Stockton and Darlington Railway 200 event dates released

As part of the milestone celebration, which will take place on September 27, 2025, there will be a nine-month-long festival across County Durham and Tees Valley from March to November 2025.

The Festival is inspired by the first journey on the S&DR which went on to connect places, people and communities.

The Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, 1825 by John Dobbin (Image: HOPETOWN) From March 2025, organisers are encouraging people to celebrate the region’s pioneering past and look forward to its future with a series of free large-scale outdoor events, exhibitions and new art commissions in its public spaces, libraries, and museums.

S&DR200 is being delivered by Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

The Centenary Procession 1925. Train hauled by 'Locomotion' No 1 (Image: BRITISH RAIL) The full programme of events next year was unveiled on Thursday (September 19) at Darlington Hippodrome.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway was established as a 26-mile-long mainline to transport coal and other mixed goods from the mines of south Durham to the River Tees at Stockton, via Darlington, Shildon and Yarm.

The first steam locomotive to run on the line was called Locomotion No. 1, which pulled several waggons of coal and goods, and a carriage called Experiment with fare-paying passengers.

Darlington Bank Top station in 1887, photo by M. W. Ramsey (Image: M W RAMSEY) The key figures of the S&DR included investors and company director Edward Pease, a retired wool merchant from Darlington, his son Joseph Pease and Jonathan Backhouse from the Darlington bank of the same name and leading engineers of the time George Stephenson and Timothy Hackworth.

The celebrations will include a re-enactment of the first journey on the S&DR, done with a renovated replica of Locomotion No.1, taking place on September 26, 27 and 28, 2025.

The festival’s major museum partners are Hopetown Darlington, Locomotion in Shildon
(part of the Science Museum Group), Preston Park Museum & Grounds in Stockton-on-Tees and The Story in Durham City.

Locomotion, Shildon (Image: LOCOMOTION) The first three of these attractions are situated on the original S&DR route and their permanent displays include interpretation around the S&DR and all are accessible by rail. 

Alison Clark, Head of Culture, Leisure, Sport and Tourism at Durham
County Council, representing the S&DR200 Board said: "The opening of S&DR led to the birth of the modern railways which went on to change the world.

"As a board we want the S&DR200 Festival to accelerate the ongoing transformation across the region.

Niccy Hallifax, S&DR200 Festival Director (Image: S&DR200) "We want to deliver a festival that will spark renewed local, regional, national and international interest in the pioneering story of the S&DR, as well as providing unforgettable experiences for all our visitors."

Niccy Hallifax, S&DR200 Festival Director added: “S&DR200 is using a world-changing historical event that took place in the region as a starting point to explore the future.

Hopetown Darlington (Image: SCOTT AKOZ) "The festival programme will cater for all visitors including the railway enthusiasts as well as engage a younger generation, by finding new and inventive ways to tell the pioneering S&DR story.

"We will create magical moments using art, creativity and culture to show international audiences and young people how science, technology, engineering, arts and maths can not only change your own life but transform the world.” 

Hopetown Darlington will present:

• A display of early locomotives from April to July 2025. 
• An immersive steam-inspired installation from July to September 2025.
• An exhibition on the future of transport and skills from July to September 2025

Locomotion in Shildon will present at various dates:

• An exhibition of Railway Firsts in Main Hall in recognition of the innovation of 200 years of railways.
• The Young Railway Photographer of the Year exhibition.
• Events and programming exploring the future of transport and skills from March to September 2025 
• Three line-ups of iconic locomotives and rail vehicles will speak to 200 years of railway history.
• Talks and lectures aimed at railway enthusiasts.
• Activities for families and adults every weekend and throughout the school holidays.

Preston Park Museum & Grounds will present:

• A ‘Corridors of Connection’ installation in 2025. Artist Rebecca Louise Law will present an installation of botanical objects
• A display of national artworks in 2025. The new exhibition space will host several artworks of national significance.
• A digital installation in 2025. Artist Yann Nguema (France) will create a digital and sensory installation in the new exhibition space.
• The Big Build. A living sculpture, on the grounds, a project co-designed with Grace Choi, in collaboration with women, those who identify as women, and non-binary people in acknowledgement of the lack of representation of women and their roles in the documented S&DR story.
•  An interactive, family-focused and large-scale playscape in 2025, inspired by railways and invention, in the new exhibition space.

The Story in Durham City will present:

• An exhibition exploring two centuries of transformation following the opening of the S&DR, which spurred economic development and transformed the socio-economic fabric of the region. 

The Art of Rail Design exhibition will tour several libraries in the region. It will feature original historic artefacts relating to S&DR including maps, blueprints, and letters.

Exhibitions related to S&DR are also taking place at several museums and galleries in County Durham and Tees Valley including an exhibition at the Mining Art Gallery in the Auckland Project in Bishop Auckland at the Bowes Museum and Raby Castle in County Durham.

Reuben Kench, S&DR200 Chairman of the board and Director of Community Services, Environment and Culture at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (Image: JO BOOTH) A series of new public artworks will be installed over the nine months of the festival
including a sculpture by James Bawn (UK) and a kinetic sculpture by Ivan Black (UK)
inspired by train signalling, in collaboration with young producers and writers, poets and
local engineering students.

The festival opens with a large-scale visual spectacle in Bishop Auckland including a light projection and drone show on March 29, 2025, charting 200 years of rail travel and revealing the global impact the railways have had since 1825. 

A two-part Ghost Train outdoor performance will take place on September 21, 2025, in Darlington and September 28 in Stockton.

This will feature a procession of large-scale art installations representing the world’s most pivotal modern inventions through Darlington, and a spectacular re-imagining of Locomotion No. 1 in Stockton the following week. 

Seasons, Rebecca Louise Law (Image: Rebecca Louise Law)A nationwide challenge for primary and secondary-aged children will also take place. The S&DR
Invention Challenge from Little Inventors invites children to use their creativity and imagination to invent a new and innovative vision of future rail travel.

Alongside this, a mass participation art project will happen over the nine months of the festival. Visitors to festival venues, plus school children, care home residents and communities in County Durham and Tees Valley will be invited to decorate a wooden peg doll inspired by a personal memorable journey, which they will write on an accompanying tag.

Preston Park Museum and Grounds, Stockton (Image: S&DR200) These will be installed at a venue in autumn 2025 before being photographed, digitised and archived, to represent a snapshot of travel memories. 

Later in the year, the Women of the World event will take place in Durham City in October 2025.

The first WOW event in the North East of England will be packed with talks and performances.

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The line-up will take a look at women’s roles in the history of S&DR, as well as celebrating achievements and stories from women, girls, and non-binary people past and present from the region and beyond. 

Finally,  the S&DR200 Fringe Festival will take place across 2025, giving community and art organisations the chance to celebrate this special year in their own way.

The Fringe includes a series of walks by the Friends of Stockton & Darlington, and events along the newly opened S&DR Discovery Trail.