Explore the power of steam in a programme of events, exhibitions and activities from May to September 2018.
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 the Festival of Steam at Locomotion from Saturday 5 May to Monday 7 May.
Steam Season will then continue with events, exhibitions and activities throughout the summer, ending with the Autumn Steam Gala on Saturday 22 September & Sunday 23 September, marking the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on British railways.
The first event in Steam Season, the Festival of Steam from Saturday May 5 to Monday May 7, will showcase a range of steam power—from steam locomotives to traction engines.
Visitors to the event will have the chance to 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 Locomotion visitors their last chance 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 return to the Ribble Steam Railway, where the Furness Railway Trust is based, for its final steamings before withdrawal 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, visit locomotion.org.uk.
Locomotion is open from 10.00 to 17.00 daily. Parking and admission are free of charge. Please note that there is a charge for steam train rides.
For more information, please call the museum team on 01904 685780.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Pam Porter, Events Officer, Locomotion
01904 685784
About Locomotion:
- Locomotion offers visitors the chance to see highlights of the national collection of railway vehicles in Shildon, the world’s first railway town
- Locomotion forms part of the Science Museum Group, along with the Science Museum in London, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the National Railway Museum in York
- Locomotion is a partnership between the Science Museum Group and Durham County Council, which is a major funder of the museum
- Admission to Locomotion is free
- For more information visit locomotion.org.uk
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