More engines confirmed for Power from the Past!

4th March 2010

Yet more confirmations for Power from the Past...

Below: Alan Borthwick's Aveling & Porter roller 'Ayesha'.

Below: Peter Corbett's Aveling & Porter roller 'Julia'.

Below: Making its very first appearance following restoration (and return to steam for the first time in over 40 years) is Ian Cragg's ex Whitby Fowler T3 roller with belly tank - seen here being steam tested after completion of its superb restoration by George Hudson at Banks, Southport.

Below: They Aycliffe & District Vintage Bus Preservation Group will be offering operating one of their restored Bristol half cab buses - probably the one below - for at least part of the event.

Below: Mark Sutherland will be attending with his Wallis & Steevens traction engine, seen here at Beamish last autumn.

Below: Stuart Ritchie will be bringing his Foden steam lorry along.

There are still several more attendees to announce - as ever, watch this space!

26th February 2010

Made a brief visit to London over the last couple of days - time to call in at the Science Museum and London Transport Museum...

Below: The original Puffing Billy - strangely familiar but strangely different to ours!

Below: The oldest complete Aveling & Porter engine left - built in 1871 and on display at the Science Museum. There are older remains - watch our plans for Beamish's September Great North Steam Fair for more on this!

Below: The LT Museum has recently been refurbished. The amount of material incorporated is less than before but the exhibitions and interpretation is excellent.

Below: The horse tram is much more effectively displayed and the interactives are very effective.

Below: Horse bus and horse tram.

Below: The Met 4-4-0T is incorporated into a display upstairs, again very effective (though tight for photography). I was very impressed with the museum and the bookshop is superb!

Corporations & Contractors Event: Confirmed Participants Part 1!

18th February 2010

In anticipation of our April 15 - 18th 'Power from the Past' event, themed around 'Corporations and Contractors', I am pleased to confirm that the bookings are now beginning to arrive and that the following (subject to usual caveats about availability!) will appear during the event:

Below: Built by Hurst Nelson in 1901 as an open top car for Hull Corporation Tramways, No.96 was cut down in 1933 to an enclosed single deck tram. In 1942-45 it was sold to Leeds Tramways where it was numbered 6 in the works car series, it carrying out such duties until the closure of LCT in 1959. It was then privately preserved, eventually arriving at Heaton park Tramway and entering service in 1988. It has usually worn its Hull livery as 96, but recently was repainted into its works car guise as Leeds 6, and we are delighted that our friends at Heaton Park have agreed to it participating in this event. Beamish's Oporto 196 will be going to Heaton Park in exchange, the swap lasting from April through to August.

Below: Guy Rutter's 6 ton Wallis Advance will make its first major public appearance at the event, though has seen some operation at Beamish since its restoration was completed last autumn.

Below: A well know engine on this blog - Michael Davison's 1889 Marshall will be engaged in the 'construction' arena at the event in April, probably powering the recently restored stone crusher to provide material for the narrow gauge construction railway (of which more shortly...)

Below: We are pleased to welcome Dave Antell back with his Robey portable and...

Below: ... making its first appearance at Beamish, Dave's Wallis Advance - now owned by him for over 40 years!

Below: As part of the activities, which centre around road/tramway construction and maintenance plus contracting work (including agricultural), we are laying a 2 foot gauge construction railway in the colliery. This will be a working demonstration throughout the event and confirmed motive power includes Graham Morris's well know Kerr Stuart Wren class 0-4-0ST Peter Pan. Originally owned by Devon County Council, the engine must surely be one of preservation's most widely travelled locomotives.

There are lots more invited, so watch this blog for latest news...

Events for 2010

17th February 2010

One last post from today!

Below: A No.5 catches the evening sun prior to being shunted away for the night.

Below: Davy Sheen has fitted the refurbished shaft from the Robinson saw table. We are now looking for a 23 inch blade to suit...

Below: The old tram rail - liberated from the Foulbridge works, this track will be installed as road 4 of the tram depot - giving us space for up to three more trams...

