The Weardale Railway Trust

Analysis

The Weardale Railway Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bishop Auckland. It was registered in October 2001, 25 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, arts/culture/heritage/science, environment/conservation/heritage and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03226401). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space, provides services and other charitable activities.

In the financial year ending January 2026, The Weardale Railway Trust reported income of £62k and spending of £55k, spending 88% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from January 2022 to January 2026, income grew from £29k to £62k (+116%), an average of +21% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to January 2026, when income rose by 126%. Over the whole period it spent 102% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, The Weardale Railway Trust sits at the 73rd percentile: it is larger than about 73% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 64th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Sherborne Museum (£62k), Mousehole Male Voice Choir (£62k) and Hellifield Institute (£62k).