A NEW campaign to keep the world’s first passenger locomotive in the town where it has been for 160 years has been launched.

Darlington wants the iconic engine to stay at the Head of Steam Museum, rather than allow the Science Museum to move it to the National Railway Museum’s Locomotion attraction at Shildon.

Locomotion no 1, which was built by pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson, is a key part of Darlington Borough Council's plans to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Darlington and Stockton Railway in 2025.

A campaign to keep it in Darlington was launched in January following news of the plans by the National Rail Museum, which is part of the Science Museum, to move it to Shildon.

A fresh effort to get support was launched yesterday at St John’s School.

The Northern Echo’s Chris Lloyd visited the school to talk to pupils about the history of the engine and its importance in the region and the world.

The Northern Echo:

Pupils visited the Head of Steam last month and have been working on a project about the engine.

Following a trip to Head of Steam, the youngsters are getting involved in the campaign and are writing letters to bosses at the Science Museum to try and convince them to keep the engine in Darlington, as well as urging others to sign the petition.

Year six teacher Marco Ramsay said: “We started doing the local history of Darlington and being famous for the trains, we decided to focus on transport and the beginning of the railway.

"When we went to Head of Steam we learned about Locomotion no 1 and the plan to move it so our project has changed from being about trains in general to this one campaign.

"Part of our curriculum is about citizenship and how children can make a difference. They have loved getting involved and it has given them a real purpose and focus."

He added: "If it comes to fruition it would be amazing for them to feel like they were part of it."

Last month, Darlington Borough Council pledged to "redouble efforts" on the campaign to keep the historic engine in the town after it emerged fewer than 3,000 people had signed a petition to keep Locomotion no 1 at the Head of Steam museum, which has housed it since 1975.

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The council would like to see the petition debated in Parliament.

But for that to happen, it would need to attract 100,000 names.

The Keep the Loco in Darlo campaign was launched by the council, with support from rail heritage experts and a cross-party group of politicians.

Council leader Councillor Heather Scott said: "This is something the people of Darlington will be horrified about, and I fully understand.

“I want to send a very clear message to people in Darlington that this council will leave no stone unturned in our quest to keep Locomotion No. 1 in Darlington.

“Keeping Locomotion No. 1 in Darlington is crucial for our 2025 celebrations – it’s unthinkable to imagine it anywhere else but Darlington for the 200th anniversary of the world’s first passenger railway.

"I would urge people to sign the petition and add their voices to our campaign – the case for keeping Locomotion No. 1 in Darlington is not just persuasive, it’s compelling.”

The council also has plans for a new rail heritage quarter in Darlington, including a redeveloped free-to-visit museum.

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In March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he supported the campaign, after Darlington MP Peter Gibson asked him to back it during Prime Minister's Questions.

Locomotion No 1 has been owned by the Science Museums Group since 1968 and is on loan to Head of Steam until March 2021.

To sign the petition visit: www.darlington.gov.uk/keep-the-loco-in-darlo.