AGM at Newcastle - February 2006
On a very cold Saturday 11th February, as part of the HRA AGM weekend in Newcastle, over 70 of the meeting attendees came to Springwell to visit Bowes Railway.
During the 90 minute visit, a comprehensive tour of the facilities at Springwell was laid on. Starting from the Kip and Dish refreshment room, parties were taken on a guided tour of Springwell, taking in the refurbished engineering shops, the underground mining display in the Tub Shop, and the various other historic buildings on the site. In addition to viewing the wagon fleet, visitors were taken onto Springwell bankhead kip to see how sets were rope hauled onto the bankhead from Springwell self-acting incline. The history of the line, which dates back to 1826 and which was designed by George Stephenson, was outlined and the operation of the haulage system was explained.
To do justice to the site takes much more than 90 minutes and a number of visitors have expressed the wish to return and explore it further.
All photos © Peter Norman
A party returns to the Kip and Dish from the Engineering Shops
Conversations outside the Kip and Dish
Explaining the finer points
Leaving the site for the return to Newcastle
When the visitors arrived at 10.15, the temperature was still below zero. After over an hour touring the site, and especially walking out onto the bankhead kip, the thought of a warm trip back to Newcastle must have been very welcome.
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This page last updated 12th February 2006 |