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Historic steam engine which helped Deeside’s World War II effort brings motoring museum season to close

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A historic machine which contributed to the war effort on the Queen’s Aberdeenshire estate brought a local motoring museum’s most successful season in more than a decade to a close yesterday.

Volunteers at the Grampian Transport Museum (GTM) fired up the Birkhall steam engine at its new-look visitor entrance to herald the final day of the centre’s 2016 season.

The machine was used to power a sawmill on the Birkhall Estate during World War II after being built by the Ministry of Supply to a Victorian-era design in 1942.

For years it lay unused at the Royal grounds, which is the summer home of Prince Charles, before he donated the steam engine to the museum in the 1980s.

Last night curator of the GTM, Mike Ward, said it was a fitting way to bring the venue’s most successful season for “over a decade”.

Last week he had hoped their final run of events, which included a “Halloween special” and a display of engineering miniatures, would bring annual visitor numbers up past 30,000.

This would have rivalled a record-breaking year in 1992.

However Mr Ward said early indications brought the figures to about 29,000 for the year.

Speaking yesterday he added: “It has been a busy day and the season has been really good, it has been full of variety. Numbers are right up, well up on last year.

“We were hoping to get 30,000, we’ll maybe have had 29,000 – we haven’t done the sums yet.

“It is the fifth consecutive year our visitor numbers have risen. We are delighted with that.”

He said the GTM team would be “back to it hammer and tongs” within weeks, adding preparing for the season ahead during winter was often their busiest time of the year.

Mr Ward said: “It is the critically important time of the year for us.”

Earlier this year the museum’s new £320,000 revamped visitor centre opened to the public after a huge fundraising effort.

Not long afterwards, staff, volunteers and the general public were stunned after top UK motorcyclist and TV personality Guy Martin asked them to display a number of his most treasured vehicles.

He handed the GTM a historic aircraft engine and three of his favourite motors to the museum for its opening 2016 exhibition.

Mr Martin also donated his “prized possession” custom-build motorcycle – recently used to break a Wall of Death speed record to the centre.