BEAMISH Museum says this year’s Great North Steam Fair will be the biggest and best yet.

The open air attraction at Stanley, County Durham, is holding the event from Thursday to Sunday (April 9 to 12) to kick off its Great North Festival of Transport.

Paul Jarman, Beamish’s Assistant Director, Transport and Industry, said: “We’ve set out to produce an event to beat 2014’s and I think we are on course to do this with the spectacular variety of truly historic vehicles being presented over the festival.

“It is hard to single any one attraction for special mention, but certainly the steam navvy and Battle Bus are sure to be hugely popular with visitors.

“The overall ‘feel’ of the event is to create the hustle and bustle of the 1920s and 30s transport scene across the museum, with as much working activity as possible. We hope visitors will enjoy it.”

The Battle Bus B2737, from the London Transport Museum, was a London bus that was commandeered by the War Department when the First World War broke out.

The steam navvy was built in the late Victorian period and used for mining, quarrying, railway and canal building and infrastructure projects.

Other highlights include steam train rides at Rowley Station and seeing steam locomotives Lewin and Coffee Pot at the Colliery railway and Hugh Napier and Jennie on the narrow gauge railway.

Visitors can ride on the model engineers’ railway, watch road-making displays, visit a model tramway exhibition on Saturday and Sunday and see a working display in The Town garage.

Visit www.beamish.org.uk or call 0191 3704000 for opening times and ticket details.