With so much happening in the transport and industry aspects of Beamish, and so much to report on the blog, I thought a quick review of the usefulness of this in communicating the almost daily changing news would be of interest. Blogger produces stats, and these make interesting reading:

• In total, there have been just under 204,000 page views of the blog since 2009.
• On average there are about 680 page views per day.
• The all time most visited postings to date are the announcement of the purchase of Newcaslte (822 hits) and the announcement of the purchase of Dunrobin (784). The first steaming of the Y7 here also produced a high-point of 507 with various tram related postings having similar hit rates.
• The spread, globally, of views is also interesting – the UK leading (13,199 in the last month), followed by the USA (1957 in the last month) and Germany (178 in the same period). Other countries follow in decreasing numbers.

Obviously these statistics are ever changing (by the minute!) but they are a useful reaffirmation that it is worth keeping the blog up-to-date.
Interestingly the stats also show the key sources of referrals to the site. Following these backwards makes for interesting reading! Again, Newcastle dominates in recent times. I was interested to see that it was our experience hiring a working Manning Wardle that led us to realising the potential suitability of the type for Beamish. We haven’t had one from this maker here (so far – watch this space!) so be warned – you can’t always believe what you read on other blogs and forums! The next stocklist (due out in April) includes a list of visiting locomotives (as determined thus far), and has obviously been updated to include the new arrivals and change in status of several other exhibits.

Thinking ahead, I now have responsibility for the maintenance department as well as the new workshop developments. This will enable us to better plan for the operational needs, as well as the curatorial requirements of the transport and industry operation. The new workshops (and redevelopment of existing facilities) will mean we can programme in some more restoration projects, as well as focus on the existing operating exhibits. So, here is a summary of the main works on the transport side over the next 12 months (all subject to change of course!):

Trams and buses:

• Completion of overhaul and repainting of Oporto 196 for the summer season
• Re-tyring and re varnishing Sunderland 16
• Re-painting of Gateshead 10 into British Railways livery (an appeal for funds towards this will soon appear on this blog) (September)
• Commissioning and repaint of Blackpool 233 (April)
• Completion of overhaul and repaint of replica Daimler bus (April)

Railway:

• Completion of restoration of Stephen Lewin 0-4-0ST No.18 (May)
• Ongoing heavy overhaul of DoS 0-4-4T ‘Dunrobin’
• Continuation of restoration of DoS coach No.58A
• Ongoing repairs and programme of work on chaldron waggons
• Completion of overhaul and repaint of Waggonway train (March)
• Completion of restoration of Hodbarrow side tipping waggon (April)

New workshop projects:

• Commencement of restoration of Seaham Harbour 0-4-0VB No.17
• Restoration of NER Birdcage brakevan (to be followed by the NER fire engine wagon)
• Completion of restoration of Ruston, Proctor portable engine
• Ongoing rebuild of chaldron waggon fleet
• Commencement of rebuild of Sheffield tram No.264
• Numerous other and smaller projects TBC
• Ongoing recommissioning of cars and motorcycles from the collection.

So, lots to keep us busy! There will also be a major commitment to the Beamish Museum Future Plan, currently being worked on, and this will see a requirement to expand the existing transport operation. With more regular use of the home based transport collection and a major planned expansion of our transport events in 2013, the need for the new workshop facilities and new strategies are clear. There are also one or two further surprises being worked upon, though rather like ‘Hustle’ some of these can take a long time to reach a conclusion…
As always, for the definitive news and stories, watch this space…