THE 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway is fast coming down the tracks towards us, and many places along the 26 miles of the railway that got the world on track are taking advantage of the anniversary.

From the Locomotion museum in Shildon to the new Hopetown attraction in Darlington to the revamped Preston Park in Stockton, the anniversary will leave a legacy of improvement. The plans for the cycle and walkway along the line are perhaps not as joined up as they might be, but, with a festival director now in place, there will at least be a celebration.

But because the railway is 200 years old, very little has survived which are visitors will be able to tap and say ‘this was here in the very earliest days’.

READ MORE: CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO SAVE THE WORLD'S OLDEST RAILWAY STATION

Heighington station, from 1826 to 1827, is one of the few survivors, yet it is in a disgracefully derelict state.

It shows how the new railway transformed the world’s thinking. No one had ever considered before where passengers might wait for a train, and so the railway pioneers created a prototype for what the world now understands as the station.

It is very disappointing that private owners in recent years have been unable to keep out the vandals, and that the local authorities have been unable to find a way to rescue the building, but now, just 18 months from the big anniversary, the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway have come up with a plan.

If we collectively in this area don’t cherish our unique history, don’t take pride in what was achieved here, why should anyone from outside spend their hard earned money to come and celebrate it, especially if when they arrive they are greeted with a derelict eyesore.

We hope the Friends can pull it off, although time is tight, and that they can prevent there being an ugly derailment in the middle of the railway celebrations.

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