When the first locomotive rolled down the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, with coal and 600 passengers on board, it must have been quite a sight.
More than 10,000 spectators watched as it traveled its 25-mile maiden voyage at 15 mph.
It was a proud moment for the North East and also a great party. The world’s first public railway with steam locomotives was already in operation.
Yesterday in Shildon, a small town eight miles north of Darlington, a new hall of vintage locomotives and historic carriages opened with much fanfare at the Museum of Locomotion.
Included are the world’s oldest oil tank cars, the first snow plows and a Bren gun carrier, as well as Locomotion No. 1, used on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, plus locomotive pioneer George Stephenson’s famous Rocket.
Tom Chesshyre explores Darlington, a town in the northeast of England. Above, your market
Full steam ahead: Skerne Bridge helped usher in the modern railway in 1825
The first locomotive rolled on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Above: Bakehouse Hill, Market Square, Darlington
Also opening this summer is Hopetown Darlington, a museum of the region’s early railway days. The idea is to form a “tourist train route” between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton.
Stockton is celebrating the railroad’s upcoming 200th anniversary in a less ostentatious way. That said, it already houses a “moving sculpture” called the Stockton Flyer. Every day at 1:00 p.m., this abstract metal representation of a Locomotion No. 1 emerges from a stone pedestal emitting whistles and steam; an extraordinary sight.
Darlington, however, is the obvious base for visiting this railway triumvirate.
Hopetown Darlington, a museum of the region’s early railway days, will open its doors this summer.
“For evening entertainment, look no further than the Hippodrome,” writes Tom
The market (above) is home to a lively bakery, a butcher shop serving pastries, as well as Mexican and Thai bars and restaurants.
Visitors admire the facilities at Locomotion, a museum in the town of Shildon (above)
And there’s plenty of non-railway charm to investigate.
Start in the market. A former center of the wool trade and leather manufacturing, it is now home to a lively bakery, a butcher shop serving premium meat pies, as well as bars and Mexican and Thai food stalls.
The nearby streets lead down to the River Skerne and offer pleasant walks. One is Skerne Bridge, where Locomotion No. 1 first crossed in 1825, as captured by artist John Dobbin in a work to be displayed at Hopetown Darlington.
More streets are lined with quirky collectibles shops (for a break, try the excellent Echo 3 cafe in Clark’s Yard). For a stronger drink, try the Hole In The Wall at Horse Market.
For evening entertainment, look no further than the Hippodrome, where £35 million has been spent renovating the theater which opened in 1907. In its early years, the famous Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova performed at the Hippodrome. How did she get there? By train, of course.