Locomotion, Shildon, invites you to explore the power of steam with Steam Season – a programme of inspiring events, exhibitions and activities from May to September 2018.
Steam Season will begin with a Festival from Saturday May 5 to Monday May 7. Steam Season will then continue with events, exhibitions and activities throughout the summer, ending with the Autumn Steam Gala on Saturday September 22 & Sunday September 23, 2018, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on British Railways.
Enjoy a steam train ride behind No. 7063 Eustace Forth, which will be the museum’s guest operating locomotive for Summer 2018.
This 1942-built Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns saddle tank locomotive spent its industrial career shunting coal wagons at Dunston ‘B’ Power Station in Gateshead, before being saved for preservation.
Now owned by the 7063 Group, based at the Foxfield Railway, Eustace Forth will see regular service on passenger steaming days at Locomotion over the coming months.
The Festival of Steam event will also offer visitors their last chance at Locomotion for a steam train ride behind Furness Railway No. 20, the oldest standard gauge locomotive still operating in the UK.
After 10 years hauling passenger trains at Locomotion, Furness Railway No. 20 will leave Shildon in mid May, and will return to the Ribble Steam Railway, where the Furness Railway Trust are based, for its final steamings before being withdrawn for major overhaul this summer.
The Festival of Steam will also feature displays of model railways; street theatre performances from Same Difference; and a free, hands-on learning activity from Locomotion’s Learning team, suitable for all the family.
For more information on the Festival of Steam event and Locomotion’s Steam Season, please visit www.locomotion.org.uk
Locomotion is open from 10am to 5pm daily. Parking and admission are free of charge.
Please note that there is a charge for steam train rides.
