Happy 199th anniversary to the Stockton & Darlington Railway!

In this month’s Tales from the Rails we are in party mood! From the laying of the first rail through to the days of British Rail, significant events and dates for the Stockton & Darlington Railway have been celebrated locally and nationally with visitors joining in the fun from abroad. We look at how and why they partied and speculate about the celebratory events in 2025.

In keeping with the party spirit, this is also a musical edition with examples of music played in 1825 thanks to Queen Victoria’s Consort and we are privileged to include the newly released Pioneers from the album Passengers & Pioneers by Sam Slatcher, due out in 2025 and the evocative Take Me Home, a sonically written poem by Lizzie Lovejoy.

Our Star of the S&DR is chief party organiser for the S&DR, Thomas Meynell. Chris Lloyd of the Northern Echo joins us to recount the time when he was lost for words. Meynell, that is. Not Chris. Chris is never lost for words.

Enjoy!

We know that before, during and after the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, engineers and railway promoters came to visit to see how a modern railway was run.

By modern railway we mean a railway that was a publicly available, permanent transport infrastructure that carried anything, including passengers) for a fee.

There was a period of time from 1825-1830 that the S&DR was really the only place that could be done. So this month we consider to what extent the Stockton & Darlington Railway influenced the development of railroads in America.

Joining us to help us navigate American railroads is Jonathan Ratcliffe, the secretary for the Friends of the S&DR.

In Stars of the S&DR we will visit Edward and Rachel Pease on Northgate in Darlington. Without them there would have been no S&DR.

And as usual, we outline news and events towards the end of the podcast.

This month we are looking at the latest S&DR visitor attraction to entice people from near and far – that is Hopetown in Darlington. This major visitor attraction is centred on an internationally significant collection of S&DR railway buildings. This podcast will explore these buildings and the new attraction that is the result of £35 million worth of funding.

In stars of the S&DR we will also learn a little about George Stephenson. No, not the world renowned engineer George Stephenson, but a different one! Listen to find out more.

Discover the fascinating stories and events from the past month and find out about upcoming events (even more of them now that 2025 looms near) and the latest news on the conservation, interpretation and commemoration of the S&DR.

So, plug in your headphones and enjoy a journey through railway history, heritage, and the vibrant community efforts leading up to the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2025.

Many thanks to Archie Mackay for editing this while on holiday and to Niall Hammond for covering for Archie while Archie had Covid. Thanks also to Lee Morris for being George Stephenson and to Dave Reynolds for our theme music. A special thank you to Janet Preshous of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and Richard Snowden of the Darlington Railway Preservation Society for joining us at Hopetown.