There is just the one post this month – there was plenty to report in May, and June has been a process of putting the event to bed (and sending back the visiting rolling stock and buses) as well as preparing for a visit from the Office of Rail and Road, who are carrying out an audit/inspection at the museum this month too.  This notwithstanding, we have seen progress in the workshops and out on site nevertheless…

Below: A couple of signs that Peter (one of the steam engages) has painted for the Waggonway platforms.  Readers may recall that we had sprung gates between the fence and the platforms, aimed at keeping passengers off the railway track, but they proved too tempting for some passengers to try and reach out and move, so we had to remove them to prevent any injury (remember why they were there in the first place!).  As the platform is a well-controlled space and always staffed, we have assessed that the risk is now minimal and so these signs serve as a reminder to the curious, but also fit in well with the ‘language’ of the Georgian Waggonway too (as anyone who has enjoyed the public toilet signage can attest to!).

Narrow Gauge Railway

Below: The narrow gauge stockyard railway in the Colliery has seen quite a bit of use over recent years, with Glyder running many Monday/Tuesdays outside of school holidays, and also as part of our various transport events.  A number of improvements are now being made to enhance the operation and eliminate some ‘tight’ spots in this, starting with a re-alignment of the curve that leads from Pockerley up to the top yard.  Here the materials are gathered in readiness for the work to start.

Below: The revised route has been marked out, the old curve lifted and a start has been made on excavating the new formation.

Below: The very wet section to the north of the pit heap has also been lifted and a deeper ballast bed is being installed to prevent the liquefaction that has occurred when the bed has been so wet, the sleepers pump water and mud upwards when trains pass over them.

Below:  A few days later and the revised curve has been dug out and the ballast bed prepared.

Below: Looking up into the top yard…  The original section of line will remain, possibly enabling us to install a pit and relocate one of the engine sheds.  We may also re-locate the ex Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway derrick to the top yard if this is possible, and also create a new viewing area for visitors, around the vicinity of the yellow JCB in this view.

Sunderland 16

Below: The second phase of repainting of the tram began in mid-June, with the decency panels being rubbed down and prepared for paint.

Below: Once primed, flatted and undercoated, the panels were then glossed in readiness for restoration of the gold-leaf lining that originally adorned these panels when 16 was first restored.  It also means that most of the crimson panels are now the same colour once again!

Below:  With the lining completed, the first coat of varnish was applied by the end of the week.  16 is booked for filming at the start of July, so we were keen the varnish was on, and dry.  Just the cant rail remains to repaint, but this is currently out of reach to us, so will have to wait for a while.

Below: Gateshead 10 is also having some finishing touches applied to its lining and legal lettering.

Loco news

Below: Lucie and Coffee Pot No.1 – vertical boiler technology, but on quite different scales!  See these in operation together at the beginning of July…  After this event Coffee Pot will receive some attention to its valve gear, necessitating removal of the water tank.  There is now considerable play within the components, resulting in a pronounced ‘knock’ that we are keen to cure.  It could also do with the smokebox/cone repainting and a few other jobs knocking off the to-do list at the same time, so this will prepare it for any summer operating appearances and a few planned for October half-term too.

Below: Sir Berkeley returned home to the Middleton Railway – loading in the goods yard at Rowley Station.  I suspect this won’t be the last time that we see this locomotive at Beamish…

Below: Samson has been on display at Boston Lodge, on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway pending operational appearances here later in the year.  It made a very interesting backdrop to the bar, temporarily installed as part of the FR’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend over the 21/22 June.

Below: After arrival in Wales, Samson found itself in a few locations that it first visited in 2017 again.  First at Minffordd on its way to Boston Lodge, then in the carriage shed at Boston Lodge and finally aboard a slate waggon chassis for positioning behind the bar in the refurbished works.

Below: Steam Elephant arrived back at Beamish on Wednesday 25th June, and is seen here after being unloaded and during the shunt to place it into the Great Shed.  It will be reassembled and prepared for its steam test, after which it will be commissioned and enter a phase of crew re-familiarisation.  We hope to have it running regularly later in the season.

Museum of the Year Award

Readers may well have seem the wonderful news that Beamish has been awarded the Art Fund Museum of the Year award (the world’s largest museum prize).  We held an impromptu parade today (Sunday) to celebrate this, with three motorcycles (AJJ, Matchless and and Triumph), two Model Ts, the Armstrong Whitworth and the open-top AEC single seck bus, ex Maidstone.  After the parade, there was chance for a few photographs of the participants sheltering (from the sunshine) in the Colliery.  It was very nice to get the collection out into the museum like this, and several of us discussed how this might be made into a semi-regular occurrence.  There is coverage of the parade on the various Beamish social media sites.

Photos by Phil Doran, Matt Ellis and Paul Jarman