Bowes Railway
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
About Bowes Railway
The atmospheric Bowes Railway was originally a colliery railway which was built to carry coal mainly from the pits in North West Durham over to the Tyne at Jarrow. The earliest section was designed by the one and only George Stephenson and was formally opened on 17 January 1826, making it one of the world's very first modern railways! An exciting visit for chuff heads of all ages!
Bowes Railway Museum is the only operational preserved standard gauge rope-hauled railway in the world too, so it makes for a great extra-curricular project to show and tell in school. That is of course provided you can catch it open!
Tuesdays and Thursday weekly you can visit the museum but you really want to aim for the Open Days or Steam Days when there's additional action to get in on and more to enjoy. Those are only held twice a month so best you pan ahead! On Open Days you can access the ‘Kip and Dish' cafe, enjoy guided site tours, observe shunting demonstrations and explore mining displays, so well worth timing a visit for when you can all this as well as go into the museum.
Steaming dates and a range of special events are also held at irregular intervals throughout the year too so it's well worth keeping a sly eye through the handy link and knowing what's coming up and when so you can choo-choose when to go!
Opening Times
Please see website for details
Pricing & Tickets
Free admission
Donations are welcome
Book in advance for cheapest tickets
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