Watch as 156-year-old piece of 'vital' Sunderland history is fired up as part of special Steam Weekend

Nearly 3,000 people flocked to Ryhope Engines Museum across the Easter weekend to witness the historic site's 1868 steam engines once again powering the pumps which used to provide drinking water to the entire city.

Visitors also got to have a go at stoking up the boilers which power the beam engines as well as witnessing the work of a blacksmith creating an array of metal trinkets and tools.

Volunteer and chair of the museum's trust, Keith Bell, said: "This Easter weekend has gone very well and between Good Friday and Easter Sunday we had over two-and-a-half thousand visitors.

"Apart from today (Easter Monday) the weather has been good, which has really helped."

Sunday saw a bumper crowd as the museum played host to the Sunderland and District Classic Car Society's classic car show.

Keith said: "We had around 200 vehicles on display. The weather was nice and sunny and we were inundated with visitors."

The beam engines powered the pumping station which used to provide drinking water to Sunderland for almost a century, between 1868 and 1967.

While the museum is open to visit across the year, it is only on "special steam weekends" such as Easter that the boilers are fired up and the pumping pistons can be seen in all their Victorian glory.

Keith added: "For preservation reasons we can only operate the engines on a handful of occasions across the year.

"The engines pump the water from underground and into the reservoir.

"In some museums they would be encased in glass and wouldn't be used, but these engines were built to work and it's fantastic to see them operational on our steam weekends.

"It's across these weekends that we get 95% of our visitors. As a team we work hard to ensure admission remains free as it's important that this part of Sunderland's history and heritage remains accessible to everyone."

Husband and wife Kate and Gordon Jones had travelled from their home in Tynemouth to see the pumping station in action.

Gordon, 86, said: "We saw the museum was going to be running the steam engines today and we thought it was the chance to enjoy a long awaited experience.

"We have come to visit today and have been really pleased to see everything working and the enthusiasm of all the volunteers. It's great they are keeping this place alive and wonderful to come and see it."

Kate, 80, was also able to place a special order with the blacksmith.

She said: "I'm having a little candle holder made. I've really enjoyed my visit."

The pumping station is kept in working order by a willing band of volunteers.

Eddie Moore, 76, said: "It's always extra-special to see the steam engines running. I love working with engines. It's my hobby and gets me out of the house."

Fellow volunteer Peter Harrison, 77, said: "I really enjoy the steam weekends and it's very satisfying to see the engines running."

The museum will be hosting further Steam Weekends across the Whit Sunday and August Bank Holiday Weekends as well as October 26 and 27.