ABR - Catering

As well as our very own Waggonway Tearoom serving food over Ale by Rail we will be joined by Meat Stack! They will be joining us the whole weekend and be serving freshly made real American Cheeseburgers and more!

Get your tickets for Ale by Rail evening event HERE!

Throwback Thursday #34

The line-up, No.401, No.1 and A.No.5 being shunted in the yard by No.D2078. Circa early 1990s

Ken's Bench

Ken Hedley's memorial bench, now with a brass plaque, out on display after hard working volunteers restored it to an LNER theme

D2078 in service today

Waiting to depart Middle Engine Lane

Running into the North headshunt to run-round the coaching stock

Summer of Fun!

We've got quite a busy, and fun-packed, summer ahead! 

Trains will be running Sunday and Thursday throughout the summer holidays, with our Green timetable in operation on Sunday's and Blue timetable in operation on Thursday's! 

Green Timetable, departures from Middle Engine Lane: 11:30, 12:30, 14:00 and 15:00

Blue Timetable, departures from Middle Engine Lane: 12:30, 13:30 and 14:30

For now, D2078 will be in service as our Peckett locomotive, Ashington No.5, is still currently in the workshops awaiting parts to arrive so we can finish off the repairs to the loco's safety valves. Ashington No.5 is planned to be in service from Sunday 19th August. 

Make and Take Thursday's will also be on in the Stephenson Railway Museum every Thursday throughout August! Find out more details over on the SRM website.

Photo (C) Joe Stuart

401 Work

George and John begin assembling 401s backhead, starting with the fire hole door

Bus Shuttle Service

Had perfect weather for yesterdays trains and were also joined by the North East Bus Preservation Trust who were running a shuttle service between the railway and Whitley Bay Bus Rally!

Boiler Lift Pt2

Some more photos of 401s boiler lift yesterday

The winning team

401 Boiler Lift

Shunting the shed the get 401s rolling chassis out

George, Stuart and Alan start preparing the ashpan for fitting

Frames ready to receive the boiler

Crane getting in position

Straps going on

Lift off!

Ashpan on

Boiler being lowered into the frames

Job done, next tasks involve lagging & cladding the boiler before the tank can be fitted along with the cab

Throwback Thursday #33

Our resident 08, No.08915 at Peak Forrest. July 1998

Work at Percy Main

Photos below of the fantastic tidy up carried out by volunteers down at Percy Main today

D2078 in service yesterday

D2078 sat at Percy Main ready to depart

Trains Tomorrow

D2078 will be in service again tomorrow! Trains depart Middle Engine Lane at 11:30, 12:30, 14:00 and 15:00

A.No.5 News

Sadly due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to withdraw our Kitson locomotive, A.No.5, from service earlier than we expected. Age has finally caught up and the old girl can now have some well-deserved rest. 

We are currently in the process of giving A.No.5 a thorough clean so that she is ready to be put on display in the museum soon. 

We're currently unsure as to what will be happening with A5 apart from it is definitely going in the museum for now. After 401s overhaul is complete we can assess A5 further.

Photo from 2014 (C) S.Thornton

ABR - COHESION

The third and final act who's going to be performing on Saturday 1st September evening is...COHESION

Hailing from North East England, COHESION are a five-piece indie rock band dubbed as "one of the finest bands to come out of Wearside in recent years" (NARC, 2015). Audiences can expect a vibrant hybrid of Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure and Maximo Park.

Be sure to check out their Social Media!
Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Bandcamp

Tickets required 6pm onwards Saturday 1st September, get your tickets here!

ABR Event Page

Click here to join the Ale by Rail event page on Facebook and check out the page's discussion for all the details of what you can enjoy over the weekend of 1st & 2nd September!