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Rail 200 Tour – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 200
In the ‘Rail 200 Tour‘ I join the Railway Touring Company‘s Charter train marking the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast:
A bit of history:
On 27 September 1825, 12 waggons of coal travel across the two Brusselton incline planes. They are hauled by stationary engines to Mason’s Arms Crossing at Shildon.
Locomotion No. 1 then takes over. The load is 12 wagons of coal, another wagon with sacks of flour and 21 wagons with seats for passengers. Around 600 passengers board with some on seats, others on top of the coal and in amongst the flour sacks and some clinging on to the sides of the wagons.
The train sets off along the 21 miles of track, following a man on a horse with a flag. It stops when the waggon carrying the company surveyors and engineers loses a wheel; it then stops again for 35 minutes for minor repairs.
It reaches 15 mph. When it reaches Darlington there is an estimated audience of 10,000 people.
The journey continues until the train reaches Stockton where it is greeted by a crowd of around 40,000 people and a 21-gun salute. 102 people then attend a banquet to greet the world’s first steam-hauled passenger train!
Our route:
Our train starts its journey in Carnforth, well before a civilised breakfast time. There are further stops to pick at Skipton, Keighley and Woodlesford before we reach York where our final passengers board.
At York our Class 57 diesel locomotive leaves the train and the ex LMS Black 5, number 44871, takes over the rest of our journey north.
Darlington and Shildon:
We pass through Darlington on our way to our stop at Shildon, crossing over the Skerne Bridge which is the world’s oldest railway bridge.
Weardale Railway:
After passing through Bishop Auckland we join the Weardale Railway where we stop at Stanhope to service the Black 5. After this we travel to Newcastle and then return to York where the Black 5 leaves us and we continue homeward with the Class 57.
Listen to the podcast to hear all about my journey on this historic day for our railways.
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Music:
AKM Music licenses Steam Railway for use in this podcast.