong Whitworth examples in the collection, here is a short film of the stationary engine running, with a temporary cooling supply rigged up.

Armstrong Whitworth Car

Below: Further to the separate post this month, some work has carried on with regard to overhaul and reassembly of the car.  The grooves in these bolts allowed the hand control quadrant (on the steering column) to move excessively.  The bolts have been moved in relation to the grooves so as to present a full-round profile, and the tube itself has been welded and recut.

Below: The position of the two bolts can be seen – lying horizontally across the picture.

Below: New screws have been made to secure the quadrant as the originals were worn and hard to establish a slot for (seen in the hand).

Below: The end of the gearbox has been assembled, to include a new rubber seal to prevent dirt entering the gearbox.

Below: The steering box has been stripped for inspection, and with no work required, has been cleaned and regreased ready for assembly back onto the car.

Darlington Corporation Bus Shelter

Below: The shelter has now been erected on its new base, with work temporarily stopped whilst the half-term holidays take place.  Some detailing remains to be completed and the gutters are still to be fitted.  After this it will be painted and glazed in readiness to shelter passengers from the rain…

This project has been supported by a restoration grant from the Association for Industrial Archaeology, the national society for industrial heritage, which has supported the study, preservation and presentation of industrial heritage in Britain since 1973. More information can be found at https://industrial-archaeology.org.

Photographs by Anthony Coulls, Phil Doran, Paul Jarman, John Marshall, Bill Parker, Phil Smith and Ben Wilson