The Bowes Railway, which has struggled for some years, hit a new crisis in the latter part of May with the Springwell site temporarily closed amid staffing and funding issues. Long-time Bowes site manager John Young was taken ill in June and seemed unlikely to return as financial problems mounted. The Bowes Railway, a scheduled ancient monument, has been kept going by local authority funding. The money was provided on a 50/50 basis by Gateshead and Sunderland Councils until early 2009 when Gateshead withdrew its support. The remaining funding from Sunderland CC has largely been swallowed up covering costs from the railway's last financial year, leaving insufficient to cover the wage bill this year.
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