Volunteers steam ahead with railway restoration
No stopping railway revival as donation boosts volunteers’ venture. Tony Henderson reports
A volunteer-run railway revival project is in line for a boost from another revamp project as a station renewal venture nears completion.
Used building materials from the Tyne and Wear Metro’s overhaul of Whitley Bay station have been delivered to the Woodhorn Narrow Gauge Railway to help volunteers, who hope to have it back up and running in October.
Items include 50 tonnes of concrete ballast blocks, 200 scaffolding boards, 40 timber posts, and 54 pieces of plywood sheeting. The concrete blocks will allow the volunteers to build a retaining wall and create a ballast store.
The donation follows an annual Nexus volunteer day, which saw members of the track maintenance team give up their spare time to help the Woodhorn workers install track.
Sarah McManus, head of renewals at Nexus, said: “We’re delighted to be able to help this exciting restoration project.
“Surplus materials from the Whitley Bay station renewal scheme will be playing a hugely important role for the Woodhorn railway, which has the potential to be a fantastic local tourist attraction for the region.
“The concrete blocks and wood panels will go to very good use, instead of it all just going to a landfill site.”
Colin Heath, Woodhorn volunteer co-ordinator, said: “This donation is important as we are a voluntary group who are restoring a railway without any official funding.
“We are grateful to Nexus for their support. We rely on donations like this to make progress.
“We started the project in 2023 as a wellbeing group, looking to restore the engines, but it snowballed from there and we decided to take on the challenge of bringing the entire railway back into use.
“We’ve restored three quarters of the line and the infrastructure that goes with it. There’s about 400 metres of line left to go, and we are aiming to be open by the end of October.
“Nexus has also given us great support through their employee volunteer days, where some of the Metro workers gave up their time to lay some of the track and ballast.”
Gateshead-based G&B Civil Engineering carried out the renewal work at Whitley Bay Metro station on behalf of Nexus.
Lewis Axon, construction manager at Gateshead-based G&B Civil Engineering, which carried out the renewal work at Whitley Bay on behalf of Nexus, said: “It’s nice to know the materials are getting a second life rather than ending up in a skip somewhere, which is always our last option.”
Woodhorn Narrow Gauge Railway originally opened in 1993 after track, three carriages, and an underground engine-turned-training engine from Vane Tempest Colliery in County Durham were donated in 1991.
It ran for more than 20 years and acquired two more engines, one used to build the Channel Tunnel, and an underground mining shunter train. However, the railway closed in 2018 due to a lack of volunteers and its condition deteriorated.
The track runs from Woodhorn Museum to the lakeside in the nearby Queen Elizabeth II Country Park.
The Woodhorn volunteers have already returned the railway’s three engines to working order and are close to completing the restoration of its one-kilometre network of track, as well as attempting to recruit more volunteers to the project.
For more information about the project go to Woodhorn Narrow Gauge Railway