Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Stephenson Railway Museum

Re-live the glorious days of the steam railway at Stephenson Railway Museum in North Shields. George and Robert Stephenson spent 20 years in North Tyneside developing their pioneering ideas which helped spread railways and locomotives around the world.

Today the Museum celebrates their achievement. A range of fascinating locomotives are on display including George Stephenson’s ‘Billy’, a forerunner of the world-famous Rocket. Interactive exhibitions explore how trains work and the impact on peoples’ lives of coal and electricity, crucial in the development of railway power.

On scheduled days visitors can take a ride on a passenger train pulled by the steam engine 401 or heritage diesel locomotives.

The Museum is home to:

  • The early locomotive ‘Billy’ – built in Newcastle around 1816 and used for hauling coal. The world’s third oldest surviving steam locomotive
  • Steam and diesel locomotives used on Tyneside and elsewhere from as early as the 1880s
  • An electrically-powered parcels van of 1904 from the pioneering Tyneside suburban electric railway system
  • An electric locomotive – built in 1909 for use on a colliery line
  • A fleet of passenger coaches from the 1950s.

Stock list:

Steam:

  • Stephenson’s 0-4-0 tender locomotive ‘Billy’, 1816
  • Peckett 0-6-OST Ashington No. 5 ‘Jackie Milburn’, 1938
  • Bagnall 0-6-OST 401 ‘Sir Thomas Burt’ / ex ‘Vulcan’, 1950
  • Robert Stephenson Hawthorn 0-6-OT No 1 ‘Ted Garret JP MP’, 1951
  • Kitson 0-6-OT ‘A No.5’, 1883

Diesel:

  • Consett 0-6-ODM No. 10, 1958
  • Ex BR 0-6-0 DE class 08915, 1950s
  • Ex BR 0-6-0 DM class 03 D2078, 1950

Electric:

  • Siemans Bo-Bo E4, 1909
  • NER Baggage / fish van No 3267, 1904

Carriages:

  • Ex BR Kings Cross outer suburban mk1, 1950s