North Tyneside Steam Railway

The railway's location (centre), on the north bank the River Tyne

As the early coal seams of the Northumberland Coalfield near the River Tyne were exhausted, waggonways were laid to serve pits sunk further north. Coal would be unloaded into colliers (coal transport ships) via staithes. The first wagonways used wooden waggons on wooden rails drawn by horses. The first traffic began in 1755 on a line from Shiremoor to Hayhole staithes, and was soon followed by more lines. Wooden rails were eventually replaced by wrought iron. Rope haulage was introduced from 1821, with the museum site being at the top of Prospect Hill. By the 1820s coal was coming from pits further to the north in Seghill, Backworth and Cramlington, while a pit at Murton near Shiremoor had also been added. In 1826 it also became the preferred route for coal coming from Fawdon to the west, to make it unnecessary to use keel boats further upriver.[1]

Traffic increased as further pits opened, and the corridor from Middle Engine Lane down to Percy Main became congested as companies either shared lines or built their own within a hundred yards of each other, depending on which was more convenient. Once they crossed the line of the present A193 Wallsend Road, they fanned out to their respective unloading points. In 1839 the Cramlington wagonway built a new line away from the corridor further to the west, while still passing close to it at the Middle Engine Lane and Percy Main ends. By the 1840s, coal was also coming from Blyth and Bedlington on the east coast, although this ceased after improvements to Blyth harbour in the 1880s.[1]

The opening of the route to Blyth also saw passenger services being run to Percy Main from 1841, for connections with the Newcastle and North Shields Railway. These were run by what eventually became the Blyth & Tyne Railway. Passenger services ceased around 1864 when they opened an alternative route further to the east via Monkseaton (now the present Metro route).[1]

At its peak, there were four lines on the corridor, with three stationary engines in close proximity to the museum. Having already been in use on other parts of the lines, gradient improvements on the Blyth & Tyne's line allowed it to use steam locomotives throughout from the 1850s. Others persisted with rope haulage, the Seaton Burn Wagonway being the last to convert in 1900.[1]

Coal production began to decline after the First World War causing the Seaton Burn wagonway to close in the 1920s; a new route from the Rising Sun colliery to the west did open in 1939, although this was to replace a line on a different route. In the late 1940s the coal and railway companies were nationalised - the lines on the corridor were now controlled by either the National Coal Board (NCB) or British Rail (BR) (as the eventual owners of the Blyth & Tyne). Rationalisation saw with the Cramlington line to the west closed in the 1950s.[1]

As volumes further declined, the last Percy Main staithes closed in 1971, leading to the closure of the NCB lines, although the BR lines persisted. In 1975, the Seaton Burn wagonway alignment was relaid for use by the Tyne and Wear Metro Test Centre, with a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) test track running from Middle Engine Lane as far south as the A1058 Coast Road bridges, and north beyond Middle Engine Lane on the Backworth wagonway alignment to West Allotment. The two prototype Metrocars worked out of a two-road maintenance shed constructed in Middle Engine Lane. Once the Metro system opened in 1979, the test centre closed and the track infrastructure was dismantled, leaving only the shed. The last BR line (Percy Main to Backworth) closed in 1983 and the tracks were lifted, ending over 200 years of railway use of the corridor.[1]

401 running a demonstration freight train

In 1982/4 North Tyneside Council acquired the test sheds as the nucleus for a transport museum. A partnership was formed between Tyne and Wear Museums and the council, to construct a steam hauled passenger railway rather than a static transport museum. The North Tyneside Steam Railway Association formed at the site after the Monkwearmouth Station Museum Association relocated to Middle Engine Lane, bringing with them some items of rolling stock they had been restoring in the Monkwearmouth station's goods shed, which was in a deteriorating condition. From 1987, volunteers under supervision conducted the works necessary to relay a single track from the museum to Percy Main. The line was completed in 1989 and the first passenger trains ran in early 1991.[1]

In 1994, Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and North Tyneside City Challenge made a grant available to North Tyneside Council to extend the workshops, redesign the museum space and construct a new facilities block. In 2003 the facilities block was further modified to improve educational and toilet facilities.[1] In the early 1990s the LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern was displayed at the museum disguised as the Silver Link; the local Silverlink Business Park took its name from that locomotive due to it being at the museum of the time of construction.[2] Bittern was moved to York in 1994 in exchange for loaning a Deltic.[3]

In 2007, the Tyne and Wear Museums and North Tyneside Council's head of cultural services have submitted plans for a feasibility study into developing the museum into a premier North East railway tourist attraction, with period buildings, a link to Percy Main Metro station, and all year round opening.[4]

In 2019, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums were given a lottery grant provided to redevelop the Stephenson Railway Museum. Among a lot of refurbishment in the museum building, this has also seen the name change from the Stephenson Railway Museum to the Stephenson Steam Railway.

