200 years of train travel
12 September 2024
Base yourself at Headlam Hall to celebrate the world’s Railway Heritage and Railway 200 next year
Most people will have heard of George Stephenson and the fact that the Stockton and Darlington Railway was the very first passenger railway anywhere in the world. But fewer will know that next year, 2025, sees a major celebration of the railways across the whole of the United Kingdom – and in no region more so than County Durham and the Tees Valley!
The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened on 27th September 1825. Before that, coal had been hauled by horse or canal boat, but the railway changed all that, and as demand grew and industry flourished, the advent of Britain’s first steam locomotive railway was welcomed throughout the north east.
The railway took three years to construct, costing over £5m in today’s currency, and spanning 25 miles in length. Speeds averaged just 8 mph! But so began the spread of rail travel across the globe, allowing passengers as well as goods unrivalled access to far-flung destinations as well as more local trips.
Darlington, just 15 minutes from Headlam Hall, is a mecca for railway heritage, with a £35m attraction, Hopetown Darlington, having sprung up on the site of the original North Road station, on the actual route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. In fact, it was opened by the late HRH Prince Philip on the last major anniversary of the S&DR - the 150th - back in 1975. Hopetown Darlington was previous known as The Head of Steam, and has over 30,000 articles and artefacts to see across a 75 acre site.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway connected collieries near Shildon, near Bishop Auckland, with the two towns for the easy transport of coal. Shildon is now the base for the National Railway Museum’s northern outpost – Locomotion. Being part of the Science Museum Group, and with free entrance to visitors, Locomotion has recently completed a brand new £8m collections building. County Durham is rightly known as the cradle of the railways, and Shildon - the world’s first railway town – will also be at the heart of the nation’s “Railway 200” celebrations next year.
Headlam Hall is one of the best located hotels for all the north east Railway 200 celebrations and already has one or two groups booked in. If you would like to check availability or learn more, just telephone the hotel on 01325 730238 or email reception@headlamhall.co.uk.