When the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened on 27 September 1825, the 26-mile journey between Shildon and Stockton via Darlington transformed how the world traded, travelled, and communicated.[1] Connecting people and places in a new way. Railways formed the backbone of British, and indeed world development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This revolutionary technology quickly spreading across the globe. Shaping the movement of goods, people, and ideas. Today railways continue as critical parts of Britain’s transport infrastructure.
Railway 200 is a year-long nationwide partnership-led campaign to celebrate two centuries of the modern railway. It also aims to inspire a new generation of young people and encourage them to choose a career in rail. A range of community, rail, and other groups are getting involved across Britain. The celebrations started in January 2025, with a wide variety of activities and events planned to celebrate the history of rail, as well as its role today, and importance to the future.
Stockton & Darlington Railway 200 banners, Darlington Bank Top Station
To help tell the Railway 200 story, four main themes will be explored:
Skills & Education
Innovation, Technology & Environment
Heritage, Culture & Tourism
Celebrating Railway People
Railway 200 is being developed by a cross-industry partnership. A small core team is delivering national initiatives, but most of the nationwide activity is being run by partner organisations, supported by the core Railway 200 team. You may see all manner of events popping up near you, being run by local groups of volunteers and business. Get involved in Railway 200 with an activity or event near you, https://railway200.co.uk/search-for-activities-and-events/.
Railway 200 also hopes to attract more volunteers to heritage railways. There are 211 heritage railways, covering 600 miles across some spectacular scenery served by 460 stations, frequented by visitors from across Britain and beyond.[2]
Focussing on the birthplace of the modern railway three councils, Darlington, Durham, Stockton-on-Tees, and Tees Valley Combined Authority, have joined forces with a range of local, national, and international partners. As part of Railway 200 they are delivering a nine-month festival of internationally significant projects throughout the bicentenary year – S&DR200
Railway 200, activities and events page, https://railway200.co.uk/search-for-activities-and-events/
Railway 200 is also an opportunity for family and local historians to think about the railway connections to the people and places connected to them. Focussing on these key aspects of the lives of people in modern history. Network Rail have even launched a project to find the family with the longest railway history. Their search has uncovered a father and son who work on the railways and can trace railways in their family history right back to 1846.[3]
Whatever your connection to the railways, 2025 is an excellent opportunity to explore railway history.
References and Resources:
What is Railway 200?, https://railway200.co.uk/about-railway-200/
S&DR200,
https://www.sdr200.co.uk/
Railway Heritage Trust,
http://railwayheritagetrust.co.uk/
Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway,
https://www.sdr1825.org.uk/
David Gwyn, The Coming of the Railway: A New Global History, 1750-1850 (2023)
Colin Maggs, Great Britain's Railways: A New History (2019)
Jack Simmons and Gordon Biddle (eds.), The Oxford Companion to British Railway History: From 1603 to the 1990s (1998)
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/railway-200-railway-family-history
[1] S&DR200,
https://www.sdr200.co.uk/
[2] What is Railway 200?, https://railway200.co.uk/about-railway-200/
[3] Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/railway-200-railway-family-history
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Thanks for this. I am planning to move to the UK in the next few months, and I will certainly keep this in mind. The speed at which people can move from one place to another is of pivotal significance to every other aspect of life. Yet, it rarely receives the attention it merits.