In 2023 the Railway was awarded lottery funding to develop a woodland walk covering a two acre site.[5]

Middle Engine Lane platform, looking north

Meaford No. 1 at Middle Engine Lane in 2000

The museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of North Tyneside Council. Volunteers of the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association (NTSRA) operate the railway and assist with the maintenance and conservation of locomotives and rolling stock. The NTSRA is managed by a committee that meets quarterly and has an Annual General Meeting yearly.

The building on Middle Engine Lane serves as the railway workshop and the museum's indoor exhibition space, the workshop being on the left-hand side. The railway yard has three sidings entering the building from the south, the westernmost being for the workshop, while the two others enter the exhibition space allowing operational stock to be put on display.

The running line of the railway consists of a single track line, with two open-air platforms at either end, both with a passing loop. The northern platform, "Middle Engine Lane", is just south of the museum building. The southern platform, "Percy Main", is immediately south of the point where the Metro crosses the railway, paralleling the length of Brunton Street, to which there is pedestrian access for passengers wishing to leave the train there.

Entry to the museum is free; rides on the trains requires purchase of a ticket.[6] The museum building also contains a gift shop and toilet facilities, and a cafe which opens on certain event days.[7] The cafe was renovated in Autumn 2017.[8] The museum is only open at certain times of the year, and passenger trains are only run on some of those days.[6][7]

As of 2018 two main timetables are in operation. Green timetable is used on Sundays/Bank Holidays which runs four round trips - departing at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2.00pm and 3.00pm. The Blue timetable is used on Thursdays during school holidays which runs three round trips - departing at 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm. Special event days include a Halloween Special, a 1940s weekend, Beer Festival (Ale by Rail), Winter Warmers[9] and Santa Specials.[10]

Billy was built by George Stephenson in 1816,[27] and was one of the various pioneering designs now known as the Killingworth locomotives, because they were built for use in Killingworth Colliery. It is often referred to as the Killingworth Billy to differentiate it from Puffing Billy, built by William Hedley in 1813 for the Wylam Colliery. Killingworth Billy ran until 1879, and it was presented to the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1881.[28] It is a stationary exhibit, mounted on a short stretch of period track with block-mounted rails, to remain compatible with horse-drawn trains. Horses would have been tripped up by conventional sleepers.

An 0-6-0 side tank built in 1951 as works number 7683. It is thought she was delivered new to Meaford Power Station to shunt coal waggons. It was one of several of its type supplied to power stations by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd., Forth Banks, Newcastle upon Tyne during the 1950s. They were used to transport coal wagons from mainline sidings into the power station, supplying the boiler-house coal bunkers. Their small diameter wheels enabled heavy loads to be hauled at slow speeds. Larger wheeled versions were supplied when long journeys were needed - for example, some colliery systems. Locally they could be seen working at places in Northumberland and Durham including Ashington, Backworth, Stanley and Consett. This loco was purchased from the Power Station by the East Lancashire Railway and hauled their first trains at Bury. After a period in store, she was overhauled at Bury and moved to Tyneside in 1996.[29] It ran for several years before being taken out of service in 2003. It is currently on display in the museum, awaiting overhaul.

This 0-6-0 saddle tank was built in 1939 as works number 1970 by Peckett and Sons of Bristol for Ashington Coal Company which operated one of Britain's most extensive colliery railway systems. In 1939, two identical locomotives were delivered to one of Peckett's standard designs and they received the names Ashington No 5 & Ashington No 6. The former spent her entire industrial career on the railway for which she was built. In 1969 she was sold by the National Coal Board to North Norfolk Preserved Railway when the Ashington system was dieselised. However, she returned to Northumberland in 1991 and was repainted into the "as delivered to Ashington Colliery" livery. The loco was additionally named Jackie Milburn in honour of the local football hero.[30] The loco is currently out of service for repairs to the bottom end, expected to be complete by 2021.

A.No.5 being shunted by 03078

A.No.5 is an 0-6-0 side tank built-in 1883 by Kitson and Company, as works number 2509. It was the last working example of the 1841 patented Stephenson 'long boiler' design,[31] to produce higher steam pressure while retaining a small wheelbase. Unsuited for high speeds, they nonetheless satisfied a need for powerful shunters at certain industrial railways like the Consett Iron and Steel Company. Withdrawn in 1972 it passed to Beamish Museum and then the Tyne & Wear Museums Service at Monkwearmouth Station, Sunderland, where the Monkwearmouth Station Museum Association began its overhaul from a very derelict condition. It returned to steam in 1986. It was overhauled in 1995/6 and again in 2013/14.[30][32] Removed from service and placed back on static display in the museum in summer 2018.

No. 401 was one of a class of three built for the Steel Company of Wales in 1950, as works number 2994 (2995 and 2996 were built in 1951), to an advanced specification designed to provide a low maintenance competitor to the diesel shunters emerging. As such it had many advanced features not seen on other industrial steam locomotives. It was sold to Austin Motor Co. Ltd., of Longbridge, Birmingham in 1957 before passing in 1973 to the developing West Somerset Railway. Once it became surplus to larger locomotives there, the Stephenson Railway Museum purchased 2994 and repainted it from "Kermit the frog" green to a black livery similar to a NER style. The locomotive was placed on static display in 2008. After a 6 year restoration period it returned to active service in Easter 2019.[33] In 2020, 401 was repainted into its original 'Steel Company of Wales Ltd' unlined maroon with lemon lettering livery.

