a transport museum. A partnership was formed between Tyne and Wear Museums and the council, to construct a steam hauled passenger railway rather than a static transport museum. The North Tyneside Steam Railway Association formed at the site after the Monkwearmouth Station Museum Association relocated to Middle Engine Lane, bringing with them some items of rolling stock they had been restoring in the Monkwearmouth station's goods shed, which was in a deteriorating condition. From 1987, volunteers under supervision conducted the works necessary to relay a single track from the museum to Percy Main. The line was completed in 1989 and the first passenger trains ran in early 1991. In 1994, Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and North Tyneside City Challenge made a grant available to North Tyneside Council to extend the workshops, redesign the museum space and construct a new facilities block. In 2003 the facilities block was further modified to improve educational and toilet facilities. In the early 1990s the LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern was displayed at the museum disguised as the Silver Link; the local Silverlink Business Park took its name from that locomotive due to it being at the museum of the time of construction. Bittern was moved to York in 1994 in exchange for loaning a Deltic. In 2007, the Tyne and Wear Museums and North Tyneside Council's head of cultural services have submitted plans for a feasibility study into developing the museum into a premier North East railway tourist attraction, with period buildings, a link to Percy Main Metro station, and all year round opening. In 2019, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums were given a lottery grant provided to redevelop the Stephenson Railway Museum. Among a lot of refurbishment in the museum building, this has also seen the name change from the Stephenson Railway Museum to the Stephenson Steam Railway. Operation Management The museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of North Tyneside Council. Volunteers of the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association (NTSRA) operate the railway and assist with the maintenance and conservation of locomotives and rolling stock. The NTSRA is managed by a committee that meets quarterly and has an Annual General Meeting yearly. Infrastructure The building on Middle Engine Lane serves as the railway workshop and the museum's indoor exhibition space, the workshop being on the left-hand side. The railway yard has three sidings entering the