Heritage Filmmaking at Bowes Railway: The Engineering Workshop
In 2018, as part of my ongoing heritage filmmaking practice, I filmed The Engineering Workshop at Bowes Railway Museum.
This is the second in a trilogy of short films documenting the reconstruction of a traditional coal tub. This stage focused on the machining of the wheels and axles, where legacy tools and techniques brought metal to life. For me, it was another example of what heritage filmmaking can do: reveal the quiet skill embedded in craft, and the living memory preserved through manual work.
The film captures a key step in the project: precision-engineering the tub’s axle and wheel components. Forged in the blacksmith’s workshop, these parts come into focus here as they’re drilled, reamed, shaped, and fitted with exacting care. It’s a methodical, measured process, grounded in technical skill but driven by something deeper—dedication.
Bowes Railway, based in Springwell, Gateshead, was originally designed by George Stephenson in 1826. Built to transport coal from Mount Moor to Jarrow Staithes, it used a rope-haulage system powered by stationary engines—a cutting-edge innovation at the time. Today, it stands as the world’s oldest working standard gauge rope-hauled railway and a scheduled ancient monument.
Heritage filmmaking, for me, is about stepping into these spaces and making visible the layers of history still in motion. The engineering shed is filled with legacy equipment: lathes, shapers, grinders. Volunteers talk through their steps in calm, precise tones—adjusting spindle speeds, checking tool heights, preparing to cut metal that must align to fractions of a millimetre. You can almost feel the time held in the surfaces.
Filming this stage meant staying close to the work. I captured the moment the reamed bore receives the axle spindle—flush and perfect. Then the final parting-off cut is made on the lathe. Later, a grub screw is tapped through the boss to lock it to the shaft. It’s industrial, but also intimate.
What I love about heritage filmmaking is the attention it allows. There’s no need for spectacle. You just watch—watch tools engage, hands steady the work, measurements confirmed and rechecked. It’s the opposite of fast content. It rewards slowing down.
What struck me most during filming was how much of this knowledge lives in the muscle memory of the volunteers. These are not scripted demonstrations or staged reconstructions. The process is real. Decisions are made on the spot, adjustments calculated by feel as much as by gauge. Watching someone dial in the speed on a lathe or eyeball the depth of a thread tap reminds you that heritage doesn’t only live in archives—it lives in practice.
The machinery itself also tells a story. Scuffed surfaces, hand-labelled switches, even the light from the old windows—they all carry the texture of lived experience. I tried to let the space speak for itself. In heritage filmmaking, I’ve learned that atmosphere is often as important as action. You need to capture what it feels like to be there, not just what’s happening.
This project sits between The Blacksmith Workshop and The Joinery Workshop—three films made at Bowes Railway showing how a single replica tub was built from metal and wood. From axle to wheel, from forge to timber, each film builds on the last. Together, they show not just how something was made, but how knowledge is passed down, preserved, and kept active.
As part of my approach to heritage filmmaking, I tried to let the mood of the shed guide the tone of the film. I kept camera movements minimal, framing steady, sound unembellished. The hum of the lathe, the occasional chuckle from volunteers, the weight of a drill bit—all of it carries meaning.
The Engineering Workshop is about practical precision—but also about care, patience, and pride. It documents one step in a long tradition of making and mending. And like the railway itself, it’s a reminder that history isn’t just behind us—it’s often turning quietly on a lathe, right in front of us.
If you’d like to watch more of my work exploring community stories, creative resilience, and diverse subjects across arts, heritage, and the environment, you can explore all my films here: https://alanfentiman.co.uk/films-by-alan-fentiman/
You can also browse more of my heritage-related films here: https://alanfentiman.co.uk/vimeo-videos/heritage-films/