Followers of this blog will know that for some time we have been developing our forward plan, looking at such areas as developing the Georgian landscape and creating a 1950s urban area and upland farm.  These thoughts and ideas have been widely discussed and circulated, with extensive public and stakeholder consultation and a huge amount of work behind the scenes.  A big part of this has been the preparation of a funding package to turn the ‘wish list’ into reality – and now we know, we have been successful in an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, so there now follows the official announcement:

Beamish Museum looking forward to the 1950s thanks to major Heritage Lottery Fund grant

Staff and volunteers from Beamish Museum in County Durham are celebrating today after receiving initial support for a £10.75 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help build their ambitious plans for the future.

Over the next five years the popular Living Museum that tells the story of everyday working life will be transformed, creating new ways for people to enjoy the heritage of the North East. The centrepiece will be a ‘new’ 1950s Town and Farm, filled with objects and buildings donated by local people to tell their story. Other innovations include a therapeutic day centre for people living with dementia in a block of Aged Miner’s Homes and overnight accommodation in museum exhibits. Museum bosses expect the new developments to attract around 100,000 more people to the region and create 95 jobs, as well as 50 opportunities for apprentices.

The development of the 1950s will ensure Beamish tells the story of a period still in living memory – just as was the case when the Living Museum was first founded back in the 1970s. Visitors will be able to explore the world of their grandparents – and note the huge changes to people’s lives in this decade of recovery – including the NHS, nationalisation of industry, social housing, leisure time/holidays, cinema/film, shopping/fashion and motor vehicles.

As part of Heritage Lottery Fund’s initial support, £603,800 of development funding has been awarded to enable the Museum to finalise their exciting plans for the future – ensuring they are informed by extensive consultation with local people. The HLF will then consider a final application from the Museum towards the end of 2015 for the full grant award of up to £10.75m, after which construction work will begin.

Richard Evans, Director of Beamish, said: “We are absolutely jumping for joy at this incredible news – here at Beamish – and to be honest we are all a bit stunned and can hardly believe it! The team here have worked so hard for the past four years developing this Remaking Beamish project – and I am so proud of what they have achieved together. Now the hard work begins of course – working with local people to collect the buildings and objects we need, then creating an exciting range of new exhibits from a Coaching Inn set in the early 1800s to a complete 1950s Town. It is so exciting – and such good news not just for Beamish but the whole region, helping us attract more tourists and create more jobs and training opportunities for young people.”

Explaining the importance of the HLF support for Beamish, Ivor Crowther, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund, North East, said: “The UK’s largest open air museum, Beamish is one of the North East’s most popular attractions and of national historic importance. Today’s HLF support means these visionary plans, that mark the start of an incredible 12 year journey for Beamish, can now get fully underway. Plans include new exhibits; vastly improved and innovative access to the collections and the creation of a complete 1950s town – all of which will not only open a door to the North East’s past but also drastically increase visitor numbers and boost the Museum’s income making it financially secure for the future. Once completed, this project will also create almost 100 new jobs and 50 apprenticeships too which is something we were particularly pleased to see in the proposals.”

So there we go!  In terms of transport at Beamish, what does this mean?  Well, we have a large chunk of work to now complete to move to the point of actually starting any physical work (see the comments in the statement above), but all being well, some of what you can look forward to should include:

• 1.5 mile trolleybus route, running anti-clockwise around the current road network and taking a new diverging route to the east of the present Town, to serve the 1950s area and its shops and homes.  It is foreseen that this might be a fairly early stage of work, to enable us to bus visitors through the construction site safely and show them the other developments – much like the passengers on the Teesside system experienced in the 1960s as trolleybus routes ran through green field then fully developed areas as these were  populated with housing and residential amenities.  This route will include a series of siding and stands in the urban area, with a means of allowing buses to overtake each other and run short workings if necessary.
• Trolleybuses – obviously we have one which is restored, but ideally we will need three for the service.
• Motorbuses – we plan to acquire at least two 1950s era motorbuses to enhance the services on site and to supplement the trolleybuses. It will give us as much as 45% extra capacity – very useful for events etc.
• Expansion of the accessible bus fleet (in addition to the imminent restoration and adaptation of the Leyland Cub alluded to in a previous posting)
• Extension to the tram depot – complete with a period facade and improvements to the environs, so as to house the tram and trolleybus fleet in the existing facility.
• An enhanced area for vehicle repairs and maintenance – for maintaining the expanded as well as existing fleet.
• A bus depot – somewhere to house and display the growing collection of vehicles and some of the road maintenance equipment (such as the ex Blackpool tower wagon).  It will also enable us to look at putting on better display exhibits such as the SOS bus or even the little Dodge VK bus.
• Streetscape – already a number of items are in hand to ensure the 1950s streetscape has the correct feel, i.e. the AA and RAC boxes.  In due course a telephone kiosk, ex Darlington Tramways cast iron tram shelter and numerous other details will be restored to enhance the new road network through the 1950s development.