Below: The concrete foundations revealed, to be cleaned up and reused with modifications.

Below: The special transition rails, where the Ri60 tramway rail meets the flat bottomed rail of the reserved track sections. This area will sit on a concrete raft to spread the loadings throughout the transition.

Steam Mule Latest!

17th February 2010

Below: The chassis for the steam mule arrived last week. The tank is seen balanced on top, when complete (and painted Manchester Red and lined and lettered 'Beamish Museum - Steam Mule'!) it will be slung under the frame, between the wheels.

Foulbridge Track Progress

17th February 2010

A couple of sundry shots here - our Internet has been rather troublesome of late, whence the lack of postings for a few days...

Below: The water tower in the colliery is now plumbed in and operational. There are a few finishing details to add (including a bag/trunk/hose - whichever term you prefer!) but it is ready for the arrival of Coffee Pot at the end of next week.

Below: Meanwhile at Foulbridge... The track team has lifted the track to be renewed, after digging it out and have been preparing the ground for further concrete to be poured to create a raft, on which the new rail can be affixed.

Below: Same location, looking the other way.

A No.5 in Consett and at Beamish

17th February 2010

On Saturday we took A No.5 (on loan from Tyne & Wear Museums Stephenson Railway Museum site) to Consett, then brought it to Beamish (its former owner!) where it is on display at the station. As seen elsewhere in this blog we have borrowed Bowes' Planet diesel to shunt the engine into the RMS every day (we don't leave it out overnight!).

Below: A brief pause for breakfast in Stanley adjacent to the West Stanley Pit Disaster memorial.

Below: Parked outside Derwentside College, Consett.

Below: On display at Beamish - a rare burst of sunshine!

Below: The traditional low 3/4 view!

Below: The same display, but this time in this morning's frost.

Planet - the Workhorse!

17th February 2010

We have borrowed the Bowes Railway's Planet diesel locomotive to facilitate the shunting whilst we have the brief loan of Tyne & Wear Museum/Stephenson Railway Museum's A No.5 (see separate entry). Our own Ruston shunter does not lend itself to regular starting and stopping of the engine (being air start), whence this hire.

Below: Planet arrives aboard Duncan Milner's lorry.

Below: Basking in the sun.

Below: Shunting A No.5 after unloading.

Below: More shunting!

Below: The portrait shot!

Foulbridge Tram Track Renewal

10th February 2010

Work on the renewal of rails at Foulbridge continues, despite the ever present threat of snow and ice!

Below: Cutting the tarmac to enable it to be excavated clear. Tram 10 lurks in the background - the present limit of passenger operation (though access to the depot roads has been maintained).

Below: Two views of the tarmac removal - this is being reused elsewhere on site.

Coffee Pot - only days from completion!

4th February 2010

Well - here are the first pictures of Coffee Pot complete with new boiler in position. The main outstanding job is to fit the pipework for the pump - which was happily tested on air today. There are one or two details to add (such as gauge glass and drain cock drain pipes, a water level float and indicator plus some paintwork tidying) but to all intents and purposes Vincent Allen has nearly finished... His next job is to prepare Rambler for a hydraulic test (for our insurance company) then the removal of the inner firebox and tubeplate of the Clayton Portable - the latter requires a more exhaustive inspection in order to ascertain the full condition of the Lowmoor Iron boiler (the word iron is a misnomer, it is actually a form of steel and of renowned quality for boilers).

Below: Three shots of Coffee Pot earlier today:

Tanfield Railway Visit

3rd February 2010

On Sunday we called in at Tanfield (a social call - not work!), which was lightly dusted with snow. Sir Cecil Cochrane was working the passenger trains whilst Renishaw Ironworks No.6 was being steam tested.

Below: Sir Cecil Cochrane takes water at Andrews House station.

Below: Beamish's NER coach parked in the carriage sheds at Marley Hill.

