Tanfield Railway Great War Weekend 28/29 March

This forum is for news and announcements concerning the LNER, or this website.

Moderators: 52D, Tom F, Rlangham, Atlantic 3279, Blink Bonny, Saint Johnstoun, richard

Post Reply
User avatar
Rlangham
LNER P2 2-8-2
Posts: 916
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:52 pm
Location: GWR Territory
Contact:

Tanfield Railway Great War Weekend 28/29 March

Post by Rlangham »

Image

Those in the area may be interested that the last weekend of March will see the Tanfield Railway's Great War Weekend for the second year running. The ex-North Eastern Railway branch line will be transported back to 1915 using the line's collection of period locomotives and wooden four wheel carriages, along with the Durham Pals living history group. There will be other displays on site too including the 29th Division Field Kitchen at Andrews House Station, and displays by organisations such as Head of Steam Darlington Railway Museum in the Marley Hill Carriage Sheds. For more information, here is the website for the Tanfield Railway;

http://www.tanfield-railway.co.uk/events.php

Photos of last year's weekend here;

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9982
Author of 'The North Eastern Railway in the First World War' - now available in paperback!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/North-Eastern-R ... 781554552/

Happy to help with anything relating to the railways in the First World War, just ask
User avatar
Rlangham
LNER P2 2-8-2
Posts: 916
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:52 pm
Location: GWR Territory
Contact:

Re: Tanfield Railway Great War Weekend 28/29 March

Post by Rlangham »

Just a few days to go and shaping up to be an excellent weekend. Motive power will be provided by Hawthorn & Leslie No 2 0-4-0ST of 1911, built for Keighley Corporation Gas Works, and Robert Stephenson & Co No 3 'Twizell' 0-6-0T of 1891, built for the James Joicey Colliery railways, operating at the coal mines around Beamish. One train service on Saturday, two train service on Sunday. Rolling stock is the usual excellent four wheeled wooden carriages. Displays wise, there will be;

Durham Pals Living History Group – displaying along the line

The Durham Pals portray the 18th Battalion Durham Light Infantry – the ‘Durham Pals’. Formed in 1914 as one of Kitchener’s ‘New Army’ units raised for the duration of the war, large numbers of men from the Durham area or with links to Durham joined up to fight together. In 2015 we portray the unit as it was in 1915, shortly after the Hartlepool Bombardment when six members of the Battalion were killed and others injured, the first British soldiers killed on home soil by the enemy during the war. The unit continued to train through 1915 before being shipped to Egypt later in the year

http://durhampals.org.uk/

29th Division Field Kitchen – Andrews House Station

The 29th Division Field Kitchen, with their authentic Soyer cookers, depict how the British Army was fed during the First World War

http://www.freewebs.com/29thfieldkitchen/

Beamish Open Air Museum – Andrews House

Beamish will have a display of a Voluntary Aid Detachment post, as well as Great War clothing for children to try on

http://www.beamish.org.uk

Wessington U3A War Memorials Project – Marley Hill Carriage Shed

The Wessington U3A War Memorials Project have been researching the lives of men from the Washington area that served in the Great War. They recently produced, with Lonely Tower, a film entitled ‘Wad Thou Gan?’ funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund which is being shown in the Andrews House Station waiting room

http://wwmp.weebly.com/

Western Front Association, Durham Branch – Marley Hill Carriage Shed

The Western Front Association was founded in 1980 and is dedicated to the study of this conflict. Meetings are held on the second Monday of each month in Durham and feature talks by historians on various topics of the conflict.

http://www.durham-wfa.com

Head of Steam, Darlington Railway Museum – Marley Hill Carriage Shed

Head of Steam are working on a major project entitled ‘North East Railways in World War One’, especially looking at the contribution of railway workers in the North East to the war. Their website has recently been launched and you will be able to view it at their display

http://www.darlington.gov.uk/leisure-an ... -of-steam/

Jo Bath, local author – Marley Hill Carriage Shed

Jo Bath has recently had her book 'Tyneside - Remembering 1914-1918' published by The History Press, and will be selling signed copies
Royal British Legion, Consett Branch – Marley Hill Carriage Shed

The Royal British Legion is Britain’s largest armed forces charity, set up following the Great War. They are dedicated to those killed in war and support those who have served and their families in times of need

http://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/consett

There will also be a display of information relating to the North Eastern Railway in the First World War, Zeppelin raids on the North East, the East Coast Bombardment of 1914,the Seaham Harbour U-boat attack of 1916, the NER-run Darlington munitions factory, and the North Eastern Railway Battalion - the 17th Northumberland Fusiliers
Author of 'The North Eastern Railway in the First World War' - now available in paperback!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/North-Eastern-R ... 781554552/

Happy to help with anything relating to the railways in the First World War, just ask
User avatar
Rlangham
LNER P2 2-8-2
Posts: 916
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:52 pm
Location: GWR Territory
Contact:

Re: Tanfield Railway Great War Weekend 28/29 March

Post by Rlangham »

Well, the weekend came and went surprisingly quickly, a really excellent two days that i'm looking forward to repeating next year. I've attached some of the best photos below;

Image

Lambton & Hetton Collieries Number 14, 0-4-0ST Works No 3056 built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co in 1914, moved into Marley Hill Engine Shed for the weekend

Image

Motive power for the weekend - Keighley Corporation No 2, 0-4-0ST Works No 2859 built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co in 1911, and James Joicey & Co's Beamish Railway No 3 'Twize'', 0-6-0T Works No 2730 built by Robert Stephenson & Co in 1891

Image

Image

Image

Head of Steam, Darlington Railway Museum staff member in the uniform of a North Eastern Railway female engine cleaner - the first time this has been seen since around 1919!

Image

Posters dating from late 1914/early 1915 added to the atmosphere around Andrews House Station

Image

China mug from the Sailors' and Soldiers' Canteen, York. Slightly anachronistic for the March 1915 setting, this was set up in late 1915 by a committee of York ladies who approached the NER with a view to setting up a canteen offering light refreshments as cheap as possible to servicemen (and later women) travelling on the railways in uniform. The NER fully approved and provided them with two converted carriages and placed them in a bay platform facing the main platform used by trains heading south - trolleys enabled them to offer a station-wide service and they were busy at all hours throughout the war

Image

Men of the Durham Pals Living History Group, portraying the men of the 18th Battalion (Durham Pals) Durham Light Infantry provided an authentic representation of the British Army in 1915, which looked superb travelling on the four wheeled wooden carriages as used on the Tanfield Railway

Image

The railway was used to travel to various points along the line where training was conducted

Image

Image

Marching and drill displays were conducted for the benefit of the public

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Causey Arch was, as it is now and has been for many years, an interesting distraction for the men

Image

Image

The sight of First World War soldiers on a troop train, especially involving carriage NER 256 (dating back to 1878!), was one I was particularly keen to recreate

Image

At the end of the weekend, No 2 is back in Marley Hill Engine Shed for a well earned rest

Image

No 3 'Twizell' does some shunting before returning to the shed
Author of 'The North Eastern Railway in the First World War' - now available in paperback!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/North-Eastern-R ... 781554552/

Happy to help with anything relating to the railways in the First World War, just ask
Post Reply