Beamish: Great North Steam Fair 12/4/12 Part 1

On Thursday 12 April, I ventured up to the North East for the day, to the Beamish open-air museum where they were holding their annual "Great North Steam Fair". My main purpose of visit was to film some of there steam locomotives, although I did get a fair deal of other steam powered vehicles such as traction engines, steamrollers and even a steam-powered car, all of which trundled around the museum grounds throughout the day. I recorded about 30 minutes of footage on that day, which has been split into a two-part video. We start off at the Pit Village, under the shadow of the colliery, where the recently acquired Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST "Newcastle" stands awaiting restoration. Ironically, despite Beamish's proximity to the nearby city of the same name, it is named after Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire! The museum's 1871-built 0-4-0VBT "Coffee Pot No.1" was in a siding being coupled onto a rake of replica Stockton & Darlington railway wagons. It took them up to the main colliery site soon afterward. At the colliery, it shunted the wagons into a good shed, before moving them out again. Road vehicle-wise there were two Foden steam lorries in the Pitt Village- Isle of Man Haighways Board No.1 (BS 9983) and "Cestria" (BUP 71) and Aveling & Porter steam roller "Ayesha" (TN 216)- excuse the error in number on the video! There was also a 2ft-gauge demonstration line, where 2007-built 0-4-0VBT "Paddy" along with an old friend from the Abbey Light Railway in Leeds, Baguley WW1 petrol locomotive No.11, were in action. Also there was DeWinton 0-4-0VBT "Chaloner" from the Leighton Buzzard Railway in Bedfordshire which also had the chance to move under its own power. One oddity which caught my interest was an odd steam powered contraption called the "Steam Mule"! Later, Coffee Pot No.1 climbs up towards the colliery, and again reverses its load into the goods shed. Meanwhile, at Pockerley Waggonway, the Steam Elephant (2002 replica) was awaiting attention, for it was unable to haul the train out of the depot, meanwhile "Locomotion" (1975 replica) stands by in the shed, along with the 2006 replica of Timothy Hackworth's "Puffing Billy". In Part 2, we will look at the vintage trams and more steam powered vehicles, as well as the Rowley station demonstration line. © 60007Gresley