Origins?The opening of a new First School in Wylam in 1974 created an opportunity by 1976 for the County Council to redevelop the former school, known today as the Falcon Centre, to house a new Library and to allow Wylam Parish Council to create a small museum in one of the old classrooms.
It took a few years, considerable voluntary effort and the support of both the County and District Councils before the dream became reality. Particularly important was the generosity of many local residents and others, who either donated or loaned various railway artefacts and memorabilia to enhance the displays. Wylam Railway Museum was finally opened on 9 June 1981 by Dr John Coiley, Keeper of the National Railway Museum, the event coinciding with celebrations in the village to mark the bicentenary of the birth, in Wylam, of George Stephenson, often referred to as the ?Father of Railways?.
Today?The Museum displays focus on the importance of Wylam and its several local railway pioneers, including George Stephenson, Timothy Hackworth and William Hedley, whose work was so significant in the early development of railways. Also represented are the stories of the old waggonway that enabled coal to be transported from Wylam to the staithes further down the River Tyne and the Newcastle to Carlisle Railway, on which Wylam station is one of the oldest stations in the world to be still in use. The former North Wylam line and station, which closed in 1968, are also illustrated.
In 2013, the Museum was enhanced by the addition of two one-twelfth scale ?working models? of two of the earliest locomotives, the ?Puffing Billy? and the ?Wylam Dilly?. These models were commissioned by Wylam Parish Council following a very generous bequest for the purpose and they add immensely to the attraction of this small but interesting Museum.
George Stephenson’s Birthplace is close by, about half a mile to the east along the Wylam Waggonway path. It is owned by the National Trust and unfortunately has been shut to visitors since early 2017. However you can still see the exterior and say you have been there! Its future is under consideration by the Trust, but we hope it will reopen soon.