Barrow Hill Roundhouse's 150+ 2 birthday gala pulls in 2,000 visitors

The 150 + 2 Celebration Gala, so named because the Covid pandemic delayed it for two years, attracted visiting locomotives and preservation societies.

A highlight for the rail enthusiasts who attended the event was seeing the 58A loco on show at the Roundhouse for the first time after being loaned by the National Railway Museum.

Alexa Stott, marketing manager for Barrow Hill Roundhouse, said: “We had a fantastic three days. We had over 2,000 visitors, which was amazing – we were totally blown away. Our furthest visitor came from Perth in Australia – he always checks our timetable and plans his visit to England around what we are doing. We had visitors from Scotland and Southampton. We also had a lot of local families, people from Chesterfield, Staveley and Sheffield. There were people who hadn’t visited the Roundhouse before and people who hadn’t been for a long time because of Covid…..I think people were pleased to be back and enjoying Barrow Hill in the sun.”

There were plenty of attractions for young and old to enjoy during the sun-soaked gala which ran from Friday to Sunday.

Alexa said: "People could get up close to these huge locos, go up in the cab and pretend they were driving a big train and have their photograph taken with them. Everyone loved the little steam engine rides – that was a special thing for people to do.

"We had lots of families because we laid on activities for them. We had arts workshops. We had Carole Copeland telling stories about the Roundhouse and acting out some of the scenes from Down The Line play that we did."

Alexa has praised the team of 100 volunteers and staff who worked like Trojans before and during the three-day celebration. She said: “They threw themselves into everything and worked their socks off. We’re a small team and putting on these events takes a lot of work.

"People have enjoyed this celebration gala so much and it’s made it enjoyable for us seeing people having so much fun.”

Gary Brown posted on the Roundhouse’ site on Facebook: “Had a fantastic time with my granddaughter who loved the opportunity to have a sit in the driver’s seat of several locos, a very nice selection of preserved and mainline stuff on display and very helpful staff/volunteers.”

Sarah Reily posted: “My 11 year old son is autistic and events like these are where he truly comes alive and can embrace his passion. He's taken about 200 photos and is still talking about how much he loved it.”

Anne Carter commented: “Been on my bucket list of places to visit for many years and got there. Worth every minute and mile of the return journey from Sunderland. And to see The DPS Shed took me back to my uni days when I used to watch for Deltics pulling the mail train through Durham.”

Barrow Hill Roundhouse is one of four visitor attractions to be earmarked for the county’s Shine A Light celebrations later this year. The Roundhouse will be lit up by large-scale projections on December 8 and 9 from 5pm. Alexa said: “Visitors will see it as they have never seen it before.”