Below: Renishaw Ironworks No.6 outside Marley Hill engine shed during its steam test. Preliminary discussions have taken place regarding Beamish hiring this locomotive to re-commence our passenger operations at Rowley Station this Easter. It is not dissimilar to the Hudswell Clarke engines used on the Easingwold Railway in North Yorkshire, so its appear acne wouldn't be entirely without justification!

News from around the site.

3rd February 2010

Various bits and pieces today...

Below: Shaun continues the refurbishment of the gallopers decking. The first piece is complete, the second is being stripped and has revealed some extensive localised rot which will entail new framework being manufactured.

Below: Before the view above was taken, the timber didn't look too bad!

Below: The first board, completed and awaiting painting. This is No.12 of 12.

Below: Tram 196 is receiving attention to an electrical resistance problem - as denoted by the red and white striped pole hanging from the boom.

Below: Meanwhile, the relaying of Foulbridge loop has started, with the new turnout and rails being laid over the existing tracks in order to enable them to be pre-bent to shape. This will be a lengthy process but minimises disruption in this area.

Below: The Tele-Handler positions one of the new Ri60 rails.

Below: A quick visit to Washington F pit with Anthony Coulls (of NRM fame) was squeezed into the itinerary yesterday. This is a preserved mine winding engine, built in 1888 by the Grange Iron Company (Durham) and supplied second hand to F pit in 1903. I was particularly taken with teh repairs on the cylinder cover - a result of the drain cocks not being opened when the engine commenced a spell of running during the closure of the mine. A driver unfamiliar with its operation set it away, the result being the end of the engine's working life...

Below: A view from the winding wheel towards the cylinder. The engine is a Duplex type - two cylinders fed and exhausted independently (rather than a compound or tandem type).

Below: Mr Coulls himself, recording the twin-cab Ruston & Hornsby underground locomotive under the pit-head winding gear. See Ant's own blog at http://nrmcurator.blogspot.com

Below: A view from the cylinder end of the engine. Sadly F Pit is open only on very few occasions during the year, but it is a very well preserved artifact and rare in still being on its original site.

Below: Meanwhile back at Beamish... This Gwynne pump arrived to join the museum collection. It is a high capacity pump and the intention is that it will be demonstrated driven from an appropriate steam engine!

Below: Another view of the pump, taken from the drive pulley end.

Below: Davy Sheen has all but finished the stone crusher, and is applying the final coats of paint and finishing touches. We intend to test the crusher in coming weeks - which should be interesting!

Below: David Young is assembling the Steam Mule engine and applying the finishing paintwork. The new crankshaft is in place and the only outstanding item of note is the flywheel, which is being provided by an outside supplier.

Below: Locomotion No.1 is off on its travels again. This time for a spell of operation at the National Railway Museum, York over the February half-term holidays. As there is a very tight clearance under one of the bridges in York, the chimney has to be split and the motion arranged in its optimum 'down' position - not always the easiest feat to achieve!

And finally...

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the closure of the Consett Steel/Iron works. TO mark this, the access team at Beamish are arranging a number of events and community activities based around this. As well as meetings and exhibitions, we have asked Tyne & Wear Museums if we can borrow CIC A No.5 (the Stephenson long-boiler type pannier tank) which is on display at the Stephenson Railway Museum in North Shields. They have agreed and on February 13th the engine will appear aboard a lorry in Consett on display. It will then spend half-term week at Beamish on display at Rowley Station (alongside our CIC tank wagon) before returning to its owners. The engine is currently out of ticket but is in superb condition. It was originally purchased from the NCB by Beamish, later being sold for restoration at Monkwearmouth Station Museum, later moving to Middle Engine Lane, the home of the SRM. It was stored at Marley Hill during its Beamish ownership, never coming to the museum site, so it will be nice to see what might have been! Incidentally, it was purchased as a job lot along with Twizell (shortly to return to steam under a loan to the Tanfield Railway), No.14 (recently deaccessioned pending transfer of ownership to the Tanfield Railway) and Harton electric loco E1, which was scrapped at Marley Hill, being in very poor condition.

Below: A photograph of A No.5 at SRM in 2005.