The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 caught the public imagination and catapulted railways into the limelight … it created so much excitement that we’re still talking about it today.

Railway 200 is about commemorating all the milestones in railway history that created the modern world that we live in – not just the Stockton and Darlington Railway anniversary. From package holidays to commuting and even standardised time, the railways gave birth to them all – this is the year to celebrate all the achievements of the railways.

The Middleton Railway’s engineers Matthew Murray and John Blenkinsop’s pioneer work in 1812 paved the way for George Stephenson’s “Locomotion No 1” to successfully haul the first public passenger train in the World between Stockton & Darlington in 1825.