Summer of Fun: Tales from the Rails
17th July 2025
This summer, Beamish, The Living Museum of the North is marking Rail 200 with a series of rail-related stories during its Summer of Fun: Tales from the Rails event (19 July to 1 September).
During the event, the museum will be celebrating stories inspired by the railways, charting the development of the early railways through to the numerous amateur Cup Finals that football teams in the North East travelled to Wembley to play in.
Connor Emerson, Curator of Social History at Beamish Museum, said: “Each week, starting on the 19th July, our visitors will be able to take part in a different story, which will run throughout the entire week, where they can learn and explore different parts of history, all related to rail travel and the North East of England.”
In the first week (19 to 27 July), visitors to the museum’s Georgian Waggonway will be challenged to design a bridge for an engine to cross. They will also be able to explore the importance of track points in helping to move goods around, and at Pockerley Old Hall visitors will be able to draw their impressions of an early engine based on descriptions of a lay encounter with one. Visitors will also be able to see plans for some early railways and learn about the difficulties in building new expanses of railway across the land.
From the 28 July to 3 August, visitors will be able to join the Board of Guardians in The 1900s Town to decide upon the fate of a prospective emigrant. Once the board has made their decision, they will be able to find out what happened in the case they are dealing with. Visitors will also be able to head to M G Armstrongs, where they can get help on the pros and cons of emigrating, and call in to see Miss Smith’s domestic servant to help her decide whether to emigrate or stay, and what she might take with her if she does go.
From 4 to 10 August, visitors to The 1900s Town will be immersed in the campaign for Women’s Suffrage. Witness a Tax Resistance Auction take place in the garden of No 7 Ravensworth Terrace and take on the role of the police investigating an incident in the area, making your enquiries across The Town and at Rowley Station. Once you’ve finished your enquiries, visitors can return to the Masonic Hall to answer questions about the crime. Find out if you are able to solve the case, and what happened after.
From 11 to 17 August, visitors to The 1900s Pit Village will be tasked with investigating the derailment of the Flying Scotsman service at Cramlington during the 1926 Lockout and General Strike, trying to get information from the coal mining community who resides there. Many will be reluctant to help in the investigation, so visitors will have to be at their best to win the information they need.
From 18 to 24 August, visitors can visit The 1940s Farm to learn about the role that rail transport played in safely transporting Evacuees during the Second World War, and take part in a range of special activities relating to this.
From 25 to 31 August, visitors to The 1950s Town can immerse themselves in the success of the football teams from the region who played in Cup Finals at Wembley, both amateur and professional. Play spot the ball, try and make it on to our ‘keepie uppies’ leaderboard, and help design a badge for a new football club.
Connor added: “To complement the museum’s on site activities, we will also be releasing a weekly podcast, diving into the background and stories surrounding the weekly theme, with a range of special guests from across the museum and beyond.
“We will also be highlighting objects from the museum’s collection each week in an online blog post written by members of Beamish’s Curatorial Team, which includes stories of objects that we have never been able to display at the museum before.”
As well as the Tales from the Rails event, visitors can explore the rest of the open air museum, stepping back in time and experiencing the unforgettable sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the North East in the 1820s, early 1900s, 1940s and 1950s.
Wander through the beautiful Georgian house and gardens, do a spot of Edwardian shopping, taste delicious traditional fish and chips, explore The 1940s Farm and take a trip to the 1950s cinema – there’s something for everyone to enjoy at Beamish Museum.
The event comes as Beamish is celebrating being named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025, the world’s largest museum prize. The other shortlisted museums, all highly commended by the judges, were: Chapter (Cardiff), Compton Verney (Warwickshire), Golden Thread Gallery (Belfast) and Perth Museum (Perth & Kinross).
The museum is also celebrating its 55th anniversary in 2025 and, in the past year, has completed its Remaking Beamish project, the biggest development in its 55-year history, which included the recreation of a 1950s Town, developed with community input from people with firsthand knowledge of the original spaces.
Summer of Fun: Tales from the Rails is included in admission and is free for Beamish Unlimited Pass holders and Friends of Beamish members – pay once and visit free for a year! For tickets and more information, visit www.beamish.org.uk