Museum engineers plans for a great bank holiday
WEEKEND EVENT CELEBRATES 150TH ANNIVERSARY
Ryhope Engines Museum is steaming ahead with plans for a good time this weekend as it celebrates its 150th anniversary.
The museum is hosting a free public event to mark the milestone, and offering visitors the chance to experience everything the Victorian waterworks has to offer.
The volunteer-run museum was built in 1868 and supplied drinking water to Sunderland and surrounding areas for 100 years.
TheGradeIIlistedbuilding holdsSteamingEventsaround BankHolidayweekends,when visitors can see the site in operation. The museum, owned by Northumbrian Water, is also open every Sunday until the end of December, from 2pmto5pm,asastaticexhibit.
The two 100 horsepower beam engines, built by R & W Hawthorn, can be seen working during opening weekends as well as three Lancashire boilers (from 1908), two of which are in regular use, a blacksmith’s forge, a waterwheel, numerous steam engines, pumps and waterworks accessories.
KeithBell,chairmanofThe Ryhope Engines Trust, said: “We are looking forward to opening our doors to the public this coming Bank Holiday weekend to help celebrate the station’s 150th anniversary.
“We would like to welcome as many visitors as possible to join in the celebrations of this milestone event and to enjoy the continuing preservation of this amazing regional industrial heritage site.”
He added: “I would like to thank all of the volunteers, Northumbrian Water, See It Do It Sunderland, the North EastMilitaryVehicleCluband the North East Classic Vehicle Society for their ongoing supportinourpreservationaims.”
Ryhope Engines Museum is open to the public from tomorrow to Monday, August 27, between 11am and 4pm and features a military vehicle show. The museum offers free limited parking and has improved access for visitors with mobility issues and parents with pushchairs.