It is a good idea to use a different language.It was a strange sight to see in the English countryside. As a muggy summer’s day began outside Shildon, Durham – rain threatening, bees drowsy in the hedgerows – I found myself standing on an embankment, surveying two rows of colossal stone teeth jutting through the earth. It was as if someone had buried an enormous sleeping giant.
Richie Starrs told me, as we stared at the molars under our feet, that “you wouldn’t believe this by looking at them, but it is one of rail history’s greatest feats.” They were actually abandoned rail sleepers that were laid out in between hawthorns, along which steam traction locomotives once pulled coal wagons uphill. “This is the Brusselton Incline. A section of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. This is a story which, although not well-known nationally, we can be proud of.
This year is unlike any other for those who are interested in rail history. Shildon was the first railway city in the world when, two hundred years before, the Stockton and Darlington Railway (a 26-mile line) opened on 27th September 1825. Lessons learned helped the north east, Britain, Europe and other countries to realize the importance of rail transport, initially for coal and limestone, but then for passengers. It was “the railway” that set the world in motion.
This year’s bicentennial festivities in Britain will be centered around the borough of Westminster (see Railway 200 Durham’s multi-purpose facility (for details on hundreds events) is Durham’s new multipurpose S&DR Trail of Discovery. Launching in this month as a part of the multiarts S&DR200 festival, the meandering greenway follows the original 26-mile route from Witton Park Colliery near Bishop Auckland to Stockton Riverside and will, its founders hope, stimulate interest in the region’s rail history – and give a shot in the arm to the “left behind” pit communities along the way. The anniversary is marked by a positive mood, but it doesn’t erase the sadness that has persisted over the rail line ever since the coalfields have been exhausted and the Shildon Wagon Works – once called “the jewel of British Rail’s Crown” – was closed.
There would be some who find this all too trainspotterish, but not Starrs, S&DR200’s project manager, or Niall Hammond, volunteer chair of the Friends of the S&DR, both of whom joined me on the first completed section of the trail, a five-mile ramble from the Brusselton Incline to Heighington station, the world’s first train station, at Newton Aycliffe.
Over the coming months, the trail – rich in history – will be transformed with 17 information boards and newly commissioned art murals, plus a podcast and augmented reality game, devised to add colour. The route is also well-suited to hopping on a train in order to get between the many milestones.
Niall told us that the goal was to not only encourage people to stay and walk on the trail for a couple of days but to also ignite broader regeneration in the area. According to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Durham continues to be one of England’s most deprived regions. “This is more history than just a rail track and iron for people who enjoy them,” he said. “The goal is to make this a valuable experience for the locals. We are cleaning up and renovating areas, as well as showing the impact of our work. It’s urban regeneration in action.”
After I learned to recognize the signs of rail heritage in the landscape despite its absence, it was easier to imagine the impact this small corner of Durham had on the world. On a stretch along the reclaimed railway line in Shildon, old goods sheds, iron warehouses, loading bays, and engine houses appeared alongside tired houses and a vacant pub.
We passed the coaling drop admiring the beautiful brickwork arches that were once used by wooden chutes to rapidly load coal into hoppers. Then we saw a row railway workers’ cottages which are now memorials for those who dedicated their life to the tracks. No engine oil was in the air, just bluebells and primrose.
Shildon’s captivating train story has a new chapter. Locomotion, a museum that opened its £8m New Hall last year. It houses Europe’s biggest indoor collection of historical locomotives (a staggering 99 engines) as well as a 150 year-old bronze statue dedicated to the great north-east railway engineer Robert Stephenson. This statue was moved from London Euston for construction of Britain’s controversial HS2 high-speed rail. Robert, alongside his influential father George (who designed the first locomotive of the Stockton and Darlington Railway), shaped the history of rail. The Rocket, his 1829 locomotive, is now on loan from York. National Railway Museum.
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Locomotion’s buzzy cafe has Eurostar seating, cakes and a gingerbread loaf straight from the Stephenson cookbook. The book is also part of National Railway Museum collection and contains more novelties dating back to the 1840s. These include recipes for birch wines, English Champagne, mince “pyes”, and calf-foot gilly – a pudding that’s made by boiling the foot of a calf. This was thankfully not on the menu.
The next good place to look through the Looking-Glass is Hopetown DarlingtonA train ride of eight minutes from Heighington takes passengers to North Road station where they are dropped off next to another world-record: the Skerne Bridge. This is the oldest railway crossing in continuous operation. The 3 hectares (7 acres) open-air museum and the exhibition housed in a Victorian station are a wealth of information. A dust-free archive with 30,000 artifacts is available.
It’s half the fun to learn trivia. I learned that a note had to be placed inside a slit-up potato to be thrown from a train window to deliver a message from a moving car to a station. The Stockton and Darlington Railway story is taught in Japanese schools, but not England.
In its grand engineering hall, the UK’s contribution towards railways in the world was brought to mind. Robert Stephenson was instrumental in the creation of the Grand Trunk Railway, Canada’s first railroad and Egypt’s first railway. His work directly influenced both the Norwegian Trunk Railway as well the first railroad in Argentina.
Rightly, all of this and more will be celebrated across the UK this summer – from InspirationThe largest assembly of rolling stocks at Derby Litchurch Lane Works (the country’s largest factory) is the unique Railway 200 exhibition train that will be touring 60 stations from 27 June.The Greatest GatheringIt is a great opportunity to learn about the benefits of rail travel and how to slow down at home. This is a great way to learn about the benefits of rail transportation and how you can slow down when at home. You could also think of it as a tale about the people, communities, and tracks that bring them all together.
S&DR 200 runs November 2025 Durham and the Tees Valley Railway 200 runs The end of the year is a time for events nationwide. The trip was sponsored by Durham You can also find out more about the following: Visit England
