Steam Elephant

This interpretation is based largely on contemporaneous paintings (one being the earliest known oil of a steam locomotive, by an unknown artist) and other material from the Museum archives.

The cylinders drove slide bar mounted beams which turned crankshafts driving the axles through 2:1 reduction gears between the frames.

It appears originally not to have been very successful at Wallsend, probably due to lack of adhesion on the wooden rails there, nor on trial at Washington.

Steam Elephant was recreated by Beamish Museum to work with passengers on its standard gauge "Pockerley Waggonway" in 2002, being assembled by Alan Keef.

The replica was designed and built by engineers Ross Clavell, Jim Rees and Dave Potter, finished in 1998.