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.
Here is a list of events linked to Railway 200 that are being held at Middleton Railway this year
Blenkinsop, Murray and Leeds Loco Building
Presented by Anthony Dawson The talk will start by exploring the socio-economic reasons why the locomotive supplanted the horse:
Happy Birthday ‘Sweet Pea’ – 90 years of Hunslet 1786
2025 marks several anniversaries including the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway opening and 65th anniversary of the
The Three Contemporary Models of the Blenkinsop/Murray Locomotives
Presented by Dr Michael Bailey The three Blenkinsop/Murray models are believed to be the world’s oldest locomotive models. Recent
Middleton Railway – a Preservation Pioneer
Presented by Middleton Railway Vice Chairman, Ian Smith The talk will cover the first 10 years of the Middleton Railway’s
Autumn Gala
Middleton Railway presents it’s Annual Autumn Gala. To close our Railway 200 celebrations, we plan on having a celebration of