Following the high-profile events held to mark the 40th anniversary of tramway operation at Beamish Museum in April 2013, it has now been confirmed that no further visiting trams will be appearing at this museum for the next major event. ‘Power from the Past’ takes place between Thursday 29th August and Sunday 1st September, and will take on a primarily agricultural theme this year.
Straying away from the main theme of the event, star attractions for 2013 will include a visit from two Port of Par steam tank engines known as ‘Judy’ and ‘Alfred’, which are probably best known for inspiring the characters of Bill and Ben (the engines, not the flowerpot men!) in the Reverend W Awdry’s Thomas the Tank Engine stories. Some more transport exhibits are expected, but less than in previous years: understandable due to the large scale event held earlier on in the year. No trams are being borrowed for this occasion although the resident fleet will naturally be in operation, and hopefully this will include the British Trams Online sponsored Blackpool ‘Boat’ car 233, which has been used quite frequently of late thanks to the glorious weather. Beamish Museum’s Keeper of Transport, Paul Jarman has confirmed that 233 will be unaffected by the recent developments involving its owners the Lancastrian Transport Trust for now, and will remain at Beamish for the remainder of 2013 to complete its minimum two-year loan period.
Although the lack of any visiting tramcars at Beamish for ‘Power from the Past’ may be slightly disappointing to some, Beamish is of course always a great place to visit and the event will surely be an entertaining one anyway. However, it has already been announced that exciting plans for more events involving trams are being discussed for next year – watch this space!