Below: A taste of the future – David Jordan captured Beamish’s Sheffield 513 and Newcastle 501 at the East Anglia Transport Museum when both were operating there two years ago.  501 will play a prominent part in promoting our plans, though 513 will wait until such a time as we can better ease that long wheelbase around the Town curves…

It will, I am sure, be noted by some that this list (and the bid to the HLF) does not include anything on the railways or tramway fronts.  This is not to say that they do not feature in the development plan (which overall is a huge set of ambitions!), and there are several projects that will ensure that these areas develop in parallel to the HLF funded work.  So, assuming we can continue to maintain the very good present situation in terms of visitor numbers and income, shorter term (and a few tasters of longer term) works planned include:

Tramway and Buses

• Restoration of ex Crosville Leyland Cub as accessible bus
• Complete Sunderland tram 16’s overhaul
• Progress Sheffield tram 264’s overhaul and repaint
• Plan for Gateshead tram 10’s overhaul and repaint
• Re-varnish Oporto 196 and Daimler bus (winter)
• Completion of OLE works in depot (Road 4/5)
• Longer term: Restoration of Gateshead Tram No.52
• Longer term: Rebuild of ex Blackpool Balloon Tram ‘Sunderland 101’

Rowley Station

• Re-decorate station buildings, good shed and office buildings (summer)
• Re-decorate signal box and refurbish east footbridge (winter)
• Extend sidings and parking area at east end of railway (winter?)
• Complete water tower and coaling stage (summer)
• Construct inspection pit adjacent to coaling stage (summer)
• Medium term: Overhaul of NER Luggage Composite coach No.3071
• Medium term: Restoration of NER birdcage brake van
• Medium term: Restoration of NER Fire Engine Wagon
• Longer term: Install (invisibly) brakes (air or vacuum) on Forcett Coach and NER brakevan to enable operation of a light railway train at Rowley.
• Longer term: Restoration of Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST ‘Newcastle’ and move towards seven days per week operation
• Longer term: Restoration of NER G2 goods van
• Very long term (!): Restoration of representative selection of NER coal hoppers

Road Transport

• Investigate overhauling Austin Hearse for operation on and off site
• Further recommissioning of vintage motorcycles from the collection
• Construct roadmenders depot adjacent to RMS/water tower:
  • Undercover accommodation
  • Lean-to storage
  • Horse drawn vehicle accommodation
  • Suitable fencing and ‘set dressing’

Colliery

• Re-paint four chaldron waggons (Set 1)
• Install turnouts for yard sidings (south)
• Complete Colliery Engine Shed and associated fencing
• Progress Samson’s engine shed and servicing area
• Extend narrow gauge railway (north and east curve)
• Sinker’s display and collections enhancements (new engagement plan)
• Token stamping for underground tours/sales
• Re-locate ex Blackpool derrick to sinkers display 

RHEC

• Set up Garage as sub-works for maintenance of historic vehicles in the public eye
• Overhaul and recommission Austin Hearse
• Restoration projects:
  • Brayshaw Living Van
  • Newcastle & Gosforth Horse Tram No.49
  • Barford & Perkins Motor Roller R025
  • Lighthouse Slip
  • Duke of Sutherland’s saloon 58A
  • Construction of ‘Samson’
  • Recommissioning works:
    • Fowler Steam Roller ‘Rambler’
    • Steam Mule
    • Stephen Lewin No.18
    • Hunslet ‘Edward Sholto’

‘Outside’ Works (on site)

• Extension of visitor car park (underway)
• Substantial redevelopment of overflow car park (to start imminently)
• Production of historic railings for east end of Town street
• Repaint all buildings at Rowley Staion
• Redecorate Home Farm toilets
• Continue proactive and reactive maintenance on site and enabling works for other departments development work

Contract Work

• Ongoing restoration of 4085 Dunrobin
• Ongoing restoration of Ruston portable steam engine

I will shortly be publishing the latest RHEC Bulletin, from which the above list was taken, which will be available here to download as well as paper copies in the RHEC itself. We also have a Transport & Industry Engagement Plan in hand, and this will also appear in due course.

All in all we can look forward to a busy decade or so ahead of us…!!!