No.69 was built in 1953, works number 3785. The engine spent its entire working life at South Hetton Colliery which served the Hawthorn and Murton colliery complex as well as Seaham. In preservation, it ran at the Yorkshire Dales Railway, now the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, from 1977 until 1984 before being parked up pending overhaul. Restoration is planned to begin in the winter season pending other commitments on site. No.69 is privately owned by an NTSRA member/volunteer.

No.08915 (originally D4145) used to be of Allerton (AN) depot. Restored to BR Blue in 2017.

No.03078 (originally D2078) used to be of Gateshead (GD) depot.[34] Repainted into BR Blue early 2019.

An early diesel built in 1958, Consett Iron and Steelworks No.10 is the last example of in-house production of locomotives by industrial railways in the North East.[35] It was conceived in their Templetown workshops to satisfy a need for a 300 hp shunter with mechanical transmission, and was based on a Hunslet design. It was built by reusing many parts from steam locomotives. Eventually redundant to Sentinel's with hydraulic transmission, it was donated in 1976 to the Tyne and wear Museums Service by the work's later owner, the British Steel Corporation.[36] No.10 is currently not operational, requiring a new set of batteries and rewiring before operating again.[37]

Electric locomotive No.E4 was built for the Harton coal system at South Shields.[38] It was stored outside for many years, but after a successful lottery bid and sponsorship from the local Siemens Microchip Company it was restored to working order by using battery power rather than an overhead supply. The batteries are carried in a converted coal wagon. It is currently not operational following repeated issues with the batteries.

No. 3267 is the sole surviving example of the stock built-in 1904 for the Tyneside Electrics system, the first suburban electric railway in the country. The system used third rail power and trains formed into multiple units. The vehicle was one of two on the system fitted out as vans, with driving cabs at each end. They were used to carry fish and sundry goods, as well as acting as the locomotives for passenger services on the Riverside branch. After withdrawal in 1938, the two vans had their motors removed and were converted to de-icing vans, hauled along the system at night by steam locomotives. It has since been restored to NER livery, and is on static display in the museum, on loan from the National Rail Museum.[30][39]

No.401 on mixed freight at Middle Engine Lane

Ashington No.5 and No.08915 top and tailing Santa Specials

A.No.5 at Percy Main

The three ex-British Rail Mk1 carriages are used for the passenger trains. They were used on the Kings Cross suburban lines. They wear BR Midland Maroon Livery.[30] They were preserved by the Bluebell Railway between 1973 and 1975, and were obtained by the museum in 1986.[14][15][16]

The rail crane (No.DRS 81140, prev. DB 966401, 81/001, 24247) was designed for British Rail.[25] It has been paired with an ex-LNER wagon converted to a crane runner (No.DE321051, ex-6282, 70130E)[26] It is currently stored outdoors until such a time as it can be overhauled.

Nearly every wagon in the yard sees regular use, either on demonstration freight trains or permanent way/engineering trains. The 20-ton Dogfish Ballast Wagon, Salmon Rail Carrier and 20 Ton wooden brake van were all used in the construction of the railway in the late 1980/early 1990s.

The four-plank wagon was built in 1927 as an oil tank wagon for a private owner, presumably an industrial railway. It had the registration number LMSR 103136. It was later reduced to its underframe and sold to the Metro for use on the test track. Having been left on the site, the museum inherited it. They converted it into a four-plank open wagon for use as the carrier for the batteries needed to power the railway's electric locomotive E4. It has been given a fictitious brown livery and markings of "No.103 Boldon Colliery" on one side and "No.136 Whitburn Colliery" on the other.[18]

The 12-ton Vanfit goods van has been converted into a Tool Van which houses an electrical generator.[30]

The TTP flat wagon was built as a Tank Wagon for a private owner. In 2019 it was repainted to resemble a match wagon to be paired with 03078.[19]

The other four-wheel flat wagon is a former overhead wire drum carrier used in the electrification of the East Coast Mainline, it sat at Heaton TMD for many years and was donated to the railway in late 2019. The wagon is currently undergoing restoration as a conflat wagon.

Each of the three 21 ton coal hopper wagons are privately owned. No.722 and No.6555 arrived in early 2020 from the Ribble Steam Railway, No.B415776 arrived in 2018 from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Lambton Van 21 arrived in August 2020 from the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway and is privately owned. The wagon has been moved in to the carriage and wagon shop for re planking.

The former BR Petroleum tank wagon arrived in early 2019 from the Middleton Railway. The other two tank wagons are privately owned and arrived in early 2020 from the Ribble Steam Railway.

The 5 ton Type BD van and 12 ton Shocvan are stored in the open, as bodies only, i.e. demounted from their chassis.[22][23]