Beamish Museum: Tramway

The tramway at Beamish Museum runs in a broadly oval shape, connecting the various areas of the site. It's a single track, with three passing loops at stations in the southern half, serving the Entrance, Home Farm and Pockerley areas. A long double track section in the north serves the Town. The whole tramway has an accompanying roadway along its inside edge. The depot is on the west side of the loop, accessed from a spur from the Home Farm loop. With the exception of a block token section between Entrance and Pokerley, access to the single track sections is governed by line of sight and driver knowledge of the service pattern - which in normal service ranges from just 1 tram in the winter, up to 4 in the summer.

Historical images

1973

Cross site views

The view west from Pockerley Old Hall, across both the east and west sections of the oval, to the depot
The view west from Pockerley Old Hall, across both the east and west sections of the oval, to the depot

Town double-track section & stops

See Beamish Museum: Town

Out of Town stops

Entrance

(shelter)

Object location	54° 52′ 55.65″ N, 1° 39′ 34.23″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	54.882124; -1.659507

The stop serving the Entrance area is at the bottom of the oval, where the track runs in a straight E-W section. The entrance buildings are outside the oval, to the south east, so the shelter is on the south side of the tracks. The shelter is opposite the eastern half of the loop, set back from it. Unlike Home Farm & Pockerley, the track at the entrance loop intrude into the roadway.

Wills's Gold Flake cigarettes advert in the shelter
Borax Dry Soap advert in the shelter
The view SE from the stop back to the entrance buildings
The view SE from the stop back to the entrance buildings
The view SE from the stop back to the entrance buildings
A tram approaching the loop, viewed from the west
A tram beyond the end of the loop being turned, viewed from the west
A tram beyond the end of the loop being turned, viewed from the west
A tram beyond the end of the loop being turned, viewed from the west
A tram in the loop, viewed from the west
A tram in the loop, viewed from the west
Trams in the loop, viewed from the west
A tram in the loop, viewed from the south
A tram in the loop, viewed from the south
Trams in the loop, viewed from the south
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
A tram in the loop, viewed from the east
Trams in the loop, viewed from the east
Trams in the loop, viewed from the east
Tram leaving the loop, viewed from the east (from the path up to the entrance building)
Tram leaving the loop, viewed from the east (from the path up to the entrance building)
A tram approaching the loop, viewed from the east
Eastbound bus on the loop track
Eastbound bus, east of the loop
East facing bus, loading at the east end of the loop
East facing bus, loading at the east end of the loop

Home Farm

(shelter)

Object location	54° 53′ 03.57″ N, 1° 39′ 50.93″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	54.884324; -1.664147

The Home Farm stop serves Home Farm, which is outside of the tram oval to the west. It also serves the Pit Village and Colliery, inside the oval, to the east. Road access to both is via junctions south of the loop. There is a single shelter on the east side of the N-S aligned passing loop - meaning the roadway passes between it and the tram lines. The single line NW to the depot joins the oval on the western track of the passing loop.

Trams in the loop, from the south
organ grinder, south of the shelter
Tram in the loop and a southbound bus in the road
Shelter & tram in the loop, from the SW
Southbound tram in the top of the loop (viewed from the south)
Tram in the loop viewed from the south
Tram in the loop viewed from the south from a bus in the road
Shelter south gable
Shelter north end
Looking east across the end of two trams in the loop, to a southbound bus in the road
Tram in the loop viewed from the east
Tram in the loop, southbound bus passing the shelter
Northbound bus passing the shelter & empty loop
South end of the loop
North end of a tram at the southern end of the loop
North end of a tram at the southern end of the loop, bus arriving from Pit Village on the left

Pockerley

(shelter)

Object location	54° 53′ 04.5″ N, 1° 39′ 26.72″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	54.884584; -1.657423

The Pockerley stop is for people visiting the Georgian Landscape, featuring the Pockerley Waggonway, St Helen’s Church & Pockerley Old Hall. These are all to the east (outside the oval), so the shelter for the stop is on the east side of (and halfway along) the passing loop, which curves from S to NE. The eastern track of the loop continues north into a small siding.

Viewed from the NE, showing the siding
Viewed from the NE, showing the siding
Northbound bus approaches the loop
Northbound bus approaches the loop
Southbound tram leaving the loop (approaching the camera)
Southbound bicyclist, south of the stop
Southbound bicyclist, south of the stop
Tram in the loop (w) (viewed from the south)
Tram in the loop (viewed from the south)
Tram in the loop (viewed from the south)
Trams in the loop (viewed from the south)
Trams in the loop (viewed from the south)
Trams in the loop (viewed from the south)
Trams in the loop (viewed from the south)
Trams in the loop (viewed from the south)
Shelter from the SW
Shelter from the SW
Shelter from the SW
A northbound carriage on the road, seen from a tram in the loop

Depot spur & building

The depot is accessed from a single track spur which runs NW from the passing loop at Home Farm stop. The depot building is a long NW-SE aligned building, in line with the spur.