Duncan Leatherdalein Shildon, County Durham
PA Media/Owen HumphreysThousands gathered to see a replica steam engine embark on a three-day journey to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). Why all the fuss?
When it came to its big departure, the Locomotion No 1 was surprisingly quiet.
Its gentle huffing was easily drowned out by the flag-waving crowd giving three cheers – and an extra one for luck – followed by thunderous applause at Locomotion rail museum in Shildon, County Durham.
PA/Owen HumphreysIt actually left 19 minutes later than scheduled, but there weren’t the usual grumbles you hear when a train is delayed.
As the Darlington-bound engine, three coal wagons and passenger carriage trundled away at a maximum speed of 15mph, many stayed to watched its progress on the giant screen in the museum’s plaza.
People had travelled from across the world to see the setting off of the replica engine, which was built in 1975 for the 150th anniversary of the railway and has been lovingly restored to allow it to take part today
It is due to arrive in Stockton on Sunday with viewing opportunities aplenty along the route.
So, why make the effort to come and see it?
“Because it’s free”, Bryan Johnston says with a laugh, adding, perhaps unnecessarily: “I am from Yorkshire you know.”
He has come from Richmond with his wife Wendy and sister and brother-in-law Margaret and Dick Stokoe, who have travelled from Nunthorpe, near Middlesbrough.
“It’s absolutely terrific for the North East to remind the rest of the world this is where it all started,” Bryan says.
All four are struck by the atmosphere, the jovial mood of the crowd bolstered by the striking up of the brass bands.
“This is what it might have been like 200 years ago,” Margaret says, alluding to the thousands who came to see the railway open on 27 September 1825, and the maiden voyage of George Stephenson’s Locomotion No 1.
“Seeing that first train go must have been gobsmacking,” she says.
Bryan agrees, adding: “It was like the space shuttle launch of its day.”
Friends Geoff West and George Howard from Swaledale, North Yorkshire, have brought foldable seats and secured spots on the embankment overlooking the train.
Like many here, they are proud lifelong-rail fanatics.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Geoff says. “It’s a big deal.”
Julie Wright and Matthew Farrell have come from Bishop Auckland, Julie to enjoy the history and spectacle, and Matthew in the hope of meeting TV presenter Guy Martin, one of the dozens of special guests which include the Duke of Edinburgh.
“We have come to this museum for years,” Julie says. “We just had to come today, you feel like you have to be here for this, you know?”
She is pleased to see so many people from across the world in attendance, adding it makes her proud of her local heritage.
Among the throng are three Frenchmen getting ideas for their own upcoming bicentenary.
Brothers Patrick and Christophe Etievant, and their friend Jean Paul Fournier, have come from St Etienne, which opened its railway in 1827.
“It’s very worth coming to see and we appreciate very much how much English people celebrate their railways,” says Patrick, who drives their replica steam engine the Locomotive Seguin.
Rory O’Rourke also reckons it was well worth coming to Shildon.
He is originally from Thornaby-on-Tees but drove from his home in Bolton to be here, joining his twin sister Tara Connor in the crowd.
“Things like this are a part of history,” Rory says. “I was actually quite shocked at how quiet the locomotive was.
“It’s amazing how something so small went on to have such a big impact.”
While the train today departed from the museum, the actual Locomotion No 1 set off on its maiden voyage from outside the Mason Arms, a 10-minute walk to the west.
A plaque unveiling was held there to celebrate the historic occasion and to also mark the creation by Durham County Council of a new walking route following the first section of the original railway.
Matthew Edward Pease, the four times great-grandson of the S&DR’s creator Edward Pease and president of the Friends of the S&DR, was there to see the unveiling.
“Edward Pease was the driving force behind the creation of the railway,” he says of his ancestor, adding: “He just had the idea this was something that could work and do a lot of good for people.
“But it was thanks to the ingenuity, energy and sheer hard work of the people of the North East that his vision became reality.”
The Locomotion No 1 left the rail museum at 12:04 BST, having had an original departure time of 11:45.
While no-one seemed to mind too much, the delay did have consequences.
“Yes I recognise the irony,” the ticket collector sighs as Northern’s 13:26 Shildon to Bishop Auckland pulls away almost half an hour late, having had to wait down the line at Darlington to let the Locomotion No 1 pass.
“It was all worth it,” a fellow passenger who has come from Norfolk says, while another chuckles: “Being delayed by the thing we came to see, perfect.”
“You are all a part of history,” the train manager announces over the speakers, after apologising for the delay.
“After all, how many people can say they have been delayed by a 200-year-old train?”
