Loco legend – George Stephenson.
A replica of the Locomotion One passed through Aycliffe Business Park for the 200th anniversary celebrations on Friday, September 26. Pictures from Sharon Hutchinson.
reliability of horses. Yet steam quickly proved its worth: faster, stronger and, in the long run, cheaper.
By 1833, the line was fully steamoperated. Two tracks were laid, timetables were introduced and even early signalling systems were installed – practices that would become the foundation of modern rail travel.
The S & DR didn’ t just move coal – it launched careers. George Stephenson honed the skills here that would later bring the world the Liverpool & Manchester Railway and his revolutionary Rocket locomotive.
His apprentice, Joseph Locke, and other engineers, including Daniel Adamson, also cut their teeth on the line before shaping Britain’ s industrial future.
Even the architecture left its mark. The Skerne Bridge in Darlington, designed by Ignatius Bonomi, became one of the first purpose-built railway bridges in the world. It still stands today – the oldest railway bridge in continuous use – and once graced the back of the £ 5 note.
Although absorbed by the North Eastern Railway in 1863, the spirit of the S & DR
endures. Much of its original route is now the Tees Valley Line, still connecting the communities it first bound together two centuries ago.
And its wider legacy? Nothing less than the global railway revolution. The S & DR showed the world that steam railways worked – sparking a century of expansion that carried people, goods and ideas across continents.
In 2025, the Stockton & Darlington Railway marks its 200th anniversary – a milestone not just for the Tees Valley, but for the world.
Celebrations echo the excitement of that first journey: a tribute to the innovation, courage and sheer determination of the people who turned a local coal route into the foundation of modern transport.
As we celebrate, we’ re reminded of the Tees Valley’ s enduring spirit. From forging bridges and building ships to leading the UK’ s fastestgrowing tech hub in Middlesbrough today, this region has always been about progress.
Two hundred years ago, we built the railway that changed everything. Today, we keep building – not just the tracks of the past, but the pathways to the future.
World’ s first public railway using steam locomotives – officially opened on September 27, 1825.
The inaugural train, hauled by George Stephenson’ s Locomotion No. 1, carried 450 passengers in coal wagons.
The original line was 26 miles long, running from Shildon to Stockton-on- Tees via Darlington.
Initially built to transport coal from County Durham’ s pits to the River Tees for export.
By the 1830s, the S & DR’ s success inspired the global railway boom, laying the blueprint for modern railways.
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