Transport Through The Ages at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North: Part of the The Carrying of Passengers is Forbidden - Invalid Carriages and their Heritage project.

The Carrying of Passengers is Forbidden unfolded the hidden histories of motoring design, social policy and disability, through interdisciplinary research into the ‘invalid tricycle’, a three-wheeled vehicle issued to disabled users. It examined official, and obscured unofficial accounts and silences, to explore approximately 75 years of disability mobility provision by the UK Government and explain how a multitude of ‘sanctioned’ decisions led to a dangerous, yet liberational, dichotomic package of ‘care’.

The results of the research were presented in an exhibition, The Carrying of Passengers is Forbidden, which in stage one was thematically curated around the WW1 period as showcased in Liverpool and was further developed in stage two to include the WW2 period and the NHS for later exhibitions, such as at Beamish Museum. The exhibition took the form of a multimedia installation consisting of photographic research, video interview, period archive film, innovative 3D animation, toy tricycle, tricycle ephemera, art installation and the use of a period invalid tricycle.

An unprecedented collection of 11 invalid tricycles (many working) went on display as part of the October 2019 half term Transport Through Time event at Beamish. On a par with all other vehicles on display, tricycles were included centre stage supporting McKeown and his teams, The Carrying of Passengers is Forbidden exhibition, located within the newly built and popular bus station. Over 3 days, c.7000 visitors (Beamish email 2019) inspected the exhibition and its vehicles and asked questions of the multiple volunteers on hand. McKeown gave regular demonstrations of a working Tippen Delta on the museum’s two-mile circular road system. Because invalid tricycles were withdrawn from British roads in 2003, this living history was very popular, something which was not lost on curator Natasha Anson (Beamish). She said, “This isn't really a story which is being told".