Frank Atkinson RIP

It has been anounced with saddness that Frank Atkinson the founder of The North of England Open Air Museum as it was known in the early days. Better known these days simply as Beamish, has passed away, he was 90.

He started in the sixties rounding allsorts of items to form the museum. Things like a colliery from just down the road at Beamish, Anfield Plain Coop, The Sun Inn from Killingworth, Rowley Station from the old Derwent Valley line from Blaydon to Consett. The J21 and a selection of both carriages [from the internal NCB system at Ashington I believe] and waggons. Not forgetting of course the Trams too, they have become an integral part of the site allowing visitors reletivaly easy access around the 350 acre site. These are just a selection of the vast and ever increasing collection of items that the Museum has and continues to acquire........

The Museum will be quite a tribute to Frank, in the long term. As things if anything with the Museum, it out Forth Bridges the Forth Bridge so to speak as they are always adding new sections [Ok I know the painters don't have to constantly paint the bridge from end to end now with the new paint they have. But you know what I mean!]. The latest "new" area they are starting being the fifties town along side the 1913 town.